Microsoft Research's Social Desktop Prototype Blurs Lines Between PC and Web

Microsoft Research Unveils "Social Desktop" Prototype: Bridging the Gap Between PC and Web

Late last week, Microsoft Research showcased a groundbreaking prototype called "Social Desktop." This innovative project aims to seamlessly integrate the user's desktop environment with the web, offering a new paradigm for file sharing, collaboration, and data accessibility. The prototype, set to debut at TechFest 2009, has already generated significant buzz, with expectations high for its potential impact on how users interact with their digital content.

Key Features and Functionality

The core concept behind Social Desktop is to provide a secure, unique identifier for every file and folder on a user's desktop. This enables users to share, comment on, tag, and search their local files—such as photos and videos—through a dedicated web interface powered by .NET. This functionality extends to pushing social interactions and file links to third-party services like Twitter or Digg, as well as Microsoft's own Windows Live Messenger, without requiring manual uploads or file transfers.

Furthermore, the Social Desktop aims to make social interactions around files visible directly within the Windows desktop operating system, effectively blurring the lines between the local desktop experience and the broader web.

"You can have a URL drill into a subportion of a document or a PowerPoint deck, or data can come from a Web service or a database. Social Desktop is a local service that maps the user’s local data into a .NET service bus service, enabling local data to be accessible through firewalls. Social Desktop also provides a Web-service view over the same data, with inherent RSS event streams for any container. New data sources can be mapped into the URL hierarchy, enabling a distributed view to be built. There are simple sharing paradigms that enable URLs to be shared temporarily or permanently."

Technological Underpinnings

Social Desktop is built upon Microsoft's Silverlight technology and leverages both the Windows operating system and Windows Azure, Microsoft's cloud services platform. This integration allows for robust data management and accessibility, even across firewalls.

Social Desktop vs. Live Mesh

When compared to Microsoft's Live Mesh, a project lead Lili Cheng explained the key difference: "In the Mesh model, you can almost imagine your PC being pushed to the cloud. In this, you can almost imagine the Web being embedded inside your desktop."

Potential Impact and User Benefits

The Social Desktop holds significant promise for simplifying file sharing and management. Unlike many existing online services that require users to upload files or register for accounts, Social Desktop aims to streamline the process by directly linking to local files. This eliminates the often cumbersome steps involved in sharing, making it a substantial benefit for users accustomed to traditional file-sharing methods.

Current Status and Future Outlook

Despite the promising nature of the Social Desktop prototype, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that it is currently a research project and will not be a feature in Windows 7, nor will it be publicly available at this time. However, the potential for this technology to influence future operating system features and cloud integration remains high.

Related Information

• CrunchBase Information: Link to CrunchBase
• Microsoft: Link to Microsoft on CrunchBase

Topics Covered:

• Microsoft
• Microsoft Research
• Social Desktop

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