1. Commentary
2. Peer to Peer
3. New and Improved
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==== 1. Commentary: Microsoft Gets Its Groove On ====
by Paul Robichaux, Exchange Editor, [email protected]
Microsoft announced last week that it's acquiring Groove Technologies, which makes a line of collaboration products. The news wasn't entirely unexpected because Microsoft invested in Groove fairly early. However, examining what the acquisition might mean for Microsoft's broader line of collaboration and communication products, particularly Exchange, is an interesting exercise.
First, let's distinguish between communications and collaboration. Although the terms are often used interchangeably, they aren't the same. Communications is the exchange of information, as in an email message or an Instant Messaging (IM) conversation. Collaboration is working with others to produce a shared result. These definitions might seem elementary, but I want to clarify them because many people end up mixing the two . Here's a prime example: If you've ever worked on a document with other people by distributing modified versions of the document via email, you've shoehorned a collaborative task into a communications channel. This combination isn't necessarily the most efficient way to work, but if communication tools are all you have, that's probably what you're doing. Microsoft wants to address this deficiency by offering a unified suite of tools that work together to provide a sort of connective tissue that links people who want to collaborate and communicate. In that light, does the Groove acquisition make sense? I think it does, both as a short-term and long-term strategy. The Groove product line is centered around the idea of workspaces. A workspace is roughly equivalent to a Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server team site; it can contain many different types of content (e.g., calendar data, messages, documents, tasks, custom data types handled by plug-ins). Whenever the Groove client is online, it uses a peer-to-peer synchronization protocol to synchronize itself with other copies of the same workspace. This technique is a smart approach because it doesn't require a centralized server to control replication. Ray Ozzie, Groove's chief architect, just happens to be the lead designer of IBM Lotus Notes, which is well known for its replication and offline architectures. Groove products improve on Lotus Notes' shortcomings while offering the flexibility to work efficiently when you're offline or using a low-bandwidth connection. The Groove client has some other interesting capabilities. Every user has a Groove identity, which is essentially an RSA public key certificate. When you deploy Groove, you're actually deploying a public key infrastructure (PKI), without the centralized certificate authorities that are typically associated with PKI deployments. In addition, the client can synchronize with a SharePoint site and make a local copy of the site that you can use offline and update at intervals you specify when you're online. The Groove client also integrates with Microsoft Office applications to let you quickly add or retrieve documents in a workspace; I expect that integration to both broaden and deepen as Microsoft absorbs Groove's technology. Microsoft is apparently planning to roll Groove technology into its product line. The ability to use a SharePoint site offline is valuable enough in itself to explain Microsoft's interest in the company. Adding the Groove client's peer-to-peer synchronization and distributed security features to Windows and Office system components will also bolster Microsoft's platform. I'm interested to see how Microsoft will integrate Groove's capabilities into SharePoint. The company has announced that better public folder management and reporting tools are coming, both in Exchange 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and in upcoming Web releases. Microsoft has provided relatively little guidance about how to migrate public folder data and applications to SharePoint, and one disadvantage of migrating right now is that you lose the ability to keep cached copies of public folder data on disconnected clients. The Groove technology provides a neat remedy to this problem, however, and I hope Microsoft will consider how to combine the technology with the company's short- and medium-term product plans to build a better architecture for public folder migration and deployment on SharePoint. In the meantime, Groove is still offering free trial versions of its client product. I used Groove 2.x extensively for a book project, and although I had a little trouble convincing all my coauthors and reviewers to install the client, the ability to automatically synchronize my changes to all my peers, wherever I happened to be, was invaluable. You might also find the technology useful. If you're already using Groove products, let me know what you like and dislike about them.
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==== 2. Peer to Peer ====
Featured Thread: Managing Exchange Database Size
Our forum readers are having a conversation about what to do about a rapidly expanding Exchange database. To join the discussion, visit http://windowsitpro.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=40&threadid=130875
Outlook Tip: Accessing the Temporary Internet Files Folder for Attachments
by Sue Mosher, [email protected]
Q: When I open a file attachment from an Outlook message, I notice that when I choose File, Save As, the opened file is in a folder named OLK6 in the \Documents & Settings\\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files folder. How can I access this OLK6 folder directly? When I use Windows Explorer, the OLK6 folder isn't visible, even though I've set the options in Windows Explorer to show hidden files and folders.
Find the answer (and links to more great tips) at
http://www.windowsitpro.com/MicrosoftExchangeOutlook/Article/ArticleID/43606/43606.html
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==== 3. New and Improved ====
by Angie Brew, [email protected]
Convert Email Attachments
Messageware released AttachView, a server-based solution for Outlook Web Access (OWA) that converts email attachments into noncached HTML files. Administrators can set security controls that let users view attachments only within the browser, and the product automatically creates and hyperlinks a table of contents so that users can easily navigate through the document. AttachView can convert more than 300 file formats and is available in 20 languages. AttachView costs $495 for up to 25 mailboxes. Contact Messageware at 905-812-0638. http://www.messageware.com
=========Get Ready for SQL Server 2005 Roadshow in a City Near You
Empower Users and Produce Substantial ROI
Achieve High Availability and Disaster Recovery for Microsoft Servers
New eBook--Windows Certification and Public Keys
==== 2. Peer to Peer ====
Featured Thread: Managing Exchange Database Size
Outlook Tip: Accessing the Temporary Internet Files Folder for Attachments
Q: When I open a file attachment from an Outlook message, I notice that when I choose File, Save As, the opened file is in a folder named OLK6 in the \Documents & Settings\
Find the answer (and links to more great tips) at
==== Hot Release ====
Free white paper, evaluation, ROI tools and more at
==== Announcements ====
Get Windows IT Pro at 44 Percent Off!
Get SQL Server Magazine and Get Answers
==== 3. New and Improved ====
Convert Email Attachments
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