Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/460060
TECHNOLOGY IN PRACTICE around two pounds, taking your Yoga designs to the next level. OFFICE TECH: Consumer head- lines from this year's CES focused on 4K plus displays and curved screens which were targeted at home televi- sions, but HP quietly rolled out its 34" curved PC displays ( HP 34C ) which would be a suitable replacement for two traditional screens on any CPA desktop. While the initial $999 price tag may br i ng out st icker shock , within a year we expect that price to come down enough for use within accounting frms. To c o n ne c t y o u r e q u i p me nt , IOGear had an amazing USB Uni- versal Docking Strip with six USB 3.0 ports and two HD video ports already capable of supporting the future 4K standard! For laptop users that only have a mini display port for external video, Accell released a new Dua l Display MST Hub that had connections for two HD monitors. C a n o n u p d a t e d i t s e x i s t i n g scanner lines with new models such as the DR-M16011 and DR-C225W desktop units, as well as their portable P 2 1 511 u n i t w h i c h i m p r o v e s throughput. One of the biggest sur- prises was HP getting into the 3D printer business w ith commercial grade units. Du r i ng t he I ntel br ief i ng , H P a n nou nced it s Mu lt i Jet Fusion business 3D printers will be running on Intel i7 processors which make these printers ten times faster than existing units a n d c o u l d m a k e proto - t y pi ng ava i l- a b l e t o everyone! 3D printing made a huge splash at CES this year with the u n its not on ly pr i nt i ng food a nd custom chocolates, but even designer dress prototypes which you have to see to believe. MOBILE TOOLS: Working on the road is a requirement today and we saw some g reat tools such as t he SwifPoint Mini Mouse , which was one of the smallest and intuitive to use we have ever seen. Most of us rely extensively on our smartphones and tablets to get at data, but I will admit that when anything longer than a few words needs to be input, I hold of to use my laptop. Zagg Keyboards may change this as they have added touch keyboards f o r v i r t u a l l y a n y s m a r t - phone, tablet, o r p h a b l e t . Back pack s to carry your gear are also geting connected and A mpl i rol led out its Smart Backpack which has seven USB connections, AC power inverter and bateries to keep all your devices charged and your auditors mov ing onto the next client. This backpack comes with a smartphone application to let you know the status of all dev ices and warn you if the BlueTooth connection is broken (if you lef it behind or if someone tries to steal it!) COMMUNICATIONS: W hile not tech-shatering, MiFi 's latest Internet Hot Spot ( 6620 ) can connect up to 15 users and has 20 hours of batery life. Tis device could act as a backup Internet connection for a small ofce as well as charge devices through the USB port in a pinch. We also saw a number of digital cellular boosters a nd sig na l e x tenders such as t he Cel-Fi units that may help in client locations with poor reception. Suitable Tech Beam demoed a f loor full of Telepresence Robots that could allow personnel to virtually atend meetings and actually move around an ofce, even though they are in a remote location thousands of miles away! Most of us a re eit her A pple or A nd roid people and not l i kely to change our phones, but one "super gadget" phone that may open the door to future functionality combines a traditional smartphone with a digital ink back. The YotaPhone 's bonus feature is that 2D black and white data such as a clock, weather, and mes- saging notifcations can be displayed on the phone's e-ink back (which is very low power usage), while tradi- tional features are on the standard screen. POWER/WIRELESS: No one likes to carry bulky charging cables, but there were a couple of units that make it a whole lot easier with smaller form factors. Te FinSix Dart is the world's smallest 65W laptop charger and the C h a r geTe c h P h o n e C h a r g e r c l a i m s t o b e t h e s m a l l e s t phone charger, saving space in your computer bag. In the long run we may not even need a charger cable as the Wireless Consortium has rolled out standards for both conductive and resonance power. W hat does t hat mea n? It means you can lay down your phone, laptop, tablet, heck even your blender or toaster on the wireless pad and it will charge them! Tis is not Sci-Fi as Marriott is already rolling out this technology in its hotels! Well, that's our recap of some of the coolest gadgets and promising tech- nologies we saw at CES 2015. It's always a pleasure to see and dream about what the future can bring; hope you have a great busy season! ACCELL IOGEAR TELEPRESENCE ROBOTS AMPLI HP MULTI JET FUSION SWIFTPOINT FINSIX DART WIRELESS CONSORTIUM ZAGG KEYBOARDS February 2015 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 17