Harnessing the potential of mobile personal data repositories

In this paper we argue in favor of remote data access based on the principle of abstract data types. This paradigm has inherent advantages over the traditional file-oriented approach, especially when used in a ubiquitous computing environment, where data producers and consumers can be distributed and emerge dynamically. The 'datlet', a mobile storage device that implements the proposed approach, is presented in detail. We also discuss how a datlet can be embedded in everyday objects to create hybrid information objects, leading to an intuitive information manipulation model.