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9 Jan 2025

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Watch: Phoenix score screamer 7 seconds into second half against 10-woman Wanderers
A special strike from Alyssa Whinham has launched Wellington Phoenix up to fourth on the A-League Women table.

Lauren Laverne to step down from 6 Music breakfast
The star has been off air since last August while receiving treatment for an unspecified cancer.

Oscar nominations postponed because of LA fires
The California fires cause the voting deadline and announcement to be pushed back by two days.

Man Tasered after threatening another person with large knife at Wellington bus stop
Police were called to a bus stop on Cockayne Road in Khandallah after reports that a man was threatening another person with a large knife.

Telstra and Musk ink deal to bring texting to Australia’s dead zones
Musk’s Starlink satellite will allow Telstra customers to communicate from almost anywhere in Australia.

Water bottlers face no summer restrictions as residents told to cut back
While Napier and Hastings residents are being asked to conserve water, there's unlikely to be any disruption to water bottling operations.

More than 100,000 flee deadly Los Angeles fires
California continues to battle several wildfires in the Los Angeles region that have left at least five people dead and more than 100,000 evacuated.

There’s no reason to pay monthly for VPNs
TL;DR: Pay once for a lifetime of cybersecurity and get a FastestVPN lifetime subscription for $24.97. There are a lot of VPNs out there. If you want a good one that you only have to pay for once, check out FastestVPN while it’s still $24.97 (reg. $360). That’s not going to last much longer. Why FastestVPN? FastestVPN uses military-grade 256-bit AES encryption to make sure your data is completely secure, and its no-logging policy means there’s no record of your online activity. Add in the NAT firewall, anti-malware features, and an ad blocker, and you’ve got a comprehensive solution that keeps your browsing safe from all kinds of threats. This subscription lets you connect up to 15 devices simultaneously, and you might be surprised by how much is compatible. This VPN works with standards like Mac, PC, Android, and iOS, but you can also connect it to game consoles, Raspberry Pi, Apple TV, and even Kindles. Once you’re connected, you can unlock a world of content. FastestVPN has over 600 servers around the globe, so geo-restrictions are a thing of the past. You have until January 12 at 11:59 p.m. PT to get a lifetime subscription to FasestVPN for $24.97. No coupon needed. FastestVPN: Lifetime Subscription (15 Devices) – $24.97 See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change.

MyVelo TV is a $100 steaming box that also works with an antenna
A top-notch streaming box with over-the-air antenna integration has always seemed like a slam-dunk idea to me. Now, an upstart device brand called MyVelo TV is actually making it happen. For $100, the MyVelo TV Premiere box runs Android TV and includes a USB dongle with a single ATSC 3.0 tuner. A built-in MyVelo TV app will let users watch free local channels from the antenna without having to switch inputs or remotes. The device should be available on Amazon in the spring. Mark Jensen, CEO and co-founder of Shift2Stream, which owns the MyVelo brand, said the streaming box will support 4K video, Dolby Vision HDR, and Dolby Atmos audio, both for streaming content and ATSC 3.0 broadcasts. Support for encrypted ATSC 3.0 channels should also be available at launch, though it wasn’t yet working during a demo at the CES trade show this week. Jared Newman / Foundry Major streaming device makers have generally lost interest in free over-the-air TV, preferring instead to focus on free streaming content that they can monetize with targeted ads. That leaves the job to small vendors like MyVelo TV, which might end up making one of the most exciting streaming devices in 2025. Android TV + OTA (with optional DVR) Jared Newman / Foundry On its own, the MyVelo TV Premiere box is similar to current Google TV streaming players such as the Google TV Streamer and Walmart’s Onn Google TV 4K Pro. (Technically, it runs Android TV, but the interfaces and app support are similar overall.) It felt fast and fluid in my brief hands-on testing, and supports a full range of streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. But the MyVelo TV box also has a pair of USB-A ports on its side, allowing users to plug in the included ATSC 3.0 tuner dongle and any over-the-air antenna. The included MyVelo TV app will facilitate access to free local channels. Jared Newman / Foundry Jensen said MyVelo TV will also offer a DVR for recording local channels, though this wasn’t on display at CES. Recording capabilities will require a subscription at a still-undisclosed price, though Jensen said it would cost less than $5 per month. The subscription will also provide 14 days of TV guide data, versus the shorter timespan (usually just a day or so) that broadcasters provide for free. Bigger plans to come Jensen hinted at other features that MyVelo TV may add over time. The box’s underside, for instance, has an open USB-C port, intended for a module that includes a dual TV tuner and 5G home internet router. Jensen said MyVelo TV is “in discussions” with Verizon and T-Mobile about using the product as a gateway for streaming, over-the-air TV, and home internet, but it’ll also be available on its own as a $100 option for recording more channels simultaneously. Jared Newman / Foundry Jensen also wants to distribute live channel packages that users can watch and record through the MyVelo TV app. He did not name any partners, but gave the example of a local college that may want to distribute sports coverage directly to consumers. The focus would be on smaller niche channels, as MyVelo TV isn’t interested in trying to offer a full pay TV package like YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV. He mentioned cloud DVR capabilities as well, with companion apps for iOS and Android to access recordings, though that would depend on permission from content providers. It’s about time Whether those broader ambitions come to fruition or not, the simple combination of a Google TV streaming box with over-the-air integration could be a powerful one. It could also provide a boost to ATSC 3.0, the next-gen over-the-air TV standard that broadcasters have been pushing for the past few years now. While ATSC 3.0 has some neat features, such as 4K HDR support and Dolby dialogue boost, it’s incompatible with the ATSC 1.0 tuners built into most televisions in use today, and not all new televisions support it. External ATSC 3.0 tuners cost upwards of $90 and require switching away from whatever input you use for streaming, and most whole-home over-the-air DVR solutions (such as Tablo and Channels DVR) only work with ATSC 1.0 broadcasts. A high-end streaming box with ATSC 3.0 built-in could made the next-gen broadcast standard much more accessible, all without having to toss out your existing TV.