Ah, the age-old question that plagues all mobile phone users: update or not? Specifically, should you really update your device to the latest and greatest version its software or operating system? What if the update makes it worse?

Discrimination occurs in the workplace when an employer takes adverse action against an employee or prospective employee because of a protected attribute such as sexual orientation.

That's almost verbatim from Australia's Fair Work Ombudsman's guidelines for all employees' right to protection from discrimination at work. Yet you still hear stories of Australians getting fired for being gay - or more accurately, being open about being gay. So is this actually legal in Australia? And if so, how?

Dear Lifehacker, Lately it seems like my high speed connection is bogged down, and I'm getting a creepy feeling that someone's stealing my bandwidth on my Wi-Fi network.

How can I find out if other people are leeching my Wi-Fi, and how do I stop them if they are?

A video recently doing the rounds on Facebook included a segment from the BBC comedy quiz show QI. The video asks which of avocados, almonds, melon, kiwi or butternut squash are suitable for vegans. The answer, at least according to QI, is none of them.

Dear Lifehacker, I’ve been a long time user of Google News because I love being able to swipe through each post and stop on the ones that interest me. However, ever since that UI update that made everything white, I’ve noticed it stopped syncing properly in the background. Like I literally have to keep the app in the foreground as it downloads or it won’t download all the posts properly. If I read Lifehacker on Google News while online, it now seems to load unnecessary menus (or something) that makes my phone lag. Do you have an alternative to suggest?

I've only ever taken two devices back to Apple for repair. One was an ageing iMac that needed a new hard drive and the other was a MacBook that failed completely. In the first case, Apple replaced the hard drive at a price that was about 30% in excess of what I expected. The MacBook was fried and Apple replaced it completely with a new unit before the 12-month warranty period was up.

But a recent expose by CBC News in Canada has painted a less than stellar picture. Simple repair jobs are being over-charged with fixes that other repairers complete in minutes.

Spanking the monkey. Adjusting the pink curtains. Jerkin' the gherkin. Slapping the oyster. Beef strokenoff. While we all love a good euphemism for masturbation, it's not something that most people talk about freely. This has given rise to a lot of misinformation, particularly when it comes to health. So is self-gratification good for you? Or do abstainers have the right idea?

If you've got a VPN, you're probably familiar with the US version of Netflix, which provides way more content than the Australian version. But have you checked out any of its rivals?

Some of the most popular options include Amazon Prime, HBO Now and Hulu. Which service offers the best bang for buck? Let's find out.

The Dell XPS, Apple MacBook and several other systems on the market have decided to put all their eggs in the USB-C basket. And that's proving to be an epic pain with suitable devices, cables and other peripherals still relatively hard to get. So is it worth the fuss?

Welcome to Lifehacker's Lucid Dream Workshop. Each week we'll learn a little more about the mysterious realm of sleep science, dreams, and how to "wake up" when we're fast asleep.

It's fair to say that things have not been going well for the National Broadband Network. Ongoing cost, technology and customer service problems have damaged the NBN brand - arguably irreparably. To make matters worse, competitors have been busy building faster, cheaper alternatives in Australia's capital cities, which begs the question: is the NBN facing irrelevance?

One of the best things about employment in Australia is superannuation. Under current laws, employers must pay 9.5% of your salary into an approved fund that is set aside for your retirement.

But with the age at which you can get the pension rising from 65 to 67 over the next few years, many people having larger mortgages than ever before, and life expectancy increasing, the amount of money needed to live comfortably after leaving the full-time workforce is a challenging question. So how much money do you actually need at retirement?

With the launch of its new iPhones, Apple has brought eSIM to the mainstream for the very first time. eSIM allows you to change carriers at will without having to order a new SIM card or go to a store. Instead, you just activate the plan and carrier that you like directly from your smartphone.

They say any amount of walking is better than none at all. While that's true, a major health improvement requires more than the occasional five-minute stroll. So how much is enough? Here's what the experts think.

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a set of hardware and software standards designed to support the transmission of audio and video. Unlike older standards, which required separate cables for audio and video, HDMI can handle both though a single connection.

It's now the de fact standard for connecting external devices to TVs, linking external displays to computers (although that often requires an adaptor) and even adding smart TV functions to regular TVs through devices like the Google Chromecast, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV Stick. Let's take a walk down HDMI Lane to see what makes it tick and how to make informed buying decisions.

During the opening keynote at the Telstra Vantage event being held in Melbourne this week, author Daniel Pink talked about how there are thousands of books that tell you how to be more productive. But there's very little well-researched and actionable advice on when is the best time to get things done. He sought to change that when he embarked on a research project to look at what times of the day are best for competing certain types of tasks.

Dear Lifehacker, Three or four years ago, my Macbook died, and because I was an avid user of Time Machine, I was able to retrieve virtually everything I cared about from my external hard drive, except my photos. Because this tragedy happened to coincide with a software update, the updated photos couldn’t access the old photo library that was stored on the other drive.

Let’s say your long-term relationship totally implodes. Browsing for a new apartment, or a therapist, you hear your dog bark in the other room — and realise, with a start, that it isn’t actually your dog. Once you’re all moved out, the dog will be out of your life, too.

Stewing in self-pity, you think — and subsequently become convinced — that this dog, who you’ve fed and bathed who knows how many times, and coined several adorable nicknames for, will forget you ever existed within the year.

Dear Lifehacker, I'm moving soon, and I want to make sure my beloved computer makes the trip safely. I could trust the movers with it, but is that wise? What's the best way to move a computer and all my gear?