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Using a file history graph to keep track of personal resources across devices and services

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Abstract

Personal digital resources now tend to be stored, managed and shared using a variety of devices and online services. As a result, different versions of resources are often stored in different places, and it has become increasingly difficult for users to keep track of them. We introduce the concept of a file history graph that can be used to provide users with a global view of resource provenance and enable them to track specific versions across devices and services. We describe how this has been used to realise a version-aware environment, called Memsy, and report on a lab study used to evaluate the proposed workflow. We also describe how reconciliation services can be used to fill in missing links in the file history graph and present a detailed study for the case of images as a proof of concept.

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Notes

  1. http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3986.

  2. http://www.scalatra.org/.

  3. http://www.neo4j.org/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Matthias Geel & Moira C. Norrie

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  1. Matthias Geel
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  2. Moira C. Norrie
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Correspondence to Moira C. Norrie.

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Geel, M., Norrie, M.C. Using a file history graph to keep track of personal resources across devices and services. Int J Digit Libr 17, 175–187 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00799-016-0181-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00799-016-0181-7

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