# Presentation: 155858

## An Introduction to Portable Computing Technologies for PBRN Research Activities

- Atif Zafar, MD
- PBRN Resource Center

- Contact:  (317) 554-0000 x2067 (tel)
-   azafar@iupui.edu

## Content Outline

- Comparing PDA’s and Tablet PC’s
- Planning IT Support for Research
- Developing Electronic Questionnaires
- Designing User Interfaces for Mobile Devices: Tips and Techniques
- Data Security on Wireless Portable Devices
- Questions

## Introduction to Portable Computing: PDA’s and Tablet PC’s

## Common Portable Devices

- Many types of devices exist which may be used in a research setting for various functions:
- Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
- Tablet PC
- 2-Way Pagers
- Cellular Phones
- Email Pagers (BlackberryTM)
- Set Top Boxes
- Convergence Devices (Nokia Communicator)
- Most popular ones are PDA’s and Tablet PC’s

## Features of PDA Devices

- PDA’s:
- Small form factor screens: 320x320 resolution
- Limited RAM capacity: 8-64 MB
- Limited processing speeds (400 Mhz)
- Limited Expansion capability
- Compact Flash
- Secure Digital
- MMC
- Limited Networking Capability

## PDA’s

- Several operating systems exist:
- Microsoft
- Windows CE (older)
- PocketPC (new)
- PocketPC Phone Edition (newer)
- PocketPC.NET (newer)
- Windows Mobile 2003 (newest)
- Palm Computing
- PalmOS V

## PDA’s

- Other operating system players:
- Linux PDA OS (freeware)
- Sharp Zaurus
- Symbian OS
- Nokia Communicator
- Blackberry (RIM)
- Linux and Symbian devices are comparable in price and features with PocketPC
- Blackberry is just an email pager, not a full PDA

## Palm OS Devices

- Palm Devices have the following features:
- Mainly Black/White, more costly Color
- 16-33 MHz CPU, some with 200 MHz Intel PXA or 144 MHz Texas Instruments.
- 8-16 MB RAM typical
- 320x240 to 320x320 screens with 16K colors

## Pocket PC Devices

- In comparison with Palm Devices, Pocket PC device:
- Tend to be more powerful
- More feature packed than PalmOS
- Faster processors and more RAM
- More expansion capability
- Cost is 2-3X higher than a high end Palm device

## Pocket PC Devices

- Typical PocketPC device:
- 400 Mhz Intel Xscale Processor (ARM Core)
- 64 MB RAM
- 1-2 Secure Digital or Compact Flash slots
- 320x240 resolution color screen (16K colors)
- Some with built-in BlueTooth capability

## Comparing PalmOS and PocketPC Devices

|  | Palm OS | Pocket PC |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical Cost | $80-$399 | $199-$800+ |
| Bundled Software | Email, Internet, multimedia, personal organizer | Pocket Office Apps, multimedia, organizer, internet access |
| 3rd Party Software | Everything | Everything |
| Color? | Some Devices | All Devices |
| Expansion? | SD, CF, MMC | SD, CF, MMC, PC |
| Typical RAM | 16-32 MB | 64 MB |
| WiFi, BlueTooth | Yes/Yes | Yes/Yes |
| Input? | Pen (Graffiti), Keyboards | Pen (Microsoft), Keyboards |
| CPU | 16-33 MHz, some 144-200 MHz | 144-400 MHz Intel PXA |

_**Comparing PalmOS and PocketPC Devices**_

## PDA’s

- Device Manufacturers:
- PocketPC Based
- HP/Compaq – iPAQ, Journada
- Dell PocketPC
- Casio Casseiopeia
- Toshiba e330, e740
- PalmOS based
- Palm TungstenTM
- SONY ClieTM
- Handspring VisorTM, TREOTM

## PDA’s vs. Tablet PC’s

- Tablet PC’s
- Full blown “laptop grade” devices
- Large screen sizes (1024x768 resolution)
- Faster processors (1 GHz or better)
- Large RAM capacity (128+ MB)
- Many Expansion features (USB, Serial ports)
- Full networking capability (built in wireless)

## Tablet PC’s

- Microsoft recently introduced WindowsXP Tablet Edition
- Shortly afterwards, a plethora of vendors introduced Tablet PC devices
- Some devices are *actually laptops* where the screen pivots and closes down to make the device appear as a Tablet PC. These are called *Convertibles*.
- Other Tablet PC’s look just like a tablet device and these are called *Slates*.

## Tablet PC’s

- Major hardware vendors include:
- Acer		TravelMate C100	$2199-$2399
- Fujitsu		Stylistic ST4000	$2199
- HP		TabletPC TC1000	$1699-$1799
- Electrovaya	Scribbler		$2299-$2799
- Toshiba	Protégé 3500	$2299
- Viewsonic	TabletPC V1100	$1995
- And there are many more.

## Tablet PC’s

- 6 Special Features – Microsoft Requirement
- _1. Precise Pens:_
- The pen is *not *like the ones used in PDA’s
- Tablet PC’s use a pen which is a *digitizer*.
- It uses a thin sheet of metal which sits behind the screen and sends out a low power radio signal.
- The pen reflects the signal which the digitizer collects about 133 times per second, about 3⁄4 of an inch from the screen.
- Thus, you can rest your hand on the screen without causing it to write or interfere with your handwriting

## Tablet PC’s

- 6 Special Features – Microsoft Requirement
- _2. Fast Wake-Up_
- Microsoft requires a wake-up time under 5 seconds from sleep mode
- Also, the battery must be powerful enough for the device to stay in sleep mode for up to 72 hours
- _3. Smart Displays_
- Able to toggle between portrait mode and landscape mode either automatically or with user input

## Tablet PC’s

- 6 Special Features – Microsoft Requirement
- _4. Grab-and-Go_
- Ability to dock and Undock without powering down
- Can serve either as laptop replacements or 2nd monitors for laptops that can use 2 displays
- _5. Legacy free_
- Forego serial and parallel ports in favor of USB 2.0, FireWire and Flash Memory slots.

## Tablet PC’s

- 6 Special Features – Microsoft Requirement
- _6. Panic Button_
- Combines the CTRL-ALT-DELETE button into a single button
- Intended for security so if a hacker remotely logged into the system they couldn’t call up the onscreen keyboard and hit Ctrl-Alt-Delete

## Tablet PC’s

- Other features:
- Some offer built-in Wi-Fi, high speed wireless connectivity. So you can download the evening paper as you drive home.
- Digital cameras:  Viewsonic offers digital cameras as options with its Tablet PC.

## Tablet PC’s

- Innovative Software:
- _Zinio_:  Offers tablet versions of magazines and newspapers
- _Microsoft Journal:_  Like a paper notepad except that what you write or draw can be searched, saved and sent.

## Tablet PC’s

- Innovative Software: Real-time Collaboration
- _Corel Grafigo_: Create sketches for collaborative workflows
- _Eclipsys Tablet XA_:  EMR with pen and speech input
- _FranklinCovey TabletPlanner_: Innovative time and travel management solution with nifty perks.
- _Groove InkChat_: Empowers users to pass notes using Wi-Fi networks and secure 192-bit encryption
- _Keylogix ActiveDocs_: Uses handwriting to create notes- you write on screen and the formatting is done for you in the background
- _Stentor iSite Enterprise_: Allows physicians and radiologists to access images from anywhere in the hospital (70% of hosp. Admissions involve interaction with images and 80% of those interactions occur where images are not available)
- _WebEx Meetings_:  Online meeting software

## Comparing PDA’s and Tablet PC’s

|  | PDA’s | Tablet PC’s |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Screen Size | 320 x 320 | 1024 x 768 |
| Processor | 400 Mhz | 1 GHz + |
| RAM | 8-64 MB | 1 GB + |
| Software | Everything | Everything |
| Expansion | Limited | Full PC |
| Weight | 3-6 Oz. | 2-3 Lbs. |
| Networking | IR, Wireless | IR, Wired, Wireless |
| Cost of Devices | $80-$800 | $1500-$4000+ |

- _Comparing PDA’s and Tablet PC’s_

## Internet Resources

- http://www.pdabuyersguide.com/tips/
- http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/pda/hardware.html
- http://www.tabletpc2.com/
- _[http://www.handheld-systems.net/healthcare-data-collection.htm](http://www.handheld-systems.net/healthcare-data-collection.htm)_
- _[http://www.pdamd.com/](http://www.pdamd.com/)_

## Planning IT Support for Research

## Planning the Research Project	

- _First step_ is to Outline the Research Process:
- Who will collect the data?
- Physicians
- Nurses
- Research Assistants
- Patients Themselves
- In what venue?
- Waiting Room
- Patient Room
- Research Area in the Clinic
- What will be the workflow for the *research*?
- Will it interfere with normal patient care workflow?
- If it does, how can I minimize this?

## Planning the Research Project

- _Second Step_ is to assess what devices you need for your project
- What type of data am I capturing?
- Selections from a list
- Free text responses
- Likert-scale entries
- Voice/Image/Video data
- How much text is there in the question bodies? (PDA’s may not work)
- Assess who will be collecting the data?
- Do they need to be mobile or will they sit at a desk to enter the data?
- How much weight can they carry?
- How much dexterity do they have? (patients)
- How much training will be required for use of the device?
- Then match the device (PDA/Tablet/Laptop/Desktop) to the needs
- Need to consider how I will capture, store, display and analyze the data

## Planning the Research Project

- _Third Step_ is to Assess *existing* IT capability in those areas?
- Is there a telephone line?
- Is there a *data port* for internet connectivity (T-1 etc.)?
- Is there a wireless network already installed? (some of you may)
- What type of working space is available?
- Space for Desktop?
- Space only for Laptop/Tablet PC?
- No Space at all -> may need to use PDA’s
- Do I need to have network capability within other areas?
- Patient Rooms, Waiting Room
- What kind of local computer support do I need?
- Server Space, Software, Expertise

## Planning the Research Project

- _Fourth Step_ is to *match* existing or planned resources with needs
- Quite often you can “get by” with what resources you have with a simple modification of your research design
- Your local IT support center may be able to help you
- Many University practices have ample IT support which they may not be aware of:   _Software_, _Server Space_, _Expertise_, _Network Connectivity_ etc.
- Many companies will sell their products at *significant* (75%) discounts if being used for non-commercial purposes – you need to explicitly ask them for educational pricing and they may require you to sign a special license agreement which often is well within the bounds of most research project requirements – some will even give you “trial” licenses for free!
- Look on the Internet. Often there are very good deals for software and hardware available.

## Portable Devices for Research

- Depending on the types of research done, either less expensive PDA’s or more powerful Tablet PC’s may be used:
- For example, if you need to capture simple time-motion data, then a PalmPilot works well.
- Data consists of _time-stamps_, _selections from a choice list_, _radio buttons_, _drop down lists_ etc.
- May need to train users about handwriting shortcuts                          (i.e. _Graffiti_ on a PalmPilot)
- If you need to navigate complex questionnaires with long explanatory text and skip logic, then the screen real-estate of a PDA does not serve well and a Tablet PC is well suited

## Portable Devices for Research

- Other Devices:
- Email Pagers:  BlackberryTM
- Could be used to “notify” investigators about problems or potential subjects in a real-time fashion
- For example, could be used to deliver real-time interventions to doctors or to notify RA’s when a subject has arrived in the clinic for recruitment
- In one study, was used to notify RA’s that a patient was “just diagnosed with diabetes” and they could recruit them “in the same visit”

## Portable Devices for Research

- Other Devices:
- Cell Phones:
- Many new cell phones are actually full blown PDA’s with color screens and some with digital cameras!
- Can send email and surf the web without additional expense – for example, Sprint PCS offers web-surfing capability for an additional $5/month to most of its plans!
- This can be used to enter simple data into a secure research web site.
- Need to be concerned about HIPAA violations since most wireless transmissions are *not* secure.

## Portable Devices for Research

- Other Devices:
- Convergence Devices
- Open up very exciting opportunities for research and they will be very valuable in this process in the future.
- Will combine PDA, cell phone, digital camera, MP3 player, GPS unit, etc. all in a single device
- Many players in the market in terms of device vendors, service providers and standards so will be some time before homogeneity exists.

## Architectural Alternatives for Data Collection

- Database Server

- Copyright (2003) Pendragon Software

## Issues with Data Collection on Portable Devices

- Problems with the Connected-Unconnected State
- Need to address the case where connection to a server is suddenly lost
- What happens to the data?
- What happens when the connection is re-established?
- What about multiple users accessing the same database at the same time?
- Device specific user-interface design issues
- Data security

## Issues with Data Collection on Portable Devices

- Solutions to connectivity problems:
- Need to cache the data locally
- Can have a shadow database on the client
- Need to access only this database at any one time
- Sync with the master database on the server only when necessary – i.e. most of the time interactions occur with the shadow database
- Sync process should be automatic when a connection is both available and deemed “stable”
- When multiple users access the database, the one who accessed it first has priority and then a sync process should update all clients data

## Developing Electronic Questionnaires

## The Questionnaire Design Process

- Need to settle on Architectural Alternatives first
- Questions to consider when implementing questionnaires:
- Who will implement the electronic questionnaire?
- PI, RA, Graphic Artist, Programmer etc.
- How much design and programming expertise is available?
- Will I need to update the questionnaire once it is designed?
- If so who will be doing this?
- Will I need to connect to a server – wirelessly or otherwise?
- This can add a considerable layer of complexity
- Will it be *usable* on the device I have selected?
- Long question stems on PDA’s may be cumbersome to read if a lot of “scrolling” needs to be done – better to have 1 question per page.
- Patient may need large screens with large touch sensitive buttons

## Tools for Developing Questionnaires

- There are *many many* tools available today
- Cost spectrum:  Free to many thousands of dollars
- Questions to consider when selecting a tool:
- How much _programming_ time is required?
- Is there a WYSIWYG interface for designing questions and user interfaces?
- Does it permit skip patterns to be implemented?
- What types of data elements are supported?
- Traditional, Voice/Video, Telephone etc.
- What back-end database and statistics packages are supported?
- What devices are supported?
- What are others saying about the product? (often *very* helpful to know)
- What is the workflow for designing questionnaires – can simple changes be made on the device or does it require a PC connection?

## Steps in Using Electronic Forms

- Several Steps are Required when deploying forms on portables:
- Develop the forms on a PC using a WYSIWYG environment
- Need to consider the “look and feel” and “usability”
- Test the forms on the PC using a PDA device emulator
- Upload the forms to the device using a hotsync process
- Wireless using Infra-Red or BlueTooth
- Using a download cable
- DOES NOT REQUIRE AN INTERNET CONNECTION
- Capture data on the device in the study environment
- Can store the data on a local PC or server:
- Hotsync to a local PC
- Via a wireless connection to the server
- Send via internet from the local PC to the server

## Tools for Portable Devices

- There are a multitude of development tools available for portable devices (PDA/TabletPC) requiring a wide range of user expertise:
- Freeware software on the Internet
- Database Programs
- RAD (Rapid Application Development) Tools
- Programming Languages (Basic, Java, C, C++)
- Clinical Trial Software (many thousands of dollars)
- Next few slides cover the most popular PDA (PalmOS, PocketPC) software available and describes some advantages/disadvantages.
- Will also describe selected Tablet PC tools which are useful.

## Tools for PDA Devices

- _RAD Database and Survey Design Software_
- PDA Toolbox (_[www.pdatoolbox.com](http://www.pdatoolbox.com/)_)
**Very low cost ($25)**
**Designed for Novices using WYSISWYG interface**
**Drag-Drop form-based design on the PC for uploading to the Palm**
**Supports standard input fields (text, numeric, date/time, image)**
**Full table/query filter capability**
**Supports calculation type fields that compute values**
**Capture digital signatures**
**Can “beam” data to other devices**
**Comes with a data import/export utility**
**Creates “standalone” applications on the Palm Device**.
**No skip patterns built in but can create them using “Action Buttons”**
**No built-in security features**
**PalmOS Only**

## Tools for PDA Devices

- _RAD Database and Survey Design Software_
- HanDBase (_[www.ddhsoftware.com](http://www.ddhsoftware.com/)_)
**Has most of the features of PDA Toolbox**
**Runs on both the PalmOS and PocketPC**
**Also has a drag-drop interface for PC or Mac-based form design**
**Permits *****many *****users to work on the same DB concurrently**
**Allows them to *****synchronize***** the results later**
**Supports multiple types of conditional logic**
**Field Conditions and Skip Patterns**
**Supports full hierarchy of access rights and data encryption**
**Full data export to MS Access, Excel, CSV files, XML etc.**
**Supports barcode scanners and audio recorders**
**Cost:  Per device license -> $50 (750-999 users) to $99 (1-9 users)**

## Tools for PDA Devices

- _RAD Database and Survey Design Software_
- PocketSurvey (_[www.pocket-survey.net](http://www.pocket-survey.net/)_)
**Has many of the same features as HanDBase**
**Supports *****web-based***** data capture**
**Can capture images from a digital camera**
**Supports a complete relational data model**
**Built-in HTML based report generator**
**Supports larger Microsoft Windows CE Devices (TabletPC’s)**
**No Built-in security features**
**Cost per license can be prohibitive ($1000+)**

## Tools for PDA Devices

- _RAD Database and Survey Design Software_
- Pendragon Forms (_[www.pendragon-software.com](http://www.pendragon-software.com/)_)
**Very similar feature set to all other tools mentioned**
**Supports *****signature*****, *****slider***** and *****sketch***** fields**
**Provides synchronization with a web-server (SyncServer)**
**Supports wireless data lookups and transmission**
**Full MS Access and SQL Server support**
**Password protection available**
**Similar per-user cost as others ($129/1 user to $30/user for >100 users)**
**No Pocket PC support**

## Tools for PDA Devices

- _RAD Database and Survey Design Software_
- Satellite Forms (_[www.pumatech.com/sf_mad_main.html](http://www.pumatech.com/sf_mad_main.html)_)
**Supports both Palm OS and Pocket PC devices**
**Supports ODBC databases (SQL Server, Oracle etc.)**
**Supports wireless data synchronization**
**Sophisticated built-in scripting language**
**Buisness Rules, Sophisticated Skip Logic, Calculations, Data Validation**
**Supports Passwords and Data Encryption**
**Supports Web-Based Data collection on PDA’s**
**Cost:**
**MobileApp Designer****	****$995**
**IntelliSync****	****	****$69.95**
**Enterprise License****	****$89/device**

## Tools for PDA Devices

- _RAD Database and Survey Design Software_
- abcDatabase (_[www.pocketsoft.ca](http://www.pocketsoft.ca/)_)
**Sophisticated Scripting Language**
**Build Forms and Scripts on the Device or on the PC**
**Supports GPS data capture**
**Supports Wireless data capture**
**Supports MS Access**
**Runs on the Pocket PC only**
**Relatively lower cost**
**Per Device License:****	****$19.95/device**
**Wireless Version:****	****$34.95**
**Desktop Studio****	****$83.99**

## Tools for PDA Devices

- _Some Low cost ($50 or less) and Freeware Applications_
- J-File (_[http://www.land-j.com/jfile.html](http://www.land-j.com/jfile.html)_)		$24.95
- TealInfo (_[http://www.tealpoint.com/softinfo.htm](http://www.tealpoint.com/softinfo.htm)_)	$16.95
- List (_[http://www.magma.ca/~roo/list/list.html](http://www.magma.ca/~roo/list/list.html)_)	Freeware
- MobileDB (_[http://www.handmark.com/products/](http://www.handmark.com/products/)_)	$29.99
- dbNow (_[www.pocketexpress.com](http://www.pocketexpress.com/)_)		$39.95
- thinkDB (www.thinkbytes.com)			$39.95
- Excellent Online Comparison of low-cost Palm Databases
- http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/databases-review.html

## Tools for PDA Devices

- _RAD Database and Survey Design Software_
- And Many Many Others:
- SyncSurvey (_[www.mercator.co.uk](http://www.mercator.co.uk/)_)
- IBM DB2 EveryPlace (www-4.ibm.com/software/data/db2/everyplace)
- FileMaker Mobile (_[www.filemaker.com/products/mbl_home.html](http://www.filemaker.com/products/mbl_home.html)_)
- Programming Tools
- AppForge (_[www.appforge.com](http://www.appforge.com/)_)
- NS Basic (_[www.nsbasic.com](http://www.nsbasic.com/)_)
- CodeWarrior (_[www.metroworks.com](http://www.metroworks.com/)_)
- VisualAge Micro Edition (_[http://www-3.ibm.com/software/wireless/wsdd/](http://www-3.ibm.com/software/wireless/wsdd/)_)
- mEnable (_[www.syware.com](http://www.syware.com/)_) – Wireless Development Tools

## Tools for Tablet PC Devices

- There are again *many many* existing tools for form based data capture applications on Tablet PC’s.
- Most of the ones mentioned thus far will work on Tablet PC’s
- It is thus a mater of what your needs are and then you can select  the right tool to do the job

## Using Tablet PC’s in Research

- Advantages:
- More screen real-estate to work with for long questionnaires:
- Can have multiple questions per page without clutter
- Less “scrolling” necessary
- Supports multimedia elements:
- image, video and audio prompts
- Image, Voice and Video data capture
- Great for wireless web-based applications
- Supports standard MS Applications (Access) out of the box
- Great for patient-centered data entry (larger screens, touch input)

## Using Tablet PC’s in Research

- Disdvantages:
- Cost
- Can be prohibitively expensive if multiple units are needed
- Average cost is $2000 per device
- Weight
- 2-3 lbs. in weight compared to 3-6 ozs. For PDA’s
- Can be cumbersome to carry around
- Prone to damage if dropped – ruggedized versions can cost $4000+
- Battery Life
- May need frequent recharging, esp. if used continuously

## Tablet PC Database Applications

- Again, anything that will run on your PC will work here
- MS Access (_[www.microsoft.com/office](http://www.microsoft.com/office)_)
- FileMaker Pro (www.filemaker.com)
- FoxPro (http://msdn.microsoft.com/vfoxpro/)
- Paradox (www.corel.com)
- Oracle (www.oracle.com)
- Sybase (www.sybase.com)
- Too numerous to list
- http://www.dmoz.com/Computers/Software/Databases/

## Tablet PC Multimedia Development Tools

- Often you want to be able to create Multimedia (KIOSK) projects:
- These combine audio, images, video, text and input fields into the same application
- Data is then stored in an SQL database on the back end
- Some powerful tools to do this include:
- Macromedia Director, Flash and ColdFusion (www.macromedia.com)
- Anark Studio (www.anark.com)
- Multimedia Fusion (www.clickteam.com)
- Omnis Studio (www.omnis-software.com)
- Links for Online Resources
- http://lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/resources/cal/mmedia.htm

## Some Web-Based Survey Tools

- EZSurvey (_[www.raosoft.com](http://www.raosoft.com/)_)
- Web based but works with Palm and Pocket PC devices as well
- Cost prohibitive ($12000 for 10-user license)
- Survey Said (_[http://www.surveysaid.com/](http://www.surveysaid.com/)_)
- Intenet and PC based survey software
- $999 for Personal version with 1 administrator
- SurveySolutions (_[www.perseusdevelopment.com](http://www.perseusdevelopment.com/)_)
- $995 for professional version
- Similar feature set to others
- UltimateApps (_[www.ultimatesoftware.com](http://www.ultimatesoftware.com/)_)
- Used by the PBRN Extranet
- $1000 for Enterprise License
- Available for FREE to all AHRQ Funded PBRN’s

## Some Interesting Links

- A survey of web-based tele-collaboration tools
- http://www.ensc.sfu.ca/~vaisey/research/telelearning/telecollaboration.html

##  PDA User Interface Design Guidelines

## User Interfaces for PDA Devices

- Technical Barriers to Overcome:
- Small Screen Size
- Affects the area available for question text
- Affects the size of the input field
- This is critical to consider when people have problems with dexterity and vision
- The input device must have sufficient resolution so that the user does not inadvertently select the wrong choice or input box
- Causes eyestrain when using the device for prolonged periods
- Too much scrolling will annoy users
- Too much clutter will make the questionnaire difficult to use

## User Interfaces for PDA Devices

- Technical Barriers to Overcome:
- Slow Response Time
- Having to wait for an update or page load will annoy users
- If the GUI is slow it will make it less acceptable
- Slow processors
- Inadequate amount of RAM
- Injudicious use of color
- Slow network connection
- Can happen when multiple users are accessing the same line
- Wireless may be faster but have to worry about loss of connection

## User Interface Guidelines for PDA Devices

- Keep the display page simple
- Use 1 question per page if you have to and have multiple pages
- Using a smaller font to accommodate more text is NOT a solution as it will make the question harder to read and cause data entry errors
- Cluster the same style of response fields together
- Drop down boxes, check boxes
- If you have a free text field, allow more space than is needed
- This ensures that if the user write out of the boundary the data will still be captured
- Limit to one or two free text fields on the same page
- Use tabbed controls to accommodate different types of input fields
- Use Forward/Backward page navigation buttons and optional drop down boxes to allow for selection of pages

## User Interface Guidelines for PDA Devices

- Test the device in a real-setting before deployment
- Test the network connectivity
- Test the response time of the GUI
- It is helpful to do a simple time-motion analysis of the workflow before starting the data collection process

## Guideline Links

- Palm OS User Interface Guidelines
- http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/docs/ui/UIGuide_Front.html
- Pocket PC User Interface Guidelines
- http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/ui_guide_ppc/htm/_UIguide_start.asp
- Tablet PC User Interface Guidelines
- http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/tpcsdk10/html/whitepapers/designguide/tbconuxdgvisualdesign.asp

## Data Security on Portable Devices

## Data Security on Portables

- According to the Gartner Group, currently the biggest threat to PDA device security is losing it or having it stolen
- More PDA’s are showing up in lost-and-found areas (San Francisco Intl. is one such location)
- More PDA’s are being reported stolen (FBI)

## Data Security on Portables

- Unfortunately, many users do not use the PASSWORD feature
- Passwords are not totally secure and a “hard-reset” can remove the password on most devices
- Many software tools allow hackers to import password protected files to a PC based file viewer for “cracking”
- However, there ARE encryption programs available that can help

## Data Security on Portables

- Viruses and other “malicious code” have started to appear on Palm and Pocket PC devices
- If a virus sits on your PDA and you “sync” the device to a desktop then that virus or worm can get easily transferred to the desktop and possibly the whole network causing significant damage
- Existing desktop anti-virus software WILL NOT detect these viruses!

## Data Security on Portables

- Many people have PDA’s that are configured to connect to their corporate networks
- Unfortunately, many people use the same passwords for their PDA’s as they do for their desktop devices, exposing their LAN’s from their PDA’s
- An attacker can copy the contents of an average Palm device in 5 minutes and can decrypt a password in a few seconds           (Network News, March 2001)

## Palm OS Security Software

- JAWZDataGator v2.1.1
- Handango Security Suite
- Memo Safe
- PalmSafe
- TopSecret

## PocketPC Security Tools

- PocketLock
- Handango Security Suite
- Multipass (MIPS)

## Windows CE Security Tools

- CryptoGrapher
- Sentry 2020/CE
- Pocket CodedDrag

## Security Tools Web Links

- http://www.handango.com
- http://www.palmgear.com
- http://www.pdabomb.com
- http://flashnet.pda.tucows.com/palm/util_security.html
- http://www.protectdatasecurity.com
- Some other links:
- http://csiannual.com/pdf/d6.pdf
- Security Equipment for safeguarding device theft:
- http://www.computersecurity.com

## Wireless Network Security

- Security in a wireless network is of paramount importance because it is very easy for someone to “listen in” and hack into a seemingly secure site
- Note that the range of a mobile device for security purposes is not just the range of the wireless access point, but the range of each mobile device using the wireless access point
- In major cities, hackers actually drive around “looking” for wireless networks and they mark these locations with a special symbol on the pavement – includes information on IP address, passwords etc.

## Wireless Network Security

- _Most organizations do not really understand how to securely set up wireless networks and even if they do they don’t secure them because it takes too much effort to lock each individual system!_
- Need to allow only certain IP addresses
- Wireless transmission *can be encrypted* (and very well) – using WEP (Wireless Encryption Protocol) – but it is a pain to do and 90% of those using wireless transmissions do *not* enable this.
- Need to disallow wireless networks on the lower floors of a building
- Could use a Faraday Cage to protect transmissions from leaving a room

## Network Security

- Hacking Techniques:
- On internet packet transmissions, the source and destination IP addresses are sent unencrypted
- So a hacker can “listen in” onto these packets and then “cut and paste” the header into his own transmission, which then gets through!
- The “listening” process is called *sniffing* and the “fooling into thinking I am you” process is called *spoofing*.

## Network Security

- Hacking Techniques
- Trojan Horses
- They can come in as email attachments or other data and install themselves into your system (say as a new command.com file)
- The next time you boot your system they activate and wreck havoc.
- From personal experience, I had one that took over my system and the first thing it did was remove Norton Antivirus software!

## Network Security

- Ports
- A port on a computer is a special “door” which allows access to its hardware features.
- There are “many” ports which may be available
- Hackers actively look for these open ports in order to gain access to your system
- Many software applications (such as Microsoft’s Personal Web Server-MPWS ) open up ports on your computer
- Many Applications (like MKSAP, Borlands, Baker’s Neurology) install and activate MPWS on your system *without your knowledge*.

## Network Security

- Thus, anytime you are connected to the internet, you are vulnerable!
- Firewalls are over-rated:
- A firewall is hardware that filters network traffic based on IP addresses and ports
- Then it maps incoming traffic with known ways of hacking
- It is almost never 100% effective
- You need security specialists and both virus protection and intrusion detection to be considered secure
- This costs roughly $20K per month!

## Questions