Entertainment
Its Black Friday! Here are the top tech deals weve spotted in Australia
Table of Contents
Black Friday robot vacuum deals
Black Friday laptop deals
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HP Envy x360 2-in-1 Laptop – A$1,499 (was $2,799, 46% off)
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Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 4 14″ – A$1,699 (was $3,919, 56% off)
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Lenovo Legion Slim 5 16″ Gaming Laptop – A$1,882.06 (was $2,999, 36% off)
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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 14”– A$2,154.56(was $3,619, 40% off) -
Apple 2024 13″ MacBook Air with M3 chip– A$1,518(was $1,799, 16% off) -
HP OMEN 17.3″ Gaming Laptop– A$4,699(was $7,399, 36% off)
Black Friday headphone and speaker deals
Black Friday wearable tech deals
Black Friday TV and home cinema deals
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Hisense 65″ U7NAU 4K Mini-LED QLED Smart TV – $1,195 ($500 off)
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Hisense 65″ Q6NAU 4K QLED Smart TV – $888 ($1,299 MSRP, $411 off)
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Samsung 98″ DU9000 4K Crystal UHD Smart TV – $3,995 (26% off, save $1,600)
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TCL 85″ C655 QLED Google TV 24 – $1,495 (20% off, save $400)
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TCL 75″ C745 QLED Google TV – A$1,395 (20% off)
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TCL 98″ C755 QD–Mini LED Google TV 24 – $4,685 (save $1,310)
Black Friday VPN and antivirus deals
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It’s Black Friday week! And, as you probably know, that means a bunch of mega sales events and probably the lowest prices you’ll find all year – and just ahead of the festive season, to boot! To save you the hard yards, we’ve trawled the Australian internet to put together this list of the biggest deals for everything tech that we’ve spotted. This list will be updated throughout November, so be sure to check back here if you’re looking for something specific.
What is Black Friday? Is it a thing in Australia?
While Black Friday originally comes from the United States, it has become mainstream in Australia, too. The tradition began in the 1950s, when shops in the U.S. would offer big discounts on their stock the day after Thanksgiving. This allowed stores to clear their shelves for the new season, and consumers to get ahead of their holiday shopping in one weekend. The event has since gone global, and most retailers in Australia and around the world do some form of Black Friday sale.
Cyber Monday is a more recent addition to the shopping weekend, as online retailers sought to offer their own take on Black Friday. But as the lines blur between commerce and e-commerce these days, Black Friday/Cyber Monday has become one connected week of deals.
When is Black Friday in 2024?
Black Friday 2024 officially goes down today, Friday, November 29, and Cyber Monday is on Monday, December 2. However, the whole month of November is now choc-a-block with Black Friday sales campaigns from online and in-store marketplaces such as The Good Guys and Amazon, as well as direct brands like Lenovo and HP.
Mashable Deals
What are the best items to buy on Black Friday/Cyber Monday?
When it comes to discounts, you will get the best bang for your buck with big-ticket items, since these translate to the biggest cash savings. It is often a great strategy to hold out until Black Friday to do your big tech purchases (such as laptops, smart home devices, TVs, etc.) Keep an eye out specifically for the following products:
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Appliances: Retailers like The Good Guys and Bing Lee always go big on Black Friday, dropping prices on pretty much everything they stock. You can expect deals on washing machines, fridges, freezers, kettles, toasters, and much more. If you’re looking to stock up on appliances for your home, these sites should be your first stop.
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Games consoles: Finding console availability has been a total over the last couple of years, but things are definitely improving in Australia, with PS5 bundles being readily available on Amazon. That means there should be opportunities to pick up deals games and accessories for the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PS5 this year.
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Smartphones: Amazon always offers plenty of impressive deals on all sorts of smartphones.
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Toys: Black Friday is probably the best time of the year to shop for toys. The most in-demand toys will sell out fast in the run-up to Christmas, so this is a great opportunity to get in early. We recommend checking out Amazon for the best deals on Lego, especially for the massively popular Star Wars and Harry Potter sets.
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TVs: Black Friday is all about big deals on the biggest products, and that means TVs. We expect pretty much all of the leading retailers to offer fantastic deals on TVs of all sizes from top brands like Sony, Samsung, LG, and Panasonic. It’s best to shop around for the best TV deals, because there are going to be so many, but you can’t go wrong with The Good Guys, Bing Lee or Kogan.
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VPNs: Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, are a fairly new addition to the Black Friday shopping scene, but there are some good deals available, especially by Cyber Monday. Cybersecurity is increasingly important, and VPNs offer online protection for your identity and data. All the leading services are likely to offer discounted rates over the week, and you should be able to find good deals on the likes of NordVPN, Surfshark VPN, ExpressVPN, PureVPN, and CyberGhost VPN.
Be sure to also be on the look out for deals on travel, subscription services, and laptops, because these are likely to feature heavily throughout this shopping season.
Topics
Black Friday
Cyber Monday
Entertainment
Get Ankers 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $60 less at Amazon
SAVE 15%: As of April 22, you can get the Anker Prime 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $339.99, down from $399.99, at Amazon. That’s a 15% discount or $60 savings.
Working off a laptop is great until you realize you only have two ports and need to plug something in. If you’re hooked up to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse, you’re pretty much out of luck on the rest. Not only that, but your previously uncluttered desk will most likely look like a Best Buy exploded (a rat’s nest of cords isn’t cute or helpful for anyone getting work done).
If you literally hate mess and cords as much as I do, you need a docking station to hide all that chaos and protect your aesthetic. Right now, Anker’s Prime TB5 Docking Station is on sale for $339.99 at Amazon, down from $399.99. (That’s a $60 price cut.)
Mashable Deals
Are you going to use all 14 ports at the exact same time? Probably not, but you’ll never have to dig through your bag for a specific adapter again. You just plug a single cable into your laptop, and the dock handles the rest. It features a Thunderbolt 5 upstream port, two Thunderbolt 5 downstream ports, two USB-C ports, three USB-A ports, SD and TF card readers, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, an audio jack, and your choice of HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort 2.1. It’s also fast enough to transfer a 150GB file in 25 seconds.
Entertainment
How I scored ad-free Paramount+ Premium for only 99 cents
SAVE $26: As of April 22, returning subscribers can score two months of ad-free Paramount+ Premium for only 99 cents per month with the code N8C27L. Usually $13.99 per month, that’s $26 in savings. Just note that your mileage may vary.
$0.99/month for 2 months (save $13/month) with code N8C27L
If you’re looking to save some money on your streaming lineup, my number one recommendation is to cancel your subscriptions. While it doesn’t work for every streamer, many will offer you a special discount to come back. Not to mention, you’ll be eligible for any new deals that may appear that are marketed to “new and returning customers.” Case in point: as of April 22, returning subscribers can get two months of ad-free Paramount+ Premium for just 99 cents per month.
I’ve tested this out myself, so I can vouch for it. When you navigate to Paramount+ and sign in to your existing account, you’ll be prompted to pick a plan. Select the Paramount+ Premium monthly plan for $13.99 per month. On the “Welcome back!” page, scroll down to the box that says “Have a promo code?” and enter N8C27L. Once you hit “apply” the price should drop to just 99 cents per month.

Credit: Paramount+
That’s all, folks. You can take advantage of two full months of ad-free Paramount+, Showtime, BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, CBS live TV, UFC fights, and more for less than two bucks. That’s $26 total in savings.
Mashable Deals
Paramount+ has a surprisingly hefty library. Subscribers can enjoy Paramount+ Originals like Landman and RuPaul Drag Race All Stars, Showtime series like Dexter Resurrection and Yellowjackets, CBS hits like Survivor and NCIS, and nostalgic shows from Nickelodeon and MTV. Not to mention, there’s a lineup of movies that’ll keep you fully entertained for your two-month promotional period. Just be sure to cancel again before the second month is over if you want to avoid paying full cost. You can always sign up again when another deal arises. I know I will.
Entertainment
How Stargate SG-1 Used A Classic Trope To Emotionally Wreck Its Fans
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published

Garfield and Friends said it best: “Oh no, we’ve resorted to an evil twin storyline.” Star Trek: The Original Series did it the best with Mirror Universe Spock, and ever since, it’s been a lazy excuse for every series to use when they run out of ideas. The exception is Stargate SG-1’s sixth episode, “Cold Lazarus,” which plays with the trope by making the twin less evil and more confused.
When fans say they skip this episode when rewatching, it’s not because it’s a lazy, poorly written episode. In fact, it’s the opposite. The ending of “Cold Lazarus” is a pivotal character moment for Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and a gut punch to the audience.
Stargate SG-1’s First Evil Twin

“Cold Lazarus” opens with the SG-1 team on a planet that doesn’t look like Vancouver (it was a giant pile of sulfur at the port of Vancouver). The desert landscape is dotted with shattered blue crystals that look like the remnants of a civilization until we see a crystal eye-view of O’Neill, a mysterious light knocks him out, and all of a sudden, a second O’Neill is looking down at the first. Turns out, the crystals are the civilization.
Fake O’Neill is trying to figure out who O’Neill is and what SGC is all about. When he pulls out photos of his family, it takes Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) by surprise. O’Neill’s never mentioned his wife, Sara, or his son, Charlie. Confused, the Fake O’Neill goes to the home, where Sara is disgusted he’d come by and thinks it’s a sick joke that he’s asking about Charlie. If you’re wondering if you missed a key part of O’Neill’s backstory, don’t worry, this is the first time that either Sara or Charlie is mentioned, and tragically, we soon learn why.
No One Ever Dies

Charlie shot himself with O’Neill’s gun. Fake O’Neill starts to piece this together when he goes into Charlie’s old room and breaks down, prompting Sara and him to finally have the conversation about their shared grief. Back in SGC, the crystal’s nature is revealed to be an energy alien calling itself Unity, which accidentally killed a Jaffa, and the Goa’uld shattered them in retribution. That’s when O’Neill stumbles back through the Stargate, and the team realizes the mistake they made.
The Fake O’Neill is soon captured at a local hospital, suffering from Earth’s radiation, where he explains that he sensed O’Neill’s pain after he took his form and wanted to help ease the suffering, as nothing ever truly dies to Unity. To prove its point, Unity transforms into Charlie, giving O’Neill and Sara one last chance to see their child. Fans who haven’t lost a child can understand the emotion, but for fans who have, this scene is emotional torture, in the best way possible.

Jack knows this isn’t Charlie, but he talks to him like he is, and then they walk together through the Stargate back to Unity’s planet. It’s a beautiful moment that explains so much about O’Neill’s throwing himself into work and how even his friendships remain professional. “Cold Lazarus” may have started out with the “evil twin” trope in full effect, but the ending is proof that even early during its run, Stargate SG-1 was going to be the greatest.

