August 2007 - Posts
A nice overall review of the Groove 2007 Server at InfoWorld here..
"but you're going to want Groove Manager working for you in any deployments above 100 seats".
Caveat: All 3 Groove Servers need 64bit based Windows Servers (see my prior post on how expensive an evaluation of the Groove 2007 Server can get and a cure for it).
Course 4698: Getting Started with Microsoft® Office Groove® 2007
Course Type: Self-paced Course
Available Offline: Yes
Estimated Time of Completion: 2 Hours
Language: English
Description:
In this online course, you will learn how to create and manage Workspaces with Office Groove 2007. You will also learn how to share files and project information using the Workspace, as well as enabling effective team communication and collecting information using forms. You will learn how to manage your team workspace using the Launchbar, Alerts, and managing member access to Workspace content. Finally, you will learn the tips and tricks to get up to speed quickly with this team collaboration environment from Microsoft.
Details & registration here...
Difference between Groove and Web 2.0
Groove: (image from Wikipedia)
Web 2.0: (image from NASA)
Get the picture? :-)
There is a new release (#6) of the Groove Web Services v12 Helpers at CodePlex. This also includes an 'Overview of Groove Web Services Helpers' document. Get these from here...
I have been fairly active in the Groove Forums and I received a most interesting bit of email this evening -
"Thank you for your post to my question re. Groove 3.1 Presence on the MS Groove Discussion.
I am as frustrated as you are with the MS monopoly that is taking place and the degredation of
exceptional products when MS digs their greedy, nasty claws into them and then they refuse to
provide any decent level of support. I am the guy who knows enough about computers to be
dangerous and friends come to for help. I am able to do only so much then it gets dicey. The
firewall answer that was given by the MS guy was so basic. Unfortunately, my tablet was made
by Gateway. Their level of support for their product is almost nil as well.These companies sell
their product and then charge you the same amount of money as their product to get one
instance of support <sigh>.
I will let you know how it goes.... and I will give you some good feedback on the site as well!"
Actually, I disagree with the above - most of the support in the forums are really done by users who are not Microsoft employees. In short, it's the end-users who are passionate about the product who do the job of the Microsoft employee.
Selling the Groove servers must be an enigma - three (3) products in one SKU package that demands three (3) servers! An expensive proposition for the target Corporate IT market. There are no 180-day trial versions nor are there an VHDs so prospective customers don't quite know what it will do and evaluation of the Groove Server product suffers.
Help Ray get his Groove back - Consider that other Microsoft Server products like Exchange, Visual Studio and SharePoint are available in VHD formats for customer evaluation, why not the Groove Servers?
Stay tuned for Part 3.
It's been well over two years now that Microsoft has acquired Groove and now that the Web 2.0 bubble is about to burst (i.e.,OReilly has made enough dough with Web 2.0 conferences & events), Groove can finally blossom with its technological promise. Unfortunately, Groove is considered a 'bastard-child' in the Microsoft Office fold. Take for example, it's only after much ranting to her Majesty, did we get the Office Groove developer page on MSDN. The public support forum is another pathetic scenario in the making - most of the support comes from Groove partners & users who have been using Groove since its inception (self included). The reward to the Groove user support community is dismal at best - no rewards nor any thank-you notes. Notice the list of Microsoft MVPs - there are MVPs for Office 'PictureIT' and Office 'OneNote' but there are none for Groove.
Help Ray get his Groove back - Reward Show gratitude to your community of Groove supporters. (There are differences between rewards and acts of gratitude - unless you are a Community Manager at BusinessObjects or Oracle).
Stay tuned for Part 2.
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