Harris Hutkin checks his solar energy app at least once a day since upgrading his setup.

How a suburban dad is solving the energy crisis with an app

Hobbyist home solar users are tracking their usage via apps,comparing results with friends and figuring out how to pay their energy companies’ less money.

  • Wes Mountain

Latest

A lack of digital skills in an online world is leaving many elderly and vulnerable Australians on the fringes of everyday life.

I have become my mother’s IT help desk,like millions of other adult children around the country

Turn on MFA. Sign this PDF. CRN number? Password? Swipe up. Scroll down. For many older Australians,dealing with today’s digital world has become a nightmare.

  • Stephanie Wood
Smart bricks detect motion,colour tags and figures to create noises and lights as you play.

Lego’s ‘biggest innovation ever’:Here’s what you need to know

How does Smart Play work? What are the new sets like? And is adding tech to Lego even a good idea?

  • Tim Biggs
Ecovacs X8

The latest robot vacuum trick to leave your floors cleaner

Previous mop pads had a tendency to drag muck around your floor,but a new innovation may have fixed that.

  • Tim Biggs
The Xiaomi 15T Pro certainly isn’t cheap at $1300,but it is competitive with some other more expensive phones.

The ‘Chinese Apple’ is bringing budget tech Down Under,but is it any good?

We test five products from Chinese technology giant Xiaomi’s Australian line-up,including an $80 smartwatch and a flagship phone.

  • Tim Biggs
Treasury has debunked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s push to create solar panel and battery manufacturing industries in Australia,arguing the billions of dollars needed would be better spent elsewhere.

Here’s how renters can take advantage of the solar battery boom

The cost won’t make sense for everybody,but a portable battery and some panels can take a portion of your energy use off the grid.

  • Tim Biggs
Advertisement
The Eye Q Auto toaster,which decides cook time by colour change rather than time,has been 10 years in the making.

It took 10 years to build,but does it deliver the perfect toast?

A team of Australian researchers spent a decade developing a toaster that watches the slices for you,so every type of bread is done to your liking.

  • Tim Biggs
In manual mode,the screen becomes a pressure gauge,with buttons that let you tweak and activate the various functions.

Semi-automatic coffee machine strikes the perfect balance

The Oracle Dual Boiler is an expensive but impressive espresso machine that combines the capabilities of a commercial unit with the smarts to use them on its own.

  • Tim Biggs
It’s becoming difficult to clock the incremental improvements LG makes to the C-series each year,but it’s still one of the best on the market.

Home tech upgrades to splash your tax refund on

From TVs to a cult favourite kitchen appliance,here are five ideas for a long-awaited upgrade splurge.

  • Tim Biggs

Enough with the beeping machines! They are making our lives worse,not better

No wonder we all feel exhausted,irritated and ready to take a hatchet to our appliances.

  • Jane Caro