Critical alert: Telephone call from scammer purporting to be from Service of Windows Operations James Stevenson. Issue: Illegal copy of Windows.

Only moments ago I received a call from a person called James Steveson who said they were from Service of Windows Operations a section of Microsoft. He informed me  they had detected an illegal copy of Windows on my computers. He wanted me to go on my computer. My computers are legitimately licensed so I knew immediately the caller was a scammer.

I asked for his telephone number so I could call him back. He provided an address of 75 Ressdale Street but I was not able to obtain any further information and I’d be certain this information isn’t legitimate. By asking for the a number to call them back on this would provide an ability to trace the caller. The caller knows this so hung up.

I reported the information to Optus (my telephone service provider) but it requires three calls for them to take action. There does not appear to be anything in place to protect consumers so each consumer has to effectively look after their own interests.

In this case the caller appeared to be using the telephone directory information to contact me.

Should you receive any unsolicited call from overseas letting you know you have a problem on your computer it is almost certainly a scammer.

Please take care.

 

Kelvin Eldridge

www.OnlineConnections.com.au

European Space Agency antenna near New Norcia WA

On our journey from Geraldton to Perth we decided to detour via New Norcia. We'd decided to have lunch at New Norcia.

I can't help feeling some towns don't help themselves when it comes to tourists. In Eneabba we stopped at the service station to use the conveniences. When we stop we usually grab a bite to eat, a drink and often petrol which often amounts to around $100. A sign pointed us to the public conveniences across the road which we used and then drove on. I can't help feeling this was a missed opportunity for the business. We decided we'd lunch in New Norcia and check out the town others had mentioned to us. To our surprise we could not find eating facilities. By not having basic eating facilities to slow us down, to relax and read about New Norcia, the result is we again decided to move on. If you go this way stop at Moora first as it is a sizeable town.

The best part of this section of the trip for me was the unexpected antenna dish just outside of New Norcia. I'd not seen a dish like this before so we stopped for a photo opportunity. I also kept a reference to the location.

To my pleasant surprise, when I later looked up the location there was a picture labelled antenna ESA which was the antenna we'd seen. A bit of searching on the internet and it turns out this is an antenna for the European Space Agency.

The following is a link to the page I found which has a little more information on the antenna.

It is always interesting to me to see why people use a businesses and what causes people to drive on. Often the best market research is ourselves.

Kelvin Eldridge
http://www.justlocal.com.au/

Quokka - Rottnest Island WA

It is about 30 years ago since I last came to WA and for me a must do was to see the quokka on Rottnest Island. I visited Rottnest Island last time but don't recall seeing a quokka which I thought was really weird. This time I wasn't going to miss out on seeing a quokka.

The trip on the Rottnest Express was relatively quick at about 45 minutes and whilst the ocean can get quite rough, the trip was a good trip. I booked for the Tuesday using their web site. If you plan your trip you might be able to save a considerable amount of money. We were lucky as there was a telephon special and the government park fee was reduced from $15 per person to $5. Our discounted fee including park entry was $70. The regular fare is $27 each way plus $15 government fee so we saved nearly 50% with a little planning. We also stayed at Fremantle and took the train from Perth for $3.70. Accommodation in Perth and Fremantle does appear limited and more expensive than on the east coast, but if that's the way it is, that's what you have to pay.

We took the bus around the island ($13 for an all day ticket) so we could be back in time for the free nature walk to see the quokkas. The quokkas were great to see. However the quokka that made the trip even more enjoyable was the one which snuck up from behind me looking for some food whilst I was sitting having some lunch. Quokkas appear to be very gentle animals, but of course you should treat every wild animal with care. I snapped a picture using my iPhone of the quokka. The quokka is about the size of a large rabbit. The quokka looks like a small wallaby with a tail that looks more like a rat's tail than a wallaby's. They are gentle and inquisitive.

Rottnest Island is one of those most do activities if you visit Perth.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.JustLocal.com.au/6030

Bell Tower Perth

As we were exploring Perth we found the Bell Tower near the Swan River and I felt it would make a good picture to stitch together from a series of smaller pictures taken using my Apple iPhone. I felt the end result was quite interesting.

Using AutoStitch I was able to share not only the Bell Tower, but also the very pleasant surroundings. The following is a single picture of the Bell Tower taken using the Apple iPhone 3GS.

The Bell Tower is easily accessed via the Blue Cat which is one of three free bus services which run every 15 minutes. Hop off the Blue Cat at Barrack Dock and stroll around this lovely area and enjoy the lovely views of the Swan River.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.JustLocal.com.au/6069

PS. The above picture was created using AutoStitch. Instructions to create a picture assembled to create a 2D panorama can be found in MyAnswers.



Ellenbrook news headlines and updated local search engine.

The following are recent headlines from the internet releating to Ellenbrook. In addition if you are looking for products and services from the Ellenbrook area don't forget to use the search engine which now includes over 70 businesses. You can find the search engine via the postcode page 6069 or directly at Ellenbrook Search Engine. Unlike other search engines, the Ellenbrook search engine only includes businesses with a presence in the 6069 postcode area, making it very easy to find and support local businesses.

One of the major challenges was undertaking construction in Ellenbrook

Vet nurse Jo Kennedy, and Max, one of her patients in her new job at Ellenbrook Animal Clinic

Record sprinkler warnings issued during wet July

Interpol needs you: world's most wanted fugitives could be hiding here

Two charged with pawning stolen goods

The Ellenbrook Junior Football Club is appealing to the City of Swan to fund lighting at Woodlake Oval to allow it to cater for more players on an oval in better condition.

Girls urged to sign on for Ellenbrook guides

Crash road needs fix

Minister attacks academic

THE Ellenbrook head office of LWP Property Group has signed on to reduce its energy emissions by using NaturalPower.

DESPITE a request from the owner to waive a cash-in-lieu fee, the City of Swan will charge an Ellenbrook business $50,050 for not meeting the parking requirements of its new business.

The City of Swan’s Urban Stylin’ program was given $17,275 to combat the high volume of graffiti and vandalism in the hotspots of Ellenbrook, Bullsbrook, Ballajura, Lockridge and Beechboro.

Kelvin Eldridge

Office web apps from Microsoft now live

I’ve been checking my Microsoft Live account to see if the Office web apps are live yet in Australia and to my surprise they’ve now been enabled.

The online Office applications from Microsoft look very good and should be sufficient for many people with fairly basic word processing and spreadsheeting requirements. I’ve found over the years many people often need little more than the basics to do what they need and the Office web apps will do that and more.

The first thing you may wish to do is to set your spellchecker language to Australian English in the Word app.

As I explore Microsoft Office web apps I’ll share information via the JustLocal blog and solutions to problems using MyAnswers.

 

Enjoy,

 

Kelvin Eldridge

 

 

 

Local news item - Robberies in Ellenbrook

THE number of robberies and home invasions has ceased to be a joke in Ellenbrook.

- Kelvin Eldridge