Does a program like this exist? Sort of like gdrive or .mac? I imagine its trivial to implement using unison, but maybe a simple gui-ified process would be neat for novice ubuntu users?
 Edit: It appears conduit might be going in the direction I am talking about
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#1 by John Stowers on January 9, 2007 - 5:06 am
Hey,
I am the developer of Conduit [1] an application for just this task. I am approaching a v0.3.0 release which will feature;
* 2 way contact sync – gmail to evolution
* 2 way file and folder sync to any gnomevfs compatible destination
* Fspot to Flickr sync
* Tomboy notes to backpackit.com 2 way sync
* Tomboy sync with iPod notes
* Evolution to ipod contact sync
Conduit also allows you to construct arbitary sync pathways, like sync your Tomboy notes to a direectory on your webserver, or to you Gmail emails, conduit takes care of the conversion and everything.
Anyway, I intend to publicise the release of 0.3.0 A LOT, I encourage any interested people to check out http://www.conduit-project.org and let me know your comments.
The app is written in python and developers (and ubuntu packagers) are very welcome. The site has full API documentation
Thanks
John
[1] http://www.conduit-project.org
Trackback: Johns Blog
#2 by John Stowers on January 9, 2007 - 5:14 am
I should also add that Conduit is easily extendale (in the same style as deskbar – drop a .py file in ~/.conduit) to support new online and offline sources of data.
For example, adding support for your favourite web service can be done in a short period of time, and once added to conduit the new source will be available to be synchronized with any existing datasource.
Conduit also features a DBus interface to allow other desktop apps to take advantage of its export and synchronization capability
(sorry about the sales pitch)
#3 by Iandefor on January 9, 2007 - 5:17 am
It sounds like a really great idea. I’d be all for it, except for one little nagging question: which poor sap would get to host an online synchronization service like this? Canonical’s servers seem stretched pretty thin at times; synchronizing several thousand rhythmbox libraries might be more than their servers could take.
Or perhaps I misinterpret you?
#4 by mindwarp on January 9, 2007 - 6:40 am
I would assume any solution to my question would be open source, and as such:
1) A user could host this through a lan
2) A user could buy a webhosting account that will support the software
3) Specialized commercial service providers may offer the service (we do have 8 million installs)
4) ubuntu.com could be used, but obviously not for media etc
#5 by matallo on January 9, 2007 - 2:46 pm
I think conduit is a promising project! I encourage you to test it!
#6 by Anthony Yarusso on January 10, 2007 - 4:21 am
Add syncing calendars from various sources as well perhaps?