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Posted on June 8th, 2010 by Barry Collins
Clearing up the confusion over Windows Live Sync
Last week we told you how Microsoft was bringing its popular Live Mesh out of beta, with the launch of a new service called Live Sync.
Unbeknown to me, Microsoft already offers a service called Live Sync. Consequently, several of you rushed off to sign up for the existing Live Sync, only to be disappointed when it didn’t contain the features we said it did. The old Live Sync (also known as Folder Share) only synchronises files between two PCs that are powered on, while the Live Sync we wrote about promised such goodies as cloud synchronisation, online storage and the ability to share bookmarks and Office settings between different PCs.
So in an attempt to clear up the confusion, we contacted Microsoft to find out exactly what’s happening with the new and old Live Sync. Ready? Here goes:
- The features of Live Mesh and the old Live Sync (called Wave 3 internally at Microsoft) are being combined into a new product called Live Sync (called Wave 4 internally).
- The new Live Sync (W4) will only work on Vista SP2 and Windows 7 machines.
- Windows XP users can still continue to use the old Live Sync (W3), but they won’t be able to synchronise folders with PCs running the new version (W4) on Vista and Windows 7 machines.
- The Live Mesh beta will be closed later this year, and users will be encouraged to migrate to the new version of Live Sync.
- Live Sync (W4) will be launched in beta form later this summer, although Microsoft can’t tell us when.
It’s not like Microsoft to over-complicate matters, is it?
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15 Responses to “ Clearing up the confusion over Windows Live Sync ”
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June 8th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Is the old Live Sync the one that was previously called Foldershare? Sounds exactly the same.
June 8th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Yes, I’ll clarify that in copy.
June 8th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
The ‘old’ Windows Live Sync (wave 3??) is a very useful utility for automatically synchronising files/folders between a Mac & a Windows PC (surprising, but good that MS provide a Mac client for it). I’m hoping they persist the Mac client when they make the changes.
June 8th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
The company that originally created FolderShare was acquired by Microsoft sometime around 2005 IIRC and they had already developed the Mac client. As the technology didn’t really change that much when Microsoft re-branded it to Live Sync, I guess they chose to keep the Mac client around. From what I have heard elsewhere on the Web, the new-new Live Sync (W4) is based more on the Live Mesh (W3) technology than on the old Live Sync (W3) (formerely FolderShare) although the current http://www.mesh.com site does offer a “tech preview” Mac client also. Clear as mud? Paul Thurrott has a good summary of the changes on winsupersite.com: http://www.winsupersite.com/live/wlwave4_sync.asp
June 8th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Kitchen PC? Kitchen Sync? Clever.
June 8th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
I understood it perfectly.
June 9th, 2010 at 3:27 pm
If the final product is even better than Live Mesh, I’ll forgive
June 10th, 2010 at 9:27 am
Does this mean that the Mesh I have between a couple of XP machines and a Win 7 machine wont work any more because Live Sync 4 won’t support XP?
June 10th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
I’ve been using LiveSync and Mesh on Win 7, XP and Server 2003. All been working well over the past year. I knew Mesh was in beta but these plans mean I am stuffed. Just no way to co-exist all those 3 OSs. Luckily i’ve also been using DropBox across them all. I wondered which single system I should land with so thanks for making up myind MS: DropBox it is and it will be worth paying them so I get enough storage. Plus they provide an iPhone app too. I had even started with FolderShare and went through the pain of converting to Live Sync. I won’t be able to bend to meet the needs of new Live Sync though.
June 10th, 2010 at 11:12 pm
I know that MS want us all to upgrade to Windows 7 but making sure that XP can’t live with the new OS isn’t working with me. Nor is it at work. My employers looked at 7 but decided recently that, as far as they were concerned, XP works with XP and they are sticking with it. It was the same with Office. Documents created in Office 2003 always look the same in Office 2003.
June 19th, 2010 at 11:43 am
So they do it again – alienating people for sticking with their ‘reliable’ XP OS, and trying to force users to ‘upgrade’ to Vista (OH NO!!) or W7. I have W7 on a guest PC here, and it works nicely, but the pain of trying to get printers/scanners etc. makes me cry “Why change the Driver model and disable older Devices?” Surely in this day+age they can make a driver model that incorporates newer AND older technologies. Its just plain stupid! Come on MS, keep it flexible you idiots! At this rate most people will stick with XP, unless they can afford to replace ALL their peripherals – not worth it just to be able to use W7.
July 22nd, 2010 at 11:27 pm
Wait hold on, let me see if I’ve got this straight. In order to encourage people to upgrade to a newer system, Microsoft is making sure their newer systems DON’T WORK with the older ones.
…
Shouldn’t that be just the other way around? Encourage people to upgrade by making sure the upgraded machines work well alongside your existing ones?
Saving Microsoft will need a superhero: Captain Obvious to the rescue!
November 18th, 2010 at 6:21 am
This is soooo MS
Really, Live Sync is the only really great MS program I have found that works like it should in a loooong time. I run XP on the desktop and Vista on the laptop and Liver Sync has kept my files up to the minute since I put it in. I LOVE it.
Now they are going to punish me for it.
Perfect – Apple here I come…
This is the last straw
November 23rd, 2010 at 10:08 pm
I only have xp machines; where can i get a copy of the ‘old’ sync? its not on foldershare.com anymore
January 29th, 2011 at 12:32 am
With Live Sync coming to and end in March 2011:-
My company uses (used) Windows Live Sync, and with its demise, and its replacement not support XP, we have written our own – and that will be available within the next 2 weeks. See http://www.hollingside.com/products.shtml
The software will be free to use for personal usage. A minimal cost will be made if you want to avoid reminders of your non licenced status on app startup (and to help me feed the dogs!). Corporation licences are also available.