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and privacy are a concern to many, as Google will not certify that their environment and complies with regulatory requirements such as HIPAA and Gramm-Leach-Bliley. Google will also not certify that stored data is encrypted at rest. Many employers will not want copies of confi dential data stored on Google's servers, and there is not a simple way to password protect individual fi les and still retain the ability to edit the documents on a mobile device.
by the cashier directly from the phone screen. T is tool can also be used to retain
other types of barcodes, including gym passes, membership cards, and almost any other identifi cation number.
Benefi ts: • Allows you to participate in loyalty plans without carrying all of the cards, as well as share your loyalty cards with your spouse and children for maximum savings and rewards.
• T e app turns the camera on your smartphone into a barcode scanner which can automatically read the data on loyalty card barcodes.
• Cloud-based backup allows you to easily populate your data on a new device without having to rescan all of the cards.
• Custom coupons from some stores can be presented to you from within the mobile app.
Potential Limitations: • Some scanners are unable to recog- nize the barcodes rendered on the smartphone screens.
• Application will not work with programs which utilize technologies other than barcodes (e.g. RFID, magnetic card readers) to store and retrieve identifying information.
• T ere are some potential privacy concerns associated with a third party having all of your membership numbers.
Operating Systems: iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile
March 2012 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 25
Publisher: Mobestream Media Publisher's Website: www.keyringapp.com Price: Free
Offi ce365, or Windows Live SkyDrive. Although Google Docs is not appro- priate for some information, it is an excellent tool for non-confi dential real time collaboration with other users on the go.
APP PROFILE:
Google Docs App for Android
Summary: An interesting tool for web-based collaboration. Although Google Docs is thought
of as a weak replacement for Microsoſt Offi ce, there are situations where it can be used much more easily than some of the tools which use native Microsoſt Offi ce apps. T e collaboration features within Google Docs are much easier to confi gure than Microsoſt alternatives like Microsoſt SharePoint, Microsoſt
Benefi ts: • T e new Android version of Google Docs includes offl ine editing, for those rare occasions when your mobile device can't get online.
• Documents composed or edited on mobile devices can be retrieved and edited from within the Microsoſt Office applications for Windows using the Google Cloud Connect add-in.
• Google Docs provides simple sharing of information with other users, and includes advanced features like automatic saving, version control, and tools for organizing your data.
Potential Limitations: • T e Google environment's security
• T ere are limitations on the size of documents in Google Docs, and many large or complex documents cannot be accessed. Commonly used Microsoſt Offi ce features such as Excel PivotTables, automatic tables of contents in Microsoſt Word, and connections to external databases (e.g. mail merges) are not supported.
• Format ing is inconsistent, and all large documents tested had signifi cant diff erences in how the document was rendered in the Windows version of Microsoſt Offi ce and Google Docs.
Operating Systems: An App is available for Android devices, but there is also a mobile version of the web application (ht p://docs.google. com) which can be used on other devices, including BlackBerry, iOS, Linux, and Windows Mobile. Publisher: Google Publisher's Website: www.google.com/mobile/docs/ Price: Free