NEWS FROM NEWCASTLE

WELCOME

Welcome to your internet cafe solution: NEWSFROMHOME.

This is the Newcastle edition, with all the haps back there delivered over here.  Wherever that might be.

Feeds and links, famous and obscure.  Our team tests the sites, compiles the links and puts it all together so you don't have to miss a thing - here or there.

It's the only page you'll need. Our “Categories” provide you with a quick index – click a Category, it takes you to the relevant links.  And if you have an emergency, check out some of the help available.

Some links – the main News ones, and the emergency help – are in the side column.  These repeat what’s in the Category sections.  The full list runs down the main part of the page.

It’s not perfect.  It’s not possible to bring you NBN’s news, or the Newcastle Herald’s daily updates.  They aren’t online.

But you don’t need to carry a diary of websites, and you don’t have to spend your holiday searching the internet for everything.  Nor do you need to phone home in the middle of the night to find out who won the footy. This page will provide good coverage of most of what you want and a few things we hope you won’t need. 

AND HERE’S SOME CHEAP ADVICE:

ANY TIME YOU USE A PASSWORD ON A PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE COMPUTER - BE CAREFUL!

·          Delete any personal details when you log off

·          Empty the recycle bin

·          Click 'internet options' and then 'clear history'  if using Internet Explorer. (We can’t keep up with all the browsers available but do your best to emulate that process with Firefox, Mozilla, or whatever you’re using.) 

You just can’t know who’s going to sit at the same terminal in an internet café an hour after you.  You don’t know who managed to inadvertently infect the machine with a virus an hour before you arrived.

Take it easy.  Enjoy your trip. And look us up next time you're out of town.

GENERAL NEWS

GENERAL NEWS
BBC international news	If world news is a jungle, meet King Kong
Radio 1233 ABC Newcastle	NBNTV News & The Herald aren't on the net
ABC - all news	wide selection here
ABC - video on demand	Got broadband access? News video on demand
NEWS.COM	News Ltd: The Australian, Daily Telegraph links here
smh.com.au	The Sydney Morning Herald
NATIONAL NINE NEWS	Well, it's half of NBN's bulletin

WEATHER: AT HOME AND WHERE YOU'RE HEADING

BBC WEATHER worldwide	pretty much any country or city you want
The Weather Underground	Alternative global weather presentation
AND WHEN YOU'RE HEADING HOME AGAIN…
Bureau of Meteorology (AUST)	"The Met" - choose any part of Australia
Newcastle Weather Radar image	latest static image from the Met
Latest weather observations	Sydney Newcastle Canberra (the Met)
Newcastle news & weather (ABC)	neat summary at right (from the Met)

CATCH UP WITH AUSTRALIAN SPORT

NRL	open the'console' - best on broadband and with Flash
AFL	Free vids on broadband - dialup OK for reports & results
Newcastle RL	local fixtures and results
RUGBY	Super 14, international, from independent sources
A-League	not much happening
Cycling News	Grand Tours live + local and other
World cricket	Everything you need to know

WHERE'S MY BED?

Wotif

The global specialist in last-minute accommodation

EXCHANGE RATES

Westpac rates	exchange rates today ("today" in Australian time)
Westpac calculator

YOU FORGOT YOUR MUM'S NUMBER!

White Pages

Yellow Pages

E-MAIL ON THE WEB

Most ISPs offer access to your e-mail via the internet.  It’s usually called Webmail.

You usually need your e-mail address and the password you got when you created your account

ANY TIME YOU USE A PASSWORD ON A PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE COMPUTER - BE CAREFUL!

Click on your ISP and look for the webmail entry point described at right

BigPond top of left-hand column

AAPT bottom of left-hand column

Optus It's a specific webpage. Cool!

idl nearly top of left-hand column

hunterlink.net.au "Check e-mail" button - top bar across page

Kooee top bar across page

Hotmail ? Do us a favour! It's always been web-based

Sorry, but there are too many ISPs to list.  These are the ones you most likely use.

You can read and create mail just as you can from your normal system.

PASSWORD PROTECTION

From 1 July 2006 (Sydney time), this site will be protected by a username and a password.

We're pricing access to the site at $15 + GST for six months, which should cover your overseas or interstate trip.

We realise somebody's bound to be leaving on 29 June or something. So, while we propose to change the username and password every six months, we will do something special for people who want to join just before the changeover.

CLICK on the "e-mail me" link in the left-hand column to contact the designer and owner of the site if you want to continue using it.  Normally, we will send the information you need on receipt of your payment but, as we're only starting, we're testing a couple of payment systems.  While we do, we'll work something out with you. 

We have put some thought, time and effort into compiling this weblog, and we want to protect it.  Our on-line storage also comes at a price.  And we undertake to ensure that the links remain valid or, if they don't, to find the best replacement available online.

And we will improve the site from time to time.  We are looking at newsfeeds that will display current headlines, updating automatically - the best available appears to be Newsvine from The Associated Press of America and we will go with that if we can't find a better one by 1 July.

As a subscriber, your suggestions will be welcome.  If we get enough votes for a particular topic to be covered, we'll add the best available link to the site.

DUTY FREE RULES AND NEWS

First, the rules in brief (you can get more detail from Australia's Customs Service:

If you are 18 or older, you can bring into Australia up to $900 worth of goods on your return from abroad.  If you're under 18 the limit is $450.

Personal items are not usually counted.  They are tax- and duty-free.  "Personal" items include new clothing and footwear and personal grooming and hygiene articles - things you have to have while travelling. 

NOTE however that perfume concentrates are NOT personal grooming items. Neither are cameras, electronic equipment, sporting goods, jewellery, watches, or leather goods (shoes are personal, a belt might be, but a handbag isn't).

A family travelling together can pool its allowances.  Two adults + two children = $2,700.

Passengers 18 and over can bring in 2.25 litres of alcoholic drinks.

Each adult can bring in 250 cigarettes OR 250 grams of cigars or other tobacco product.

Don't try to increase these amounts by pooling the kids' allowance - they don't have an alcohol or tobacco allowance, and you'll end up paying duty.

OTHER information:

Check prices or place an order at Downtown Duty Free, which dominates Australian airports.

Compare prices at international duty-free ports that may be on your itinerary.

Price comparison and special offers at duty-free ports or on board your airline.

PROHIBITED IMPORTS