Last Week’s 10 Biggest Posts

Dubious retailers, your next Android phone, mechanical keyboards and prepaid plans: kick off your Monday by checking out the ten most popular posts from Lifehacker Australia last week:

1. Harvey Norman Franchisees Fined $116,000 For Lying About Consumer Rights
   The Federal Court has found four Harvey Norman franchisees guilty of lying to consumers about their rights. The stores were fined a total of $116,000 for making false or misleading representations to customers — including the claim that they were under no obligation to provide an exchange or refund for faulty goods supplied.
2. Use The Hairy Arm Technique To Deal With Overly Critical Bosses
   Sometimes, bosses and clients only exist to find something wrong and correct it. If you’re dealing with a particularly critical person, writer Oliver Burkeman suggests adding in an intentional flaw to distract them.
3. How To Pick Your Next Android Phone: 2013 Edition
   Put simply: there are too many Android phones out there. The only way to know which ones are worth your time is to follow tech news every day. For those that have other things to do, here’s what matters when buying a new device.
4. The Most Infuriating Traffic Fines In Existence
   Most traffic fines are a necessary evil that preserve safety on our roads and car parks. Occasionally however, a motorist will be issued with a ticket that seems to fly in the face of logic. Is revenue raising to blame? Ham-fisted bureaucracy? Mean-spiritedness? Whatever the cause, it invariably causes the recipient to see red. Here are eight parking and driving “offences” that are completely pointless.
5. Five Best Mechanical Keyboards
   Mechanical keyboards — keyboards with individual switches under each key — have exploded in popularity recently, and for good reason. This week we’re going to take a look at five of the best mechanical keyboards, based on your nominations.
6. Make 46 Inexpensive Meals In Four Hours
   With just a few hours of your time, you can make enough meals to cover you for weeks. And you can do it really inexpensively.
7. These Awesome Life Hacks Will Make Your Holidays Happier
   The holidays are hectic enough without wasting time on drudgery. These 10 tips from Grant Thompson, aka the “King of Random,” will help you save time wrapping gifts, storing wrapping paper, and even making a tasty holiday breakfast.
8. Ask LH: What Should I Do When I’ve Almost Run Out Of Money?
   Dear Lifehacker, My family is seriously stretched thin for cash. Our credit cards are nearly maxed out and we wiped out our savings when my husband was laid off and then we had expensive medical bills. What can we do to get money fast and back on our feet again?
9. Top 10 Overused Words To Delete From Your Resume
   Each year, LinkedIn analyses profiles of members to identify the most-overused terms. The conclusion? If you describe yourself as a responsible passionate expert committed to effective and creative strategy, you are officially so generic as to be unemployable.
10. Planhacker: The Best No-Contract Phone Deal For Each Australian Mobile Phone Network
    Not only does signing up to a contract for a phone leave you stuck with the same network and handset for a full two years, it can often result in less data and call allowances than if you take a no-contract prepaid or month-by-month deal. We’ve eliminated the also-rans and come up with one clear recommendation for the best value no-contract deal on each of Australia’s main mobile networks.