Key Articles

• Stardraw Control supports Apple iPad
• New UK Office
• Free Driver Policy Finds Favor
• New Drivers Now Available
• New Training Dates from RGB Communications
• New Training Dates from Comm-Tec
• Upcoming events
• Symbols Updates

Stardraw Control supports Apple iPad

As the first shipments of Apple's much-discussed iPad roll off of the production lines and into the eager hands of US consumers (delivery dates in Europe are still vaguely described as "end of May") software provider Stardraw.com confirms and demonstrates support of the iPad through their universal system control platform, Stardraw Control 2010.

There's been a lot of debate about the features (and possible failings) of the iPad but in the view of Stardraw.com CEO David Snipp, the device has great potential in the control market. "Having used an iPad for a few weeks now, I have to say that I'm impressed with its speed and versatility, and amazed at its battery life. It's clear that it will excel as a touchpanel interface for system control as long as it has the right back-end, by which I mean, of course, Stardraw Control."

The iPad features a 9.7" 1024x768 touchscreen, Wi-Fi connectivity, 10 hour in-use battery life (30 days on standby) and, at a slender 0.5" thickness, it weighs in at around 1½ pounds (0.68kg). Snipp continued, "The form factor and technical specs are such that the iPad could almost have been designed specifically as a user-interface device for system control and, since pricing starts at less than USD500, it makes one wonder why anyone would spend maybe ten times more on a 'proprietary' touchscreen. The iPad is great way to deliver more to the end user at a lower cost, with the advantage that it's a sexy gadget."

It is by virtue of support for Webservices that Stardraw Control can employ the iPad, or indeed any device that supports a browser or talks HTTP, as a user interface device. Webservices permit direct machine-to-machine communications, and the complementary technology "Ajax" (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) makes for a very rich, bi-directional user experience delivered through standard HTML. Where Stardraw Control has long claimed to control any hardware over any protocol, it can now itself be controlled and monitored by anything that is browser- or HTTP-enabled, including the iPad.

"It is important," says Snipp, "to note that we are not using an App to deliver the control interface: Apps as understood in the context of the App Store are restrictive commercially, logistically and technologically. Instead we are using WebApp technology which delivers a user experience indistinguishable from an App but with far more flexibility and no restrictions. Systems integrators can now build great-looking UIs and deliver them through the device of their choice, including the iPad, to control and monitor any hardware in any system using Stardraw Control."

New UK Office

Stardraw.com's UK offices have moved to a new location in the heart of London's West End. While phone and fax numbers remain unchanged, the new address details are:

78 York Street

London

W1H 1DP

United Kingdom

Free Driver Policy Finds Favor

Last month we announced a new policy regarding the free creation of custom device drivers for Stardraw Control. The main point of the policy initiative is that any registered user of Stardraw Control can request new drivers as long as a few common-sense conditions, e.g. that the command protocol is open, documented and supported, are met, and expect turnaround of that driver in 30 days or less.

We have been delighted with the response to this initiative, and even more pleased to confirm that new drivers for all confirmed requests have been published. More impressive still, although we guarantee a 30 day response, the average turnaround time for drivers is in fact LESS THAN 2 HOURS!

Once written and published, drivers are instantly available to ALL users through Stardraw Control's transparent product update process which runs in the background whenever the application is launched and synchronizes local drivers with those available through Stardraw's webserver. Commenting on the free driver policy, CEO David Snipp said, "Everybody wins. Our users get control of the products they need with no outlay in cash or time, and the Stardraw Control platform itself benefits from a raft of newly supported devices that people need to control in the real world."

Visit Drivers Request Forum

New Drivers for Stardraw Control

Since the last newsletter, the following advanced drivers have been added to the Stardraw Control product family:

These, as with all published drivers, will be automatically added to your Stardraw Control product library when you choose to accept Library Updates on startup. To make your own product requests, please visit our Drivers Request forum by following the link below.

Visit Drivers Request Forum

New Training Events

Newly-appointed UK & Eire distributor RGB Communications has announced a program of one-day training courses providing a valuable introduction to Stardraw Control and Stardraw AV to be held at their headquarters in Hungerford, Berkshire. Upcoming courses take place on April 27th and May 25th. A booking fee of £25 applies.

For more information and to reserve your place at a training day please contact Kate Wilson on katew@rgbcomms.co.uk or call 0844 8800790/+44 (0)1488 73366

New Training Dates from Comm-Tec

European master distributor Comm-Tec announces a sequence of new dates for their hugely popular 2-day Stardraw Control Training events, and one day sessions for Stardraw AV. Sessions are held in German and booking fees are waived for registered users.

View details of Comm-Tec Training Sessions

Upcoming Events

	Show:	InfoComm
	Venue:	LVCC, Las Vegas, NV, USA
	Dates:	June 9-11
	Booth:	C4153

Symbols Updates

In March the following libraries were updated in one or more of Stardraw's design/documentation applications (Stardraw Audio 2007, Stardraw AV 2007 and Stardraw AV Lite 2007). Click on a manufacturer name to see full details of that library.

To update your Offline Libraries, select Options | Synchronize Offline Libraries in your Stardraw application.