*By Christian Smith*
New York's ubiquitous yellow taxis are getting a much needed tech upgrade.
Curb Mobility, the company behind the Curb app that lets riders hail taxis from their smartphones like they would an Uber or Lyft, launched an initiative Thursday to equip New York's yellow cab fleet with a new tablet-based digital operating system.
"In the face of disruption, there is a unique opportunity to modernize and enhance the taxi experience for both sides," Curb's CEO Amos Tamam said in a statement. "By empowering drivers with tools that make their job easier and more profitable, they'll be able to focus on providing the utmost service to their riders."
There are two parts to Curb's new Android-based system. "Dash" is an 8-inch display that will replace the clunky dashboard boxes that have been in cabs for decades. The new dashboard tablet will track the cost of a ride, and it includes tools for the driver like multi-language support, GPS navigation, live traffic information, and an emergency panic button.
The "Ryde" component is for passengers, who have access to a 10-inch tablet with apps, including an updated version of Taxi TV.
"By opening up the platform, we're allowing third-party developers to come up with applications to run for that passenger," Jason Gross, Curb's vice president of mobile, said in an interview on Cheddar. "So it could be listening to Spotify or Pandora, it could be browsing restaurants or even making reservations on an Open Table right from the back of a taxi."
The new system will also give passengers price security. Rather than waiting until the end of the ride, Curb app users will be able to get a fixed price before the ride begins when they input their location and destination.
The new Curb operating system is being used in dozens of cabs around the city, with a wider rollout planed for June.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/nycs-taxis-get-a-tech-upgrade).
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
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Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
