CPA Practice Advisor

JAN 2013

Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.

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MONTHLY MICRO APPS accou nt s (Facebook , Tw it ter, LinkedIn, two Google accounts, Windows Live, Microsof Ofce 365, and a new XBox Music subscription) in approximately 15 minutes. The startup wizard guided me through adding all of my accounts, requiring only usernames and passwords to confgure all but one of my accounts, and seamlessly transitioned me from my A ndroid phone to Windows Phone 8. One common argument used against Windows Mobile is that it lacks sofware. Te selection in the Windows Phone App Store is more limited than the broad selection available in Apple's App Store and on Google Play. Te Windows Phone 8 platform has many of the top iPhone and Android apps, and requires some services to be accessed using a web browser instead of a native application. While services like Pinterest, Google and Pandora do not have free Windows Phone apps, there are third party apps available at minimal cost. Windows RT: Microsoft Surface RT Windows RT is a special version of Windows 8 launched in late 2012 which runs on ARM processors that are normally used in consumer electronics devices like DVD players, smart phones, and printers. Although Windows RT looks identical to Windows 8, it requires all sofware to be purchased from the Windows Store and cannot be a centrally administered "member" of many business networks (e.g. a domain). Te Microsof Surface RT (32 GB $499, 64GB $599) is a well-designed, attractive piece of hardware. The device is light, yet sturdy, with a bright high-resolution screen, and has an acceptable batery life for most users. There are expansion ports supporting USB, HDMI, and VGA connections (some require purchasing an adapter), support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as well as other accessories like keyboards and mice. Te best feature of Windows RT is the included versions of Microsof Word, Microsof Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint. The Microsoft Ofce experience is as good for routine document and spreadsheets as the full version running on Windows 8, and is superior to anything which runs natively on an iPad. Te integration with business networks (e.g. SharePoint, network fle shares) and personal cloud storage services like SkyDrive is excellent. Files are stored in the same file format (X LSX, DOCX, PPTX) as the desktop version of the application. Documents printed almost identically under Windows RT as they did in Windows 8 to four of the fve printers atached to my network. Te selection of sofware currently available for this new operating system is very limited, and lacked a number of key applications needed by CPAs at the time of this writing, including a credible PDF editing tool. I could access almost everything I needed online using the included Internet Explorer 10 browser and the remote desktop application. Conclusion Microsof has made a huge step forward with Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 to extend its computing ecosystem with new Microsof operating systems for smartphones and tablets. Windows Phone 8 is strong enough that my non-technical wife and I independently selected the HTC 8X as our personal cell phones. Accounting professionals should evaluate Windows Phone 8 alongside Apple iOS and Google Android when they renew their smartphone contract. I am more guarded with Windows RT, and believe that it will take a number of months for the software catalog to add many of the needed solutions. It is clear that Microsof has changed its approach to provide more compelling mobile devices, and only time (and sales) will determine the long-term success of these platforms. For more information, please go to CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/10028044

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