Microsoft's Live Mesh service, a new service, that will synch all of a user's devices and applications to produce a seamless framework, was unveiled at Web 2.0.

Microsoft has said the service will use open standards and be rolled out to Windows machines, Macs and mobiles. (the fact that Live Mesh is not available on Mac at launch was not missed by many)

The idea is to connect PCs and devices "using the web as a hub," wrote Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's chief software architect, in a draft of a memo slated to be distributed to Microsoft employees. "We aspire to bring together Windows, Windows Live, and Windows Mobile by creating seamless experiences that span these offerings," Ozzie wrote.The initial version of Live Mesh will work only with PCs running Windows XP and Vista, but Microsoft says it plans to add support later for mobile devices and Apple Macintosh computers.

In the initial version, extra features will include the ability to use one Windows PC to access and control another that they've made part of the same mesh. People will also be able to connect their meshes to other users' meshes, for sharing files and collaborating on documents.

Microsoft is also setting up Live Mesh to let outside developers write programs to work with the system. For example, the maker of a digital picture frame might write a program that uses Live Mesh to automatically receive and display photos from a camera over the Internet.

The core service from Microsoft is "a small slice, a small sliver of what the platform can do," said Amit Mital, the general manager of the Live Mesh team. "What the platform is about is providing access to all this capability" for use by other software and hardware developers.

This Isn't New 

This isn't new. One existing company in the online storage and sharing market is Palo Alto-based Box.net.

Box.net, the web’s first online file system, launched in 2005, announced earlier this year its OpenBox platform. The open platform connects data from Box.net with other applications and services across the web. OpenBox permits companies and developers to integrate applications and services on the Box.net website. They have expressed confidence in their ability to withstand the new challenge from Microsoft.

"Their competency is in desktop software and they clearly have the ability to push people to these products," Aaron Levie, CEO said. "However, the great thing about the Web is it's an open environment where the best product generally wins, and the products that have the right networks around users are able to maintain that kind of traction."