Jim Warman Posted June 12, 2005 Share Posted June 12, 2005 Has anyone heard how progress is coming on the IDS system for laptops? Ford is really pushing the PDS here in Canada but I like the idea of having my scan tool and manuals all in one spot - not to mention saving the $600 that a P-PC will cost over and above the VCM. My eyes like the bigger screen of the laptop, too I can't be sure, but it sounds like the biggest benefit of the PDS is that it reboots quicker than the WDS.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted June 12, 2005 Author Share Posted June 12, 2005 I just re-read my post.... I can remember when everyone in the shop oohed and ahhed over my brand new dwell guage. Now I have a tool we never even dreamed of and I'm looking to donate my dwell guage to a museum..... Gawd... it's been a llooonnnnggggg time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordTechCA Posted June 23, 2005 Share Posted June 23, 2005 i didnt realize i missed this post Jim. anyways im on the beta program for IDS. myself along with 14 other techs across the country have been using and debugging IDS now for about 2 months. any questions about PDS or IDS ill do my best to get answers. you can ask me here or on the flatratetech.com tech-to-tech boards( im Rich L on those boards) anyways from what i see both PDS and IDS will be needed. reason why, IMO the laptop sucks trying to roadtest with. PDS does about 95% of what WDS does that you dont need extra cables for. PDS IMO is really a OBD2 replacement for NGS. its alot faster, can do module programming, power balance testing and a whole bunch of other stuff while being easier to handle while trying to do roadtest. PDS has had some minor trouble since its release but the next version of software that due to come out very soon should fix alot of stability issues. ive been testing that for 3 weeks now without any connection issues. as for IDS. well its basicly the WDS software thats being tweaked and adjusted to work on a laptop using the same VCM that PDS uses. it also uses the VMM to do the tests that WDS does when you have to use other cables. its way faster then WDS of course but just having everything on one machine makes it nice. right now the beta laptops are the Dell D600 and a Panasonic Toughbook. the panasonic has touch screen yet cost alot more money. i have the Dell and really miss the touch screen, especially on roadtest. if your looking to get a laptop in getting ready for the future release of IDS, get the fastest you can afford. basic requirements needed are a DVD drive, 2 USB ports, 512mb of ram, 40gb harddrive, 1.4ghz pentium-m or faster processor, built in wireless or able to add wireless by a wireless card. having wireless is very nice. ive been using IDS, while getting info off the PTS site and if your doing a reprogram and IDS needs to connect to download a file it will do so without having to disconnect to redock like you have to with WDS as long as you have a wireless network in your shop. as of now release is still end of year, early next year at the latest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted June 23, 2005 Author Share Posted June 23, 2005 Thanks, Rich... my laptop is a 2.something gig Toshiba with all the goodies I need. Handling the command entries should be no problem since help roadtesting is part of our shop foreskins (oops, foreman) job. I feel that WDSs problems are simply that the hardware can't handle the software and I don't see why they don't just upgrade. The wireless aspect of IDS sounds good in theory, but I can just see what will happen if someone assigns an IP address wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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