WISP
If you are an accounting firm, you should be aware of the new requirements from the government to have a Written Information Security Plan (WISP). Your firm should go through the process of assigning specific resources per the plan and making sure each employee has read the plan and signed off. Most of the information is common sense surrounding holding and use of personal information. If you need help with preparing the plan please feel free to contact the office for further information.
Gemini
Google recently launched Gemini, a new type of AI model that works with text, images, and video.
The initial version of Gemini will roll out inside of Google’s chatbot Bard for the English language setting and will be available in move than 170 countries and territories. Google described Gemini as “natively multimodal” since it was trained on images, video, and audio, instead of only text, like many other large language models are. There are also three versions; Ultra is the largest and most capable, Nano is significantly smaller and efficient, while Pro is lies right in the middle both in size and capabilities.
A technical report has also been released providing details on Gemini’s inner workings. Google is expected to have developed a novel design for the model with a new mix of training data in an effort to reestablish itself as the world’s leading AI company. There has been comprehensive quality and safety testing because of the model’s more general capabilities. To learn more about the new model, including how it was named, visit here.
iPadOS 17
iPadOS 17 is here to make your iPad more capable than ever with tons of new features.
You can now create a custom look for your Lock Screen by selecting wallpaper, using Kaleidoscope which animates as your device rotates, or browsing a gallery of collections. There is also a new motion effect for Live Photos that makes your Lock Screen feel dynamic when waking it up or settling in once unlocked. Live Activities allow you to stay on top of things happening in real time even on your Lock Screen, plus you can add your favorite widgets to see information you want at a glance. Messages have also received many updates, starting with a new plus button to view all the things you send the most like photos or audio messages. There is a new catch-up arrow to be able to jump to the first message you haven’t seen in a conversation. Search filters can be combined to find a message faster, locations can be shared or requested more easily, and audio messages are now transcribed.
iPadOS 17 has a new sticker drawer where you can access your Live Stickers, emoji, Memoji, and other sticker packs all in one place. You can create one-of-a-kind stickers, stylize stickers with different effects, of create Live Stickers from your own photos. FaceTime now gives you the ability to leave an audio or video message for someone if they’ve missed your call, and if they didn’t miss the call, you can add reactions with your hands while video chatting. The Health app has a design optimized for the larger display, in addition to new features to the Mental Health and Vision Health apps.
These are just some of the many updates and features to look forward to when you update your device to iPadOS 17. Other areas that received some special treatment include PDFs and Notes, Safari and Passwords, Keyboard, Freeform, Stage Manager, Spotlight, Siri, AirPlay, AirPods, and Privacy and Security. To learn more about all the exciting newness, visit here. To learn how to download iPadOS 17 to compatible devices, visit here.
