GROUPER... FORMER AOL/SPINNER.COM EXECS START A PRIVATE P2P SERVICE

Hmm... reminds me of grouper in Hong Kong. One of the best fish you will ever have and a definite must-do if you visit Hong Kong. Yum... you have to take the sauce and put it over your rice and eat it too.

Anyways, here's the article on Grouper:

Is there a place in the enterprise for a legal file-sharing application using peer-to-peer technology?

Three former America Online Inc. executives with a history of entrepreneurial success believe they have the answer with Grouper, an encrypted P2P network that integrates file sharing, instant messaging and multimedia streaming.

Josh Felser, who hit pay dirt with the $320 million sale of Spinner.com to AOL in 1999, is one of the key people behind the Mill Valley, Calif.-based Grouper, the company he created with former AOL colleagues Dave Samuel and Mike Sitrin.

"Our technology turns the computer into a private server that allows you to share files securely in a small, invite-only group," Felser said in an interview with eWEEK.com. Each group becomes an encrypted peer-to-peer network that allows one-click access to browse and download files.

Currently in beta, Grouper limits private networks to 30 members. While file sharing is a key feature in the application, there is no uploading/downloading of music, Felser explained, citing the legal issues associated with sharing of copyrighted works. (full article)