Computer in Japan are they different
 

Dear All,

My girlfriend in Japan says that desktop computers are different in Japan from Australia and probably other computers. She says that the monitor is built in the computer and costs the same as a laptop but the monitor PC is less powerful. Is that right?

By the way I am going to Japan to live with her but I wouldn't have the Japanese to ask about there..

Sounds like she is talking about laptops....which are very popular because they are small and portable.

Not a laptop
 

She says its not a laptop the monitor PC (its as big a flat screen TV). She calls a laptop a Note PC by the way.

If she is saying all PC are like Macs in Japan (monitor attached) that simply isn't the case. Yes, they exist, and space saving PC/TV/Entertainment systems all in one exist, but when I go to friends houses I tend to see the monitor on the desk and PC on the floor under the desk...like I see in the US.

I live in Tokyo, and I have no idea why your girlfriend is telling you that the monitor is built into the PC in all computers in Japan (if that's what she's telling you). That is not true at all. In all the offices I have worked in here we had standard desktop PCs with a separate monitor, same as you would find in any other country, and it's the same in internet cafes.

Yes, Japanese people call laptops notebooks or note PCs.

I am also at a loss as to why she`d be saying this... Even most of the "stylish" home computers sold are normal monitor and pc.

There are a number of joined space savers - often marketed to women - so it`s possible she just doesn`t really know all that much and is thinking back on commercials or something.

No actually she is right as far as a desktop. There do combine them all into one unit. The home units are built more as entertainment media machines... and usually come with a remote. I've even seen Sony systems with the keyboard attached and folds down....


NEC has always been known for making these guys... especially the NEC lavie line.

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Yes, they are not as upgradable as your standard desktop as far as video, memory, etc. but in general they are pretty standard.

If your short on space, grab it up. If you are a PC nerd, you know what you have to do.

I was just at an Internet cafe in Osaka a couple weeks ago, and not one of the hundreds of computers they had there fit this description.

I won't repeat what I said earlier, but this is an option, but not the standard.

I agree with MMM. They do sell the joined types, but go to an electronics store (Like Yamada, Bic, Eiden, etc - consumer electronics, not specialty) and there will still only be a handful of them mixed in.

They're popular with teachers, to leave on their desks at school (takes up less desk space) since we have to provide our own computers (unlike America, where schools usually provide every teacher with a desktop), but they're still not as popular as laptops in the office, or normal desktops at home.

I, myself, use a macbook for most things online, as well as work, and have a mac mini for use as a media server hooked up to my HDTV.