Windows Live Sync - Embrace, Extend... Then Kill

Posted by james on Oct. 21, 2010

For a long, long time I've wanted a program that would automatically sync files between my computers. The typical scenario is that I have a copy of a folder on two computers (ex. a laptop & desktop), and I want changes in one to automatically sync over to the other computer.

I've tried a bunch of programs, but none really seemed suitable. I envisioned a very simple client that sat in the system tray. Then you'd be able to use a simple web UI to setup syncable folders, and the rest would happen automatically.

One day I tried Windows Live Sync, and the experience was eerie... this was almost *exactly* what I envisioned! You install a simple system tray app, you do all the configuration in a web browser, and you can even setup the same folder on all your PC's while sitting at a single computer through the web UI. Amazingly simple, very powerful. Even stranger - Windows Live Sync worked on mac. It seemed like a very strange thing for them to do, but it makes sense when you realize that this program used to be "FolderShare" by a different company before Microsoft bought it.

Seems too good to be true - a well-made, simple & powerful program from Microsoft that does exactly what I need. It works transparently, syncs files well, works on Windows & Mac, it's free. It seems very uncharacteristic of Microsoft to do something so well without any strings attached.

Starting today, I'm feeling those strings starting to pull. I got an email from MS announcing that Windows Live Sync was being shut down. It's being replaced by "Windows Live Mesh" which is essentially the same thing plus online cloud storage. The catch? It no longer works on XP.

I realize that XP is a very old OS. Unfortunately, that's what most of my gear runs (by choice). And it's still alive & supported by MS, and last I heard was the most popular Windows version out there. Good old MS. When it seems too good to be true (ie. too helpful to the end-user), then it probably is with them.

So now the hunt is back on - what's a very simple, easy to use, transparent, peer-based folder sync utility? Preferably free, but a reasonably inexpensive one would be fine? Do I really need to dig up my old code and finally finish my own version that's been "in progress" for the past 10 years?