[comp.text] Japanese Word Processing

lee@sdacs.ucsd.EDU (Lee M. Tablewski) (01/22/88)

I have had several inquiries about Japanese word processing on the 
Mac.  Has anyone had any experience with ErgoSoft's product E/G Word?  
The available brochures and the U.S. distributor didn't answer all
our questions.

I would appreciate getting impressions via e-mail from any users.
Does the package include the high quality fonts necessary to achieve 
maximum resolution from the Laserwriter Plus?  Is the product reasonable 
to use and does it conform to Apple interface guidelines?  Is there a 
better product available either in the U.S. or in Japan?

Does anyone have an e-mail address for ErgoSoft in Tokyo?

Thanks for your assistance.

I will summarize if there is interest.

Lee Tablewski				BITNET:  lmtablew@ucsd
Academic Computing Services		INTERNET:lmtablew@ucsd.edu
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La Jolla, CA  92093-0328		Phone:	 (619) 534-5935

Mike_G_Newman@cup.portal.com (02/03/88)

I have used EG Word.  It is a reasonable word processor (it is the
only Japanese WP available for the Mac.)  However, the resolution of
the Mac screen is really not up to the standards of real Japanese
word dprocessors.  They generally use a 32X32 pixel character.
On the mac, this would mean few characters per line.  EG word
uses a 16X16 pixel character, which results in Kanji characters
that most Japanese describe as 'ugly'.

The Kanji conversion used by EG Word was quick and reliable, and
user -modifiable.  The Mac interface was good, except in the way
text was displayed and selected.  (This was before Apple came
out with the Script Manager.  The Script Manager will enable
someone to write a very good Kanji word dprocessor.)

Note also that the font files used by EG word are large, uncompressed
bit maps.  They used a 24X24 bit character for printing.

dws@cseg.uucp (David W. Summers) (07/13/88)

   I am interested in any info. regarding Japanese language word processing
under MSDOS.  What commercial packages are available and how would I go 
about getting these?  Is it possible to utilize these programs with a standard
US keyboard?  Is it possible to mix Japanese(both Kanji and Hiragana) and
English text?
   Please e-mail the responses, because I don't usually read these newsgroups.

                                 Thanks in advance!
                                 - David Summers
                                 ..!romed!cseg!dws
                                 dws@cseg