The hardware and software
behind these pages:

These WWW pages were first created years ago with good old Windows Notepad, and then HoTMetaL Free 2.0 HTML editing software on a Gateway 486-DX2-50V with 16MB RAM.

Over the years that box was upgraded to a DX4-100 with 40MB of RAM and was in use until December 2000 running a Linux-based firewall/router. I replaced it with a Linksys BEFSR81 - EtherFast 8-Port Cable/DSL Router. I finally junked the box in the summer of 2002, but kept some parts, for example 16MB DRAM that beefed up my Brother HL-1270N printer to a total of 20MB of RAM.

In October 1996 I built a Pentium 100 system with 64MB of RAM running Windows 95. I upgraded it to a Pentium 166 in October 1997, and in August 1999 I installed an 8.4GB HD and loaded Red Hat Linux on it. That box also went to computer heaven in the summer of 2002.

I bought a self-configured box based on the AMD K6-2 400 with 128MB of RAM and a 16MB Creative Riva TNT video card in March 1999. It ran Windows 98SE as my main box for a couple of years, then did backup duties, and now runs Red Hat 7.3.

In December 2000, my wife and I got matching boxes running Windows 2000 Professional. I've got her's set up with Japanese locale and input. The boxes are based on Asus A7V motherboards, and have AMD Thunderbird 800 processors, 256MB of RAM, 45GB IBM hard drives, and Matrox 32MB G450 dual-head video cards. After the original IBM 45GB drive died in my box, I replaced it with a 60GB IBM drive, with another IBM 45GB drive as backup. Ever since I discovered PowerQuest's Drive Image a few years ago, I've used a second HD for backup.

My most recent machine is a hand-me-down Dell PIII-450 that I got from my Mom when she upgraded. It also runs Red Hat 7.3.

For WYSIWYG web development I'm mostly using Microsoft FrontPage 98. I have Macromedia's Dreamweaver, but force of habit has kept me from doing much with it yet, though it's much better at creating and preserving standard HTML. I downloaded the upgrade to Dreamweaver/Fireworks Suite 4 and plan to learn the software. My favorite HTML editor is Macromedia HomeSite 5.

My main WWW browser is Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and I also use Netscape 7. I occasionally dabble with Opera.

Originally these pages were hosted on my account at Global Online Japan, a Japanese provider with bilingual English and Japanese support. Now this site resides on my account at Pair Networks, an excellent web host provider in the U.S.

When I lived in Japan, I used Global Online (GOL) as my access provider. When I decided to move back to Canada, I signed up with IBM.net (which has become AT&T Business Internet) so I could have local access in Canada while I spent half a year travelling back and forth between Japan and Canada, visiting folks, getting an apartment, and setting up the move. GOL and IBM both provided great service. Now that I'm settled in Vancouver, Canada, I'm using Shaw @ Home for cable internet access, and am hanging on to AT&T for backup.