Gadgetopia

Microsoft to Acquire Groove Networks, Combining Talents to Create Anytime, Anywhere Collaboration Products and Services: This is kind of a no-brainer. Micrsoft owned 25% of Groove, and it was only a matter of time until Groove got built into Windows.

Microsoft Corp. announced today that it will acquire Groove Networks Inc., a leading provider of collaboration software for the “virtual office.”

This will essentially give every copy of Windows a built-in private P2P network. The RIAA can’t be happy about that prospect.

I’m not a big fan of Groove. I spent $700 on it, altogether. It did the job, I guess, but I ended up using it for little more than file syncing between machines — about 10% of the app. I just never felt comfortable with it, because of the Windows lock-in.