So Non-Flashy...

(Reasons for the distinct lack of eye candy)
7/17/2000, revised 10/14/01

Readable Code:
I wanted to keep the HTML readable. I tried using Microsoft's Web extensions for Word 6.0 and was horrified by the amount of garbage it inserted into the code. I suspect that Front Page isn't much better in this regard, and other commercial page design utilities probably aren't either. Now, I could use Notepad, but I ain't that good (or that patient). What I did wind up using is AOL Press 2.0. It's available in 16 or 32-bit versions (part of this site was coded using a 486 laptop that I didn't bother 'upgrading' to '95), and produces code that is every bit as readable as code produced with Notepad. In fact, the only thing I have found that it won't do is typeface tags (i.e. '<FONT FACE="arial">'), which I can add easily enough myself. Plus it's freeware :) (although development has now ceased. Curse you, Netscape. I will not use Composer. )

Graphics:
Pretty much all the graphics on this site are 100% original, created by Yours Truly using such applications as ArcSoft Photo Studio, and Zsoft Publisher's Paintbrush. The latter application is so old that not only does it not support JPEG, but it came on ten 720K floppies. But it is pretty good at geometric shapes and lines, both straight and curved, and I like it's handling of contrast and brightness adjustments. It just won't create usable selection areas (they disappear the instant you select another tool), or use TrueType fonts for text. PhotoStudio 1.0(16-bit) does everything else, and has a very small footprint (version 1.0's executable is only a couple of megabytes) . The only 32-bit involvement in my artwork is Ulead PhotoImpact, which came with my scanner. I use this for it's GIF animation utility, and its Web-graphics applet ("Smart Saver") which allows  you to preview various levels of compression before applying them. At this stage in the game, I don't feel I need to know Photoshop (It's not like I'm making a career of this), and the idea of using a pirated copy of this $600+ app doesn't really sit that well with me (maybe it's because everybody and their grandfather is doing it). [2]

I have an interest in animation, and have purchased (legit) copies of Autodesk Animator Studio[3], and Macromedia Flash 4. Eventually, I'll learn enough about them to actually produce something. After I get around to installing them. I liked how CFast, an old Amiga animation file format used on the PC by The Disney Animation Studio, could be played on low-end 486 machines at 640x480 with 256 colors--at 30 frames per second...but nobody (not even Amiga buffs) seems to know about this file format [.CFT] anymore, much less applications that can output them. What a pity.
For digitally colored artwork I'll stick with PhotoStudio for now. It's fun watching the looks of bewilderment when I mention just how humble an application produced the digital color on this site.

Bandwidth:
Here in my part of New York City, ADSL services are now available. Cable Modem isn't. (Blame Cablevision) I haven't jumped aboard the broadband bandwagon even though I now have a functioning home network (P.O.S. USB ethernet adapter was keeping it from working), which was my previous condition for getting the service. Now I have as many as three machines sucking on a 56K connection through Internet Connection Sharing[5]. Eventually I'll take the broadband plunge. Maybe when it gets a little cheaper than $40-$50 a month. Till then I operate at 56k. And this site will always remain a rapidly-loading one, out of consideration for majority who are still confined to  dial-up modems.

Compatibility:
During the time my primary machine was a 486 running Win 3.1, I ran across a (furry art) site that burped out some message about "reguires a Win 95 browser" just before crashing Netscape. That ain't gonna happen here. You should be able to see everything here regardless of the OS, screen resolution or color depth you use. It should even work on a Dreamcast or WebTV, of all things.

[1] The "ArcSoft Imaging Suite" is a Win95 application, but includes PhotoStudio 2.0, which by itself will run under Win3.1. This is the last revision that is compatible with the older OS. PhotoStudio 2000, the current version, is 32-bit only.
[2] I recently recieved a copy of Photoshop LE with my Wacom Grafire graphics tablet. It remains to be seen if I'll get around to installing it anytime soon--I know, it's a bad habit of mine.
[3] (01/15/2000)--I have to remember that date, as it was when I finally found a copy of Autodesk Animator. It only took what, two years of searching computer shows large and small.
[4] My benchmark system for old-school compatibility will be my previous primary system, a Toshiba 2155CDS laptop, sporting a 75MHz 486dx4 CPU, 28MB of RAM, a 2GB HD (replacing the original failed 500MB one) and Windows 3.1 (or Windows for Workgroups, when I get around to installing the add-on.)
[5] Hint: Only the PC that's actually connected to the Internet needs ICS installed. The rest can simply be set to "Dial whenever an network connection is not present", or "Never dial a connection". Assuming the rest of your network functions normally.

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