Automattic Acquires After The Deadline. Bloggers Suddenly Learn How To Spell

After The Deadline is a popular spell check plug-in that allows users to incorporate spell checking into their online applications. Now that technology is in the hands of the Automattic team who have just acquired the company and its technology.

The new technology is already running on WordPress blogs and works in realtime by underlining errors (spelling mistakes) as there made. Just like MS Word red highlighting signals spelling mistakes, green offers incorrect grammar and blue equals a style mistake.

Users can also choose how the program examines their content, such as turning off grammar checking and even setting up their own rules. The program then offers possible word fixes and grammar changes just like other popular word processors. Users must then choose whether to accept or ignore certain “mistakes” as they check their posts.

According to After The Deadline founder Raphael Mudge, the plug-in will continue to be upgraded under the Automattic name and will remain free for non-commercial use. They also plan to add new language support to the application.

No word yet as to whether the plug-in will eventually become a part of the WordPress core, or if it will remain a separate plug-in as was the case with another Automattic acquisition IntenseDebate which was purchased in September of 2008.

Here’s a video of the software in action: