Two trains leave their stations and travel towards one another. Michelle is on Train A and is scrolling through her Instagram feed. Ben is on Train B and listens to Spotify while reading the news. Forty-five minutes later, the trains pass one another. Who has used the most data?

I really dislike confrontation and will do pretty much anything in my power to avoid most arguments. Still, like anyone, I end up in a few every now and then. I've read a ton of different techniques for handling tense situations, but I heard some great advice this week: "Just ask what they want from the argument." The speaker attributed it to Oprah. While that might be true, there's no record I can find of her ever saying it. It is good advice, though.

You have problems, I have advice. This advice isn't sugar-coated — in fact, it's sugar-free, and may even be a little bitter. Welcome to Tough Love.

Brief news items of note for Lifehacker readers, including: best cosplay from Adelaide's AVCon, scientists's create map of the distribution of dark matter, watch humpback whales 'mug' spectator boats off Sydney.

Replace your annoying "Did you know?" factoids with even more annoying "Actually that's fake" corrections. Wikipedia features a massive list of common misconceptions about subjects such as history and science. I check it once a year to refresh my smugness.

With a heated global political climate and the threat of nuclear war seeming to loom over our heads, it's hard not to be stressed right now. But you don't have to sit there and stare at your news feed in agony.

If you're planning on cranking out the next great novel this November for NaNoWriMo, you might want to sharpen your craft first. These online courses will get your creative writing skills in ship shape.

With cybercrime one of the biggest threats facing Aussie businesses companies are looking for new ways to be protected. Cyber Plus is introducing a bundle of cyber insurance tools tailored to protect small business from cyber-attacks.

We've all seen unfortunate holiday-gone-wrong stories about someone who went on holiday and had something bad happen to them, from getting stuck in the wilderness alone to being taken in by a scam. For instance, there's the recent one about Iceland residents getting fed up with tourists who come unprepared for the nation's rugged terrain, putting themselves and risk and creating serious hassles for the locals. Some of these incidents are plain bad luck, but often, they could have been easily avoidable with a little advanced planning.

Ever wondered how long a baby's nappy takes to fully decompose in the ocean? According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the answer is an astonishing 450 years. Check out the following infographic for more estimated decomposition rates of common items of marine debris. (We bet you can't guess what man-made item survives the longest...)

The new Razer Blade Stealth is an unusual beast, in a good way. It exists as a product manufactured by a company that proudly states “For Gamers, By Gamers” on the cardboard box that it ships in. However, like the previous model, it doesn’t really feel like a gaming laptop. No, the Blade Stealth isn’t a gaming laptop. But it is one of the best ultrabooks you can buy.

At some point, most of us have tried to use a chore chart or wheel, or maybe just a list, to get our partners and housemates and families to do their share of the tasks that keep our homes running. But we also know the sinking feeling of seeing the dishes pile up — and then rolling up our sleeves to do it ourselves. Well, maybe the reason you're stuck doing all the chores is because you're using one chart. When really, you need two.

Dear Lovehacker, For a bit of context I'm a university student and I ended up in a relationship with an exchange student. When she first came on exchange she was in a relationship but she broke up with him a week before we got together.

At the time I was concerned about being a rebound but she convinced me that she hadn't intended for us to happen and that her feelings were genuine. We ended up dating for two months before she went home. (You can probably guess what happened next.)

Discussing LGBT rights in conservative religious communities can be particularly challenging, both for people who are newly out and for those of us who simply wish that everyone would just hurry up and get with the civil-rights program. One can feel that those who reject the rights of LGBT people on religious grounds are using dogma as a fig leaf to hide their bigotry, and in many cases that's probably true. But there remain a large number of people raised in religious traditions who nonetheless have changed their views on the place of LGBT people in the broader community — and even in the narrower world of their church community.

Last week, we asked our readers what excited them most about the launch of Amazon shopping in Australia. The choices were: Cheaper prices, more variety, faster shipping and forcing improvements to local retail. The results are now in, and the ranking might surprise you - especially if you work in retail.

"No one ever got fired for buying..." - has been a common refrain of IT managers and procurement teams for decades. It used to be said about IBM. It's been said about Telstra. And its been said about one particular network hardware company for some time. But there are challengers. I spoke with Juniper Network's Chief Marketing Officer Michael Marcellin and Kevin Lane, the Senior Infrastructure Engineer at James Cook University about why there's more than one player in town when it comes to network hardware.

There are many ways to enjoy the sweet treat that is corn, but did you know that you don't even need to cook it? It's true. Fresh, sweet corn tastes fantastic right off of the cob, no heat required.

What works for the sales professional has changed in the last 10-15 years. This is a review of what’s changed, what the current sales obstacles are and what best practices we should follow. It’s bolstered by quotes from salespeople divulging the effective techniques they’re using right now.

Birthdays are great. Sure, you have to deal with the feeling that you’re another year older but it’s not all bad! There are a huge amount of places that will give you FREE STUFF on your birthday, which really helps stave off that crushing feeling of aging for a little longer. We’ve rounded up some of the best deals you can find to celebrate your birthday!