JustLocal shortcuts now available.

Hi,

I've decided to trial the use of sub-domains with a number of JustLocal postcode pages. In general the two ways to get to a JustLocal postcode page is to enter the postcode after the JustLocal site address. For example www.JustLocal.com.au/3106 will go straight to the postcode page for Templestowe. The second method is to enter the postcode in the Go field at the top right of any JustLocal page.

For this trial I have set up the following postcode pages as sub-domains.

www.3106.JustLocal.com.au
www.3107.JustLocal.com.au
www.3108.JustLocal.com.au
www.3109.JustLocal.com.au
www.3095.JustLocal.com.au

If you find using the sub-domain to be an easier to access a postcode page, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Apple Safari under Windows gets the thumbs down.

I have to admit that I am biased. I've been creating and maintaining Australian English spellcheck dictionaries for the last six years. For me one of the most important things I now look for in a browser is whether it can provide a quality Australian English spellchecker. With so much of our writing now occurring whilst on the internet, a good spellchecker is a must have. If the browser doesn't have a suitable Australian English spellchecker, then for me the software isn't worth considering.

From what I could ascertain, the Safari browser doesn't handle Australian English and even doesn't provide British English as a fallback.

A couple of times a year I check the Safari browser in the hope Apple have decided to support Australian English. Perhaps one day in the future.

- Kelvin Eldridge

Update: A number of people have contacted me regarding this post. Please note this post is about Safari running under Microsoft Windows. Safari on the Mac is a completely different story, just as I'm sure it will also be different for the iPhone. This post is only about using Safari under Windows with Australian English spellchecking. Thank you for your feedback.

Quickly check if you're using the preferred Australian English spelling.

If you want to check if you're using the preferred Australian English spelling for a word, you can now use the free Word Check service provided by JustLocal using the convenient URL www.wordcheck.JustLocal.com.au.

Word Check is based on Kelvin's dictionary of preferred Australian English spelling. Kelvin's dictionary (which is still under development, but even now is pretty good) is the only spellcheck resource to provide the preferred Australian English spelling.

Do you know there are three ways to spell leukaemia in Australia and that doesn't include the American spelling? Word Check only verifies the the preferred Australian spelling as being correct.

Many of the free online dictionaries available to Australians use American English. Make sure you use the preferred Australian spelling. If in doubt check the word using Word Check. If you think your word processor might be wrong, check the word using Word Check. You may be surprised to learn 10-15% of the words in Word Check would not be correctly handled in the commonly used word processing package. We certainly were.

Word Check is an Australian English spelling resource being developed by an Australian, in Australia, for Australians and of course, others who wish to learn more about our great language.

Please enjoy.

- Kelvin Eldridge

MyAnswers: Blocking sites such as Facebook.com, MySpace.com and Twitter.com.

Every business knows the internet is a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it offers so many great facilities such as email and browsing to gather information, but it can be a curse if people spend too long on sites. In particular social networking sites are becoming a real issue during working hours.

Recently a client requested a number of sites to be blocked. In the past I've used a security router, but this client didn't have the required equipment. I decided to use a trick I learnt some years ago from a virus I eradicated.

By creating a relatively straight forward text file with the sites to be blocked, it is possible to block sites and reduce the issue of social networking sites for small business owners. There is no additional equipment to buy and the change is relatively easy to implement.

If social networking sites are causing your business a problem, check out MyAnswers solution 1928. You can find MyAnswers at JustLocal, or you can use this link.

Regards,

Kelvin Eldridge