The Insight Project: Serverless Synchronization of Data for Personal Information Management Software
Open Access
- Author:
- Remmel, Ian
- Graduate Program:
- Information Sciences and Technology
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- June 17, 2010
- Committee Members:
- Mary Beth Rosson, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Mary Beth Rosson, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- data synchronization
personal information management - Abstract:
- With end-users increasingly using multiple devices to access their personal information, new solutions are required to make their information accessible. Cloud-based solutions like Gmail and its accompanying applications make data accessible to everyone but few of these provide the complete set of information management capabilities provided by software like Microsoft Exchange. Microsoft Exchange and similar commercial systems are prohibitively complex for the average user and for small businesses unable to afford a dedicated IT person. Further, cloud-based solutions have a number of privacy, security, and ownership issues that users should consider before releasing their personal information to the world. The Insight Project addresses these issues by demonstrating that personal information can be shared among computers without a central server (or cloud-based solution) and that select personal information can be shared with other users at whatever granularity is desired. Moreover, the Project will demonstrate that this result can be achieved without use of costly proprietary software and that it requires minimal technical expertise of end-users. The first portion of this work examines the issues surrounding the synchronization and distribution personal information, both on the desktop and in the cloud. Following this introductory material, I detail how personal information can be synchronized and distributed without the need of servers or cloud based services. Finally, I present several steps that will need to be taken in order to prepare The Insight Project for public use.