Premise Apple iPad now running native Sys Browser

[pm2000]

For years I've been looking for the ultimate UI device to control our Premise systems. I own both Fujitsu and HP tablets which run Premise SYS browsers well but ultimately these are Windows devices with all the shortcomings that come with it. They are heavy and really slow to wake up when hibernating. They are also designed to be full personal computers with all that extra baggage like, USB ports, VGA ports, many buttons etc.

So when the iPhone showed up, and later iPad, we all sighed ... if only we could get these to run the SYS Automation Browser. Well that day has come.

Attached is a photo of my iPad running the native SYS browser. Everything works ... and it only took me 10 minutes to set up! It all started yesterday as I was browsing the iPad magazine at the bookstore and came across an article describing RDP (Remote Desktop) apps for the IPhone/iPad. RDP apps enable you to control a remote computer from another computer simply by duplicating the screen and mouse behavior. Since I was already using this to program my Premise server (I am using RDP to program my server "locally" as I found Premise Builder remote access unstable at times).

Anyway, I went on iTunes and downloaded Jump Desktop, a $19.99 app. The setup was simple as I simply logged into existing Widows-based RDP server. You can do the same or use any other Windows computer running the Premise Browser. There are other RDP apps out there but Jump seemed to have had the best reviews.

The response time is great. The small 0.5-1sec lag does not bother me at this point. When the iPad screen turns off and you wake it up, the SYS Browser screen comes right back up ... instantly!

I have not tried it on the iPhone but it should work the same, except for the reduced screen real estate. I plan on using the iPad exclusively. In my opinion, the IPad is the ultimate Premise controller at this point. Many of the other home automation vendors are already rewriting their UI to run on the iPad. The $499 price point is cheaper than any of the other tablets on the market. I think I will stick to this solution until another PC manufacturer creates a Windows device that is comparable to the iPad experience.

Patrik

 

[etc6849]

Looks nice. I like how AB stretches to fill the entire screen. How did you do the stretching through the RDP client or did you have to change the resolution of your iPad? Any chance you can stick a youtube video up so we can all see how it responds?

 

[123]

Nice job! Thanks for the update!

 

[Helheim]

Or you could get an Andriod tablet for less than half of an iPad and use RDP as well.

 

[etc6849]

I'll try RDP on my android phone (HTC EVO 4G) when I get home this weekend. If it's anything like my old PPC it will be too slow to use RDP and the AB, but it's worth trying.

 

[chucklyons]

Looks nice - good info. Are you able to do concurrent RDP sessions? (Not from the single iPad, but if one had multiple iPads)..XP has some hacks to permit concurrent sessions..also, if you aren't able to have concurrent sessions, does you iPad get kicked off when you RDP into Builder? (I have to be cynical as if this allows me three concurrent sessions, I may finally have to drink the Apple 'Kool-Aid')

 

[pm2000]

Looks nice. I like how AB stretches to fill the entire screen. How did you do the stretching through the RDP client or did you have to change the resolution of your iPad? Any chance you can stick a youtube video up so we can all see how it responds?

It all just worked the first time I tried it. I set the Browser to full screen and set the toolbar for AutoHide. I was surised how well it fit in the iPad screen.

The really nice thing abou the iPad is that you can still use the iPad zoom feature to enlarge a portion of the screen. This is very handy when you are browsing though your Media using the List view . Those icons were always too small for touch-based devices and so it was always hard to select with a finger. With the iPad you can quickly zoom, enlarging the icons so that they are easy to press. It is all so seamless. I used to design UI for Windows applications and I continue to be amazed how good a job Apple has done with the iPhone/iPad inteface.

Patrik

 

[pm2000]

Looks nice - good info. Are you able to do concurrent RDP sessions? (Not from the single iPad, but if one had multiple iPads)..XP has some hacks to permit concurrent sessions..also, if you aren't able to have concurrent sessions, does you iPad get kicked off when you RDP into Builder? (I have to be cynical as if this allows me three concurrent sessions, I may finally have to drink the Apple 'Kool-Aid')

I do not believe concurent sessions are possible with the Windows RDP server. If fact your RDP session is terminated once someone logs into the machine. You will need to use a different computers for each client. This is really not a problem in my house because (1) we have only one iPad and (2) if we neded multiple iPads different members of the family could RDP to their own PCs to use the SYS Browser.

The Jump RDP client times out after a while. I need to find out if this is a Windows setting or something else about the way iPad goes to sleep after a while.

patrik