Jamaica has one of the best digital platforms in the region, says Managing Director of LPA Corporate Solutions (Caribbean) Limited, Elena Henckel DaCosta.

The platform, dubbed the ‘Jamaica Business Gateway’, is designed to streamline business to government interactions. It was recently launched at the AC Hotel by Marriott Kingston.

Speaking at the event, Mrs. DaCosta said the new platform is one of the best government portals in the region and Western hemisphere.

“I have analysed scores of government portals from Singapore in the east to Puerto Rico in the west, and if I may humbly say, the Jamaica Business Gateway (JBG) is world-class,” she said.

Mrs. DaCosta pointed out that with the platform’s launch, “many governments in the region will soon be knocking at your doorstep, asking for a peek into your progress as https://jamaicabusinessgateway.com/ will become a flag bearer for digital transformation.”

Prior to the launch, there was no central platform where businesses, citizens and investors could go to submit applications digitally for several government services, apply for permits, licences, authorisations and/or approvals, as these were, and some still are, performed with paper-based or other manual processes.

Mrs. DaCosta recounted that when the project started 15 months ago, “it was merely an idea with some powerful concepts surrounding judicially transforming the way government interacts with the private sector, citizens and international investors in the process of executing e-government services.”

The development saw various supervising agencies, beneficiary groups, Ministries, Departments and Agencies working tirelessly to design the JBG – a solution which encompasses and envisions all stakeholder benefits and expectations.

Recognising the hard work of the supporting agencies, including the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Mrs. DaCosta said she has worked in information technology for the past 25 years, and “I’m totally inspired by Jamaica’s exemplary approach to project development and oversight.”

“Nowhere else have I worked, witnessed and experienced the level of responsibility, accountability and transparency adhered to and absorbed by these agencies, in their supervising capacity throughout the life of the project,” the Managing Director added.

Customers hailing a ride or looking to have some food delivered via Uber are seeing a new look.

For the first time in more than six years, Uber has given its app a broad overhaul, incorporating all of its services—including Uber Eats, grocery delivery, and e-bike rental—and letting passengers track their ride. It’s the first in a series of improvements, the company says, that aim to make the service more personalized.

“The business has really changed from one key product to now, where we have over 20 products developed,” Jen You, Uber’s head of product for rides, told Fast Company. “We’re redefining what it means, as a verb, to Uber. It can mean getting a ride or getting dinner or getting flowers or pet food delivered. It means something different to everyone.”

The changes come just weeks after the company reported its “strongest quarter ever” and will largely benefit customers who use Apple products. For instance, updates on the proximity of drivers as well as notifications when they arrive are now incorporated into the iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island and will be reflected in the live activities feed, a feature first showcased last year at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

(Work is underway to offer similar functionality to Android users, but there’s no specific timeline on when it will be available, says You.)

The new app design has two categories—rides and delivery—which the user can toggle between at the top of the screen.

Riders will enter their destination at the top and be presented with several options, such as adding a destination, hiring a driver as a chauffeur, reserving a future ride, and finding a scooter or electric bike, if they’d prefer an alternate means of transportation.

The rides option also shows how many drivers are in the immediate area, which can give you an at-a-glance idea of how quickly you might be able to catch a ride.

Work on the update has been underway for over a year, says You. And Wednesday’s rollout will reach tens of millions of users in more than 1,200 cities worldwide. (Some users got a sneak preview of the app in the past few days, as Uber updated a limited number of accounts to test the rollout.)

“Part of our platform strategy is to make it really easy to discover and engage across a wide variety of products, but we also want to make sure it was personalized to you and to the products you use the most,” said You.

In other words, if you typically order an Uber Green or premium vehicle like the BMW 7-Series, Audi A6, or a Tesla Model X, the app will now remember that and offer those as the default option.

The app will also be situationally aware, says You. For instance, if you get a ride to the airport, it might suggest getting a rental car at your destination or advance scheduling your ride home when you return. It might also suggest preferred Uber Eats options at your destination.

Different users will have different experiences with the app, with different Uber services highlighted, depending on their past usage. But the redesign is also meant to future-proof the app, giving Uber the ability to prominently feature any new services it offers down the road.

“It makes the app flexible to showcase different products to different users, and also as we’re introducing new products over time,” says You.

By Chris Morris FastCompany
https://www.fastcompany.com/90853878/uber-unveils-new-redesigned-app-personalized

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey — once a supporter of Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the site — is now offering sharp criticism of the new owner and his handling of the deal.

Asked if Musk has proven himself to be the best possible steward for the platform, Dorsey said, “No. Nor do I think he acted right after realizing his timing was bad. Nor do I think the board should have forced the sale.”

After stock markets turned shortly following his offer to buy Twitter a year ago, Musk sought to withdraw from the deal. That prompted a legal battle between the company and the billionaire, before the acquisition was completed at its original offer price.

“It all went south,” Dorsey wrote on Bluesky, the invite-only Twitter alternative that he’s backing.

Twitter did not specifically respond to a request for comment.

Dorsey, who was friendly with Musk for years and suggested he get involved with Twitter, was previously publicly in favor of the deal. Last year, he called Musk as owner of Twitter “the singular solution I trust.”

On Friday, one Bluesky user said it was pretty sad how it all went down, to which Dorsey replied “yes.” But Twitter “would have never survived as a public company,” he added in another post. “Would you rather have had it owned by hedge funds and Wall Street activists? That was the only alternative.”

Under Musk, who took over in late October, Twitter cut a majority of its staff and endured a number of public crises, including over its plan for verifying users. Musk has been pitching a subscription service for Twitter in which users can obtain a blue check mark for $8 a month.

“Payment as proof of human is a trap and I’m not aligned with that at all,” Dorsey said on Bluesky. “The payment systems being used for that proof exclude millions if not billions of people.”

By Sarah Frier @ Bloomberg
April 29, 2023

Forecasts from Apple’s most important chipmaker — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing — is likely to spark concerns over a persistent tech slump. The semi-conductor producer warned demand from mobile and PC industries would remain soft for now, but added it’s sticking to previously stated plans to spend $36 billion on improving its capacity this year. The big question the company faces is whether China’s reopening will provide the bounce it’s hoping for. Yet a mixed bag of forecasts from peers underscores the uncertainty that the industry faces, from geopolitical pressures to consumers and businesses tighten their belts.

The cryptocurrency is up 82% since Dec. 31, handily beating the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100’s 19% gain. Underpinning Bitcoin’s partial comeback is hope (or wishful thinking) in some quarters that the now-subsiding banking crisis will force the Federal Reserve to hit pause on rate increases—something the Fed said it won’t do.