Windows Live - FolderShare

Windows Live - FolderShare

Foldershare is being billed as the killer App that may give Microsoft's Windows Live Service the kick Start it needs.

So what's so special about folder sharing, Peer to Peer file Sharing has been around for years hasn't it? Well this isn't just a simple Peer to Peer file sharing service.

If you remember back to the days just Prior to the dotcom bubble, there used to be a cool little online service called Xdrive. Xdrive was an online drive that integrated almost seamlessly with windows explorer. You could drag 'n' drop, search and view files just as easy as if they were on your own PC. Unfortunately Xdrive was ahead of its time and alas, didn't last long.

Back then bandwidth and storage were expensive and 56k modems were just too slow. Xdrive didn't ever really get a chance to fully develop their product before going the way of many other free services. Xdrive made a last ditch attempt to pay for all those hard disks and bandwidth by switching from a free service to a subscription service, but users didn't go for it and left in their droves. Xdrive survived but never again was it seen as the dotcom darling it once was.

Today's Internet is a very different place to what it was when Xdrive was born, bandwidth and storage are cheap and broadband is commonplace. Technically the virtual drive idea was a good one and some years later another company ByteTaxi produced a similar product called FolderShare. ByteTaxi expanded on the original idea and produced a service with sharing and synchronization features. Your online folder could now be shared and synchronized amongst groups of people as if it were a network drive.

It wasn't long before the news of this great little application got around and attracted the attention of Microsoft and their bulging cheque book. ByteTaxi was acquired by Microsoft for an undisclosed sum and FolderShare found its way into the portfolio of applications that make up the Windows Live service.

Any time a file in the folder is added, modified, or deleted from the FolderShare, the changes are automatically synchronized with the person or group you're sharing with. The Sharing File icon in Windows Live Messenger will also show you a 'glint' on a contact so you will know when a shared file has been updated. FolderShare is now fully searchable and integrates with both windows and Google desktop search and for the security conscious, FolderShare supports fully secure encrypted transfers. You can also access your shared folder from a web browser.

Keywords: FolderShare, Windows Live FolderShare, Windows FolderShare, MSN Messenger, MSN Messenger 7.5, MSN Hotmail, Messenger Icons
Links: Windows Live