"Available Small Clients"

There are a number of options available in this area, all of which have their pros and cons, in terms of size, cost, battery life, flexibility and so forth. The primary variations are:

Web Clients.

CQC comes with a built in web server. You can build web page based interfaces that can be used from any small devices that support a web browser. Web based interfaces will almost always be less flexible and sexy than interfaces built with our own interface design system, but they can be a good alternative interface for access from the road or from cell phones and whatnot.

RDP Client.

RDP is the Remote Desktop Protocol, which is a scheme supported by Windows to allow a lightweight client device to just be a way to remotely log into another Windows computer. The client only has to be smart enough to run the RDP protocol, and doesn't have to have any local operating system smarts in terms of Windows itself. This scheme can be very useful and a number of small devices support the RDP protocol. You can have your main automation controller in a closet somewhere and just log into it from a wireless device and have access to the remote computer.

The downside to this scheme is that the RDP session locks out the local session. I.e. when you log onto the other machine via RDP, you can't log into the machine locally. The problem is that many people use the local session on the main controller to run a separate, hardwired touch screen, to greatly increase the utility of their CQC system for minimal cost. If that isn't an issue for you, then an RDP client might be a good choice.

CE.Net Device.

CQC provides a Microsoft CE.Net based version of our interface viewer. The most common functionality desired on these smaller devices is to interact with CQC graphical interfaces. If that's all you need to do, then a Microsoft CE.Net device can be the best choice. They will tend to be smaller, lighter, have longer battery life and so forth. Any device that implements either PocketPC 2003, Windows Mobile 5.0 for Pocket PC, or the Windows CE 5.0 platform can support our .Net Viewer. Many devices that implement CE.Net 4.2 are also capable of supporting the viewer.

This device will be a separate node on the network, unlike the RDP client above, so it does not lock out the main machine's local session, leaving it available for separate use and for administration.

XP Device.

Another option is a device that either runs a full desktop XP operating system, or the Embedded or Tablet versions of the XP operating system. Embedded XP devices, like CE.Net devices, are likely to be smaller, lighter, and have better battery life, though that's not always the case. Both our standard and .Net Interface Viewers can run on either of these types of devices, so you'd generally want to run the standard viewer, in 'standalone' mode so that no background services are installed.

This device will be a separate node on the network, unlike the RDP client above, so it does not lock out the main machine's local session, leaving it available for separate use and for administration.

The list below enumerates some devices of each sort that are known to us, or at least known enough that we feel that they are likely to be good solutions.

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