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To: Harold S. Kirby who wrote (31721)	6/20/1999 4:49:00 PM
From: Captain Jack	Respond to of 45548

- Palm Pilot is being thought about by start-up services too... SAN FRANCISCO, June 20 (Reuters) - FusionOne, a 20-person start-up, will debut a free service on Monday that will enable computer users to update information in many of their computing devices, from PCs to Palm Pilots and eventually other devices. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company plans to announce its service at a conference called the Digital Living Room, sponsored by Upside Media Inc. and analyst David Coursey. Synchronization technology itself is not new. Currently, devices such as 3Com Corp.'s Palm Pilot and others use synchronization to update data from one device to another, such as the data in an address book or a calendar application. Sun Microsystems Inc., for example, also offers software for corporate users that can duplicate a users' desktop, via a Web browser while on the road with its i-Planet software. Pricing starts at about $10,000. FusionOne says it can update more than just a calendar or an address book, it can update entire documents, Internet browser favorites, bookmarks and other information, across myriad devices. The updates are made over the Internet and the devices do not need to have direct contact with each other. "It is for managing the digital assets," said Rick Onyon, co-founder, president and chief executive of FusionOne. "You have more and more devices coming online all the time." The customer first signs onto the service over the Internet, and selects all the devices and applications to update. The first version of the service will work with personal computers running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 95, 98, and NT, Internet Explorer, 3Com's Palm III, V and VII, and any other devices running any Internet browser. The Internet Sync service converts the information or the files to be synchronized into a so-called FusionPak, which is automatically forwarded to a neutral storage space on the Internet, in a fully-encrypted form, using RSA Data Security's data scrambling software. The data or updates are then broadcast to other devices the moment they are connected to the Internet. If a customer is not using one of his or her own computer devices, but is at another location where an Internet browser is available, a personal portal at eDock.com can be used. FusionOne will offer its service, called InternetSynch for free, beginning in August, with a slew of partners, ranging from Internet service providers, wireless service providers, telecommunications companies and Internet portal sites. The company also plans to offer a premium service for $39.95 a year, with no advertising. The synchronization will be automatic in the premium service, whereas in the free service, a user is prompted to sync the systems. Onyon said the company plans to make money by selling advertising on its Web site. ((Therese Poletti, SF Bureau, 415/677-2542))