A new Microsoft Research prototype called Social Desktop blends the Web and the PC by automatically creating dedicated online pages for individual documents, photos and other files from a computer... letting people selectively share snapshots of their hard drive's contents. Social Desktop embeds the "web oriented" model for sharing in the center of the desktop experience, demonstrating new ways of integrating the desktop and the web.
The Social Desktop blends the Web and PC by embedding Web oriented sharing inside your desktop, allowing every document to have the ability to have a backing social URL for sharing without having to upload or copy or move it from it's natural location. This url provides access not just to the file, but to a built in social experience which includes a rich preview of each item, comments, related items, tags, etc. Whenever friends comment with this social link via the web browser, the conversation is also available directly in Windows, and vice versa. The file links that you want to share can also be distributed via Digg, Twitter, and Windows Live Messenger.
Microsoft Social Desktop
It seems similar to how the Facebook social-networking site allows users to post links, videos and photos on their Facebook pages and add comments and other context to those links. So instead of going through the process of uploading pictures, copying link locations, and all of that other stuff you do in order to share something with a friend or colleague, Social Desktop will tear down the proverbial 'wall' that separates you (the user) from the beast (the internet).
The benefits to a system like this would be universal access as URLs can work on any device anywhere in the world. It also could radically simplify what still remains a difficulty even today – file sharing. But the social element is what’s most unique about the software. We already know that files can be socialized – we’ve seen this taking place today on sites like Slideshare (social slideshows) and video sharing sites, too. But imagine a platform where any file on your computer could become a social experience with little effort on your part (except, I hope, to mark some as private! ).
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