Ray Shaw

1 week ago | cybershack.com.au | Ray Shaw

The Hisense U8QAU is its best 2025 mini-LED TV in 65/75/85”, offers up to 5000 nits peak brightness and 4.1.2 Dolby Atmos sound by DEVIALET. CyberShack spent a day reviewing this and the U7QAU, and we were impressed. Regrettably, we can’t give quite the full deep-dive review as these were not examined in our lab under controlled conditions, and we could not lug heavy and sensitive test equipment to the review site. Nevertheless, we think we have captured the essence and given you enough to compare.

1 week ago | cybershack.com.au | Ray Shaw

The OPPO Watch X2 builds on the 2024 OPPO Watch X but adds ECG, fall detection, and much more, making it more than a worthy competitor against the Samsung or Apple Watch. We kind of gave up reviewing smartwatches and wearables like rings because they all drew us further into the manufacturer’s ecosystem. Some may feel we are being overly protective of health data, but do you want Apple or Samsung to have that in addition to the masses of data they gather from their phones and devices?

1 week ago | cybershack.com.au | Ray Shaw

VPP Part 2, or Virtual Power Plants using your battery to supply peak grid demand, is the outcome of a CyberShack deep dive into the practice. All we can say is we don’t see the appeal. Labor’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program – is it worth it? has just been released, and we have diligently analysed it. As we predicted, batteries and inverters must be compatible with Virtual Power Plant Control VPP – Beware of the solar battery trap. It is not compulsory to join a VPP – yet.

2 weeks ago | cybershack.com.au | Ray Shaw

Old solar panels are ending up in landfills as Australia grapples with the waste tsunami that will hit within the next ten years. This article is for the reader’s interest only and explains the current recycling options for rooftop solar panels, inverters and batteries. There are currently about four million Australian homes with 150 million solar panels on their roofs. Estimates are that about 4 million panels are ‘decommissioned’ each year due to hail damage and the reasons below.

2 weeks ago | cybershack.com.au | Ray Shaw

The Government has released information on its Cheaper Home Batteries Program. This post outlines the rebate criteria and helps you assess whether installing a battery is worth it. Before you read on, CyberShack has amassed considerable expertise in rooftop solar. If you are considering solar, you might like to read Parts 1, 2, and 3. You must have rooftop solar panels, although the legislation does not specify the kWh generation capacity.