Back in August, Microsoft Corporation redesigned its Xbox Music service into a solid music app that offered a few new features to boot. The service was subsequently renamed to Groove – a title that held a bit more vibrancy. However, there already existed a music app in the Windows Store with a very similar title. It was learned earlier this week that Microsoft has adopted this application as its own.
‘Groove: Smart Music Player’ was developed and owned by Zikera, a Canadian start-up. The music app constructs and offers ideally unique playlists by learning its user’s listening habits. It was also downloadable on Apple Inc.’s iOS.
Microsoft nabs Groove iOS app
On Tuesday this week, Zikera announced that Microsoft had bought its Groove music service. Details about the deal’s costs and when it took place were not disclosed. Zikera did confirm that the app is no longer available for download. The acquisition also means that those who already have the music tool installed no longer get updates. It is said that all Groove property and rights were assigned to Microsoft.
“Microsoft acquired everything from Groove,” said Zikera CEO, Tri Nguyen. In a post published on Medium, the chief exec and his team thanked users for their support of the app.
“Our journey started back in the days of the iPod. While it was a thing of beauty, we still struggled to choose what to play from our beloved music collection. From that instant, we envisioned a music player so intelligent that learns our tastes and habits in order to play the right music at the right time. Then Grove was born, and you made it a success. We are incredibly proud to have delighted you with a rich mobile experience and countless hours of music bliss through the tens of millions of personalized playlists we generated.
The Canadian start-up was founded in 2009. Based in Montreal, Zikera has seen around 1.5 million users download Groove. The app’s buyout was confirmed in an email to VentureBeat.
“Microsoft acquired Zikera’s Groove music app.” a spokesperson wrote. “We have nothing more to share.”
More details on Windows 10 updates
As for what Microsoft Corporation has now decided to reveal, the software giant plans to give it users a little more insight into the details of it’s Windows 10 updates. Microsoft’s flagship OS has been widely criticized for withholding the content of its patches since its launch mid-last year. Now in a move that offers a little more transparency, the Redmond tech entity has launched a website that lists a few details about its updates.
“Today we are rolling out the new Windows 10 update history site, a hub for the release notes that will accompany each update and serve as a historical record of prior release notes,” the company said. “After listening to feedback regarding the disclosure for Windows 10 updates, we decided to implement a new system for communicating updates to the operating system.”
Though not much is offered on the site either. The patch listings placed by Microsoft mostly range from vague to slightly concerning. Users interested in learning a bit more about their updates will have to settle for “Fixed issues with Internet Explorer 11…” and “Improved installation time of updates.”
In any sense, a little transparency is better than none at all. For Microsoft, it is perhaps the first step in the right direction.
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