libsynthesis SyncML data synchronization engine released

Synthesis AG contributes SyncML Data Synchronisation Engine as Open
Source Community for Mobile Linux Devices

Zurich, Switzerland, May 13th, 2009

Synthesis AG today announced contribution of its Synthesis SyncML Client
library (libsynthesis) source code for the Linux platform to the open
source community. With this, the Synthesis SyncML Engine, which has
earned an excellent reputation as the core of Synthesis' high quality
SyncML clients for personal data synchronisation on various commercial
platforms, becomes available for open source Linux applications.
libsynthesis has already become a key component for data synchronization
in the Moblin Project. Synthesis licenses libsynthesis under LGPL v2 and
v3.

Synthesis will continue to build their commercial SyncML products,
including client products for Windows Mobile, PalmOS as well as the
SyncML enabled Todo+Cal task and calendar application for the iPhone
based on the SyncML client library.
Making this library open source strengthens the foundation of these
commercial products and likewise provides a solid base for new products
for the various Linux platforms, extending the reach for SyncML in
general.
While the open source community can now build on Synthesis' know-how and
mature code created in almost a decade of focused work on SyncML
solutions, Synthesis profits from a broadened foundation for it's
technology, wider audience, more interoperability testing and
contributions to the code base from the open source community. To
prevent separation of open source and commercial code trees, Synthesis
asks contributors to sign the Synthesis Contributor Agreement (SCA),
which is an exact copy of the Sun Contributor Agreement, a popular
agreement which does not restrict the rights of the contributor.

"The Moblin project is all about interoperability and living on the
Internet", said Imad Sousou, director Open Source Technology Center,
Intel's Software and Services Group. "By making their SyncML
implementation open source, Synthesis has made key contributions to
advancing the Moblin project."

The work on synchronisation for Moblin coincided ideally with Synthesis'
existing plans for open sourcing the SyncML client engine. libsynthesis
becomes available today as an open source building block for reliable
SyncML based synchronizations and is used by SyncEvolution v0.9, the
open source synchronisation tool that was integrated into Moblin.
SyncEvolution provides PIM synchronisation for the GNOME Evolution email
and calendaring application and together with libsynthesis is a step
towards complete desktop and cloud based SyncML synchronisation for the
Moblin platform.

Synthesis believes that strong support for the open, vendor independent
synchronisation standard SyncML (OMA DS) is a very important cornerstone
of truly versatile mobile computing and collaboration. Real cloud
computing becomes reality when mobile devices can synchronize data not
only within vendor specific little "clouds", but are truly interoperable
across vendors. Mostly unnoticed by the public, SyncML today already
provides the foundation, as it is one of the most widely deployed
synchronisation technologies built into a large part of today's mobile
phones.

Synthesis' mission is to advance truly interoperable solutions based on
SyncML into new areas. SyncML is not limited to the data it synchronizes
today. Synthesis is convinced that their contribution of a mature
implementation of the complex SyncML DS standard in form of a easily
embeddable library will help to bring SyncML into many more innovative
applications and usage scenarios beyond the ones where it has
established already in the past 9 years.

About libsynthesis:
libsynthesis is a complete implementation of the SyncML DS standard,
including advanced functionality like filtering, suspend&resume,
flexible data formats and much more. Unlike other SyncML libraries, it
not only abstracts the SyncML protocol, but also provides converters for
all data formats used in SyncML and allows direct mapping to database
tables such as SQLite3. libsynthesis also provides stable binary APIs
for database interface plugins as well as front end integration, which
allows building highly modular applications. The libsynthesis project is
hosted on www.synthesis.ch/indefero/index.php/p/libsynthesis. Releases
will also become available as part of Moblin from moblin.org/downloads.

About Synthesis:
Synthesis AG is a small Swiss based, self owned software development
company founded 1996, which has focused on creating high quality SyncML
solutions since the SyncML standard came into existence in 2000.
Synthesis' SyncML products have become known world wide as a reliable
choice for integrating Windows Mobile, PalmOS and now iPhone mobile
devices into SyncML based collaboration systems, as well as a versatile
building blocks for creating SyncML enabled server products and
services.
For more information, please visit www.synthesis.ch.

About Moblin:
Moblin is an optimized Open Source Linux software stack and technology
framework that delivers visually rich Internet and media experiences on
Intel® Atom Processor-based devices including MIDs, netbooks/nettops,
in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), and embedded systems. Moblin is hosted at
www.moblin.org, and is an open source project where key Moblin
technologies are incubated and enhanced by the Linux open source
community. Moblin based operating system products are created and
distributed by Linux Operating System Vendors (OSV).
For more information, please visit moblin.org.

About SyncML/OMA DS:
The SyncML initiative was founded in 2000 to develop a universal
standard for data synchronization by IBM, Lotus, Motorola, Nokia, Palm,
Psion and Starfish Software. In 2002, the SyncML initiative was was
consolidated with the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and is since maintained
by OMA under the official name OMA DS (data sync).
For more information, please visit
www.openmobilealliance.org/Technical/DS.aspx