Using Mac Computers in Japan

[ozkai]

Originally Posted by komitsuki

I heard Linux is getting more and more popular in Japan. Free and it's getting easier and easier to use for average people.

I also heard that the Japanese language support for Linux is getting better.

May help if you explained what "Linux" is.

I have no idea.. Was that also designed in North Korea?

[komitsuki]

Originally Posted by ozkai

May help if you explained what "Linux" is.

Let me google that for you

Um... Australia is very famous for having a huge number of Linux users. I hope you knew this.

I have no idea.. Was that also designed in North Korea?

This is a computer thread, not North Korea. And why are you obsessed with North Korea every time I response to something that is not North Korea in a very off topic thread?

That's very rude, ozkai. I hope you become a better person in your next life.

[komitsuki]

Remember what I said, ozkai. Try to be discreet?

To the OP, please forgive ozkai for being rude.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by komitsuki

I heard Linux is getting more and more popular in Japan. Free and it's getting easier and easier to use for average people.

I also heard that the Japanese language support for Linux is getting better.

Unfortunately though, the support is much much lower than that for Macs, and in a different world than that for PCs. It is really a very hard OS to recommend to someone who is probably not incredibly knowledgeable about computers.

[komitsuki]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

Unfortunately though, the support is much much lower than that for Macs, and in a different world than that for PCs. It is really a very hard OS to recommend to someone who is probably not incredibly knowledgeable about computers.

I don't very much about Linux and I use it very easily with some particular distros like Ubuntu. I'm slowly learning it and I don't have a lot of problem.

My Japanese friend has used Ubuntu (using GNOME) for few weeks and she really likes the simplicity that Windows doesn't offer. Even the Japanese keyboard support is a bit better than the Windows counterpart in some areas.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by komitsuki

I don't very much about Linux and I use it very easily with some particular distros like Ubuntu. I'm slowly learning it and I don't have a lot of problem.

My Japanese friend has used Ubuntu (using GNOME) for few weeks and she really likes the simplicity that Windows doesn't offer. Even the Japanese keyboard support is a bit better than the Windows counterpart in some areas.

I don`t really mean so much that it is difficult to use, but more that it`s difficult for me to suggest it. (Should have been a bit clearer.)
There isn`t nearly as much software support, and laptop drivers can often be hard to find. Not to mention that should something go wrong, it will be harder to find support.
Linux isn`t bad, it`s just not what I would suggest the OP go with.

[Columbine]

Sorry to butt in, but do any of you fellow Mac users have any idea how, in MS word on Mac, to pull up the little kanji sketch pad you can get on PC. It has a name but I've forgotten what it is. I know it IS there somewhere in all the options, but I can't seem to pull up a language tool bar which is where it is on PC. It's just very useful when I'm transcribing text without furigana and i can't read a kanji right off the bat.You can just draw it in the box and it comes up with what it thinks you've drawn which you can click and insert as normal text into a document.

Thanks!

[CelestialChild]

Wow so many responses to this. Haha, I appreciate all the feedback; it is definitely making me feel better when it comes to decision making.

[Kyotobound]

To the original poster:

I'm heading to Japan myself for a semester in the Spring and am facing the same dilemma as you were, if you see this can you tell me what you wound up doing and how it worked out?

Or if anyone else with relevant experience has any advice: I'm an animation student in an art school in the US, heading to an art/design school in Japan for a semester. I gravitate towards PCs but Macs are more suited to a lot of the design/video editing/animating sorts of things I need to do. We use Macs pretty exclusively at my school. My PC laptop is four years old and has suffered some damage over the years, I want to buy a new laptop to bring with me when I head to Japan. Macs are better for the work I do, but so expensive and also I worry about compatibility issues, does anyone on here have experience with art/design schools in Japan and have info they can share about which operating systems, editing programs etc they tend to use?

THANKS!!
Thanks much!

[lovelyfrogly]

Kyotobound, I'm interested by your ID name and course of study. I myself am heading toward Kyoto... um... Kyoto University of Art and Design... Are we on the same boat? ..

Well, I'm as well having the same dilemma as you are. I don't know whether you are going to be in Japan for only a semester or more. But for me, with the condition set by my university, I will have to spend around 4 years course (I'm on Monbusho for master degree) where all the classes and thesis will be done fully in Japanese. My Japanese is zero, but there's the challenge. So, in that sense, I'm thinking to get a MBP there (with Japanese keyboard), buy AppleCare there, and get a student discount.

However, Apple is not everything great. I had a horror story with an Apple MBP early 2008 model where it was a defect Apple item ( I wrote a little article about it in Apple MacBook Pro nVidia Issue ). And so many around the world had the same bad experience. But however horrible my experience with Apple is, my work which is concerning around art and (mostly photography) need the goodness of Apple. It's fast, it's simple, color-precise, it's just work. And if compatibility is your issue, don't worry Apple can be used for both system (there is PC booth). You can both install Maya, 3d Max, Soft image in both systems if you prefer. Well I'm not a tech nerd so this is as far as i can tell.

But my point is, yes Apple is expensive. But be prepare cause expensive doesn't mean it's guaranteed to be full satisfactory. Prepare to pay more for AppleCare plan $300 which will protect your Apple for another 2 years (total 3 years). My last MBP was only lasting less than 3 years. I'm so angry with Apple but there's no other product suitable for my work (I need precise color, ease of use, reliable monitor for my photographs, least maintenance from upgrade and viruses etc). It's kinda blind love. Anyway, from what I read in many forums, Apple seems to be the best with US customers (from what I read in forums, US customers get more replacement with their defective early 2008 MBP units). So I figure if you are only going to spend a semester in Japan, to buy an Apple in your home country is much better compare to the rest of the world. I'm a non-US citizen/resident where to buy an Apple product in Japan will be preferable than in my country. At least it's less baggage to carry!