ChangeLog: OpenedHand launches Pimlico PIM suite

OpenedHand, the open source team partly responsible for the infrastructure of Nokia’s Maemo tablet platform, launched the Pimlico project today, bundling several of its personal information manager (PIM) applications in one place.

OpenedHand created the Matchbox window manager used on the Maemo platform, and has adapted several other desktop Linux subsystems for use on embedded devices. Pimlico includes an embedded version of the Evolution Data Sever (EDS), the conduit used for information sharing between application in the GNOME desktop environment.

OpenedHand’s embedded EDS uses the D-BUS framework, and serves as the basis for its low-profile Dates and Contacts calender and contact apps, which we reviewed in August. Dates, Contacts, the new task manager Tasks, and new synchronization tool Sync form the basis of Pimlico.

The Pimlico apps are designed with embedded device usage in mind, but because they are based on standard desktop Linux technologies like D-BUS and GTK+, all of the components will run on full-fledged desktop systems as well, and they can integrate seamlessly with desktop GNOME applications — a claim most embedded PIM suites cannot make.