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25 Nov 2024

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Credit card fraud: Retailers left to carry the cost
There is a major power imbalance between credit card companies and merchants, says an Auckland retailer that has had to absorb thousands in losses from a fraudulent transaction.

New Zealand Dental Association supports Helen Clark Foundation obesity report
"It doesn't make sense for schools to be selling sickness to kids, in the form of sugary drinks," a dental expert says.

Garage to global: The Wellington business selling chocolate scented rat traps
The smell of chocolate and PB&J wafts from a factory in central Wellington, but it’s not humans they’re looking to lure in - it’s rats

‘Urban vandalism’: Wellingtonians vent over City to Sea Bridge demolition
Passionate submitters launched fiery verbal attacks at a Wellington City Council meeting on Monday.

The 29 best Amazon Black Friday tech deals our experts found
Once again, Black Friday is upon us, promising savings on every kind of product imaginable. Even the tech deals alone can feel overwhelming. This guide to the best Amazon Black Friday tech deals will point you to the best bargains in all the most popular tech categories. Every pick is vetted by one of PCWorld’s expert reviewers based on either hands-on experience with the product, a comparative evaluation of specs and price, positive user feedback and brand reputation, or any combination of those factors. Expect our list of the top Amazon tech deals to change as new discounted products come onto the scene throughout the shopping holiday. For even more deals, check out PCWorld’s Black Friday deals page. SSDs Hadrian / Shutterstock Teamgroup T-Force Vulcan Z, 1TB SATA – $47 (28% off on Amazon) Samsung 990 Evo, 1TB Gen 4 – $70 (53% off on Amazon) Crucial T705, 1TB Gen 5 – $120 (52% off on Amazon) Samsung 980 Pro, 2TB Gen 4 – $120 (41% off on Amazon) WD Black SN850X, 8TB Gen 4 – $550 (38% off on Amazon) SK Hynix Tube T31, 1TB USB-A 3.2 Portable SSD – $60 (33% off on Amazon) Flash drives SanDisk SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive Go, USB-C and USB-A, 256GB/USB 3.2/400MB/s, now $22.49 (22% off at Amazon) Samsung Fit Plus, USB-A, 64GB/USB 3.1/300MB/s, now $13.99 (44% off at Amazon) SanDisk Ultra Luxe, USB-A, 512GB/USB 3.2/400MB/s, 128-bit AES encryption, now $34.99 (30% off at Amazon) Kingston DataTraveler Max, USB-C, 1TB/USB 3.2/1,000MB/s, now $77.99 (35% off at Amazon) Laptops Dave Parrack / IDG Acer Aspire 3, AMD Ryzen 3 7320U processor/8GB RAM/128GB SSD, $279.99 ($42 off at Amazon) Microsoft Surface Laptop, Snapdragon X Plus processor/16GB RAM/256GB SSD, $849 ($150 off at Amazon) Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro, 14-inch AMOLED 2880×1800 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $1,089.99 ($360 off at Amazon) Gigabyte Aorus 15, RTX 4050 graphics/8GB RAM/512GB SSD, $899 ($200 off at Amazon) Asus ROG Strix G16, RTX 4060 graphics/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,099.99 ($300 off at Amazon) Chromebooks Marek Sowa / Shutterstock Asus Chromebook CM14 (Kompanio 520/4GB RAM/64GB eMMC/14-inch 768p display), now $168.95 (40% off at Amazon) Samsung Chromebook 4 (Celeron N4000/4GB RAM/64GB eMMC/15.6-inch 1080p display), now $214.99 (33% off at Amazon) Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3i, (Pentium N6000/8GB RAM/128GB SSD/15.6-inch 1080p touch display), now $299.99 (25% off at Amazon) Google Pixelbook Go (Core m3-8100Y/Intel HD Graphics 400/8GB RAM/64GB SSD/13.3-inch 1080p display), now $329.99 (49% off at Amazon with Prime) Desktop PCs Asus Apple Mac Mini M2 2023, M2/8GB RAM/256GB SSD, now $499.00 (17% off on Amazon) Skytech Chronos, Core i5-12400F/RTX 4060/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, now $899.99 (14% off on Amazon) Asus Zen AiO 24, Ryzen 7 5825U/16GB RAM/512GB SSD/24-inch 1080p touch display, now $783.00 (32% off on Amazon) Monitors LG MNN 15-inch 1080p USB-C portable monitor, now $63.99 (29% off at Amazon) Samsung 34-inch ultrawide 1440p monitor, now $199.99 (43% off at Amazon) Acer 24-inch 1080p 165Hz gaming monitor, now $94.99 (45% off at Amazon) AOC 27-inch OLED 1440p 240Hz gaming monitor, now $399.99 (33% off at Amazon) Power banks Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry Anker 633 MagGo Battery, 10,000mAh/1x USB-A/1x USB-C/MagSafe charging, $39.99 (27% off on Amazon) Mregb Solar Charger, 42,800mAh/2x USB-A/1x USB-C/Flashlight/Solar charging panel, $14.39 (70% off on Amazon) Anker 737 Power Bank, 24,000mAh/140w output/2x USB-A/1x USB-C, $79.99 (47% off on Amazon)

Best Black Friday SSD and storage deals
Can’t wait to shop for SSD and storage deals? Good news—solid Black Friday deals have already started rolling out. But not all the discounts are worth your cash. In fact, some are downright bad. That’s where we come in. Our list of SSD and storage deals are the best you can grab, especially given the rising cost for storage in the past year. These drives are not only well-rated and popular, but they’re at or very near all-time low prices, too. By the way, if you see a bargain you like, don’t wait. The better deals always sell out, and we don’t expect this year to be any different. Best Black Friday 2.5-inch SATA SSD deals Kingston A400, 480GB – $35 (22% off on Amazon) Teamgroup T-Force Vulcan Z, 1TB – $47 (28% off on Amazon) Prices on many 2.5-inch SATA SSDs have stayed high throughout the year, relative to 2023. But not these two models from Kingston and Teamgroup—perfect news for anyone seeking to replace a hard-disk drive or expand their storage cheaply. Best Black Friday M.2 NVMe SSD deals 500GB to 1TB NVMe M.2 SSDs Crucial P3 Plus, 500GB Gen 4 – $41 (41% off on Amazon) Samsung 990 Evo, 1TB Gen 4 – $70 (53% off on Amazon) Corsair MP600 Core Mini, 1TB Gen 4 (Steam Deck compatible) – $70 (39% off on Amazon) SK Hynix Platinum P41, 1TB Gen 4 – $76 (20% off on Amazon) Crucial T705, 1TB Gen 5 – $120 (52% off on Amazon) 2TB NVMe M.2 SSDs MSI M482, 2TB Gen 4 – $90 (25% off on MSI.com) Nextorage NEM-PAB2TB/N, 2TB Gen 4 – $110 (56% off on Newegg) Corsair MP600 Core Mini, 2TB Gen 4 (Steam Deck compatible) – $110 (31% off on Newegg after coupon) Samsung 980 Pro, 2TB Gen 4 – $120 (41% off on Amazon) WD Black SN770M, 2TB Gen 4 (Steam Deck compatible) – $180 (25% off on Amazon) 4TB to 8TB NVMe M.2 SSDs WD Blue SN5000, 4TB Gen 4 – $200 (33% off on Amazon) WD Black SN850X, 8TB Gen 4 – $550 (38% off on Amazon) Best Black Friday on general PC storage External storage SK Hynix Tube T31, 1TB USB-A 3.2 Portable SSD – $60 (33% off on Amazon) SK Hynix Beetle X31, 1TB USB-C 3.2 Portable SSD – $63 (29% off on Amazon) Need a light amount of reasonably speedy external storage? SK Hynix has slashed prices on its popular portable SSDs to their lowest yet, with options available both for USB-A and USB-C devices. The Tube T31 is particularly nifty in how small it is—almost as compact as a flash drive! Note: We’ll be avoiding listing deals for the SanDisk Extreme Pro, SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2, and Western Digital MyPassport SSD external drives, due to difficulties in 2023 with spontaneous, unexpected data loss. FAQ 1. Are Black Friday SSD and storage deals worth it? Yes! You can save a significant amount of money during Black Friday sales—sometimes hundreds of dollars on a high-capacity drive. The trick is to know what’s a good deal, and what’s not. That’s where we come in: We’ve scoured reputable online retailers, looking for demonstrably good hardware with legitimately solid discounts. 2. How much are SSDs and storage on Black Friday? Prices depend on the usual street or retail price of the SSD model—so type of drive, its capacity, and its speed are all factors. Generally, expect to pay about $45 to $50 for a good 1TB SATA or NVMe Gen 3 drive, and $70 to $75 for a 1TB NVMe Gen 4 drive. But the easier guideline is to just look for discounts of at least 20 percent or more, especially if you’re looking for high-capacity hard disk drives. 3. Are Black Friday SSDs and storage lower quality? Nope! Unlike other products, storage vendors don’t produce special models for sale periods like Black Friday/Cyber Monday. These are the same models you’d find on a retail shelf or available on a website throughout the rest of the year. 4. What should I look for in a Black Friday SSD or storage deal? The best Black Friday deals drop prices on SSDs and HDDs from reliable brands. A good discount starts around 15 to 20 percent—and a great deal will be 30 percent or more. Typically, the bigger bargains are higher-capacity SSDs (4TB or higher). For the specific brands to watch, stick with known names like Samsung, Crucial, Corsair, SK Hynix, and Western Digital. Kingston, Solidigm, and TeamGroup are also options. The further afield you go, the more likely you’ll end up with underperforming (aka slow) drives. Pay attention to the model, as well. You can often find multiple drives from a single vendor on sale. The usual sweet spots are discounts on high-performing drives rarely on sale and steep price cuts on budget models. 5. What kind of SSD or storage should I buy? This is the big question. If you’re on a budget, and have a laptop or a PC that has space for a 2.5-inch drive, a humble SATA SSD will already feel like a lightning-fast upgrade from a spinning-platter (HDD) boot drive. SATA SSDs also exist in the gumstick M.2 form factor, but they’re rarer now that faster NVMe SSDs are more common. For those trying to decide between NVMe Gen 3 and NVMe Gen 4 drives, you can buy a Gen 3 drive and still get decent speed. However, these days Gen 4 is common enough that you should only opt for a Gen 3 drive if it’s discounted well. Generally, if you’re building a system or buying for the very long haul, a Gen 4 drive is a good investment. File sizes will only climb over time for game installs, videos, and photos. If you’re in need of absolute blistering speeds for heavy workloads and transfers, then an NVMe Gen 5 drive may be best for you. But that won’t be most people. Still having trouble deciding? You can check out our guide on choosing an SSD for more details about each type of solid-state drive. 6. Which SSDs does PCWorld rate the highest? PCWorld tests and reviews new SSDs every month, so if you’re looking to see what we recommend without regard to deal prices, check our rankings of the best SSDs of 2024. But it’s not an either/or situation: Sometimes our top picks go on sale during November!