Things To Do In SW Florida

Boards of directors

Erica Shay, director of marketing and business development, Matern Professional Engineering, was appointed as chair of the Lake Eustis Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

Construction

Ryan McDavid was promoted to director of business development at T&T Construction Management Group Inc., Casselberry.

Education

Lauren Smith was appointed dean of the Hamilton Holt School at Rollins College, Winter Park.

Health care

Jules Johanson-Jones was appointed national director of life engagement and memory care at Orlando-based Bridge Senior Living.

Real estate

Adam Roark has joined The McKee Group at Compass Florida as a real estate advisor.

Submit professional appointments, management-level promotions and significant awards for individuals, along with photos as .jpg attachments, to peopleonmove@orlandosentinel.com.

By Tommy Tindall  | NerdWallet

It ought to be as easy to end a paid subscription service as it is to start it, but that’s not always the case. Have you ever had to make a phone call to cancel something you signed up for online?

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS (AP Business Writer)

NEW YORK (AP) — A newly released ad promoting Apple’s new iPad Pro has struck quite a nerve online.

The ad, which was released by the tech giant Tuesday, shows a hydraulic press crushing just about every creative instrument artists and consumers have used over the years — from a piano and record player, to piles of paint, books, cameras and relics of arcade games. Resulting from the destruction? A pristine new iPad Pro.

“The most powerful iPad ever is also the thinnest,” a narrator says at the end of the commercial.

Apple’s intention seems straightforward: Look at all the things this new product can do. But critics have called it tone-deaf — with several marketing experts noting the campaign’s execution didn’t land.

“I had a really disturbing reaction to the ad,” said Americus Reed II, professor of marketing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. “I understood conceptually what they were trying to do, but … I think the way it came across is, here is technology crushing the life of that nostalgic sort of joy (from former times).” read more

CAPE CANAVERAL — Port Canaveral officials revealed Thursday a plan to turn an existing cargo berth into a new cruise terminal in 2026 that can handle the largest cruise ships in the world.

“The need now for our cruise partners is immediate,” said port CEO Capt. John Murray. “We have a point now where we’re starting to turn business away from Port Canaveral.”

The port had initially targeted construction of a seventh terminal on the south side of the port after moving several marina businesses. This new plan will convert North Cargo Berth 8 opposite Cruise Terminal 5 on the north side of the port.

Murray said the original plan turned out to be “a five- to six-year project to do it correctly.”

Working with the existing cargo terminal allows for a quick construction turnaround. It’s already deep enough to handle any cruise ship, even what will become the world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas, set to call Port Canaveral home when it debuts.

“It will be a state-of-the-art terminal, will use all the latest technologies, that will handle the largest ships in the world, and it will be a multiuser facility,” Murray said. “In other words, we, Port Canaveral, will run the terminal and it won’t be cruise-line specific — so multiple brands, a big-ship terminal, gives us the flexibility to put the largest ships in there and the smaller ones at some of our older facilities that can’t handle the largest ships.” read more

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN (AP Business Writer)

TikTok will begin labeling content created using artificial intelligence when it’s been uploaded from outside its own platform in an attempt to combat misinformation.

“AI enables incredible creative opportunities, but can confuse or mislead viewers if they don’t know content was AI-generated,” the company said in a prepared statement Thursday. “Labeling helps make that context clear—which is why we label AIGC made with TikTok AI effects, and have required creators to label realistic AIGC for over a year.”

TikTok’s shift in policy is part of an broader attempt in the technology industry to provide more safeguards for AI usage. In February Meta announced that it was working with industry partners on technical standards that will make it easier to identify images and eventually video and audio generated by artificial intelligence tools. Users on Facebook and Instagram users would see labels on AI-generated images.

Google said last year that AI labels are coming to YouTube and its other platforms. read more