On 15/04/2008, Martin Visser <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Also do they actually need to carry the data with them? It would seem > if the ratio of data owners to intelligent devices/readers is so high, > you really come back to simply needing a card number ala Medicare - or > maybe even something like a "tinyurl" only a little more human > rememberable.The client then just needs to recite their number/tinurl. > > This assumes that the reader device has real-time (or maybe near > real-time is good enough, access to the data storage. (And near real > -time may be good enough - 1 000 000 users with 10 K data each is > "only" 10G - easily replicated on all your reader devices - assuming > the data doesn't change all that often.
Each card will have data particular to its owner, and the laptop needs to be able to both read from and write to it. This makes a simple URL or barcode system infeasible. There will be no Internet connectivity, and the laptop used to read the data will not have access to the central database while in the field. At the end of the day/week, they can synchronise their data at the central office. The card only probably needs to be accessed once per week, while the laptop-wielder is visiting. Sorry I'm being so vague about this. I don't have permission at the moment to divulge details. What I can say is that it is for a totally charitable purpose in the developing world. -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
