Scott Kirsner: “Microsoft's investment makes it nearly impossible for another company to come along and purchase Beverly-based Groove, and keeping Gates & Co. happy could become a full-time job.
'The deal makes Ray a contract programmer to Microsoft,' says someone who knows Ozzie. 'Microsoft gets to take 80 percent of what he's got and put it in their operating system, and Ray can try and sell the 20 percent that's left over.'
I'm watching for two indicators that Groove isn't going to get sucked into the Black Hole of Redmond: evidence that Groove's software will work with non-Microsoft instant messengers, media players, and operating systems, and more announcements that high-profile corporate customers have adopted (and are paying for) Groove's software.” [Scripting News]