About Me

So... you want to know about me. Well, my name is Owen Rudge, as you might have guessed from the site, I'm 20 years old, I live in Scotland, I quite like computers, and have done for most of my life. I am also interested in other things though, such as film and television, entertainment/theatre lighting and sound. I also have a few outdoor persuits, including walking and cycling - I completed my Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award in 2005, which encourages young people to get out and try new things. Swimming is another of my hobbies when I can find the time!. I'm currently studying Computer Science at the University of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland.

You can read more ramblings about my life on the blog.

The rest of this page contains a fair bit of information on my computers and my web sites and web development work I have undertaken, for historical reasons if nothing else!

My Computers

Computers have been a fairly major part of my life. So it seems only fitting to tell you a bit about the ones I've owned.

AMSTRAD 1640

Ah, my old AMSTRAD 1640. This was my first computer, which my Dad bought me in 1994, and on it, I learned the ins-and-outs of DOS, and also GEM.

• Intel 8086 8MHz microprocessor
• 640KB RAM
• 2 5.25" double-sided double-density (360KB) floppy drives
• A custom EGA-ish video adapter
• MS-DOS 3.2
• GEM 2.0
• Plus, an Epson JX-80-compatible Fujitsu printer of some description

This computer sadly reached the end of its life in 1998.

Dell 316SX (which evolved into 'my main system')

The next computer in the Rudge household was a Dell 316SX, which ran Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS 6.2. I upgraded this a lot, and I've still got what is technically the result of all that upgrading now (although I doubt there's a single original component in it any more - Trigger's broom, anyone? ;)).

• Intel 80386SX processor at 16MHz
• 8MB RAM
• 80MB hard disk
• 640x480 (16 colours) VGA-capable video adapter (could also do low-res SVGA resolutions)
• A 10Mbit/sec SMC EtherCard ISA network card (which I later put in my Compaq P75)
• 1.44MB 3.5" floppy drive
• Microsoft Windows 3.1 (I still have the original floppies for this)
• MS-DOS 6.2 (likewise)

At Christmas 1997, I bought an ESS AudioDrive 1688 sound card for it (later moved to the P75), and a 24x CD-ROM drive. This computer evolved in mid-1998 to the following:

• Cyrix PR200 processor at 166MHz
• 16MB EDO RAM
• 1.6GB hard disk
• An Avance Logic video card of some description. Still using the Dell monitor, which didn't like resolutions of 800x600 or higher. Playing the Age of Empires demo was fun, as it didn't run in anything lower!
• Microsoft Windows 95 OSR2

I upgraded the RAM to 64MB SDRAM a while later, which made a huge speed boost. I also upgraded to Windows 98, and later 98 SE. I got a 13GB hard disk for this machine, and some time later, when the HD seemingly died (it sort of works today, but not for long), another one. The video card was also upgraded, to an S3 VIRGE 375 4MB video card, and a new monitor was purchased in January 1999 (sadly deceased today). July 1999 saw me get a modem and a connection to the Internet, and in November 1999, Owen's Visual Basic Workshop was born, partially based on content I wrote back in 1998. In February 2001, I bought an 8x4x32 Philips CD writer, although that's no longer in active use. I ran Windows XP RC2 on this system (even when it had 64MB of memory), and it ran, but slowly. Upgrading to 128MB helped a lot. At some point (summer 2001 maybe, can't remember) I upgraded it again:

• AMD Duron 1.2GHz processor
• PC Chips motherboard (*shudder*... never again)
• New case
• Probably other stuff I can't remember

Some time after, I upgraded to 512MB DDR memory, and bought a 60GB hard disk. Since then, I've bought a DVD-ROM drive, a bunch of network cards and a network hub, a 120GB hard disk, a Pinnacle PCTV Pro TV card, a GeForce 4 MX440 graphics card, and various other bits and bobs. The specs then stood at:

• AMD Duron 1.2GHz processor
• ASUS A7V333 motherboard
• Some random generic and quite bad case (same as before)
• 1GB DDR memory
• 120GB + 60GB hard disks
• Dual-layer DVD writer: 16x DVD±R read/write, ?x DVD±RW write, 40x CD-R read/write, 24x CD-RW write, 2.4x DVD+R9 write...
• 16x DVD-ROM drive
• Acer AL1715 17" TFT screen
• GeForce 4 MX440 graphics card
• Pinnacle PCTV Pro TV card
• Windows XP Pro, Mandrake Linux, plus various other operating systems

In May 2005, I then upgraded the system further. Various other little upgrades later, and my system is now quite nice:

• AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice processor
• Abit AX8 motherboard
• Quite a nice blue OC-UK Value case
• 2GB DDR memory
• 2 x 300GB SATA disks, plus 120GB + 60GB PATA disks (and I still need more storage!)
• Dual-layer DVD writer: 16x DVD±R read/write, ?x DVD±RW write, 40x CD-R read/write, 24x CD-RW write, 2.4x DVD+R9 write...
• LG L226WTQ 22" widescreen TFT, plus Acer AL1715 17" TFT screen
• GeForce 6600GT 256MB PCI Express graphics card
• Compro DVB-T200 digital TV card
• Pinnacle PCTV Pro analogue TV card
• Creative Audigy 2 ZS Platinum sound card with Creative Inspire T7700 speakers
• Windows XP Pro, Windows XP x64 Edition, Ubuntu Linux, plus others
• 100Mbit university Internet connection ;)

In September 2007, an unfortunate accident involving a drink and the power supply rendered my system somewhat dead. As a result, my plan to build a new system was brought forward, salvaging what parts I could from my old PC:

• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (4 x 2.4GHz) processor
• ASUS P5B motherboard
• Casecom black mid-tower case
• Arctic Power 700W PSU
• 2GB DDR2 memory
• 1 x 500GB, 2 x 300GB SATA disks, plus 120GB PATA disk (the old 60GB disk was retired)
• Dual-layer DVD writer: 16x DVD±R read/write, ?x DVD±RW write, 40x CD-R read/write, 24x CD-RW write, 2.4x DVD+R9 write...
• LG L226WTQ 22" widescreen TFT, plus Acer AL1715 17" TFT screen
• ATI Radeon X1800 GTO 256MB PCI Express graphics card, on loan from a friend for now
• Compro DVB-T200 digital TV card
• Pinnacle PCTV Pro analogue TV card
• Creative Audigy 2 ZS Platinum sound card with Creative Inspire T7700 speakers
• Windows XP Pro
• 8Mbps/832Kbps ADSL connection (in a private flat this year)

Compaq Prolinea 575

I bought this computer second-hand in 1999/2000 as a PC for messing around with and trying older software. I originally ran Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS 6.2 on it, but since have run Windows 98 on it mainly, and also NT 3.51 as a dual (well, triple) boot system for the past year or so. ("past year or so" now refers to, hm, some years ago. I can't quite remember when). This system sadly had to be abandoned in August 2005 when we moved house.

• Intel Pentium 75MHz processor
• 16MB RAM originally, upgraded to 32MB
• ~500MB hard disk (died when I accidentally nudged the power connector when it was plugged into another computer - d'oh!). I've since used an old 200MB hard disk in this, and my 1.6GB HD formerly on my main system.
• Built-in Cirrus Logic video chipset (I've used my S3 375 in this for the past few years though)
• CD-ROM drive, floppy drive

Compaq Evo N1015V laptop / Compaq Presario 920US

What I used to write this paragraph back in 2004, on a ferry. Bought in June 2003.

• Mobile AMD Athlon XP 1600+ processor
• 128MB RAM (later upgraded to 384MB)
• 20GB hard disk
• ATI Mobility U1 video adapter
• Windows XP

Unfortunately, this laptop is now semi-dead. So that's more or less that... However, I replaced it with a second-hand Compaq Presario 920US in late 2005, which is quite similar in specification and design:

• Mobile AMD Athlon XP 1700+ processor
• 512MB RAM
• 30GB hard disk
• ATI Mobility U1 video adapter
• Windows XP, Kubuntu Linux 5.10

However, it also has experienced some problems since I bought it, particularly over the summer, so I went and bought myself a lovely new MacBook (see below).

Mac Mini 1.25GHz

I bought this Mac Mini in January 2006 second-hand, for use as a "media centre" appliance in our house next year, and for general experimentation and development use for now.

• 1.25GHz PowerPC G4
• 512MB PC2700 RAM
• ATI Radeon 9200 with 32MB RAM
• 40GB hard disk
• Mac OS X 10.3.x
• Apple keyboard, Microsoft Basic Mouse
• Connected to 17" TFT with main PC via a KVM switch

In the end, though, I sold this machine in October 2006 to help out with the buying of the MacBook.

MacBook

After much deliberating, I decided to plump for a shiny new Intel MacBook in October 2006. It's really rather nice, with a good battery life, sharp screen, and is pretty small and light, compared with my past laptops.

• 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo processor
• 1GB DDR2 667MHz RAM
• 80GB 5400rpm SATA drive
• 13.3" glossy widescreen display
• CD-RW/DVD combo drive
• Built in 802.11g and Bluetooth
• iSight camera, a pile of ports
• Mac OS X 10.4.x

Web Development Work and Projects Contributed To

I also maintain or have worked on a number of web sites, and contributed to a number of open source projects:

• The Transport Tycoon Forums
  The discussion forums for Transport Tycoon. An active community with nearly 600,000 posts and 20,000 users as of June 2007.
• Zernebok Hosting
  I own and operate a small web host called Zernebok Hosting. The site was redesigned recently with the site you see today.
• OpenTTD
  I was one of the original developers of OpenTTD, coordinating the original release and providing web hosting and assorted patches to the project over the years.
• FreeDOS
  I have contributed a few patches and utilities to FreeDOS.
• http://osplus.sourceforge.net/
  The Open Source home for OSPlus.
• The Ultimate Transport Tycoon Game Repository
  A site with hundreds of Transport Tycoon saved games and scenarios available for download. Sadly, somewhat neglected. I've intended to replace this with a much nicer version two, but haven't yet got around to finishing it.
• The Melissa Zone
  What was intended to be the ultimate Melissa Joan Hart fan site! A new, dynamic site about Melissa Joan Hart, with a very nice design. Unfortunately, I never really had the time/enthusiasm to get it completely finished - although I may upload what I've done so far at some point. The server the site was on died a year or so ago, alas.
• GnutellaWorld
  I did extensive work on the old version of GnutellaWorld, a network of sites about the Gnutella peer-to-peer file sharing network. However, this site was replaced with a new version in Autumn 2001, which I have had no influence over. Visit The Internet Archive and type in http://www.gnutellaworld.net/ to see what the site looked like before (around July 2001).
• MP3Violation.com
  I coded most of MP3Violation.com and am an administrator on the site, where you can trade interesting and funny MP3s with other users, plus rate and comment on them. Also includes forums where you can discuss just about anything with other visitors to the site. Alas, this site was on the same server as The Melissa Zone, and is also no more.
• Useless Fact Of The Day
  I converted the Useless Fact Of The Day web site from an ASP back-end to PHP in May 2002. I have since rewritten the entire site, improving the coding significantly. Administration of Useless Fact of the Day is now much easier, which means the quiz, fact of the day and so on are easier to maintain. Check it out - a great site, full of useless facts!
• Golf.UK.Net
  The ultimate UK golf resource site on the Internet. I wrote the vast majority of the site, including the core search and listing routines, a dynamic content management system, a newsletter system with a forum-like code for easy access to HTML tag replacements, plus a highly comprehensive administrative interface for total control of the site with ease.
• The Official SEAL Web Site
  I became the maintainer of SEAL, a graphical user interface for DOS, in February 2002, and had control over the web site, among other things. I moved everything to a central repository at SourceForge, and totally rewrote the web site. Due to other commitments, I no longer maintain the site, but am still an administrator on it.
• Boballie.com
  I did some coding for Boballie.com a few years ago, a site mainly about the game RollerCoaster Tycoon by Chris Sawyer.
• PCFusion
  I did the original coding on PCFusion, a web site dedicated to PC gaming. The work included a sophisticated template system, a web-based content management system, full integration with the forum system (the site was originally created as a generic set of scripts known as GameSite). PCFusion was since abandonned/cancelled by its owner.

I have also done various bits of work for other sites not listed here. If you're interested in any of my projects, please get in touch.