Method and apparatus of synchronizing two computer systems
Contents
1. 9 The system as claimed in claim 8 the system further comprising a means for configuring the first synchronization transport module by executing the first synchronization transport module 10 The system as claimed in claim 8 the system further comprising a means for configuring the first synchronization transport by modifying configuration parameters associated with the first synchronization transport module UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO 6 205 448 BI Page I of I DATED March 20 2001 INVENTOR S Kruglikov et al It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below Title page item 54 Title METHOD AND APPARATUS OF SYNCHRONIZING TWO COMPUTER SYSTEMS SUPPORTING MULTIPLE SYNCHRONIZATION TECHNIQUES BY USING SYNCHRONIZATION TRANSPORT MODULES Signed and Sealed this Thirtieth Day of October 2001 Mikoba P tdi NICHOLAS P GODICI Attesting Officer Acting Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office2. 5 701 423 12 1997 Crozier 345 335 5 283 887 2 1994 Zachery 395 500 5 710 922 1 1998 Alley et al 707 201 5 301 313 4 1994 Terada et al 395 600 5 900 875 5 1999 Haitani et al 345 349 5 315 709 5 1994 Alston Jr et al 395 600 5 974 238 10 1999 Chase Jr 709 248 5 327 555 7 1994 Anderson 395 600 6 006 274 12 1999 Hawkins et al 709 248 5 333 252 7 1994 Brewer III et al 395 148 5 339 392 8 1994 Risberg et al sss 395 161 cited by examiner U S Patent Mar 20 2001 Sheet 1 of 11 US 6 205 448 B1 OOo nog Qnm Dnm OOo Dog DD Dmm nog OOo LOG Dan nag IGG e D Og E LL 140 Communication 115 U S Patent Mar 20 2001 Sheet 2 of 11 US 6 205 448 B1 Figure 2 210 Processor dd 215 Register 1 247 Register 2 219 Register 3 Battery Backed Memory Flat Panel Display Volatile Memory 220 240 U S Patent Mar 20 2001 Sheet 3 of 11 US 6 205 448 B1 Figure 3 Combine register values together Hash memory contents together Ke 350 U S Patent Mar 20 2001 Sheet 4 of 11 US 6 205 448 B1 Figure 4 Open Desktop A Companion Program 410 Select Users menu 420 Select Profile item 430 Create a new profile and name the new N 440 profile 450 U S Patent Mar 20 2001 Sheet 5 of 11 US 6 205 448 B1 Figure 5a Select a profile
3. New Delete Rename Users Help U S Patent Mar 20 2001 Sheet 6 of 11 US 6 205 448 B1 Figure 5b New Profile Enter a new profile name Po U S Patent Download the profile into the portable computer without assigning an identifier to the portable computer Mar 20 2001 Sheet 7 of 11 US 6 205 448 BI Figure 6 Insert new portable computer in the cradle and initiate 610 a synchronization Select profiles from teh new user dialog 620 Select a profile to download into the 630 portable computer 640 U S Patent Mar 20 2001 Sheet 8 of 11 US 6 205 448 B1 Custom Conduit Date Book Address Book To Do List Memo Pad Mail Expense Install System Figure 7 Synchronize the files Synchronize the files Synchronize the files Synchronize the files Default Synchronize the files Synchronize the files Help Enabled Pilot overwrites Desktop Change U S Patent Mar 20 2001 Sheet 9 of 11 US 6 205 448 B1 Figure 8 HotSync Action for To Do List LI O Synchronize the fil gt ynenronize tne flies L1 to O Desktop overwrites Pilot Li gt B O Pilot overwrites Desktop LJ Set As Default E Li a O Do Nothing U S Patent Mar 20 2001 Sheet 10 of 11 US 6 205 448 B1 Figure 9 Conduit Setup Select the conduits to run during Modem HotSync for Pilot Desktop 2 0 only Cancel Address Calc Comm Test 910 Date Bo
4. a cellular phone or a handheld personal information manager In FIG 1 both the handheld computer system 110 and the personal computer system 150 are running calendar pro gram With a synchronization system the user can alter the data on both the calendar program 115 and on the handheld computer system 110 or the data on the desktop personal computer system calendar program 155 on the personal computer system 150 Then at some later point the user should be able to reconcile the two different calendar data bases by coupling the two computer system together using communication link 140 and requesting a synchronization The synchronization process combines the data from the modified personal computer calendar 155 and the data from the modified hand held calendar 115 into a single reconciled calendar The reconciled calendar is then placed into both the handheld computer system 110 and the personal com puter system 150 Details on implementing a basic synchronization system are set forth in the patents Method And Apparatus for Synchronizing Information On Two Different Computer Systems filed Oct 18 1995 with Ser No 08 544 927 now US Pat No 5 727 202 Extendable Method And Apparatus For Synchronizing Multiple Files On Two Different Com puter Systems filed Oct 13 1995 with Ser No 08 542 055 now U S Pat No 5 884 323 and Method And Apparatus for Synchronizing A Portable Computer System With a Desktop Computer Syste
5. creators A service is defined as a set of configuration parameters need to establish a connection with a particular synchronization transport adaptation layer module The ser vice creator is used to create a set of configuration param eters for a synchronization transport adaptation layer mod ule For example a service for a network synchronization transport module would include the hostname and IP address of the desktop personal computer to synchronize with The service could be created by a preferences program that is used to configure several different portable computer param eters After learning which applications may create services for each synchronization transport adaptation layer module the service creators the synchronization program queries all the service creators to obtain a list of the available services After obtaining a list of all the available services for all of the available synchronization transport adaptation layer modules the synchronization program displays a list of the available synchronization transport adaptation layer mod ules and their respective services The user can then select which synchronization transport adaptation layer module and service to use when a synchronization is to be per formed Referring to FIG 10 a first synchronization transport adaptation layer module is a cradle transport The cradle transport handles synchronization directly between a serial port on the portable computer syst
6. dialog FIG 8 illustrates one possible conduit change dialog box The change dialog box allows the conduit to behave in four different ways synchronization desktop overwrite portable overwrite and inactive The synchronization setting is the default method of operation wherein the corresponding databases on both the desktop and portable are reconciled The desktop overwrite setting allows the contents of the desktop personal computer database for the that particular conduit to overwrite the portable computer s database That setting would be useful if all updates to that particular database are performed on the desktop personal computer The portable computer overwrite setting is the opposite wherein the contents of the portable computer system over writes the desktop personal computer Finally the inactive setting prevents that particular conduit from executing This is useful when the user is not using the associate application By not performing executing a conduit the synchronization time will be reduced and memory space will be saved Referring to FIG 8 it should be noted that there is a set as default check box If the a set as default check box is selected when modifying a conduit s behavior then the conduit s behavior will be modified for every future syn chronization However if the a set as default check box is not selected then the modification to the conduit s behavior will only affect the next syn
7. graphical user interface dialog box for modifying conduits FIG 8 illustrates a diagram of a graphical user interface dialog box for setting conduit behavior FIG 9 illustrates a diagram of a screen display for setting conduit behavior on a portable computer system FIG 10 illustrates the software architecture of a portable computer system with an expandable synchronization trans port adaptation layer 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A method and apparatus for synchronizing two different computer systems is disclosed In the following description for purposes of explanation specific nomenclature is set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention However it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in order to practice the present invention For example the present invention has been described with reference to synchroni zation between a portable computer system and a desktop personal computer system However the same techniques can easily be applied to other types of computer devices General Synchronization System Architecture FIG 1 illustrates a conceptual diagram of computer synchronization system between a portable system 110 and a personal computer system 150 The portable computer system 110 may be any type of small microprocessor based computer system such as
8. A portable computer comprising a set of installed synchronization transport modules each synchronization transport module corresponding to a different external communication method at least a first service creator application to create a set of services each service corresponding to a set of con figuration parameters for a corresponding installed syn chronization transport module a user interface for receiving a selection of a synchroni zation transport module and a service and a synchronization application to automatically detect the set of installed synchronization transport modules and to synchronize the portable computer using the selected synchronization transport module and the selected ser vice 8 A system for synchronizing a first computer system with a second computer system the system comprising a means in the first computer system for storing a first synchronization transport module and a second syn chronization transport module a means in the first computer system for automatically recognizing the first synchronization transport module and the second synchronization transport module a means for receiving a selection of an active synchroni zation transport module from the first synchronization transport module and the second synchronization trans port module and a means for synchronizing the first computer system with the second computer system using the active synchro nization transport module
9. The foregoing has described methods for synchronizing a portable computer system with a desktop computer system It is contemplated that changes and modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art to the materials and arrangements of elements of the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention We claim 1 Amethod of synchronizing a first computer system with a second computer system said method comprising installing a first synchronization transport module to said first computer system installing a second synchronization transport module to said first computer system executing a synchronization application on said first com puter system said synchronization application auto matically recognizing said first synchronization trans port module and said second synchronization transport module US 6 205 448 B1 9 receiving a selection of an active synchronization trans port module from at least said first synchronization transport module and said second synchronization transport module and synchronizing said first computer system with said second computer system using said active synchronization transport module 2 The method as claimed in claim 1 said method further comprising configuring said first synchronization transport module by executing said first synchronization transport module 3 The method as claimed in claim 1 said method further comprising configuring said first sy
10. US006205448B1 a United States Patent ao Patent No US 6 205 448 B1 Kruglikov et al 45 Date of Patent Mar 20 2001 54 METHOD AND APPARATUS OF User Manual for PC Link for the B O S S and the PC Link SYNCHRONIZING TWO COMPUTER for the B O S S Traveling Software Inc 1989 SYSTEMS SUPPORTING MULTIPLE User Manual for Connectivity Pack for the HP 95LX SYNCHRONIZATION TECHNIQUES Hewlett Packard Company 1991 Organizer Link II Operation Manual Sharp Electronics 75 Inventors Vitaly Kruglikov Mountain View Corporation No Date Hu S D MN el Open Network Computing Technical Overview Sun Technical R t Sun Mi t Inc pp 1 32 1987 Saratoga Ron Marianetti Morgan Van SPD RE 1d e S AG Zahn et al Network Computing Architecture pp 1 11 Hun MeKendrick Menlo Fark 19 31 87 115 117 133 187 199 201 209 1990 Art Lamb Tiburon all of CA US Li 1990 IntelliLink Brochure 1990 73 Assignee 3Com Corporation Santa Clara CA Logical Connectivity Applications Requirements Archi US tecture and Research Agenda Stuart Madnick amp Y Rich ard Wang MIT System Sciences 1991 Hawaii Int l vol 1 Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this IEEE Jun 1991 patent is extended or adjusted under 35 Automatically Synchronized Objects Research Disclo U S C 154 b by 0 days sure 29261 p 614 Aug 1988 No copy available FRx extends reporting power of Platinum Ser
11. ch dynamic dialog boxes are designed to auto matically dismiss themselves if there is no response within a predetermined time period To dismiss itself a dynamic dialog box sets a timer that will execute a callback routine in the dialog box If a dialog box is not dismissed by a user at the desktop personal computer then the timer will even tually pop and the callback routine will dismiss the dialog box If the dialog box is dismissed by a user then the timer that was set will be killed Synchronization Transport Adaptation Layer Different users of portable computer systems synchronize their portable computers with personal computers in differ ent ways For example one user may always synchronize their portable computer with their desktop personal com puter using a cradle coupled to the desktop personal com puter Another user may always be travelling and synchro nizes with his desktop personal computer using a modem or a direct connection through a computer network Yet another user may wish to synchronize using an infrared port that are US 6 205 448 B1 7 available on both the portable computer system and the desktop personal computer In the future wireless packet radio networks may become pervasive allowing a new method of remote synchronization to become available To accommodate all these different synchronization methods the present invention introduces a synchronization transport adaptation layer The synchronization t
12. chronization After the first synchronization the conduit will revert back to the default synchronize setting This feature is useful if a user wishes to do a one time load of a fresh database but then synchro nize the two databases in every future synchronization As set forth in the patent Method And Apparatus for Synchronizing A Portable Computer System With a Desktop 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 Computer System filed Jan 30 1997 with Ser No 08 792 166 now U S Pat No 5 006 274 the portable computer system can be synchronized with a desktop personal com puter system across a telephone line This can be performed by directly connecting to the desktop personal computer with a modem or connecting to the desktop computer through a LAN connection made with a modem based PPP connection In such a situation the speed of the synchroni zation will be limited by the modem communication speed To minimize the synchronization time the present invention also provides a method of altering the synchronization behavior when the synchronization is being performed across a modem link This feature is configured on the portable computer system since the remote desktop personal computer is not accessible FIG 9 illustrates a modem synchronization configuration screen that may be displayed on a portable computer system The configuration screen of FIG 9 allows the user to select which con
13. duits will be executed during a modem based synchronization When a remote synchronization begins the remote desktop personal computer will query the portable computer system as to which Thus the user can shorten time needed to perform a synchronization by only selecting the conduits that synchronized the desired information Remote Dialog Box Dismissing As described in the previous section a portable computer can be remotely synchronized with a desktop personal computer system using a modem Alternatively a portable computer may also remotely synchronize with a desktop personal computer system across a LAN using network protocols In both situations the user is physically far from the desktop personal computer In the patent Extendable Method And Apparatus For Synchronizing Multiple Files On Two Different Computer Systems filed Oct 13 1995 with Ser No 08 542 055 now U S Pat No 5 884 323 the main synchronization control program resides on the desktop personal computer If a problem occurs during the synchronization the synchroni zation control program will normally display a dialog box on the desktop personal computer However if the portable computer user is synchronizing from a remote location the user will not be able to respond to dialog boxes displayed on the remote personal computer system To prevent a deadlock due to dialog boxes that are not acted upon the present invention introduces dynamic dialog boxes Su
14. em and a serial port on the desktop computer system The second synchronization transport is a network syn chronization transport The network synchronization trans port handles synchronization directly between the portable computer system and a desktop computer system using 10 15 20 30 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 TCPAP networking The network synchronization use a TCP IP on a host personal computer system to connect with a target desktop personal computer connected across a computer network Alternatively the network synchroniza tion may use a TCP IP and PPP stack on the portable computer such that a modem connected to the serial port of the portable computer system establishes a PPP link with TCP IP network coupled to the target desktop computer system Specific information on network synchronization can be found in the U S patent application Method And Apparatus for Synchronizing A Portable Computer System With a Desktop Computer System filed Jan 30 1997 with Ser No 08 792 166 now U S Pat No 6 006 274 which is hereby incorporated by reference If an infrared device is coupled to the serial port of the portable computer system then the synchronization applica tion can use the infrared synchronization transport module The infrared synchronization transport module implements the necessary IrDA standards needed to communicate with a personal computer having an IrDA compliant infrared port Synchroni
15. ies IBM 21 Appl No 09 016 076 Destop Software s line of accounting software Doug 22 Filed Jan 30 1998 Dayton PC Week v 8 No 5 p 29 2 Feb 1991 30 CIA Int L7 diiseni uana GO6F 17 30 Primary Examiner Hosain T Alam 52 U S O acces 707 200 707 202 707 203 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich amp 709 248 Rosati 58 Field of Search 707 8 200 205 57 ABSTRACT 709 101 105 205 248 A method and system of synchronizing two computer sys 56 References Cited tems supporting multiple synchronization techniques is U S PATENT DOCUMENTS described In one example system a portable computer system is loaded with synchronization transport modules 4 432 057 2 1984 Daniell et al 364 300 An application on the portable computer system is executed 4 807 182 2 1989 Queen 364 900 causing the application to automatically recognize the syn 4 866 611 9 1989 Cree et al 364 300 chronization transport modules The portable computer sys 4 875 159 10 1989 Cary et al 364 200 tem receives a selection corresponding to one of the two 4 956 809 9 1990 George et al 364900 synchronization transport modules The selection could be 5 065 360 11 1991 Kelly eer 395 800 from a user and would indicate that the user prefers to List continued on next page synchronize with the second computer system using a par ticular method of external com
16. ile database Thus if the system administrator has a list of the company s customers this customer database can be imported into the profile for sales people After a profile has been created the profile can be used to initialize new portable computer systems before the portable computer systems are distributed to end users FIG 6 illustrates a flow diagram that describes how new portable computers are initialized First the system administrator places the new portable computer system in a synchroniza tion cradle connected to the personal computer storing the profile and requests a synchronization Since the portable computer system has not been used a new user dialog box will request a name for the new portable computer system Instead of entering a new name the system administrator selects a profiles button that brings up a profile dialog box The system administrator then selects the profile to down load into the portable computer The personal computer then downloads all the information associated with the profile US 6 205 448 B1 5 into the portable computer However no name is assigned to the portable computer system In one embodiment the profile information may include specific configuration infor mation such as network configuration and dial up numbers as well as the set of preloaded databases such as the company s telephone directory The preconfigured portable computer system can then be give to a user I
17. m filed Jan 30 1997 with Ser No 08 792 166 now U S Pat No 6 006 274 which are hereby incorporated by reference Random Number Generation To simplify the synchronization process each record on both the personal computer system and the portable com puter system has an identification number Corresponding records on the personal computer system and the portable computer system will have matching identification numbers Thus to quickly locate corresponding records during a synchronization the synchronization program only needs to find records having matching identification numbers Referring to the synchronization system of FIG 1 it is apparent that in the time between synchronizations new records may be created on both the personal computer system and the portable computer system To prevent an incorrect correlation new unique record identifiers must be assigned to new records created on either system To prevent US 6 205 448 B1 3 the same record identifier from being created on both the personal computer system and the portable computer system a series of random numbers are needed for both systems Methods of generating a series of random numbers exist however an initial random number seed is required Thus a robust random number seed is needed for both the portable and desktop computer systems There are many known methods of generating random number seeds on personal computers such as counting the time that passe
18. munication After the OTHER PUBLICATIONS selection the portable computer system synchronizes with Cobb et al Paradox 3 5 Handbook 3rd Edition Bantam the other computer system using the selected method of 1991 pp 803 816 external communication Alfieri The Best Book of WordPerfect Version 5 0 Hayden Books 1988 pp 153 165 and 429 435 10 Claims 11 Drawing Sheets Smo Seona on 1010 1020 j ye Synchronization Transport Cradle Transport Layer 1041 Adaptation Layer x Serial Link Driver Serial Port 1070 1000 US 6 205 448 B1 Page 2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 339 434 8 1994 ROSIS ua Litt 395 700 5 355 476 10 1994 Fukumura lt s s e 395 600 5 142 619 8 1992 Webster III sss 395 157 5 392 390 2 1995 Crozier sss 395 161 5 187 787 2 1993 Skeen et al 395 600 5 434 994 7 1995 Shaheen et al 395 500 5 210 868 5 1993 Shimada et al 395 600 5 475 833 12 1995 Dauerer et al ve 395 600 5 237 078 8 1993 Kuechler et al 395 600 5 519 606 5 1996 Frid Nielsen et al so 364 401 5 251 291 10 1993 Malcolm 395 146 5 640 566 6 1997 Victor et al 395 701 5 261 045 11 1993 Scully et al 395 161 5 666 553 9 1997 Crozier 395 803 5 261 004 11 1993 Everson et al 395 600 5 684 990 11 1997 Boothby 395 619 5 272 628 12 1993 Koss 364 419 19
19. nchronization transport module by executing a preferences program that modifies configu ration parameters associated with said first synchroni zation transport module 4 The method as claimed in claim 1 said method further comprising prior to the synchronizing installing a third synchronization transport module to said first computer system executing said synchronization application on said first computer system said synchronization application automatically recognizing said first synchronization transport module said second synchronization trans port module and said third synchronization transport module receiving a second selection of said active synchroniza tion transport module from at least said first synchro nization transport module said second synchronization transport module and said third synchronization trans port module 5 The method as claimed in claim 4 wherein said first computer system includes a portable computer system wherein said second computer system includes a desktop computer system and where said first second and third synchronization transport modules correspond to a cradle communications method a network communications method and a modem communications method respec tively 6 The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first computer system includes a portable computer system and wherein said second computer system includes a desktop computer system 10 25 30 40 10 7
20. ok HotSync Mail Memo Pad U S Patent Mar 20 2001 Sheet 11 of 11 US 6 205 448 B1 Figure 10 Synchronization Application 1010 Synchronization Cradle Network Modem Infrared Transport Transport Sync Sync Sync Adaptation Layer Transport Transport Transport Layer 1041 1043 B TCP IP and PPP Stack 1050 Serial Link Driver 1060 Serial Port 1070 US 6 205 448 B1 1 METHOD AND APPARATUS OF SYNCHRONIZING TWO COMPUTER SYSTEMS SUPPORTING MULTIPLE SYNCHRONIZATION TECHNIQUES FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of portable computer systems In particular the present invention dis closes improved methods for synchronization of two differ ent computer systems BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Portable computer systems have become valuable infor mation appliances that provide important information when ever and wherever the user needs it It has become apparent that one of the most important features of portable computer systems is the ability to share data with larger desktop personal computers Several earlier patents such as Method And Apparatus for Synchronizing Information On Two Different Computer Systems filed Oct 18 1995 with Ser No 08 544 927 now U S Pat No 5 727 202 Extendable Method And Apparatus For Synchronizing Multiple Files On Two Different Computer Systems filed Oct 13 1995 with Ser No 08 542 055 now U S Pat No 5 884 323 and Method And Ap
21. paratus for Synchronizing A Portable Com puter System With a Desktop Computer System filed Jan 30 1997 with Ser No 08 792 166 now U S Pat No 6 006 274 have addressed some of the issues involved in the synchronization of two different computer systems As the portable computer systems have been put to use out in the field some drawbacks in the current synchronization procedures have been identified It would therefore be desirable to improve the synchronization methods used with portable computer systems BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The objects features and advantages of the present inven tion will be apparent to one skilled in the art in view of the following detailed description in which FIG 1 illustrates a conceptual diagram of computer synchronization system between a portable system 110 and a personal computer system 150 FIG 2 illustrates a conceptual diagram of a typical computer operating system FIG 3 illustrates a flow diagram describing a method of generating a random number seed FIG 4 illustrates a flow diagram describing a method of creating a portable computer profile FIG 5A illustrates a diagram of a graphical user interface dialog box for modifying profiles FIG 5B illustrates a diagram of a graphical user interface dialog box for creating a new profile FIG 6 illustrates a flow diagram describing how profile is downloaded into a portable computer system FIG 7 illustrates a diagram of a
22. r based value is then logically combined with the contents of a portion of the memory that contains semi random values The result is a random number seed that can be used to generate a series of random 10 15 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 numbers In one embodiment the random number seed is only initialized after a processor reset All subsequent ran dom numbers are created by applying a random number algorithm to the random number seed Synchronization Profiles When a company adopts a particular computer technology for company wide usage system administrators need tools to quickly configure the newly adopted computer technol ogy For example when a new program is adopted for use on companies personal computers system administrator desire the ability to install and configure the new program across the company s local area network LAN The same principal applies to portable computer systems When a company adopts a portable computer system for company wide usage system administrators need to be able to quickly configure such portable computer systems The present invention introduces the concept of a user profile for allowing a number of portable computer systems to be initialized with the same information FIG 4 describes the steps of setting up a user profile Initially the system administrator opens up a desktop com panion program on a personal computer system The admin istrator then
23. ransport adaptation layer provides a single consistent interface between a synchronization pro gram residing on a portable computer system and a plurality of different methods of external communication FIG 10 illustrates the architecture of a portable computer system implementing a synchronization transport adaptation layer Referring to FIG 10 the synchronization application communicates with a DL server Desktop link server that acts as a single unified communication interface for the synchronization application The DL server communicates a plurality of different synchronization transport adaptation layers Each synchronization transport adaptation layer handles communication for a specific type of communica tion means The architecture is designed such that the synchronization transport adaptation layer is expandable Specifically when the Synchronization application is executed the synchroni zation layer examines the creatorID and type of each appli cation installed on the portable computer system to deter mine if the application is a synchronization transport adaptation layer module Thus the synchronization program generates a list of all the synchronization transport adapta tion layer modules The synchronization program then queries each synchro nization transport adaptation layer module to determine which applications can create services for that particular synchronization transport adaptation layer module service
24. s between successive keystrokes However in a pen based portable computer system it is not as easy to generate random numbers The problem is compounded by the fact that the very first action which a user may perform after turning on a portable computer system is to enter a new record to store a recently acquired information phone num ber or a new appointment The present invention proposes a method of generating random numbers in such a portable computer system Refer ring to FIG 2 a block diagram of one possible embodiment of a portable computer system is illustrated Referring to the block diagram of FIG 2 the portable computer system includes a main processor for performing processing instruc tions The processor is coupled to volatile memory system a battery backed memory system and a display through a computer bus When the portable computer is turned off the contents of the battery backed memory is retained for future reference Other implementations may use flash memory to store information when the portable computer system is turned off However the contents of the volatile memory begin to decay once the portable computer system is turned off When the portable computer is turned back on the volatile memory will contain modified version of what volatile memory contained when the battery was turned off Since different memory cells decay at different rates the contents of the volatile memory will be somewhat random If a s
25. selects a users menu where new users may be created Instead of creating a new user the administrator selects a button for profiles to open a profiles dialog FIG SA illustrates one possible embodiment of a profiles dialog box The profiles dialog box allows profiles to be created new renamed and deleted The Users button allows the user to move directly to the dialog box listing all the known users if that is what the user really wanted Referring to FIGS 4 and 5 the user selects the new button to create a new profile This causes a pop up dialog box to request a name for the new profile as illustrated in FIG 5B A name such as salesperson profile is entered and a new empty profile is created with that name A profile is very similar to a user in that it is associated with a set of data files used during synchronization except that profile is not asso ciated with any specific user or portable computer system The system administrator then returns to the main desktop companion program and edits the information associated with the new profile Information from existing users can be copied into the new user profile For example if the system administrator has already entered all the company phone numbers into his own account he can copy the address information from his own address database into a address database associated with the profile Furthermore informa tion can be imported from external sources into the prof
26. t should be noted that several portable computer systems may be ini tialized using the same profile When a user that receives a preconfigured portable com puter system first synchronizes the portable computer sys tem with a personal computer system the new user dialog will appear since no name was associated with the portable computer system Synchronization Control As set forth in the patent Extendable Method And Apparatus For Synchronizing Multiple Files On Two Dif ferent Computer Systems filed Oct 13 1995 with Ser No 08 542 055 now U S Pat No 5 884 323 a synchronization system is can be designed wherein different applications or databases are synchronized using individually tailor syn chronization conduits However it has been determined that not all the installed conduits should be handled in the exact same manner A revised synchronization system has been proposed wherein each conduit may be treated differently Specifically a user may adjust the conduit execution to suit his individual needs To adjust the conduit execution the user opens a custom synchronization control dialog box as illustrated in FIG 7 The custom synchronization control dialog allows a user to change the synchronization control of an individual conduit or to restore default synchronization settings To modify the behavior of a specific conduit the user selects the conduit and selects the change button to bring up a conduit change
27. ufficient number of locations from the volatile memory are logically combined then a random value can be created One method of logically combining the data would be to exlcusive OR XOR the data together Another method of creating a random value would be to add the data together such that overflows create a random pattern in the accumu lator To further randomize the value the contents of the processor s internal registers can be combined to generate a final random number seed In one embodiment of a portable computer system all the memory is battery backed such that there is no memory decay to cause random values In such a system an area of memory that is used to store temporary variables can be used to provide semi random values Specifically an area of memory that is used to store temporary values is defined as dynamic memory The dynamic memory area is shared by all the different applications Since area is shared by several different applications and stores miscellaneous temporary variables its contents are semi random This semi random area of memory can be logically combined to produce a random seed FIG 3 illustrates a summary of a method of generating a random number seed in a portable computer system that has just been turned on First the contents of the processor s internal register are logically combined The registers are combined first such that their initial state at power up is preserved Next the registe
28. zation Password Protection The information stored within a person s desktop personal computer is very valuable Of particular relevance to the present invention the personal contact and calendar infor mation stored within a desktop personal computer is very valuable The personal contact and calendar information is also very personal such that a user may not want others to be able to steal this information One method of stealing the personal contact and calendar information from a personal computer would be to attempt synchronizing an empty portable computer system with the personal computer system The synchronization program on the personal computer would then inform the user that portable computer is empty and that a new user can be created or the name of an existing user can be used The reason for allowing the use of an existing user is to restore data lost from a portable computer due to batteries running out or damage to the portable computer An unscrupulous person may attempt to steal a persons existing data by requesting such a restoration To prevent stealing data in such a manner a user may associate a password with the data stored on a personal computer Thus when a person attempts to restore informa tion from an existing user back onto a portable computer the desktop synchronization will require the password associ ated with that user Thus the theft of personal data would not be possible without the user s password
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