Good Microsoft wins one

Back in April, I contrasted Good Microsoft, which released its Live Mesh service for public consumption, with Bad Microsoft, which decided to pull the plug on its MSN Music customers who had purchased DRM-protected music files from its store.

It took a couple months, but it looks like Good Microsoft won that battle after a lengthy internal debate. Ars Technica reports:

Thankfully, it appears as if Microsoft heard the outcries of its users and decided to do something about it. "After careful consideration, Microsoft has decided to continue to support the authorization of new computers and devices, and delivery of new license keys for MSN Music customers through at least the end of 2011," the company said in its e-mail (the authenticity of which has been confirmed by a Microsoft spokesperson). "This means you will continue to be able to listen to your purchased music and transfer your music to new PCs and devices beyond the previously announced August 31, 2008 date."

Better late than never, I guess. And meanwhile, the Live Mesh folks continue to push out updates. The most recent Live Mesh update allows the client software to work on Vista systems that have UAC disabled. I've been impressed by the performance and stability of Live Mesh, which has quickly become an essential part of my working setup. More on that later.