FittsWorld Milestones & Site Chronology
New attractions, major content additions, and significant events

A brief site history
FittsWorld opened June 1, 1997 to a small but happy crowd.  The park doubled in size in May 1998 when it moved from AT&T WorldNet to PDQ.net, but maintained the original layout until the spring of 1999.  The park entrance has been renovated several times since, and nostalgia buffs can view the older layouts via the "Archives" links in the left column of this page.  This latest layout has now survived the third move of the site (to EV1.net) in January 2002, and the latest move to the Road Runner Houston address.  The site history page chronicles most of the major content additions and format changes that have led up to the sprawling park layout that we have today.

FittsWorld moves into the FAST lane - September 2003
I recently became the last person on the planet to get a broadband connection.  Unfortunately, that meant FittsWorld had to move once again to Road Runner Houston.  The RR site only allows 5mb of web space (bad!) so I will have to be careful about spamming the site with pictures.  The cable connection prompted me to install a wireless network so I could share Internet access with Eric, and I have learned a lot about network security and firewalls in the process.  The final step in the upgrade cycle was a new Dell Dimension XPS computer, and I have posted the specs for it on my Computer Page.

Kitchen Project Now Complete! - February 2003
We remodeled our kitchen this year.  It was hard to describe the process to relatives and friends over the phone, so I created a new page to chronicle the project.  It turned out really well, and the process wasn't nearly as difficult as we thought it would be.  The obligatory set of "before and after" pictures and the story can be found on the Kitchen Page.

Happy Anniversary to FittsWorld
As of June 1, 2002, this site has been online for FIVE years!

FittsWorld has moved - January 2002
My former ISP recently made the decision to start charging for webspace.  Since FittsWorld has always been a free site with no advertising, I was forced to move to a new ISP (EV1.net) that still provided free space for the normal Internet access fee.  This decision was not made without some hesitation, because I have lost all of my links and search engine placements due to changing my URL.  However, my old ISP had already decided that for me anyway, because their new "pay" space would have required me to change my address as well!  The new site was completed on February 2, 2002 (02-02-02!).

We have a new computer (and computer page) - November 2001
My new Dell Pentium 4 machine has arrived, and it is "sweet".  I have celebrated the occasion by completing the layout revision on the Computer Page, so you can go there to read a complete description of the new hotrod and my comments on Windows XP.  The page also features a complete list of essential computer links, including some links to XP tweaks.

FittsWorld's Travelogue - October 2001
Our latest attraction offers information about some of the world's more exotic travel destinations, including my own hometown of Robinson, Illinois.  Of course, I could go on for hours about the wonders of Robinson, but I had to leave room on the page for other exciting places.  What other places?  Please take a tour of our new Travelogue page to see for yourself.

Diary of a Gamer releases a "patch" - September 2001
I have been considering moving toward a common layout for the "core" attractions, achieving a consistent look throughout the site and improving the navigation.  Diary of a Gamer was chosen as the "beta test" for this new design, and it is now finished.  The content is basically the same, but I would like to hear what you think of the new look.  I plan to convert the Computer and Baseball Simulation pages next, since they are basically content-driven and would be effective with any layout.

FittsWorld spring cleaning - March 2001
My annual site layout update is rather subtle this year.  I was pretty happy with the basic layout, so I just simplified the banner at the top of the page.  If you think that it doesn't look any different, you can go to the Archives in the left column and view the old design (2000 Version).  Thanks to Art Director Sara who gave me some ideas while at home from RISD on spring break.

Baldur's Gate Page sets new visitor record - October 2000
It was only a matter of time before the release of BGII returned FittsWorld's Baldur's Gate Page to its familiar position as our #1 visitor attraction.  The page set new attendance records for hits in a day (424 on 10/15), and for a month (9,118 in October 2000).  This burst in traffic helped FittsWorld go over the 100,000 mark in all-time visitors.

New site design for Diablo II Cave - March 2000
The layout of this page was changed for several reasons, but the primary purpose was to make use of my own graphics and design instead of using linkware.  The frameset is also eliminated in the new design, making the site more compatible with search engine spiders.

Replicator gets a new home - March 2000
The Replicator page referenced in the Slushee Stand has recently relocated to FittsWorld.  The story was originally posted by John Larrison on his home page, but it was "rescued" and given a facelift since John no longer uses the same ISP.  Thanks to John for allowing me to use the story and helping with the new content!

Original attractions updated - February 2000
After completing the new "park entrance" layout, I decided that the three original attractions needed some minor renovations to stay current.  The former Computer Games Page was renamed to Diary of a Gamer, but it retains most of the original content.  The Baseball Simulation page now features additional content in the form of the team rosters from my personal league.  And finally, the Slushee Stand has a complete new look, and the Slushee delivery system has been upgraded too!  If you haven't been to these attractions recently, please pay them a return visit.

FittsWorld layout revised - February 11, 2000
This new columnar layout is designed to be more interactive, using images and links to point visitors to various attractions.  The layout expands from the center to accommodate large screen resolutions.  View the page in 1024x768, and switch between a window and maximized view to see this feature.  All layout graphics and HTML code on this page were created by me... I learned a lot about tables doing this one :-).

Computer page now online - September 1999
This page was added to replace the defunct MidiLand page.  The highlight of the page is the description of my new Gateway GP7-500 Pentium III system.  The content also includes links to my favorite computer information and webpage resource sites.

FittsWorld's newest attraction: Diablo II Cave - June 1999
This new site is devoted to my favorite computer game and its new sequel, DiabloII.  The contents of my original page are included, along with new DiabloII content.  There are also profiles of my best characters, rules for the Paladin Variant by Orcin, stories about my best games and adventures, and even some humor.  So explore each cavern carefully, and please beware of Cave Vipers.

MidiLand officially closed - June 1999
I believe the closing statement that is posted on the MidiLand page speaks for itself.  I hope you will go there and read it.  But if you want to go straight to the educational part of the program, whatiscopyright.org is an excellent place to start.  Unfortunately, copyright law is often misunderstood and frequently abused by internet webmasters.

Eric updates the Sports Den - May 1999
Eric's page has been completely remodeled, including new content.  The page now contains homemade baseball cards, based on my real collection.  Eric and I worked on the cards together, and we think they make very interesting reading.  So please visit Eric's Sports Den, and then let Eric know how you liked our baseball cards.

The S. Fitts Gallery joins the FittsWorld network - April 1999
FittsWorld welcomes The S. Fitts Gallery as a hosted site.  This site is dedicated to the artwork of Sara Fitts.  Yes, she is related to the webmaster, but please don't hold that against her :-).  The S. Fitts Gallery started on Geocities, but moved to FittsWorld to escape those nasty popup ads.  Please visit the gallery to experience for yourself the work of this future multimedia star.

Baldur's Gate Page joins BG Webring - April 1999
FittsWorld is proud to announce that BioWare has added our new Baldur's Gate page to the Baldur's Gate Webring.  The page made its debut recently, and has added content rapidly.  The great banner logo for the page was made by future graphic artist, Sara Fitts.  (Update: The BG page has now gone over 100,000 hits, which is a lot more traffic than I ever expected.)

FittsWorld moves to a "frames" format - March 1999
The park entrance needed a face lift, and I wanted to eliminate all of the animated graphics.  The focus of this page is to provide a functional gateway to the rest of the park, and the animations slowed the load time considerably without improving the content.  There were several changes to this page to accomplish the new look, most notably placing the header, navigation, and content in separate frames.  The header logo was re-designed and the Attractions marquee was revamped.  Thanks to Bill for the mouseover javascript code.  There is also a new background color and the text colors have been revised.  (Editor's Note: This layout was subsequently scrapped in favor of the "one column" look with mouseover links in May, 1999.)

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Thanks for visiting FittsWorld!  Please come again soon.

Baldur's Gate is © BioWare Corp.  Diablo & DiabloII are © Blizzard Entertainment.  All original content and HTML code in FittsWorld is copyright ©1997-2003 Ken Fitts.  No materials from this site may be used or reproduced in any form without the written permission of the webmaster.