Hardware Requirements
You might be surprised at what you need to be able to design websites. Some people might say you need a powerful computer, such as a Pentium IV with 2GB of memory and running at 2.8GHz. While that helps with graphics development, it is not necessary to have a high-powered computer just to develop websites. HTML and XHTML is really just plain text!
What computer do we use?
We use a Pentium MMX 166 and Pentium III/733 to do all our website development. You could use something even less powerful, like a 486 or even the 386 (of which we still have one, in pieces). It all depends on what software you intend to use.
Of course, you are not limited to Intel powered equipment. An Apple Macintosh is just as suitable. In fact, you need "something" that lets you edit text and upload it to the internet. It might even be possible to develop a website on an old Commodore 64, if the right software can be found (a well as a modem for it). For those of you who remember - the 40 column screen is a little hard to work with, but in theory, you should be able to write a website on it.
If you are going to make your own graphics, a fast processor, lots of memory and a fast hard-drive with lots of capacity will of course help to get the job done in less time.
Other hardware
We use a scanner and digital camera so we can get photos and other printed material into the computer and onto the world wide web. Again, you do not need expensive equipment - graphics are usually displayed on a computer screen at somewhere between 50 and 100 pixels per inch (with 72 and 96 being the most common).
Most cheap scanners can scan in at 300 pixels per inch. Why scan the image at higher resolution? We tend to scan at 300, then use graphics software to reduce the image to exactly the dimensions we want (in pixels).
For the camera, which is optional, you do not need a 3 or 4 MegaPixel version, unless you intend to show large photographs, at high resolution. Even most 2 Megapixel cameras can produce images at around 1024x768 pixels, which won't fit on monitors set to the common resolution of 800x600.
