Frustrated with our explanation of Photosynth, which Microsoft PR persuaded the Financial Times to call a "new development intended to boost the pace of innovation in its online services group as it tries to close the gap with Google"? Check out this clip where Microsoft's Live Labs leader Gary Flake explains it himself — and tell us why Photosynth isn't really a change of pace for Microsoft at all.

Fast-forward to the end. "It's quite feasible to run the synthing software right on your local machine," says Flake. Aha! So this isn't actually a Web service at all — it's just more of the same desktop software Microsoft has sold all along, with some Web features added.

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