[attachment=6380]

---

PDA With Wireless Capability

INTRODUCTION
Good decision require timely and accurate information. In process control the appropriate sensors provide critical information to automated control systems that perform the control functions. In the absence of adverse events, everything works as it should, and no human intervention is necessary.
Any enhancements in productivity require a better understanding of the process at hand, which can lead to the design and implementation of better monitoring and control strategies. In any process control situation, the human operator is the crucial element. The operating can be the strongest or weakest page link in the chain, depending on the information at hand. Critical process information in our hand enables good decisions. Handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) can serve as platforms with links to crucial information. Information links to the process under control may be wired (Serial/Ethernet cable) or wireless (Infrared, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or cellular). Wireless links enable "any time, any place" connectivity.

Portability and mobility are essential in applications involving configuration, data collection, monitoring, diagnostics and troubleshooting. The Palm OS, Windows CE and Pocket PC operating systems residing in PDAs beckon application developers to harness these platforms to provide a convenient, cost effective and portable human machine interface (HMI).

INTRDUCTION TO PDA
Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are small hand-held computers. They allow users to Input and retrieve data and can provide a rapid and effective means of accessing, retrieving, analyzing, sharing and storing large volumes of practice-related information wherever it is needed.
We have been carrying around our big notebook/organizer that has our address book, daily planner, to-do lists, memo pads, calendar, project lists and expense report- - everything that we need to keep our life organized. It’s bulky, heavy and stuffed full, but if we don’t have it, we’re lost. But as we jot down appointments on our calendar or look up phone numbers in our address book, we see other people everywhere- - scribbling things on a device that is about the size of a small calculator or may be the size of a paper back book. They traded their calendars and address books for a Personal Digital Assistant or PDA, a remarkable, tiny, fully functional computer that we can hold in one hand. And unlike that paper organizer, a PDA can hold our downloaded e-mail and play music.
PDAs are the one of the fastest selling consumer devices in history. More than 9 million hand-held computers have been sold, the vast majority of them from one company, Palm computing. But other companies are breaking into the market. Competition means that we have more features to choose and decisions to make if we are thinking about buying a PDA. In this, we will examine how these devices receive information, process information and communicate with other computers and PDAs.

---