[geeks] Groove, your opinion please

[Kurt Huhn]

> A friend of mine referred me to this site:
>
> www.groove.net
>
> He claimed it was the "next thing coming".
> I have taken a brief look and although I am
> certainly not an expert in these things, it
> looks to me like what they offer is already out
> there.
>
> Are they just selling a packaged version of ssh
> and other common protocols? Any opinions?
>

Don't know anything about SSH being offered with Groove - as far as I know
it doesn't include anything like that.  What it is, its a piece of software
that is designed to help you share information and collaborate with other
groove users on projects and documents.

Okay, take what I have to say with a grain of salt - I'm on the management
team of Bungo, a direct competitor of Groove Networks.

The first real problem they have is this:
"In order to install and use Groove, your system must meet the following
minimum requirements:
Operating System:
Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, 2000, 98, 95, or NT 4.0 (with Service
Pack 3 or later)"

That rules out users of any other OSs - like Solaris, Irix, Linux, or even
MacOS.  That, in my estimation is a major problem.  Not that Bungo has it
all figured out either - our current iteration only works *well* on IE and
Netscape (any platform that Netscape has a version for).  The next release
of our product will work with nearly any java enabled browser.

The other problem I see, is that you need to install software on your
system - that opens you up to a host of problems.  Exploits abound for
peer-to-peer apps like they offer, and no matter what they say - that method
of collaboration is inherently insecure.  Other providers (yeah, Bungo
included) offer services that are server-side.  No software needed - just
point your browser to www.bungo.com/yourworkspace and start working.

Big problem - Groove has tied themselves pretty heavily to Microsoft and the
.NET initiative.  This would be fine except that most industry analysts
don't expect .NET to be as successful as MS hopes - and Gartner has issued
several warnings about the security of MS products.  The use of open-source
OSs and apps helps other providers (again, Bungo included) to make a line of
services and products that works *everywhere* and can be made as secure as
the programmers/OSs/firewalls of the provider can make them.

I also have a major beef with groove, that seems to be their selling point.
Besides having to install a client, you have to be using *your* computer in
order to access the workspace you create, and the files in it.  As far as I
can tell, you can't go to an Internet Cafe and work on your projects using
the Groove products.  Other providers can do similar service offerings (and
sometimes better) totally with server-side apps - allowing you to go to any
arbitrary computer, get your files, communicate with others, and do actual
work.


Security being the great equalizer, would you rather have your data being
stored on and served from a Unix OS - or MS windows?  With Gartner warning
against using MS, and exploits published (and widely publicized) routinely
for MS products, I just wouldn't have the same level of comfort with the
Groove offering.

Of course - my analysis might be somewhat tainted by my involvement...

Kurt