Windows Utilities

I have broad experience concerning VLSI development as well as the broad knowledge of system, hardware, and software.  Concerning the software, the first computer language I learnt was Fortran and Cobol.  When I joined NEC Japan, new university graduates like me had to study them for a while because NEC was one of major main frame computer manufacturers in the world.  After such company education due for new comers (Novice), what language you learn depends on your curiosity or daily job.

I was involved in LSI development for desk-top calculators that is actually a system on chip installed all the basic functions of PC such as keyboard, display, printer, central processing unit, memory unit (ROM: Read Only Memory, and RAM: Random Access Memory), and clock generator.  Intel 4004, the first generation of microprocessor, was originally developed for the desk-top calculator application.  However, such general purpose microprocessors were unable to penetrate into the desk-top calculator market because dedicated single-chip solution provided by us prevailed the tough price competition, dominated the market, and finally lead the overall LSI technologies although Intel microprocessor is leading the technology as of today.
We newly designed an optimized CPU that has instructions specifically designed for each product development.  I used a machine language which is most primitive in this case.

I purchased Tandy's TRS-80 when I visited USA as honey moon.  It was a first generation of 8 bit personal computer with Basic interpreter ROM which CPU is 1.6MHz Zilog Z80.  I introduced the TRS-80 and the board schematics to NEC personal computer people working inside of integrated circuit division as well as NEC µPD3301 text display controller that NEC peripheral equipment division people designed.  NEC shipped PC-8000 in April next year referring to the TRS-80.  PC-8000 implemented Basic language interpreter provided by Microsoft for the first time and dominated Japanese PC market.

When we designed µPD7220 graphics display controller LSI (GDC), I applied TRS-80 as the evaluation system controller that makes and provides commands and parameters to µPD7220.  I mastered Basic language and Z80 assembly language at that moment.  I have hacked file duplication protection of commercial software products like Japanese word processors utilizing Intel 8086 assembly language and µPD765 floppy disk controller LSI (FDC) interface knowledge.  While I was at NEC, I was unable to master C language although I had intention.

I mastered C language programming in USA at Chips & Technologies.  It was frequently applied to computer simulation file conversion, emulation of schemes and logic, and system level evaluation.  After I started using C, I never used Basic any more.  Also, I was not interested in any other languages such as Pearl and other high level script languages on Unix because C programming provided me sufficient performance.  I used Microsoft Quick C first and Visual C++ later as C compiler and debugger.  When I needed a C executable on Unix machine, I made and debugged the C source code on PC first.  Then I uploaded the C source code file to Unix and compiled by "gcc" to get an executable file that can run on Unix.  I have no intention to use an out-dated Unix C debugger.

For a long time, I eagerly wanted to make utilities that can run under Windows.  I tried to make it by Visual C++ but gave up.  Web page design done recently gave me a strong tips to design Windows utility very easily.  The utilities below was made in very short term (7 days) successfully utilizing my software design background raised by today.

Honestly speaking, I was convinced that Japan never be able to overcome USA at software development domain.  Japan was unable to join the match and USA alone won.  Hinomaru computer?  Artificial intelligence?  Real time operating system?  No way!  They only provided good news (?) to Japanese unskilled mass media people without giving any national interest to Japan.


Intelligent Toys
This utility includes basic Windows functions and handlings such as menu, text/combo boxes, command/radio buttons, binary & text file open/save, and spread sheet.
There is no harmful operations or miss-operations included.  Feel free to download and run.

Download (toys.exe)

When toys.exe runs, the window below appears at top left-most corner of screen.

By depressing left mouse button on Options, dragging, and releasing, one of the programs combined in this utility runs.

(A) Unit Converter
This provides an extended feature of Unit Converter exhibited at "Toys" on this Web page that applies  Javascript.  Help page display briefly summarizes the usage.

(B) International Telephone Country Code
This provides an equivalent feature of International Telephone Country Code exhibited at "Toys" on this Web page that applies Javascript.  Help briefly summarizes the usage.

(C) Calendar
This provides a monthly calendar from year of 1,000 to 2201.

My wife and I were born together on Sunday although the year, month, and date are different as usual.
I have known the day of the week of my daughter's birthday because I dropped by a hospital after work.  It's Wednesday.  NEC forced all employees to stop working and leave at 5:15 PM every Wednesday at that moment.

(D) Wave File Analyzer
This provides header information on wave files.

(E) Sine Wave File Generator & the Batch
This generates sine wave files defined by various parameters.  When batch processing is chosen, multiple sine wave files with independent parameters can be made.

(F) Wave File Concatenation
This concatenates several wave files and saves a file.

Music Clips

When we designed MPEG audio decoder VLSI, we were unable to implement layer 3 functions on the VLSI because the die size becomes 2.5 times bigger.
Nowadays, MP3 (MPEG1 audio layer 3) audio data lossy compression is done by CPU by utilizing MPEG Ad Hoc group's free source code for infinite accuracy reference data creation.  In case of layer 2, 224Kbps had to be applied to obtain sufficient sound quality after compression.  However, in case of layer 3, 128Kbps is enough.  I have evaluated various cases using our MPEG audio decoder VLSI and sound sources at that time.

"Herb Alpert"
 - Tijuana Taxi
 - Spanish Flea
 - A Taste of Honey
 - Mexican Shuffle
 - The Work Song

"Opening Theme on Radio & TV"
 - Sessions for University Entrance Exam (Radio)
 - English for Millions of People (Radio)
 - 11PM (NTV)
 - Today's Cooking (NHK TV)
 - Shouten (NTV)
 - Sports Program (NHK TV)
 - Shin-Nippon Kikou (NHK TV)
 - Shin-Nippon Tanpou (NHK TV)

"CM Songs"
 - Meiji Chelsea Song (Simons)
 - Suntory Old
 - Nissin Cup Noodle
 - Renown Ladies

"Leroy Anderson"
 - Bugler's Holiday
 - Fiddle-Fiddle
 - Plink, Plank, Plunk!
 - Sleigh Ride
 - The Syncopated Clock
 - The Typewriter

"Bitter Sweet Samba"

"Jet Stream"
 - Summer Place (Percy Faith and his orchestra, Narrator: Tatsuya Zyo; from Jet Stream FM Tokyo)
 - A Swingin' Safari (Billy Vaughan and his orchestra)
 - Yakety Sax (Boots Randolph and his combo)
 - Washington Square (The Village Stompers)
 - Java (Al Hirt)
 - Midnight in Moscow (Kenny Ball and his jazzmen)

"Theme Music"
 - Alfred Hitchcock Presents
 - Route 66
 - Mission: Impossible
 - Pink Panther

"Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra"
 - Love Is Blue
 - El Bimbo
 - Toccata

"Shania Twain"
 - I'm holding on to love to save my life
 - Don't be stupid
 - That don't impress me much

"Spice Girls"
 - 8 Short clips medley

"Sixties-1"
 - The loco-motion (Little Eva)
 - It's in his kiss (Betty Everett)
 - It's my party (Lesley Gore)
 - My boy lollipop (Millie)
 - Downtown (Petula Clark)
 - Da Doo Ron Ron (The Crystals)

"Sixties-2"
 - Walk, don't run (Ventures)
 - Blowing in the wind (Joan Baez)
 - California dreamin' (The Mamas and The Papas)
 - Mrs. Robinson (Simon & Garfunkel)

Video Clips

	My Video Message for Uncle Takahiro  (7/12/2016)
Updated on 3/23/23	Sherwin-Williams "Safari"
	The Premier Relationship  Bank of the West  (5/12/2017)
Updated on 3/17/23	Swift restoration of derailment
Updated on 3/17/23	NBC Microclimate weather forcast
Updated on 3/17/23	CBS Whole assort of precise weather forcast
	Follow the Signs to San Diego - Happiness is Calling (SanDiego.org)
	Channel 2 News Commercial Film (San Francisco Bay Area Coverage)

Audio Clips

 - Commencement Speech by Steve Jobs at Stanford University  (6/12/2005)  with manuscript
 - Steve Jobs' Think Different (TV CM)Updated on
11/17/23  (Narration; Steve Jobs, 1997)  manuscriptUpdated on
11/29/23 with Japanese translation
 - Reception Speech of our Marriage  (4/29/1983) Matsumura Tomihiro, NEC, Ariga Masanao, TMU, Aoyama, Takashima, Takai & Maehashi, NEC