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AMT Lab News Roundup: May

May was another interesting month in technology & arts. There have been changes to platforms we use everyday and policy changes that all mangers should read up on. Here are a few articles that stood out to our AMT Lab staff.

Updates to Everyday Platforms

Jumping Into the New Gmail

Gmail has a new face! The New York Times walks through how to access it, and what the new interface looks like. Change can be difficult, but this article talks through some of the new tools that have been added and how to turn them off, if that doesn't appeal.

The best addition is new security measures, which will be a theme in this roundup, but if the user is really not interested in the new version, even after they've clicked it, gmail has the option to go back to the old version, for now. 

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/apple-wwdc-augmented-reality-wearables/

Apple's New AR Features are Proof that Wearables are Coming

Apple gave a cryptic presentation about the possibility of "T288" which is a product that involves Augmented Reality (AR) and wearables. After launching the ARKit last year, they are aiming to launch new products in 2020, but the presenter was unclear as to any firm details. 

What the author sees as clear, is that Apple is moving away from iphones to some extent in the future. They are working on instead improving the ARKit to ARKit 2.0. To see what the author thinks might happen, check out this article from Wired.

New News in Data Security

A last minute GDPR checklist for charities

Did you get a million emails about privacy updates this past month? That's because General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules have been implemented. This article from Charity Navigator has a really simple infographic to help clarify what that means if anyone is unsure. 

Keeping up with these changes can be challenging, but with time and planning these new rules aren't too difficult to add-in. 

An Encryption Upgrade Could Upend Online Payments

It's not only GDPR that's being implemented this summer, credit card merchants will also be facing new mandatory levels of encryption with a deadline of June 30th. Although many merchants have already made enough upgrades to satisfy this new minimum, there are still some stragglers. This article walks through more of the details, and really highlights which types of merchants and devices to watch out for. 

 

Finally, as we settle into the summer months, the staff at AMT Lab hopes our readers will take a moment for themselves. As arts managers we often take on a lot, but we also understand the need to reflection and self-awareness. This article from the Pew Research Center has some interesting insights about how to take care of ourselves in a tech-centric world.