New version of Groove is
by Volker Weber
New version of Groove is imminent. Check the website tomorrow. Groove's 1.2 focus is improved MS integration, continued usability, UI, and performance enhancements.
Enhancements to User Interface and Groove Tools: Pictorial indication added to the User Interface that reports communications status when sending of receiving deltas. Ability to retry in "missing tool " - addition of a retry button so users can attempt to fetch a tool more than once, if they can't get it the first time. File links go directly to the file and launches it. Addition of text tool in sketchpad. Enhancements to message history - views to display different message types (inbox, sent, all) and the option to compose a new message. Unread support added to Notepad. Mark all tools for a shared space read/unread from "my spaces".
Microsoft Integration: Files tool for MS Office 1.2a. Supports integrated viewing of Word, Powerpoint, and Excel files. Users can scroll through documents together, providing ability for one member to lead others through a document, presentation or spreadsheet. Users can highlight words or sections in Word documents and those highlights are visible to all members. Supports co-editing of Word, Powerpoint, and Excel files. Only one user can edit a document at a time. Once edits are saved, all users will see changes dynamically. By opening a Groove lite chat window along with any document, users can discuss modifications. Windows XP 1.2: Theme integration with Groove Redmond Gray skin. MS Messenger 1.2: If a user has Messenger installed, the MSN contact list will be added to the Groove contact selector dialog box, making it easy for users to invite Messenger users to Groove shared spaces. Users will receive the invite via email.
Identity Enhancements: Better assurance of identity. If a user receives an instant message or invitation from someone who has the same contact URL in their contacts list, Groove will compare the digital fingerprints of the two contacts. If they do not match, Groove will discard the instant message or invitation and display an error message to the user warning the user that the message or invitation may be coming from someone they do not know. If a user receives an instant message or invitation from someone who has the same name as someone currently in their in their contacts list, then Groove compares the URLs of the two contacts. If the URLs are different, then Groove indicates there is a conflict by telling the user that there is already a "Joe Blow" in their contacts list and then gives the user a chance to create an alias for the second "Joe Blow".
Advanced network settings by identity - display more information (relay/presence servers, device URL, identity URL, and identity's account URL) for each identity.
Wizard for adding Managed Identities - when double clicking on a managed identity received in email, the user will be walked through a simple wizard making it easy to inject the identity into a new or existing account.
Better indication of which identity is the default identity.
Invitations and Upgrades: Support for native invite by email - when inviting people to shared spaces, users can enter in an email address directly in the Groove address dialog box and Groove will send the invitation directly from Groove as opposed to launching the users mail client. Enhanced component download user interface - users will see more information about the status of components downloading when either adding new components or upgrading. Beginning with 1.2, users will be notified when they are being automatically upgraded and will have the option to accept or decline.
