The weather has cut power, spurred emergency services, and halted planes and ferries, but looks to get worse. Read...

The weather has already cut power, spurred a series of calls to emergency services and diverted flights as it looks to get worse. Read...

Bleak start of the working week for many in the South Island with weather warnings in place. Read...

MetService is issuing a raft of warnings, with one weather system hitting the motu Monday and `an even more impactful weather system arriving on Thursday`. Read...

Most of the country will be hit by volatile weather this week, MetService . Read...

I don’t know how your tech drawers look, but mine are filled with wires I’ll likely never use again because technology has advanced quite a bit. Thankfully, USB-C seems to be here to stay since there is no wrong way to plug these things in. It’s not just smartphones, tablets, and laptops that use these, however, but also a long list of gadgets. We’ve scoured the market for hidden gems: 13 gadgets that will make you think “Wow, I didn’t know I needed that, but it will make my life so much easier!” Let’s dive in and see what cool devices you’ll be able to use your type-C cables and ports with. Unihand rechargeable hand warmers Unihand As the weather is getting colder, you sometimes wish you could warm up your hands a bit faster. Well, these $18 hand warmers are rechargeable and perfectly ready to keep your fingers toasty for up to 20 hours on a single charge. These gadgets feature a temperature sensor chip that helps you pick one of three temps for precise control. There are plenty of colors to choose from, too. Wowstick 1F+ mini electric screwdriver Wowstick If you often have to fiddle around with your computer or other gadgets, this Wowstick mini electric screwdriver may be just what you need. This pen-shaped screwdriver features three LED lights so it’s easier to see what you’re working on and rotates 200 times per minute so you can finish the job faster. The screwdriver has a stylish base so you can hold it on your desk, and a whole collection of 56 aluminum alloy bits. The screwdriver can be charged via USB-C and it can last for hours. This super fun electric screwdriver usually goes for $41. Anker Nano Power Bank Anker One thing you need to have in you bag/pocket/backpack is a power bank because you never really know when your phone will fail you and cry for a recharge. Well, the Anker Nano power bank is tiny enough to fit just about anywhere. It comes with a foldable USB-C connector and a port on the side so you can charge two devices at once if you need to. The 5,000mAh capacity is just about enough for a full phone recharge, so it will be great in a pinch. It’s also only $30, but we’ve seen it as low as $16. Endoscope camera with light Ennovor Although it’s not something you’ll use every day, this Ennover endoscope camera can definitely come in handy. You just plug it in your phone, install and app, and see everything your camera does. Our team swears by it, using it for finding whatever they dropped behind the desk, while working on the car, or looking for pipe leaks. Since it has an IP67 rating, you can even plop it in your aquarium. The camera comes with a 16.4ft semi-rigid cable and several accessories, including a hook, magnet, and a mirror. You can get this one for $17 right now. Blukar flashlight Blukar I don’t care who you are—you need a flashlight. The smaller, the better, because you get to shove it into any pocket. This model from Blukar comes with a built-in 1800mAh battery that you’ll recharge with one of those many type-C cables you have in that tech drawer we were talking about. It can work for up to 16 hours on a single charge, which is pretty decent. There are four different lightning modes to cycle through, including one that will help you signal for help. Plus, one of these is less than $8, so no excuse to pass on this one. Heat It insect bite healer Anyone plagued by mosquitoes in the summer will be particularly pleased with this ingenious gadget. This tiny device, which can be easily connected to your smartphone via USB-C, can significantly reduce the itching of bites and stings with targeted heat. You simply charge the small Heat It bite healer via the app and then hold it on the bite. The heat then does the rest, breaking down the proteins in the mosquito bite that cause the area to swell, itch, and hurt. A true must-have for summer, and it costs only $20 when on sale. A tiny air pump Also perfect for summer is this small air pump from Cycplus, which fits in any bag while on the go. Not only can it inflate a bicycle tire in two minutes at the touch of a button, but it’s also USB-charged. According to the manufacturer, it’s suitable for mountain bikes, road bikes, motorcycles, and even cars! In addition to being an air pump, this practical gadget can also be used as a flashlight or power bank for on-the-go use — all things that come in very handy on a bike ride. And at just $57 (although we’ve seen it for as low as $35) it’s highly recommended if you need quick help with a flat tire. USB-C mini fan These little fans are also pretty ingenious; you can easily carry them in your pocket in the summer and quickly use them whenever you need them. Anyone who’s ever sat on a crowded subway train in 30-degree heat and wished for at least a little fresh air will love this gadget. The mini fan, which costs just $20, has a USB-C port and can be easily powered by power banks, computers, laptops, or USB chargers. There are even smaller and cheaper fans available that can be connected directly to your phone, costing under $10 each. But these also provide less powerful airflow, so we recommend the standalone version. Reading light with a book clamp Anyone who enjoys reading a lot, sometimes late into the night, will appreciate this little gadget: a reading lamp that you can simply clip onto your book. It may not be groundbreaking, but with a total of three color temperatures and five different light modes, you can individually adjust how much light you need for reading. The Gritin reading lamp costs just $8 on Amazon and features a 1200 mAh battery that lasts up to 80 hours depending on usage. Afterward, you can easily recharge it via USB. You can swivel the neck of the lamp back and forth as desired, and there’s even a small charging indicator. What more could you want? External DVD Drive Amicool If your laptop is like mine and lacks a DVD drive, then this little gadget will come in handy for you. This Amicool external DVD drive uses a USB-C (or USB-A) to connect to your laptop and give yout he optical drive you sometimes need. It can read and burn DVDs and CDs with ease, allowing you to install software, copy files, back up data, play games, and so on. You won’t even need to install drives as this thing is plug and play. While this thing’s usually $29, you can often get it for around $20, which is an absolute bargain. Samsung flash drive Samsung The vast majority of flash drives have a USB-A connector, but this one from Samsung has a Type-C connector. With transfer speeds of up to 400MB/s, you’ll move files around in no time. The beauty of this thumb drive is that you can even pop it in your smartphone to record 4K vids directly on it. The Samsung Type-C flash drive comes in multiple storage options, starting at 64GB and up to 512GB and they start at $14. The 256GB version, for instance, is $27 at the time of writing. Type-C microSD card reader Ugreen Most laptops nowadays don’t come with a card reader anymore (I know mine doesn’t), so finding other ways to get data off those little buggers is a must. Whether you need to pull data off your dashcam’s card or if it’s from your camera, this tiny Ugreen USB-C microSD reader will work just fine. This reader is tiny enough that you should probably put it on a keychain of some kind. If you’d rather a slightly more versatile version, Ugreen has a model that also works with SD cards and features both USB-C and USB-A connectors. Any of these will cost you less than $10, so they’re worthwhile investments. USB-C to HDMI adapter Anker If your laptop has a USB-C port but you haven’t updated your monitor in ages, your display won’t feature a Type-C port. This Anker adapter fixes this problem for you, enabling you to connect the regular HDMI cable you plug in your monitor with this gadget. The adapter supports resolutions of up to 4K at 60Hz, which is pretty awesome. This is also a nifty way to connect your phone or tablet to your monitor or TV. This thing’s $20, but we’ve seen it as low as $12. Editor’s note: This article was originally published on May 16, but was updated to include additional devices. Read...

It’s been a few months since I started using Starlink for home internet. And apart from some minor flaws and complaints—like weak upload speeds and the occasional global service outage—I have to admit it’s generally better than I expected it to be. One of the best things about Starlink is how normal it feels. Once you get it set up, it behaves just like regular internet: it’s fast, effective, and perfectly suitable for gaming and other latency-sensitive tasks. No, Starlink isn’t right for everyone. But it is good for what it is! In fact, here are some of the ways I find it even better than conventional home broadband internet (including ADSL, cable, and fiber). Starlink is available just about everywhere Jon Martindale / Foundry, Starlink While I might look enviously upon the upload (and download) speeds of my fiber-powered friends and colleagues, it’s not like everyone truly has multi-gigabit home internet. Indeed, outside most major cities, getting even gigabit fiber can be something of a challenge. If all you have access to is older-style cable or fiber broadband—or even ADSL over copper telephone lines—then Starlink’s performance is going to blow that away… and Starlink is just about everywhere. If your local internet options suck, then it can be mighty tempting. Okay, okay, Starlink technically isn’t available everywhere. But just take a look at Starlink’s US availability map. It’s ubiquitous! Across the entirety of the Americas, there are only a handful of countries where it isn’t available. (The reasons why are complex and beyond the scope of this article.) Starlink, by its satellite nature, is widely available because it doesn’t require much local infrastructure. It’s just you, your dishy, and the thousands of low-orbiting satellites that you connect to. For standard home internet, where you are dictates what kinds of internet service you can get. Not so with Starlink. As long as you aren’t living in Russia, China, Afghanistan, or North Korea, you’ve got Starlink now (or will get it at some point). Starlink goes with you when you move Evgeny Opanasenko / Unsplash Moving to another house? No problem. Just take your Starlink dish and router with you. You’ll need to update your address on your Starlink account so it’s all above board, but other than that you can maintain the same service package at the same price with no interruptions. Compare that to cable or fiber internet, which tend to lock you into contracts with termination fees (depending on how predatory your ISP is) and usually require you to return your equipment. You then need to sign up for another internet service at your next home. I love the hassle-free convenience of Starlink. I can just plug everything in, wait for the dish to connect to the satellite network, and I’m immediately online and ready to go. That means I don’t have to wait for service to be re-established or new hardware setup kits to arrive. Starlink is faster than some broadband Jon Martindale / Foundry, Speedtest Getting Starlink was a big speed boost for me. I went from an average speed of 65 Mbps with fiber to about 150 Mbps with Starlink. It’s even better during off-peak hours, as I’m able to hit 300 Mbps later in the evening and have even gotten close to 400 Mbps a few times. Although that’s still a far cry from gigabit fiber—not to mention multi-gigabit options in some major cities—it’s faster than low-tier broadband plans that cost about the same, or costs less than similar-speed broadband plans. (Your mileage may vary based on where you live, and gigabit internet may not even be worth it for you.) Furthermore, Starlink’s latency is better than other satellite internet options, making it more suitable for online games and video calls. Upload speeds do leave me wanting, though, capping out at around 45 Mbps (with an average of about 20 Mbps at the time of writing). That’s plenty for day-to-day use, but it does take a bit longer when I do stuff like uploading the odd video now and again. I can deal with that. You can use Starlink while on the go Roadpass / Unsplash For me, Starlink is a home internet solution. But for others, Starlink is high-speed internet wherever they go… and they really do go places. Check out any of the Reddit communities dedicated to remote living—think van life enthusiasts, house boaters, sailors, anyone who works in remote locations like oil rigs—and you’ll see they’re all using Starlink to get online and enjoy high-speed internet wherever they happen to be. I’ve even seen people strap Starlink to their cars just so the kids have great internet speeds on long drives and trips. Of course, Starlink’s Roaming packages are more expensive than its Residential plans on a per-gigabyte basis, and you’re capped in ways that the standard residential and business options aren’t. But for people who want to live a remote, nomadic lifestyle or need to travel often for work, Starlink is a unique solution that works fantastically well at delivering high-speed internet (almost) anywhere and everywhere. Starlink isn’t vulnerable to local outages Jon Martindale / Foundry Has your home internet ever gone down because a local substation blew or because someone cut through a buried fiber cable while renovating their yard? That simply can’t happen with Starlink. Sure, you have a cable that runs from your Starlink router (inside) to your Starlink dish (outside), but unless someone cuts that—there’s no way someone’s doing that by accident—you’re pretty much safe. That isn’t to say Starlink doesn’t have its own issues. When I first signed up, I was immediately hit by Starlink’s first major global outage in a long time. I’ve also experienced a few other spotty occasions since then, usually because a tree branch leaned in front of my dish or inclement weather got in the way of my satellite view. But on the whole? Starlink is surprisingly reliable and isn’t susceptible to the kinds of outages that most home internet users face. Starlink’s router is actually pretty good Jon Martindale / Foundry Some internet service providers send out legitimately good routers and modems with their internet service packages, but many don’t—especially when you’re on a cheaper plan. (Learn more about choosing a good router and getting started with it.) Although Starlink is very much not a cheap internet solution and absolutely should ship with a decent router, I’m pleased to report the one you get is indeed solid. Not excellent—and certainly worth replacing if you’re a power user—but if you’re just looking for a capable Wi-Fi 6 router to go with your fancy new space internet, it’s good. I have Starlink’s third-generation router and it’s plenty fast for most modern devices. Although it’s missing the newer Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 protocols, I’m okay with that because I don’t have any cutting-edge devices that could even take advantage of it. My Starlink router is tri-band, giving me plenty of network space for hundreds of devices. The router also comes with a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports, and the Wi-Fi range is capped at 3,200 square feet. That’s enough for all but the largest of homes, although some walls and obstructions can get in the way, and the lack of external antennas can make it harder to orient for a better signal. But for most apartments and open homes, it should be plenty. Need more range? It supports mesh networking, and Starlink sells cost-effective nodes for expanding your network if needed. Further reading: I spent $24 to future-proof my home Wi-Fi forever Read...

The eastern ranges of Bay of Plenty is under an orange heavy rain warning until 5pm Tuesday with thunderstorms possible. Read...

Bad Weather has left vehicles stranded and the road impassable. Read...

More chips are needed to boost a Crown research group`s brand new supercomputer. Read...