Motorola has released the RS507 Hands Free imager.  This device comes in a corded or BlueTooth cordless configuration.  It is intended for use with the WT4000 Wearable Terminal.  This gives material handlers a fast way to collect data as they move product without having to holster a device.

Honeywell (HandHeld Products) has introduced a pistol-grip version of the Dolphin 9900 series device, called the 9950.  This follows the lead of the 9550.  The grip makes the device easier to use for single-handed operation, such as warehousing applications.

Honeywell has introduced a new version of the Dolphin 9900 for Healthcare, with a disinfectant-ready housing.  This model can be cleaned with standard solvents without causing problems with the plastics used in most devices.

With the release of ITScriptNet 3.0b, we now support High Resolution devices.  These are Windows Mobile devices that support a screen resolution higher than the WM standard 320x240.  Most current devices are VGA resolution, which is 640x480.  Examples include the Motorola MC75 and the Intermec CV30.

We wanted to keep our philosophy that programs designed for one device run well on another device.  So if you design a program for a 320x240 device, say a Motorola MC70, we want to on a 640x480 device (like the MC75) without requiring any modification.

Here is an example of a standard program running on a regular 320x240 device:

Now here is the same program running on a VGA device in ITScriptNet, without Auto Scaling and with Auto Scaling:

Without Auto Scaling, the program use only 320x240 of the full 640x480 resolution, and occupies only a quarter of the screen.  But with Auto Scaling, ITScriptNet expands all fonts and images to full the screen.

The advantage of High Resolution displays for devices is that with 4 times the number of pixels in the same space, readability is improved dramatically.  In this example, the left image is the standard resolution device, and the right side is the High Resolution device.  Note how much smoother the text is compared to the standard device.

We've added several more articles to the Knowledge base, including samples and solutions to common problems.  Here is a list of some of the new articles:

HOWTO:  Configure a tethered scanner for the PC Client
HOWTO: FTP from a Data Processing Script
INFO: Upgrade to version 3.0 and retain version 2.4 for existing programs
SAMPLE: Lookup Validation, Display related data fields
SAMPLE: Filter Combobox - Master/Detail
SAMPLE: Grid - Update & Delete Record
HOWTO: Grid - reference selected values
HOWTO: Check for duplicate records
HOWTO: Use the PC Client with OMNI.
INFO: Order in which the Scripts will Run
INFO: Flash or Clone ITScriptNet to terminals

On the lighter side of things, check out this article about the new Star Trek movie using Motorola and Metrologic scanners as props on the Enterprise.  Now I want to see it even more!

We are pleased to announce the release of ITScriptNet 3.0b.  This version builds on the improvements in 3.0a with several new features and fixes.  New features include:

There are also a number of minor bug fixes and other features.  You can get all of the details in our Knowledge Base.

Please note that since this new version adds several new features, it does change the ITB format.  Programs saved in ITScriptNet 3.0b can not be opened in previous versions.  Older programs can be opened with 3.0b, however.

We've already discussed the MC55, but Motorola has now officially released it.  The details are available on Motorola's MC55 product page.  This looks like a nice device that fits between a consumer phone and a fully ruggedized device.

With the upcoming 3.0b release of ITScriptNet, we've added a new feature which can help the users of a portable device when they are not sure what to do.  Since the portable device screens are fairly small, it's tempting to load programs up with many data collection controls, making the program confusing for the user.  In the past, the only way to display Help for the user was with a Message that could display a description of the fields, something like this:

While this works ok, it is not context-sensitive.  The user had to figure out which text applied to which field.

In ITSN V3.0b, we've added Popup Help that can be linked to each field.  All the user has to do is Tap and Hold on any field that he or she does not understand, and the text you entered in the program is displayed.  Now every field can have it's own descriptive text, like this:

This is much more clear, and allows you to be much more descriptive in your help.

Popup Text is available starting with ITSN 3.0b, which will be released within a few days.

Daylight Savings Time starts this weekend in the US.  Unfortunately, this is the time we lose the extra hour of sleep.  Don't forget to check your device clocks on Monday to make sure they changed correctly!

We've been working on some new features for ITScriptNet, and we are close to releasing a new version.  Some of the new features include:

• Janam XM60 and XM65 clients.
• High-Resolution (VGA) device support, including the Symbol MC75 and Intermec CV30.
• Tap-And-Hold Popup text for elements.
• A Rename Element and Rename Prompts feature that renames them in your scripts, too.

Plus a number of minor bug fixes and improvements.  We'll be discussing some of these new features over the next few weeks.  We are looking to release this new version in the next week or two.

Now that ITScriptNet 3.0 is released, we are working on updating the Knowledge Base.  We have added several articles recently, including information on:

• How does the Connection Mode setting work?
• Installing the Visual C++ Redistributable Package
• Troubleshooting the OMNI Server as a Windows Service
• Checking for Duplicate records
• Trimming leading zeros in a string
• ActiveSync Communications and Windows Firewall Ports

And many more!

Many articles link to a PDF document with full descriptions of the step required for each issue.  We will continue updating the Knowledge Base as custom questions come in!

Windows Mobile 6.5 has been discussed for some time, but today at the Mobile World Congress 2009 Microsoft officially annouced it.  As with most Windows Mobile updates, they are focused on the consumer (phone) market, so it remains to be seen whether there are any improvements that will help Data Collection devices.  It does seem that Microsoft is trying to make the touchscreen operation more finger-friendly, but we'll see if this is a general improvement or just within certain applications.

We have received some Janam devices, and we are adding support for them to ITScriptNet.  The devices we intend to support are the XM60, XM65, and the upcoming XG100.  These devices use Honeywell's Adaptus imagers for barcode scanning, and run Windows CE or Windows Mobile.

Z-Space Technologies is pleased to announce the release of ITScriptNet version 3.0!  You can download it now from our website.  If you are upgrading from V2.x, please be sure to read the Upgrade Guide before installing.  This release is the result of many hours of hard work, and we are happy to be able to finally bring it to you.