On Mon, Mar 7, 2011 at 1:21 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > What I had in mind was something like RDP where the doctor connects to our > VFP application running at the office using > terminal services. We have clients who now do this with various laptops > including Apple products. My question was > specific to the iPad regarding the need to input minimal alpha characters and > using VFP drop down lists.
So, there are plenty of RDP apps for the iPad. I would be concerned about reliability and security, though: one I saw talked about 40-bit encryption, which I don't want anyone using with my prescriptions! The iPad supports alphabetic entry via popup keyboards. It also recognizes clicks and mouse gestures. As for how workable dropdowns would be, the precision required could be challenging. Sounds like a good justification for buying an iPad to test it out! :) If you take a look at http://www.apple.com/ipad/business/ you'll see a number of apps working on the iPad. Note the large size of the target areas the users are expected to hit. The resolution is only 1024x768, and you'll probably want oversized controls for iPad users. > We are not interested in re-writing our application to run natively on the > iPad. We have clients (groups) with as many > as 100K patient accounts. They have multiple people doing scheduling and > billing data entry. We don't think all these > functions are realistic on a tablet at this time. But a limited function like > entering e-prescriptions and maybe some > limited medical record input would be realistic. Well, these aren't your grandpa's tablets. They have more RAM, more CPU and more connectivity than those PeeCee Ex-Tees we used to wire up to run FoxBase off floppies. Heck, more power than the machines of a few years ago. Head's down data entry requires a keyboard and mouse, but it doesn't mean they can't be wirelessly connected to next year's tablets. Which OS and CPU your web browser is running is getting more irrelevant, as it should. And competition could make $399 tablets a drop-in replacement for the next PC or the next smart terminal. > For the long term, I wondered if re-writing into python would allow more > flexibility connecting laptops and tablets with > desktops and servers without the need for Windows and terminal services, etc. Short answer: Yes, it would. Long answer: that's another thread; 2-tier rich-client-server over VPN vs. n-tier HTML/CSS/JS over HTTP vs. Javascript/JSON/AJAX next gen is a pretty rich conversation. The choice of scripting language is a small part of that. -- Ted Roche Ted Roche & Associates, LLC http://www.tedroche.com _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
