HPUI will not introduce new configuration options or features, but it will provide unique access to existing solutions. HPUI has the functional requirements to allow us to configure a NAS unit via a handheld computer. The primary technical constraints facing the HPUI project at this time are determination of available communication options between the NAS units and the handheld and restrictions on the NAS configuration process and implementation. Specifically, it needs to correctly parse the current information, correctly write any updated information, and navigate the existing configuration system. Specifically, the software should not display information in a format that requires more than one page of scrolling at a time on a small screen.
Input can be through any of the devices supported input methods.
The first version of the HPUI software will start out by connecting the two devices directly using a serial interface. This solution is the easiest to implement, and has no extra cost, since it is using technology that is already built in to both devices. This has the usability drawback of requiring cumbersome cabling, which would most likely not be just a standard off the shelf serial cable, because of Palm s specialized serial connector. BlueTooth, being wireless, has the advantage that no cables are necessary to connect devices. This means that there should be only a little extra effort required to move from cabled serial devices to BlueTooth.