“The Salutation Consortium, which provides open information
exchange standard called service discovery for multi-platform
handheld computers, will offer its reference model Salutation Lite
code through an open source arrangement. Now all wireless
device developers, and hardware or software manufacturers, member
or not, have free access to the code for development and refinement
and incorporation into their products. No licensing charges or
upfront fees. It is the first known effort specifically regarding
service discovery.”
“Open source promotes software reliability and quality by
supporting independent peer review and rapid evolution of source
code,” said Robert Pascoe, president of the Consortium. “Open
sourcing breaks the dependence on one or a few suppliers and
enables hardware and software developers to generate a solution
quickly with the added assurance of currency and compliance.”
“IBM, a charter member of the Consortium, is solidly behind this
open source effort. “We believe that service discovery is key to
self-configuring networks in pervasive computing environments. IBM
is a staunch supporter of open standards and supports the open
source process,” said, Jon Prial, Director of Marketing, Pervasive
Computing Division, IBM. “The Salutation Lite code in particular
gives customers a robust service discovery solution today. Service
discovery should not be a propriety control point, rather it should
be open, consistent, and leveraged in as many devices as
possible.”