The Zimbabwean Perspective

@WindowsCentral This is great, but as we said here : x.com/i/status/20311…

You can, in fact, find sub-$599 Windows laptops without settling for terrible specs 💸 Here's one we found earlier with 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, all-day battery life, and more than two USB-C ports! Qualcomm's Snapdragon X chips have been making this possible for a while ⤵️ windowscentral.com/hardware/asus/…

Breaking into Global Competitions using Google AI 📅 14 March | ⏰ 11:00–13:00 Learn how to use Antigravity, AI Studio & Firebase for global hackathons + a #BuildwithAI session with a Google Developer Expert. RSVP: gdg.community.dev/events/details… WhatsApp: chat.whatsapp.com/K7TBRmmAfphCuH…

Everyone's been talking about how Apple's MacBook Neo is primed to make a huge splash when it launches at $599. And here's the thing, it probably will. Not because it's an amazing computer, but because Windows has been dropping the ball SO HARD lately: tzperspective.com/the-macbook-ne…

In case you didn't hear it , Starlink is increasing prices for its Roaming plans to $100, killing its cheapest subscription options in Zimbabwe. And if that's the case, what are the alternatives? Here's what we have so far: tzperspective.com/starlink-is-ab…

We're just going to leave this right here : tzperspective.com/this-electric-…

@zimpricecheck We hate to say this, but our Starlink guide seems to continue to get more and more relevant : x.com/i/status/20237…

🚨 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗬𝗠𝗢𝗢𝗡 𝗜𝗦 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥: 𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗦 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦 𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗗 𝗟𝗧𝗘 📉📱 The writing was on the wall, and now it’s official: 𝗗𝗼𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝘀 (𝗗𝗧𝗲𝗹) has announced an end to its uncapped packages. This change specifically targets their 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗧𝗘 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺—the refuge many flocked to after Econet’s 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗕𝗶𝘇 was replaced by 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗦𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲. 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗨𝗚𝗘 & 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘: Dolphin became an overnight sensation for its US$55 unlimited LTE offer, but its popularity became its undoing. • 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗵: The massive influx of users saw average speeds plummet from a healthy 𝟭𝟭 𝗠𝗯𝗽𝘀–𝟯𝟬 𝗠𝗯𝗽𝘀 down to a frustrating 𝟭 𝗠𝗯𝗽𝘀 in many areas. • 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗱𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗼𝗴𝘀: Internal sources cite "bandwidth pests" who used residential LTE for commercial-grade downloads, effectively choking the network for everyone else. 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗪 "𝗖𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗗" 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬: 🛑📦 Rather than just tightening the Fair Usage Policy (FUP), Dolphin has moved toward a clear-cut capped structure for home users. • 𝗨𝗦$𝟱𝟬 / 𝟭𝟱𝟬 𝗚𝗕: Up to 20 Mbps, valid for 30 days. • 𝗨𝗦$𝟲𝟬 / 𝟮𝟬𝟬 𝗚𝗕: Up to 20 Mbps, valid for 30 days. • 𝗨𝗦$𝟴𝟱 / 𝟯𝟯𝟬 𝗚𝗕: Up to 20 Mbps, valid for 30 days. • 𝗨𝗦$𝟭𝟰𝟬 / 𝟱𝟱𝟬 𝗚𝗕: Up to 20 Mbps, valid for 30 days. • 𝗨𝗦$𝟮𝟮𝟬 / 𝟭𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗚𝗕 (𝟭 𝗧𝗕): Up to 20 Mbps, valid for 30 days. 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲: Equipment for these packages must be bought separately (approx. 𝗨𝗦$𝟲𝟬 for the router). 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜𝗧 𝗠𝗘𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗬𝗢𝗨: If you were using Dolphin as a cheap "Starlink alternative" for unlimited streaming, these new caps will feel like a cold shower. However, for the average user, these rates are still more competitive than Econet’s standard bundles—provided the speeds actually recover now that the "hogs" have been pushed out. 𝗭𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁: The "Unlimited LTE" dream in Zimbabwe continues to face a harsh reality: infrastructure simply cannot handle unrestricted data at low prices without collapsing. 🏗️⚖️ Are you sticking with Dolphin's new caps, or is this the final push you needed to switch to 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸? 🧐💬 Join the 𝗭𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 WhatsApp Channel for more data price updates and tech alerts: whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va… #Zimpricecheck #Zimbabwe #DolphinTelecoms #DTel #LTE #ZimInternet #Econet #SmartBiz #TechAlert

𝗘𝗨 𝗦𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗗: 𝗔 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗘𝗥𝗔 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗭𝗜𝗠 𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦? The landscape for Zimbabwean business just shifted significantly. In its latest annual review (February 2026), the 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 officially lifted all remaining asset freezes and travel bans on individuals and entities in Zimbabwe. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱: 𝟭. 𝗡𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀: Following the delisting of 𝗭𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗮𝗯𝘄𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 (𝗭𝗗𝗜) last year, there are now zero individuals or entities on the EU’s sanctioned list. This means the era of "targeted" travel bans and asset freezes within the EU is officially over. 𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: The only remaining measure is the 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗘𝗺𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗼, which has been extended until 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟳. This restricts the sale or supply of military equipment and technology that could be used for internal repression. 𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 "𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲": As you noted, the real weight of sanctions was often "over-compliance." Fintechs and international banks frequently blacklisted Zimbabwe entirely because the cost of vetting transactions against sanction lists outweighed the profit from our small market. • 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸: European companies can now engage with Zimbabwean partners without the fear of accidentally tripping over a sanctioned entity. • 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: This move provides a clearer path for payment gateways and digital banks to finally consider Zimbabwe as a viable, "clean" jurisdiction for their services.

Starlink capacity is BACK IN ZIM! But with the new priority plans being pricey at $101, we decided to help you get a cheaper alternative on a subscription , kits and even installation. Here is the CHEAPEST way to get a Starlink Kit in Zim: tzperspective.com/the-cheapest-w…

@gushochikonaz @WillarShoko @shoko_tin We have mini kits 0774481007

A few weeks ago, people claimed Google "Won the AI race" because of its deal to help Apple with AI. But what does winning the race actually mean? Did Google do it? And how does that affect our daily live? Check out the article below to know:tzperspective.com/did-google-win…

UPDATE : users are reporting restored functionality and their accounts unlocked again

Multiple users in Harare have been reporting their @EcoCashZW apps and platforms not recognizing user PIN codes and even locking them out. If your ecocash is experiencing problems at the moment, perhaps refrain from using it as people are being locked out.

@Techzim We said it before, we'll say it again : x.com/i/status/20115…

Digital Services Tax Update: ZIMRA Admits Major Problems On The Ground ZIMRA explained how Zimbabwe’s new Digital Services Withholding Tax is supposed to work, on record. That should have been a good thing. But if you listen carefully to what was said, you find out that they really don’t have any answers or solutions. The clarification Zimra gave doesn’t solve the concerns we’ve all been raising since the tax was introduced. It confirms them. The Questions People Asked From Day One When the Digital Services Tax was announced, a few obvious questions came up immediately. The first was double taxation. Many of the foreign digital services they are targeting already charge 15 % VAT. Now they have introduced a 15% digital services tax being collected locally through banks. Without a clear way to make sure those two don’t overlap, we knew what would happen: people would pay twice. The second was platforms that sell both goods and services. Digital platforms don’t fit neatly into boxes. Amazon is a good example. A single Amazon payment could be for a physical product, Amazon Prime, music streaming, cloud services, or a mix of all of them. If the tax only applies to services, banks would need to know what you’re paying for. The third issue was who carries the burden when things aren’t clear. Banks are expected to withhold the tax, but banks don’t see invoices from global platforms with all the items listed. Even if they can’t tell what a payment was for, they still have to withhold 15%, which means it all falls on the customer to prove they shouldn’t have been taxed. These are the real scenarios on the ground. What ZIMRA Has Now Said In a recent interview, ZIMRA explained that the Digital Services Tax applies to imported electronic services provided by companies based outside Zimbabwe. Physical goods, they said, are not subject to the tax. I’m sure we all understand this by now. Zimra clarified that the tax is paid by the person receiving the service in Zimbabwe, not the foreign company. So, they are not even targeting the foreign companies with this tax, just you. As quoted by The Herald, Zimra Head of Technical Services for Domestic Taxes, Mr Mathias Chinanayi, said: "This is not a tax on the supplier. The tax on the supplier is dealt with separately under the Income Tax Act, where a five per cent tax is charged on the gross income earned by the foreign supplier. The digital services tax, however, is paid by the person receiving the service in Zimbabwe." So yeah, the supplier is taxed separately; there already is a mechanism for that. This new Digital Services tax is so that you don’t go scot free either. You gotta pay Mthuli for the privilege of using Microsoft 365. So far, so clear. But ZIMRA also acknowledged something else: that “operational challenges remain.” Specifically, they pointed to problems where foreign service providers are already charging VAT, and to the difficulty of separating goods from services on complex online platforms. The exact concerns people were raising. They added that “work is ongoing to refine the framework and bring consistency and certainty.” That admission makes it all worse. Why This Isn’t Comforting Saying that a tax will be refined after it has already been implemented isn’t reassuring, especially when real money is involved. When VAT and the Digital Services Tax stack together, people end up paying 30% in taxes. That’s not a small inconvenience. It affects how expensive software is, how schools operate, and how businesses function day to day. The goods-versus-services problem also isn’t some rare thing that can be ignored for now. The biggest e‑commerce platforms in the world sell both. To acknowledge that this is difficult and then move on is to admit that the most common real-world case still doesn’t have a clear answer. This is what people mean when they say this whole policy feels half-baked. It’s Not Really a ZIMRA Problem It’s also important to be fair about where responsibility sits. ZIMRA’s job is to administer and collect taxes, not to design policy. They work with what the Ministry of Finance puts into law. If implementation is this messy, we are forced to ask: was ZIMRA properly consulted when this tax was being drafted? Because if they were, these issues would have been obvious long before the tax was thrown onto the public. Either that consultation didn’t happen, or the warnings weren’t taken seriously. After all, it’s even more revenue collected until its sorted. Which is what I suspect happened. Neither is good. So, really, it’s Mthuli and company that we should be looking to for an explanation. Why was a half-baked policy allowed to pass, when it is double taxing people on the ground, whilst the tax enforcement arm admits they are still trying to figure out how not to do that? Tweak-As-You-Go Policy Rolling out a tax and then saying the framework will be refined later means we are all paying while the government figures things out. Meaning all the risk and administrative burden is placed on the public. For something as sensitive as taxation, that’s not how it should work. They should solve the hard problems first, then implement. Not the other way around. techzim.co.zw/2026/01/zimra-…

With the Digital Services Tax, banks are expected to withhold tax But how do they tell the difference between Amazon Prime and buying a physical tablet, for example? And who carries the burden when it’s unclear?

The Introduction of the Digital Services Tax has had everyone reeling for a week. And while some have breathed sighs of relief, one thing is very clear: this tax is an active threat to multiple innovation and growth sectors within our country: tzperspective.com/the-digital-se…

🚨 IMPORTANT: Google announced new AI features, including AI Overviews for Gmail. Your personal data might be used to train and personalize AI. If you're NOT interested, here's how to deactivate it: - Go to Gmail - At the top right, click Settings - In the “General” tab, go to “Smart features” - Uncheck “Turn on smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet” - *You can also choose to turn Google Workspace smart features off (you will find this option right below. According to Google's announcement, the new AI features began rolling out to Gmail users in the U.S. this week and will be expanded to more regions in the coming months. Most people will not notice this Gmail change and are not aware of what "smart features" actually entail in terms of personal data. Make sure to share this information. AI literacy is urgent, and people should have a choice.

It took Speed and Jani for a worrying majority of our people to realize that Zim breeds losers

Just one week into 2026 and a lot has already happened! But if all the craziness of this year seems from out of nowhere, some of it isn't , and a lot of the biggest winners and losers of 2025 can give a good hint of where we are going in 2026! tzperspective.com/the-tech-winne…

The Wayback Machine was a solution to a problem that shouldn’t have existed. @Brewster_Kahle says people clearly want access to the internet’s past. Hear Kahle (Internet Archive), Vint Cerf (Google), Cindy Cohn (EFF) & Jon Stokes (Ars Technica) explore the past, present & future of the web on the Future Knowledge #podcast. 🎧Listen & Subscribe ⤵️ futureknowledge.transistor.fm/episodes/the-o… #OpenWeb @vgcerf @Brewster_Kahle @jonst0kes

AI companies seeing 300TB of music "archived" publicly