Keep Files and Folders in Sync Across Multiple PCs with Windows Live

Microsoft's Windows Live suite keeps getting better; from its humble beginnings it has evolved into a great set of free programs and Web services that complement Windows quite nicely. The newest edition, branded Windows Live Essentials 2011, is now available in its final form.

As I mentioned a few months ago when the beta hit the streets, Windows Live Essentials 2011 has some great stuff under the hood.

Yes, Windows Live Photo Gallery and Movie Maker are here. Photo Gallery has some cool new tricks like Photo Fuse, which lets you mix and match elements of similar photos to "photoshop" your own best photo with just a few clicks. And Movie Maker has a new set of editing tools that put it on even footing with inexpensive commercial video editors.

But the most exciting business tool in the Essentials kit is Windows Live Mesh. Known in the beta as Live Sync, mesh lets you keep a set of folders in sync across multiple PCs. You can specify your Documents folder, for example, and then install Sync on your desktop, laptop, and home computers. Sync will make sure the files stay in sync and it even gives you offline access to the most recent versions. You can also remotely access files from any connected PC via Sync's Web interface.

Windows Live Essentials 2011 is free and worthy of some big kudos -- be sure to install it and check it out for yourself.