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17 May 2024

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Youths arrested following assault on teenager in Motueka
Two youths have been arrested after a teenager was assaulted on Thursday afternoon, and police are “extremely concerned” by the violence involved.

All White Clayton Lewis reportedly among players arrested over betting scandal
All Whites midfielder Clayton Lewis is reportedly among three A-League players arrested over an alleged betting scandal.

Former Phoenix captain Ulises Dávila arrested over alleged A-League betting scandal
Ulises Dávila is one of three A-League players arrested in Australia over an alleged betting scandal.

Victim’s family in court for appearance of Hawera murder accused
A trial date has been set for a man accused of murder following a disorder-related event at a block of flats in Hawera in April.

Christchurch murder charge dropped on grounds of self-defence
Witness accounts were conclusive that the accused was under serious physical attack at the time of the stabbing.

City Mission fatal stabbing: Murder charge dropped
A man accused of murder after a fatal stabbing outside the Christchurch City Mission has had the charge against him dropped on the basis of self-defence.

I remember McCann suspect's eyes, says rape victim
His bright blue eyes were "bored into my skull," the woman tells the trial of Christian Brückner.

Police clear DePaul University protest encampment; 2 arrested

MP writing to Netflix over Baby Reindeer evidence
John Nicolson wants Netflix to substantiate what it told a committee about Baby Reindeer portrayal.

Man beats sentencing queue
A Timaru man has managed to avoid the possibility of spending more time in jail than he would have been sentenced to by bypassing the sentencing queue.

Adata SE920 portable SSD review: Cheaper, faster USB 4 storage
At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsFastest external storage we’ve tested (at 40Gbps)Affordable for the ilkStylish enclosureAvailable up to 4TBAlso fast on the MacConsPricier than USB 3.2×2 (20Gbps)Our VerdictAdata’s handsome and unique USB 4 SSD is the fastest we’ve tested at 40Gbps, and is also relatively affordable. Recommended. Best Prices Today: Adata SE920 EX USB4 SSD Retailer Price Adata $139.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket The Adata SE920 is our second look at a 40Gbps USB 4 SSD and to be blunt, we like what we see. It’s handsome, stunningly fast, and has a clever enclosure featuring a micro-fan you can turn on and off according to need. Cool stuff. What are the Adata SE920’s features? I’ll get to the specs in a second, but the SE920 has one of the more unique features I’ve run across — half of the latched, spring-loaded outer shell slides out about half an inch to activate an internal fan. Said fan was very quiet, so I opted to leave the drive in the open position the majority of the time. You can see it in the open position in the photo up top and closed in the image below. Beyond that, the SE920 is a USB 4 (40Gbps) external SSD that weighs about 7 ounces and measures 4.13-inches long by 2.52-inches wide by 0.62-inches thick — closed. Sliding the case/switch open ups the length to 4.82-inches. Either way, it’s quite a bit thinner than the finned OWC 1M2 — another very fast USB 4 SSD. Further reading: See our roundup of the best external drives to learn about competing products. The Adata SE920 with its spring-loaded fan-switching outer shell closed. See the lead photo for it in the open state. The Adata SE920 with its spring-loaded fan-switching outer shell closed. See the lead photo for it in the open state. The Adata SE920 with its spring-loaded fan-switching outer shell closed. See the lead photo for it in the open state. Judging from the huge fins on the 1M2, and the micro-fan inside the SE920 — USB 4 generates almost as much heat as Thunderbolt. At least at the full 40Gbps. As you know, heat is unavoidable with electronics, but getting rid of it is essential to stability and longevity. Adata provides a five-year warranty for the SE920. It’s a limited warranty, which means it’s mitigated by the amount of data written to the drive as well as physical abuse. The amount of data written can’t exceed a reasonable amount, which is likely 600TBW per 1TB of NAND if Adata follows the industry standard. How much is the Adata SE920? According to Adata, the 1TB SE920 will cost $140, the 2TB model will run $200, and the high-capacity 4TB is $380. More than 20Gbps USB SSDs, but not significantly, and miles cheaper than the OWC 1M2 — the only other external USB 4 SSD we’re aware of. One thing I should point out is that being USB 4, rather than USB 3.2×2, you’ll get excellent performance on a Mac as well. Apple, for some unknown reason supports only 10Gbps with USB 3.2, meaning 3.2×2 20Gbps SSDS are constrained to half their potential. Nice one, Apple. Not to let the USB Forum off the hook — there’s actually a 20Gbps mode for USB 4 in addition to the one for USB 3.2×2, and apparently the twain shall never meet in Apple land. Sigh. How fast is the Adata SE920? It wasn’t a blow out, but the Adata SE920 took the title of “Fastest external drive we’ve tested” from the OWC 1M2. At least at 40Gbps in synthetic benchmarks. At 20Gbps (using USB 3.2×2), under the synthetics, the opposite proved true — by about an equal margin. As you buy USB 4 for the 40Gbps (or should), we weighted our judgement accordingly. Note that you can see the charts in larger format by right-clicking over them and selecting “View in new tab.” The Adata SE920 offers the most speed for your money in an external drive, plus a nifty built-in fan. The Adata SE920 was the fastest 40Gbps SSD we’ve tested, by a decent margin. At 20Gbps, not as much. Longer bars are better. The Adata SE920 was the fastest 40Gbps SSD we’ve tested, by a decent margin. At 20Gbps, not as much. Longer bars are better. The Adata SE920 was the fastest 40Gbps SSD we’ve tested, by a decent margin. At 20Gbps, not as much. Longer bars are better. In the end, however, the performance differences between the two USB 4 drives aren’t really worth worrying about. Subjectively, you’d never notice in a million years. This is demonstrated again below. The Adata SE920 was fast at 4K, but not as fast as the OWC 1M2. Longer bars are better. The Adata SE920 was fast at 4K, but not as fast as the OWC 1M2. Longer bars are better. The Adata SE920 was fast at 4K, but not as fast as the OWC 1M2. Longer bars are better. The SE920 again fell behind the 1M2 in the 48GB transfers at 40Gbps, but only just, and well within the margin of error for this particular test. The 1M2 again pulled away significantly at 20Gbps. The Adata SE920. finished a close second to the OWC 1M2 in the 48GB transfers. Shorter bars are better. The Adata SE920. finished a close second to the OWC 1M2 in the 48GB transfers. Shorter bars are better. The Adata SE920. finished a close second to the OWC 1M2 in the 48GB transfers. Shorter bars are better. Where the SE920 really came into its own was in the long 450GB write. Speed after secondary cache ran out was quite good as well — around 850MBps. It took writing another 900GB of data immediately following the 450GB to reveal this. Note that the 1M2 was a 1TB drive with less secondary cache, though it didn’t exhaust what it had in this test. The Adata SE920 set a new record for external drives in our 450GB write. Shorter bars are better. The Adata SE920 set a new record for external drives in our 450GB write. Shorter bars are better. The Adata SE920 set a new record for external drives in our 450GB write. Shorter bars are better. All in all, it’s a toss up between the 1M2 and the SE920 in terms of 40Gbps performance. And, if you’re wondering about the effectiveness of the fan… It helps — the SE920 didn’t run as hot during testing with the outer shell in the open position and said fan engaged. The Adata SE920 displaying its excellent performance on a Mac Studio. The Adata SE920 displaying its excellent performance on a Mac Studio. The Adata SE920 displaying its excellent performance on a Mac Studio. Note that I had to turn on Better performance (caching) under Drive Management for the SE920 or writes were about ten times slower. Yup, 300MBps. Should you buy the SE920? If you want an uber-fast external SSD, then the SE920 is likely what you want. The OWC 1M2 was faster in some tests and significantly so on the 20Gbps bus, but the SE920 is a whole lot cheaper and easier to carry around. Good job, Adata. How we test Drive tests currently utilize Windows 11, 64-bit running on an X790 (PCIe 4.0/5.0) motherboard/i5-12400 CPU combo with two Kingston Fury 32GB DDR5 4800MHz modules (64GB of memory total). Both 20Gbps USB/Thunderbolt 4 are integrated to the back panel and Intel CPU/GPU graphics are used. The 48GB transfer tests utilize an ImDisk RAM disk taking up 58GB of the 64GB of total memory. The 450GB file is transferred from a 2TB Samsung 990 Pro which also runs the OS. Each test is performed on a newly NTFS-formatted and TRIM’d drive so the results are optimal. Note that in normal use, as a drive fills up, performance may decrease due to less NAND for secondary caching, as well as other factors. This is less of a factor with the current crop of SSDs with their far faster NAND. Caveat: The performance numbers shown apply only to the drive we were shipped and to the capacity tested. SSD performance can and will vary by capacity due to more or fewer chips to shotgun reads/writes across and the amount of NAND available for secondary caching. Vendors also occasionally swap components. If you ever notice a large discrepancy between the performance you experience and that which we report, by all means, let us know. Computer Storage Devices, Storage

Three arrested after police pursuit
Three youths have appeared in court after allegedly stealing a vehicle from Geraldine and later leading police on a 20km pursuit.

Former Phoenix captain among players arrested for alleged betting corruption
Three A-League players have been arrested after police uncovered an alleged corrupt betting scheme at a Sydney football club.

Trump lawyer accuses Cohen of lying in hush-money trial
Tensions boil over on a heated day in court, as the ex-president’s lawyer assails the prosecution's star witness.

Three A-League players arrested for alleged betting corruption
Australian police allege a senior player successfully controlled the number of yellow cards given to players in two games.

Wanted New Plymouth man appears in court after being arrested
A New Plymouth man who was the centre of a public appeal from police has been arrested.

Sex worker admits killing father-of-two, Daniel Otess, in Auckland car park
Whitney Iraia-Burgess had been set to go to trial in July, but on pleaded guilty to death by assault with a weapon.

Sex worker admits killing father-of-two, Daniel Otess, in Auckland car park
After a physical altercation an Auckland sex worker slashed at a man multiple times, ultimately causing his death. She has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Charter schools might increase government costs, deliver marginal benefits - Cabinet papers
Charter schools will likely get higher per-student funding than most state schools, and evidence of their efficacy is mixed.

Algerian man found alive in cellar after 26 years
Officials have arrested a 61-year-old man suspected of keeping him prisoner.

Best VPN for streaming Netflix 2024: Watch from wherever you are
VPNs aren’t just useful for keeping your online activities private and safe, they’re also a great way to bypass restrictions on streaming content in different countries. The top VPN providers are winning out in the cat-and-mouse game with streaming services to make sure you always have access to your favorite content no matter where you are. Given the restrictions that services such as Netflix put in place against VPNs, you need to choose a service that has active compatibility with that streaming site. It’s also a good idea to choose a VPN with generous overall server spread so that if one server is down in the country you are trying to access, there are other options available. The PCWorld staff have thoroughly tested the top VPNs on the market to see how they fare at unblocking the top streaming sites and we’ve curated our favorites in the list below. Why you should trust us: Here at PCWorld we’ve been testing computer hardware, software, and services since the 1980s. We’re continually testing all of the major VPNs on the market and many lesser-known services in order to curate a list of the very best VPNs across a variety of categories. For a more in-depth guide, you can check out our article on how we test VPN services at PCWorld. Below you’ll find our favorite VPNs, and below those, helpful advice about what to look for when choosing a VPN on your own. We highly recommend that you use a VPN not only to access location-restricted content, but also to provide one of the best possible upgrades to your online security. So, if you’re looking to use your VPN for more than streaming, be sure to check out our comprehensive roundup of the best VPNs in all categories. Updated May 10, 2024: Check out our latest review of ProtonVPN. From the makers of ProtonMail, ProtonVPN is a great choice due to its privacy, speeds, and streaming specific servers, which still keeps it as our top pick for Mac users. NordVPN – Best overall for Netflix Pros Great feature set Excellent speeds No-logs policy Attractive and intuitive interface Cons Expensive Why we like NordVPN For our money, the best option for streaming Netflix is NordVPN. From the start, it has been challenging the Netflix VPN ban. It’s also had a goal of making all of its servers work with the streaming service. As of our latest review, Netflix works without a hitch on all servers tested. No matter which Netflix catalog you want, NordVPN promises to deliver it. NordVPN has more than 5,000 servers and offers locations in 60 countries around the world. It also allows you to choose your specific server so that you can switch around if you need to if Netflix’s ban hammer ever comes down. In addition to top-notch speeds, and Netflix compatibility, NordVPN offers double-hop connections and Meshnet. NordVPN also uses the WireGuard protocol by default, though it has made some modifications to make WireGuard friendlier and more private for commercial VPN services and thus calls its protocol NordLynx. For both download and upload speeds, NordVPN is inside our top 5 for best speeds overall, and with the company’s success rate of averting bans, it should have no trouble streaming Netflix anywhere in the world. Who should buy NordVPN Simply put, everyone looking to use a VPN with streaming services such as Netflix can, and probably should, use NordVPN — it’s really that good for streaming. Between its consistently good speeds and history of successfully unblocking, we think NordVPN can’t be beat. Read our full NordVPN review ExpressVPN – Best runner-up for Netflix Pros Excellent speeds Easy-to-use interface Unblocks all streaming services Great security and privacy practices Cons More expensive than many competitors Light on some features for a top VPN Why we like ExpressVPN If NordVPN isn’t your style, our top VPN overall, ExpressVPN, is also an excellent choice. ExpressVPN offers more than 3,000 servers in 105 countries. It also promises that Netflix will work with every server it has, and ExpressVPN offers good speeds. Express is on the pricier side at nearly $100 per year, compared to $60 for Nord. But the app is easy to use, the speeds are excellent, and it offers some nice extras such as a private DNS service that lets you set up an Apple TV or console for watching U.S. streaming services overseas. Who should buy ExpressVPN ExpressVPN is right up there with NordVPN as our recommendation for most people. Its great server spread means you’ll likely find a country to connect to no matter where you want to spoof your location. Also, as our top VPN overall, ExpressVPN will serve you just as well with non-streaming activities as it will unblocking Netflix. Read our full ExpressVPN review CyberGhost VPN – Best for server locations Pros Consistently good speeds Easy-to-use desktop program Broad device support Cons Logs data transfer amounts More expensive than many competitors Why we like CyberGhost VPN When using a VPN to stream Netflix or another service, having a large pool of servers to choose from is a huge benefit. This is because streaming services and VPN providers are in a constant cat-and-mouse game to try and restrict or maintain access. And if you want variety and options in the server locations from your VPN, then CyberGhost VPN has them in droves. It offers a staggering 9,000+ servers for users to connect to — more than twice as many as ExpressVPN. These servers aren’t all concentrated in the U.S. or Europe either. They boast a server spread with 110 countries across all parts of the world. It even recommends optimized servers to users for various needs such as gaming, streaming, and torrenting. We did find that some of the servers were faster than others, with servers located in Europe having excellent speeds while servers in Asia not so much. But all-in-all, in our testing we found that the speeds were good enough to stream on any and all of their servers. Additionally, CyberGhost is an intuitive and easy-to-use Windows app with good functionality. It lacks some of the power user features that other VPNs on this list provide, but that shouldn’t be a deal breaker if you’re just looking to use the service to stream. Ultimately, CyberGhost is a straightforward and easy-to-use VPN service with an impressive number of server locations. Who should buy CyberGhost VPN If you’re looking for the greatest server spread with the most server locations to choose from then CyberGhost VPN is the ticket. For those who travel a lot or just need access to a wide-ranging server spread, CyberGhost is worth consideration. Read our full CyberGhost review Surfshark – Best for access with multiple devices Pros Unlimited simultaneous device connections Works well with Netflix Built-in extras such as ad tracker and malware blocking Low price on long-term plans Cons Indicators for ping or server load are not readily available Based in the Netherlands and subject to government data sharing requests Why we like Surfshark VPN Surfshark is another VPN that hits our top 10 for speeds, reaching 61 percent of the base speed in our latest tests. This makes Surfshark plenty fast enough for Netflix streaming. Our testing also showed that Surfshark was able to not only unblock Netflix, but also any other major streaming service we tried—including Amazon Prime, Max, Hulu, and more. It also comes with ad- and malware-blocking features, double-hop connections, and, surprisingly, it offers unlimited simultaneous device connections as opposed to the usual five-device limit with most VPNs. The Surfshark app for Windows is also easy to use and if you opt for a two-year subscription, the price is incredibly affordable as well. Who should buy Surfshark VPN Since Surfshark offers unlimited simultaneous device connections, it is ideal for users who want to securely access streaming platforms from multiple devices at the same time. This makes it a great option for families who frequently have all of their members watching shows on their own devices, or individuals who don’t mind sharing their VPN with friends or colleagues. Read our full Surfshark review ProtonVPN – Best for watching Netflix on a Mac Pros Excellent free plan Great privacy tools Reliable and transparent no-logs policy Cons Expensive Best Prices Today: $9.99 at ProtonVPN Why we like ProtonVPN Another good recommendation is ProtonVPN, which is available at a similar price to ExpressVPN. Unlike NordVPN, however, Netflix doesn’t work on every single Netflix server. It works on a lot of the more than 4,800 servers, but not every single one. The one issue with Proton is that it can have trouble from time to time, where a stream will suddenly stop, especially if you’re watching while you work on the same PC. While these issues popped up on our Windows machine, we did not have the same issue on a Mac, where it ran smoothly the entire time. Who should buy ProtonVPN While we at PCWorld typically use Windows PCs, we understand that Mac users need VPN love as well. So if you’re rocking a macOS machine we think that Proton VPN is a great option. The VPN has one of the better macOS apps we’ve encountered and combined with its strong unblocking ability, this makes ProtonVPN a solid pick for Apple users looking to access streaming services. Read our full ProtonVPN review Why does Netflix block VPNs? Netflix’s big expansion into pretty much every country on earth back in 2016 meant it had to get tough on VPNs. While Netflix produces a lot of its own content that it can make available worldwide, the company also licenses a ton of content from traditional entertainment studios. These third parties are still working on a system of global territory licensing. Under this system, Netflix gets a package of movies and TV shows from these companies that it can show in the U.S., but that aren’t licensed to be shown by Netflix in, say, Europe. To keep those companies and their other international licensees happy, Netflix must enforce a block on VPNs to prevent people from getting content made available to Netflix subscribers in the UK, but not the U.S. “We are making progress in licensing content across the world,” Netflix said in a 2016 blog post. “But we have a ways to go before we can offer people the same films and TV series everywhere.” Netflix isn’t the only company that has to enforce these restrictions. Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and others do it too. However, Netflix along with Hulu are easily the most active and effective at it. What to look for in a VPN to access Netflix streaming First, most people should not make speed the top consideration. The minimum recommended bandwidth for a 1080p Netflix stream is 5 megabits per second (Mbps). If you’re streaming in 4K it’s 15Mbps. Depending on your home internet speed, that should be doable with nearly all the top VPNs. Instead, the first consideration should be the basic promise of Netflix compatibility from a reputable company. That’s the rub. Any old VPN can promise Netflix compatibility, but if there aren’t a lot of reviews about the service it may not be the real deal. Stick to well-known VPN services if you can. Next, you need to consider how many servers are available for the service — especially the number in your target country. If you want Netflix Australia and the VPN only has two Australian servers, that could be a problem. Most of the popular VPN services list their server networks online so you can see how many servers are in each country. Finally, make sure the VPN’s desktop app (and don’t forget about mobile) allows you to choose specific servers. Since this is a cat-and-mouse game with the streamers, you need a VPN with a number of servers in your desired Netflix country. That way if one server has been discovered by Netflix, it’s possible the others are still working. The fix for this then is easy — just switch servers. How we tested We judge VPNs on a variety of criteria including server network, connection speeds, privacy protections, ease-of-use, additional features, and cost. For a more detailed guide on how we test, check out our comprehensive guide on how we test VPN services. Speed tests are kept as simple as possible. We average the connections between different global locations for any given VPN and then compare them to our baseline internet speed to get a good picture of the overall connection speeds. We thoroughly research and analyze the privacy policies and histories of each VPN and note any outstanding discrepancies or data collection issues. In regards to unblocking capabilities, we connect to multiple servers around the world with each VPN and try to access content on all major streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Hulu, Disney Plus, and more. FAQ 1. What is a VPN? A VPN (Virtual private network) encrypts your internet traffic and disguises your identity while browsing the internet. When used for streaming Netflix, a VPN will reroute your traffic from your location outside the U.S. to their own server within the country masking your true location and allowing you to bypass Netflix’s region locks. Additionally, VPNs anonymize your internet traffic and keep your ISP from potentially snooping on your browsing. 2. Are VPNs legal? Yes! In most countries, including the United States, using a VPN is legal. Some websites such as Netflix might try to block VPN connections due to their own personal restrictions, but they are still perfectly fine to use. Please note, while using a VPN is legal, some of the activities done while using a VPN might be illegal. Activities such as downloading pirated copyrighted content or accessing dark web markets are both illegal with and without a VPN. 3. Will a VPN affect my internet speeds? In short, yes, a VPN can have an effect on your internet speeds. But nowadays it’s the exception rather than the norm. While connected to a VPN, your traffic is rerouted through the VPN provider’s own servers. Depending on where these servers are located, it can add extra distance for your traffic to travel to and from, slowing your speeds down a bit. Also, VPNs encrypt your data which can lead to slower download and upload speeds due to the time it takes to encrypt and decrypt your data. This can have a more significant impact on speeds and it can affect everything from page load times to video buffering speeds. Thankfully, modern VPN providers have taken advantage of advances in encryption technology and server optimization to drastically reduce these impacts. Check out our article on how to test your VPN speed for more info on how you can personally determine any potential slowdown on your home internet. 4. Do VPNs track my browsing or store my data? This is entirely up to the VPN provider you choose to use. There have been instances in the past of VPN providers collecting data on their users. However, these were mainly free VPN services with no explicit “no-logging” policies. When searching for a VPN, be careful to check the company’s website for a “no-logging” policy, third-party trust verification, and trustworthy user reviews. Thankfully, most of the major paid VPNs have clearly stated “no-logging” policies, so it’s typically best to stick with one of them if you have concerns. Personal Software, Streaming Media, VPN