Hey All,

If I'm in the wrong group, I apoligize and would like to know where I should
turn. I'm responsible for developing a mobile POS. The requirements are:

1. Wireless networking (802.11b and/or 802.11g compliant) capability: It
needs to communicate with the server application via a binary socket.
2. Magnetic card reader: It needs to read the mag cards. Socket makes a
PCMCIA Mag Stripe Reader Card (model MS5103-661) for around $200 that looks
like the best bet.
3. Barcode scanner: There are several manufacturers with SDIO scanners.
4. Operating system: Pocket PC (Windows Mobile), which contains .NET Compact
Framework.

Being purely a softare engineer, I could use some advice for the hardware
platform:
- What are the standrd ports types for PDAs?
- Is a PDA with a PCMCIA slot my best bet?
- What alternatives are there?

Thanks for any help...

On Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:58:52 GMT, "Larry Copper"
<larrycopper@assmonkey.com> wrote:

>Hey All,
>
>If I'm in the wrong group, I apoligize and would like to know where I should
>turn. I'm responsible for developing a mobile POS. The requirements are:

Actually, microsoft.public.pocketpc.developer is a much more
appropriate newsgroup, and you already have some answers there.


>1. Wireless networking (802.11b and/or 802.11g compliant) capability: It
>needs to communicate with the server application via a binary socket.
>2. Magnetic card reader: It needs to read the mag cards. Socket makes a
>PCMCIA Mag Stripe Reader Card (model MS5103-661) for around $200 that looks
>like the best bet.
>3. Barcode scanner: There are several manufacturers with SDIO scanners.
>4. Operating system: Pocket PC (Windows Mobile), which contains .NET Compact
>Framework.
>
>Being purely a softare engineer, I could use some advice for the hardware
>platform:
>- What are the standrd ports types for PDAs?
>- Is a PDA with a PCMCIA slot my best bet?
>- What alternatives are there?
>
>Thanks for any help...
>

-----------------------------------------
To reply to me, remove the underscores (_) from my email address (and please indicate which newsgroup and message).

Robert E. Zaret, eMVP
PenFact, Inc.
20 Park Plaza, Suite 478
Boston, MA 02116
www.penfact.com

While developer is a better site, with respect to ports, the evolution
is headed toward only bluetooth as a common local input, that plus wifi
which most ppc's have.

not only are pcmcia slots a thing of the past, cf slots are rare and
sdio is disappearing as well.

Serial is _fairly_ common but connectors are nonstandard and a pain, a
few devices have usb host capabilities plus ir remains ...but who knows
for how long.

Some innovative things have recently been done with ppc cameras and
barcodes in this arena as well, but nothing currently available for ppc
end users other than a couple of proprietary code converters.

Think there are some ppc pos packages around but they are not well known
and carry vertical market prices... google time

hope this helps,
Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]

Thanks to both of you for the information, it has been very helpful.

Larry

"Beverly Howard [Ms-MVP/MobileDev]" <BevNoSpamBevHoward.com> wrote in
message news:O7EBRdPbHHA.348@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> While developer is a better site, with respect to ports, the evolution is
> headed toward only bluetooth as a common local input, that plus wifi which
> most ppc's have.
>
> not only are pcmcia slots a thing of the past, cf slots are rare and sdio
> is disappearing as well.
>
> Serial is _fairly_ common but connectors are nonstandard and a pain, a few
> devices have usb host capabilities plus ir remains ...but who knows for
> how long.
>
> Some innovative things have recently been done with ppc cameras and
> barcodes in this arena as well, but nothing currently available for ppc
> end users other than a couple of proprietary code converters.
>
> Think there are some ppc pos packages around but they are not well known
> and carry vertical market prices... google time
>
> hope this helps,
> Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]
>