hpoppe@bierstadt.ucar.edu (Herb Poppe) (02/08/89)
We are hosting a vistor from Japan who would like to write documents in Kanji to be printed on a laser printer and sent back to Japan. I have been asked to investigate using a Mac for this purpose; I'm very familiar with the Mac but haven't paid any attention to the international uses of the Mac. I don't speak Japanese nor can I read Kanji. Is it necessary to have the Japanese version of the Mac? Are they even available for sale in this country? If one can use a US Mac, what is required in the way of system level software? What is KanjiTalk and what does it accomplish? (For example, does is give me a Japanese version of the Finder with menu items in Japanese; does it let me name files using Kanji?) What is the relationship, if any, between the Script Manager and KanjiTalk? I'm assuming that a word processor will fulfill his needs. Is there a Kanji word processor on the US market? If there is such a beast, is it standalone, or does it require KanjiTalk? Or does KanjiTalk let me use Microsoft Word (or what US word processors are compatible with KanjiTalk if MS Word is not)? I assume that the text in menus, dialog boxes, etc. is still in English; are there internationalized versions (Japanese) of US developed software, available in the US, that would present the entire Mac interface in Kanji? Its my vague understanding that KanjiTalk is a special distribution of System Tools and that it lags (far?) behind the current US distribution (6.0.3). If that is the case, what version of the System does KanjiTalk support and especially, how does that limit the Macs (Plus, SE, SE/030, Mac II, Mac IIx) that I can run it on? Is it true that all Macs have the Kanji screen font in ROM or is that only true of the Japanese Macs? I assume that such a screen font would be very large and if it is RAM resident on US Macs that it might make a MacPlus look like a 128K Mac. What is the recommended amount of RAM needed to support Kanji on a US Mac? Is there an Adobe Postscript Kanji font that can be downloaded to an Apple LaserWriter II NTX? Is it available in the US? What about non-Adobe Postscript Kanji fonts? Is there a Kanji knowledgible Apple (or other) dealer (or consultant) in the US (possible California?) that would be a source for Japanese Macs, KanjiTalk, Kanji word processors, internationalized (Japanese) versions of MS Word, MacWrite, etc., Adobe Kanji fonts, etc.? In short, what is the best way of making this visitor feel at home, without flying over to an Apple dealer in Japan and picking up a system? Thanks for your help. I have travelled to many places in this world and have often been astonished by strangers bending over backwards to help me out. I'd like to return the favor now to someone who will find themselves in the predicament I once was, and show them that we are not all "Ugly Americans". Herb Poppe NCAR INTERNET: hpoppe@scdpyr.UCAR.EDU (303) 497-1296 P.O. Box 3000 CSNET: hpoppe@ncar.CSNET Boulder, CO 80307 UUCP: hpoppe@scdpyr.UUCP
oster@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu (David Phillip Oster) (02/08/89)
In article <1376@ncar.ucar.edu> hpoppe@bierstadt.UCAR.EDU (Herb Poppe) writes: >If one can use a US Mac, what is required in the way of system level >software? >What is KanjiTalk and what does it accomplish? KanjiTalk, available from APDA is a complete finder and o.s. for mixed Japanese/English use for the Macintosh. It is based on a fairly old release of The Macintosh O.S., so some of the more recent applications may run with reduced functionality. You get fonts, and a new keyboard map, and script mamager upgrades to be able to handle the >6000 symbol kanji fonts. Programs like exccel and the finder, that use TextEdit for their text manipluation will run fine in KanjiTalk. Word processors generally do not use TextEdit, so unless they specifically say Script Manager compatible, they will give problems. Most American companies that produce Japanese versions of their products do not sell them in the U.S. because they can't adequately support them here. Qualitas Trading Company, Berkeley CA. imports Japanese versions of American software and sells them in this country. For example, they stock the Japanese version of PageMaker. --- David Phillip Oster --"When we replace the mouse with a pen, Arpa: oster@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu --3 button mouse fans will need saxophone Uucp: {uwvax,decvax}!ucbvax!oster%dewey.soe.berkeley.edu --lessons." - Gasee
wdh@well.UUCP (Bill Hofmann) (02/09/89)
In article <1376@ncar.ucar.edu> hpoppe@bierstadt.UCAR.EDU (Herb Poppe) writes: >We are hosting a vistor from Japan who would like to write documents >in Kanji to be printed on a laser printer and sent back to Japan. > >What is KanjiTalk and what does it accomplish? KanjiTalk 1.1 is a version of the script manager that supports Japanese, entered as Katakana or Hiragana. It comes on two disks, one that has fonts and the other that has system and finder (with Japanese naming). I'm not sure what system level it is. It does work on a Plus, so ought to work on an SE or II, at least in 2 bit mode. KanjiTalk 2.0 is either under development or just released. Of course, APDA doesn't have it yet. >I'm assuming that a word processor will fulfill his needs. >Is there a Kanji word processor on the US market? >If there is such a beast, is it standalone, or does it require KanjiTalk? There's something called EG Word, which I'm not sure requires KanjiTalk, though it probably does. Also, there's a version of PageMaker, rather pricey (List $995), that supports Kanji. The latest MacWorld has an ad from Qualitas Trading Co. 415-848-5815 for it. [PS: I'm just typing this in, I only wish I got a commission.] >Is there an Adobe Postscript Kanji font that can be downloaded to >an Apple LaserWriter II NTX? Adobe was showing a Kanji Postscript printer at MacWorld. Your best bet might be to call them and ask. I think that currently, you just use the bitmap fonts. Aldus may have a solution for PageMaker. -Bill Hofmann Flashpoint