LapStock is a farm management application that enables easy collaboration between users on Java enabled devices in areas with good, poor or no Internet connection.
LapStock devices have an always work approach. Whether you are working alone, in a small group not connected to the Internet or with poor intermittent Internet connection - your LapStock device will work as you would expect and without that annoying spinning wheel or error message.
LapStock devices are designed to immediately back-up your changes as soon as you make them. Even without an Internet connection, you can have multiple devices connected over Bluetooth and/or WiFi and they will stay in sync. So if a device, say tablet, dies then you can just pick up a sync'd device, say laptop, and continue to work from where you were on the other device.
You can have lots of LapStock devices working offline and alone for weeks. When you connect them together, they will merge all their data so they are all updated. You can merge data with as many devices and as often as you like and you can continue to work while they are merging. Working is high priority, merging is lower priority.
LapStock devices run stand-alone, that is, they do not need to connect to the Internet or any other device. You can quite happily go out into a paddock and view, add or edit data without any problems. At some time in the future when you connect to another device, the devices will merge all their changes with each other.
LapStock devices are designed to work peer-to-peer. So you can have two or more devices communicating directly over Bluetooth or local WiFi. This means that you can have a number of laptops, phones and tablets in the yards talking directly to each other even though there is no way to get an Internet connection. This is different to most applications you currently use, they either don't communicate with other devices or they require an Internet connection to share information.
Not only does this mean that any changes you make are immediately sent to the people working with you, it also means that all changes you make are automatically backed-up on other devices. So if your tablet or laptop dies, you won't lose the days work.
LapStock devices can also communicate directly to each over the Internet using 3G, 4G, WiFi or Bluetooth connection to the Internet.
To give you an idea of cost, for under $25 USD (delivered) you can buy a WiFi enabled Android mini PC with 12V adapter that can run from a car 12V socket and wirelessly back up your LapStock device as you are using it. So if your LapStock device dies and loses all your data, you can retrieve all your LapStock data from this cheap backup Android mini PC. It stays constantly in sync with your LapStock device without the need for an Internet connection. Perfect for when you're working alone in remote areas. When you first buy the backup device you need to configure it - after that all you need to do is turn it on and it will automatically find and sync with all your LapStock devices in WiFi range without requiring any user interaction.
Device specs: 1.5GHz processor, 1Gig RAM, 4Gig Flash, WiFi b/g/n
Of course, you could consider buying a more expensive device with more features for a few more dollars or just using another phone, tablet or laptop for backups. Using a tablet with real-time backup to your phone is probably the most common scenario anyway.
LapStock also works in the traditional client-server mode, which is how most apps you currently use work. Your data is sent to the Cloud which is a useful place to store your data for off-site backup. Note that for LapStock, the server on the Internet is treated more like a peer device than an actual server. This means that you are not required to connect to a server on the Internet if you don't want to. So you don't have to store your personal data on a computer you have no control over. Which means you don't have to worry about government agencies secretly gaining access to your data or a badly configured system making your personal information available to the world. You also don't have to rely on the service losing your information as you keep a copy of your data on all your devices anyway.
LapStock allows you to partially share your data, so you could specify to keep some of the less private information on a server on the Internet and keep your more private information only on your devices.
Also, with the approach taken by LapStock, you can keep some or all of your data encrypted on an Internet server. The information is encrypted on your device before being sent to the server and it can only be decrypted on your devices after receiving the data from the server. So if the owner of the Internet server sells your personal information to a third party, or accidentally leaks it, or gives it to a government agency, you data is encrypted and useless with out the decryption key, which they will have to get directly from you.