Data Port Console 1.0 Beta 3 available for download

Right after uploading the Data Port Console Beta 3 (*), I decided to implement the TCP/IP sockets connectivity feature you could use in the old SQL CE Console. Extending the code was easy enough and I was able to do something that was impossible with the old code: connect to more than one PDA at the same time. This is going to enable some interesting scenarios where just one console will be able to manage mutiple PDAs connected to the desktop via a network. For GPRS scenarios this may need a mobile VPN to fix the device IP address. I've been thinking on how to go around it seems that the only way is to somehow revert the PDA and PC roles to a somewhat more "natural" way where the PC is the server and the PDA is the client, and not the other way around.

Next up is to enable the serial port connectivity for Bluetooth emulated COM ports (the code is there, just needs a little work). I would like to have a native Bluetooth connectivity option in order to make it simpler for users to set up their devices, but this will imply going back to my Bluetooth code (which I started to write for this very purpose...).

Where do I want to go last? Device P2P. In a few days I will start working on the DesktopSqlCe successor that will also run on devices, so your mobile applications will be able to consume SQL Compact Edition databases locally or on a nearby device.

Back to work.

(*) This is not a real Beta. I will keep adding features to the application while it is almost ready to go live and after that as well. Beta status will stop when data can be exported to an Access database and when the number of errors is reduced to a sane minimum.