Far East Cynic

Dear Mr Gates…….

If you wonder why the Apple computer company survives-well go back and look what your minions have been doing while you and Melinda were out saving the world. (How’s that going by the way?-Judging by the world these days, I’d say not so well.)

Consider what it takes to install Japanese language input editors so that the S.O. and myself can send e-mails in Japanese. Back in the bad old days-all I had to do was go to the Microsoft web site and down load the IME. Quick, easy and most important of all free.

Now however, you don’t tell people that your newer software products do not come with language packs installed. And then you have the temerity to charge for them! For a loyal Windows user I consider that an insult-which way to the Mac Store?

No one made it clear that I needed to buy the high line Vista to get language packs. Or that when I re-installed Office it would not bring the IME along with it. Even more importantly, it would seem you guys are so anal about software piracy that getting the downloaded IME is a major pain in the U-Know-Where.

So I had to deal with two issues last night-a pissed off S.O. who wanted to e-mail her friends and not trying to screw up my new purchase. It was also a pain in the ass re-setting all of my subscriptions to the SCMP, Japan Times and the Straits Times.

This is enough to send me over to Mac Land. You have been warned.

  1. HOSE OFF LOSER!

    We at MICROSWOT don’t want your business! Take yourself to the diseased apple organs if you feel that way! We hate you already!

    Also, we feel that you owe US money under the digital millennium whatchamacallit so put the check in the mail or else!

    You orientals are all alike! wine wine wine, complain ocmlpian, etc,

    Oh bother.

  2. Hey the weather is nice on this side of The Force. Especially for multilingual globetrotters. I bet if you did a market analysis of expats in Japan you would be surprised at the marketshare for Apple.

  3. Skippy-san,

    Welcome to the dark side! I have only had one windoze machine and that was that “portable” I back when we were DHs. I guess a lot of people like tweaking all of the possibilities. For me, I want to be able to drive it off the show room floor – not send it to the garage to get it running. Besides, if you are Gate’s what do you care about $$$$. You already have more than you could ever spend.

    P.S. Belated congrats on your retirement/new job. If you get up this way, we have some really good microbrews I could ply you with.

  4. Skippy:

    MacBook Pro arrived Friday and its been the easiest, fastest setup experience I’ve had (and that covers some 10+ desktops/laptops over the last 26 years). Vista was the final straw and the old saw about a windows product being a etter value doesn’t cut it anymore either – this version (with the widescreen HD, huge/fast harddrive and faster processor) is within a hundred dollars of the year+ old Dell laptop it is replacing. Go ahead, make the jump – the water’s fine 🙂
    – SJS