Mesh: The Real Killer App?

There’s been a lot of talk about how Windows 8 needs a, “Killer App” to survive in tablet space; something that a Microsoft product can do better than anyone else. And while I understand that a simplified, Metro-ish, version of Office 15 would make a great case for productivity being possible on a tablet, I doubt it will blow anyone’s mind. People want to see something magical, something that makes them feel good about that PC they already have at home.

Windows Live Essentials, which has been around since the early days of Vista, includes a bevy of applications that—as the name suggests–work well with Windows Live’s online services. Did you know that Windows Live SkyDrive offers a free 25GB of online storage, and was around a year before Dropbox officially launched at TechCrunch50? Most people don’t. And with Windows Live Mesh, the Essentials app that partners with SkyDrive, it’s incredibly easy to sync files to the cloud or across multiple devices. But that’s just the start.

Windows Live Mesh also allows you to remotely login to any computer you’ve signed into Mesh on before – as long as know the user password and have enabled Remote Connections. Built off of (what I assume is) RDP, it’s fast and stable. And because Windows Live handles the connections, you don’t have to mess about with port forwarding or firewall settings. You can sync favorites and Office settings, copy and paste files across machines, an interact fully with UAC. About the only thing you can’t do is stream audio, which is a feature I’d love to see added.

Check out Windows Live Mesh, a new version was released today, and let me know what you think. It works great with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. iCloud, what?