I ordered to purchase MacBook Pro at Apple Store Japan for my new computer. I’ve kept a desktop PC running Windows XP for my personal use on a daily basis for almost eight years, but it’s being unstable these days due to low memory and hardware troubles occuring from time to time, so I needed a new computer.
Actually, I used to have Powerbook running Mac OS 9 ten years ago. As Windows was being dominant for the business field, it was more convenient to use a Windows PC rather than a Macintosh for sharing data in the office with my house. However, security is now being so big concerns of office workers that most companies don’t let workers take data out of the office rooms. I no longer have an opportunity to see or edit at home any documents I use in the office, so I no longer have to use Windows to see them created by Windows PCs at office.
It was also an option to wait for a new PC with Windows 7 to be released this month. But, if you buy a Mac as well as an HP printer at the same time at Apple Store Japan, you have a great deal of discount. That’s why I chose Mac this time, because my printer in my room was out of order as well.
I want to use a computer, PC or Mac, with a US keyboard, because it’s easier for me to type texts with a keyboard of a US layout. In the past, IBM Japan released ThinkPad laptops with a US keyboard and English version Windows OS installed, but after Lenovo acquired IBM, there’s been no such PCs for sale any longer. If you live in Japan and want to have a US-keyboard PC, you’ll have to get an imported PC by accessing online or by going to a special PC store at Akihabara selling foreign PCs. However, one of the main problems with using an imported PC is that its wireless capabilities are not available within Japan because of a Japanese law issue. To activate wireless LAN or Bluetooth connections of a PC or a cell phone within Japan, the device must be certified by Japan’s national inspection facility. Because most PCs sold outside Japan are not certified, it’s forbidden to use the wireless functions of such PCs. (Of course it’s possible to use those functions in secret, but you must remember it’s ILLEGAL!)
Macintosh these days has an option to be customized so that it has a US keyboard, no matter where you buy it. Plus, Mac OS X has a multilingual option so you can choose any language to display menus or input texts. It’s much easier to display English menus and input Japanese text at the same time.
That’s why I bought a MacBook Pro.
Although it was said, when I used Powerbook ten years ago, that Macintosh stood for “Machine Always Crashes, If Not, The Operating System Hangs,” the new MacBook Pro I’m using now is very stable. Wireless connection is very good. Key strokes are not bad. The only thing I have to keep in mind is to get used to the “Macintosh rules” —- to click, when you close a window, on its top left red button instead of clicking on the X button on the top right corner; to hit a [command] key and a space bar at the same time to begin Japanese input instead of hitting [Alt]+[`] keys; to select a menu on the top side of the screen windows, not under the title bar of the active window; etc. I’m still embarrassed by those differences because I haven’t been in touch with Macintosh for almost ten years, but I’m sure I’ll get accustomed with it. Anyway, my computer life is now much more fun!