ReadWriteWeb

Microsoft has done a lot of revamping and renaming to their web services over the recent years. The strategy of renaming was an awful attempt at trying to break ground on the web. It only resulted in confusing a lot of users. Recently, a handful of those services have seen the end draw near including Windows Live for TV, Windows Live Expo, Live Search Books, and Live Search Academic. What a list!

One of the highlights last week at Web 2.0 Expo was the launch of Microsoft's new cloud computing play, Live Mesh. Mesh is a new development platform for syncing user data between the desktop and the Web, and across multiple devices (currently just Windows computers, but it'll support mobile, Mac computers and other devices in the future). It can sync data for single users, as well as create shared spaces for multiple users. Currently Live Mesh is in "technology preview", so it is not a finished product. Even so, we couldn't help but notice the overlap between Live Mesh and a number of Windows Live products.

A few weeks ago we wrote about a rumored Microsoft Office Live product codenamed "Albany" that was supposedly entering a private beta and wondered if this could be their latest jab at Google Docs. According to various reports Albany was anything from an online version of Microsoft's Works suite to a discounted software bundle of various Office and Live components. Yesterday we spoke with Bryson Gordon, the Group Product Manager for Microsoft's Office Consumer and Small Business Team to get the facts about Albany and set the record straight.

One of the highlights of CES (Consumer Electronics Show) each year is Bill Gates' keynote speech, available here as a webcast. Every year ReadWriteWeb analyzes Gates' keynote, highlighting the main themes and trends that he discusses. This year there were a slew of products and partnerships announced. It was less futuristic vision and more beta products and what's coming in 2008. In other words, it was much less about Internet-connected fridges, and more about what you can do now on your Xbox 360.