About
The Site
This site had came a long way since I've started creating webpages as a hobby. This area talks mainly anything about well, the site that is- how it came about and how it is today.
History
Brief history of the site
Early stages
I remembered back when the internet in Singapore was accessible only through line-hogging 14kpbs modems. Television stations closes at midnight and Google didn't existed back then. I was about 10 then where my family dial-up access was upgraded from Singapore Telecom Teleview. That's where I went: "hey I could have my own place on the web!" I got this small free neat space for hosting webpages and started there, then with Geocities and Lycos. Everything was largely done through raw code, experimentation and trial & error. I taught myself HTML, Photoshop and Flash (now Adobe Flash), picking them out of interest and started experimenting different styles and formats to create decent site.Not a homepage anymore
I was quite an avid PC gamer back then as a kid, so computer games was the talk of the town and the coolest things to talk about, so the site took a direction as an independent gaming website featuring reviews, in-depth hints, walkthroughs for the games I so adore back then. I was hosted with HTGK (Singnet) and PAGN (Pacific.net) which saw the site through the late 90s. It was not long after where they both got disbanded.The birth of the Blog
The gaming site was not the direction and sustainable area to go, so I started converting the site back with a more personal direction, focusing on what I call "news and log" which more of less became an online diary or sort. It was not until around 2001 where Blogspot and Livejournal came about, where the word "blog" was invented. It offered a user friendly interface and convenient interface to post updates instantly.A place to call my own
In 2003, shaunchng.com moved to its own domain and blogging system under a shared hosting environment, that was the first time the site required a significant budget to maintain its online presence. Despite this, the site still maintains a strict "no ads policy" mainly as I do not like to be bogged down by ads, neither would I want my visitors either. The site outgrew its shared hosting environment and presently, shaunchng.com resides on its own dedicated server built and maintained by myself. The server also doubles as a web development server and script testing as well.Mentions
Site awards
Here are some national awards the site has bagged to date:
- Singapore press holdings, OMY.sg - Best design blog
- Singapore press holdings, OMY.sg - Popular choice award
Server
This is the main server I use to run this website. It is datacenter co-located and running on Redhat Linux 64-bit OS together with my secret security cocktail blend. The server also serves as a development server where I use to test new scripts I've written. Other than that, it's sometimes double up as a game server and also serves as a "big thumb drive" whenever I need to access my schoolwork in campus or anywhere in the world without a thumbdrive. This baby is also my email server running on Exim, an open source mail transfer agent developed by my university.
The server behind the site
The specifications are as follows:
- Intel Xeon Quad-core 2.66Ghz 12MB Cache @ 1333Mhz FSB
- 2x300GB hotplug SAS Enterprise harddisks @ 15,000rpm
- 8GB DDR2 EEC Memory
- 1U Rackmount Chassis with redundant power supply
- 10Mbps pipe for both up and down streams
- Cisco systems 24-port managed switch
- APC UPS
About
The workstation behind the site

I created this section in answer to the barrage of questions I receive on the workstation I use to create the site and multimedia content in my portfolio. I will just list them down here. It's old & not exactly fast, but manages my needs very well, a dated photo of my general work area can be seen above as well.
Primary Laptop
Built on Sager aka Clevo NP9280 desktop replacement laptop.- Intel Core i7-950 Processor 3.06GHz (8MB L3 Cache 4.8GT/sec QPI )
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M (1GB DDR3) with HDMI
- 17" 1920x1200 Laptop display
- 6GB Triple Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz
- 500GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive
- 2X Blu-ray Reader/8X DVD±R/2.4X DL Super-Multi Drive
- Intel Wi-Fi Link 5300AGN - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless
- Internal Bluetooth Module
- AverMedia Digital+Analog+FM Tuner with Remote Control
- 3 Megapixel Webcam
- 4.0 in-built surround speakers
- Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
- 12 cell Smart Li-ION Battery Pack
- Wacom Intuos 4 Medium Tablet
Desktop
DIY from stratch with very much pieces put together over the years.- Intel Quad Core Q9450 processor (1333Mhz FSB) air-cooled
- MSI Neo3-F ATX LGA775 motherboard
- ATi HD3870 512MB DDR4 with Zalman cooler
- 4GB DDR800 Ram in Dual channel
- 2TB of harddisk space from 4 harddisks
- Sound Blaster Audigy Soundcard
- Sony 16xDual-Layer DVD-R/RW
- TDK 48x24x48 CD-RW
- Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
- ThermalTake Xaser II mid-soho server case
- Antec Truepower II 480W PSU
- VL Systems L.I.S Status external LCD display
- Coolermaster Aerogate II
- 32 in 1 Card Reader
- HP L2335 23" (WSXGA, 1920x1200) LCD Monitor
- Altec Lansing ATP4 4.1 Speakers
Tablet (Lecture) PC
My lightweight companion for the mobile warrior, perfect for cycle travels and lectures.- Intel Centrino Processor 1.7GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 533MHz FSB
- Intel 915GM Chipset with Intel GMA900
- 12.1" 1024 x 768 screen
- 2048MB DDR2 667 Ram
- 80GB Harddisk
- Intel 2915ABG Wireless
- Dual Layer DVD-Writer
- Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
- 6-cell Li-Ion 5200mAh Battery
- Wacom Penabled tablet PC with active digitizer
- Smart card reader
- SigmaTel STAC9753A AC97 codec on Stereo Speakers & dual Mic
- 56K V.92 modem
- IrDA 1.1 4Mbps port

















