Re: tlug: US student moving to Tokyo

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <turnbull@example.com>]

>>>>> "Rob" == Rob Bickel <rob@example.com> writes:

    Rob> On Sun, 20 Sep 1998, John Chase wrote:

    >> Hello all: This is my first post to the TLUG group.

    Rob> Do you plan to use Japanese on it?  If so, I recommend buying
    Rob> here to get the Japanese keyboard in it.

Strongly disagree.  If you will live in Linux, buy anywhere else,
avoid Japanese keyboards like the plague.  The Japanese keymap puts 
stuff that programmers use rarely in the home row, and common stuff
(quotes, backslash, vertical bar) on shifted top row keys.  Bletch.
By QWERTY standards (minimize efficiency so that you can't outtype the 
machine), the Japanese keyboard is an improvement on QWERTY.

If you must use Windose as well, you might want the Japanese keyboard,
I've not tried to run Windose without a J keyboard in 8 years, but
that's because I can't get a US keyboard (with my research budget).
It may sound like I should be used to J keyboards by now.  Wrong.  In
Linux, I disable the J keymap and touch type.  Drives people around me
nuts :-)

Ah, yes---if you expect to be a luser totally dependent on Japanese
otaku-weeny propellor-heads, get the J keyboard or they won't be able
to fix your machine.

Of course, YMMV.  But I don't use any of those extra keys in input;
they all have reasonable alternative interfaces in all Linux FEPs.

    >> I am currently leaning very heavily towards the Dell Latitude
    >> CPi266XT.  (yes, I know its neomagic) Concerning notebooks, are
    >> there any problems with issues such as voltage (will 110 volts
    >> agree with a notebook?)

I haven't had any problems going either way.  In the US I use a
step-down transformer, about 1500 yen at Narita airport.  The time I
forgot it, computer was "heiki," but I couldn't sleep ;-)

    >> and the phone system?  Also, does anyone

Phone system is not a problem, if you don't worry about the fact that
the US stuff you use is technically illegal.

This does not apply to ISDN IIRC.  Don't try to transport ISDN stuff,
buy here.

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