nmm2@quads.uchicago.edu (nathaniel marinus mccully) (05/02/91)
O.K. There have been a couple of posts about Apple's introduction of KanjiTalk for sale in the U.S. that have been misleading. What follows is information I received from Apple while attending the KanjiTalk Pre-announce and subsequent dealer training in Cupertino. I do not work for Apple or a dealer, at least not full-time :-) . Apple Computer USA, Inc. announced on April 23rd that a select group of authorized Dealers would begin sales of KanjiTalk 6.0.7-J and related software and hardware in the U.S. These dealers, in addition to being located in areas of high Japanese populations, agreed to send a bilingual System Engineer to Cupertino to be trained in the use, installation, and tech support of the system software and related Apple products. 15 dealers were originally selected by Apple, but (I think) only 9 were able to find the bilingual SE, or had other preparatory troubles which relegated them to phase 2 of the operation (during which 8-12 more dealers will be added.) The dealers are in: New York (Custom Computer Specialists -- (516) 582-6699) Chicago (Automated Office -- (708) 831-1192) Ann Arbor (AC Computer -- (313) 994-6344) Cincinatti (Graham -- (513) 772-7753 or (513) 851-5000) Dayton (Graham -- (513) 228-0492) Indianapolis (Graham -- (317) 634-8202) Louisville (Graham -- (502) 267-9813) Sioux City (AC Computer -- (712) 279-8722) Plus several in California, but I don't remember which are phase 1 or 2. Also, the list may have changed since the announcement; these names were accurate April 17th, during the pre-announce. And now, the Price List. These are the Suggested Retail Prices (SRP's) or the preliminary products being offered by the dealers through their distributor, SystemSoft in Los Altos, CA. KanjiTalk Upgrade Kit 6.0.7 Int'l $400 KanjiTalk v 6.0.7 System Software 4 Kanji screen font disks Japanese manuals, English installation and user's guides HyperCard 2.0-J Basic version: 2 disks plus manual HyperCard 2.0-J $150 Scripting Version: 7 disks, 3 manuals Extended Keyboard J $250 Optional if Kana key layout is preferred LaserWriter II NTX-J Upgrade Int'l $4000 Upgrades any LaserWriter II to NTX-J w/Kanji capability. Bundle contains NTX-J controller board and Apple HD 40SC hard disk w/Kanji Postscript fonts (by Adobe) LaserWriter II NTX-J $6300 Bundle contains NTX-J controller board and HD 40SC w/Kanji Postscript fonts, LaserWriter II engine, and toner cartridge. ---------------------- THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE -------------------- Adobe Illustrator 1.9.5-J $999 Adobe Streamline J $399 Adobe Photoshop J $1,299 Catena Translator $1,799 -- best seller in Hawaii Microsoft Excel 2.0-J $699 Aldus PageMaker 3.0-J $1,095 Aldus Freehand 2.0-J $995 MacWrite II-J $499 -- best seller in Japan FileMaker II-J $699 MacDraw II-J $599 MacPaint 2.0-J $199 MacProject II v1.1-J $699 Note: the above software has been re-written and localized for Japan, so that it could handle the 2-byte characters in the Kanji fonts, and properly sort text written in Japanese. Many U.S. versions of the same software can be used in KanjiTalk, but this is easier with graphics programs, much harder with databases and word-processors. If you have any questions about the above, or KanjiTalk in general, or just about Japanese computing, please write! nmm2@midway.uchicago.edu Disclaimer: I was not asked, paid, or otherwise solicited to post this information. I believe that everyone should know about what is available, so I am sharing what I have found out. Thank you for reading! -- !!\\ !! !!\\ //!! Dept. of EALC !! \\ !! !! \ / !! Univ. of Chicago !! \\ !! !! v !! c/o SHINNOSUKE !! \\!! AT !! !! cCULLY ===> nmm2@midway.uchicago.edu