Welcome to K Denshi Online

OK, so you’re looking for Japanese software. You need to write something in Japanese – email, reports, whatever.

And somebody told you that if you have a PC, you need Japanese Windows. Or if you have a Mac, you have to get the ‘Language Kit’.

You decide to do some research. You went to the search engines and typed ‘Japanese Software’, and found out that there are actually quite a few outfits that sell the stuff. Naturally, you’re going to shop around – hey, the cheaper the better, right? Windows is Windows – it doesn’t matter where you buy it from, right?

Well, WRONG!

That is, unless you’re a Microsoft programmer or something AND you’re fluent in Japanese . .

The truth is, setting up Japanese software is not really difficult, but it’s not really easy, either. Most people need help.

There are going to be words like ‘Device Manager’ and ‘Printer Drivers’. If you’re a Mac user, you will probably want to know which ‘Extensions’ you don’t need, and maybe what ‘MaruKan fonts’ are.

OK, so some of you know what those words mean. But what about obscure things like ‘IME User Dictionary’ or ‘Dual-booting between Japanese and US Windows under FAT32’ ? Even if you knew the answer to that, don’t you think it would be better if you had access to someone who does? Just to be on the safe side?

That’s what we’re all about. We’ve been doing this for a decade, and we know what we’re talking about. We actually test and use most of the stuff we sell; we don’t just pile them up on the shelf. And if we find a problem with a product, we look for a solution. If we can’t find a solution, then we don’t even sell it.

This may sound like common sense, but in reality many resellers don’t go through this common sense routine AT ALL. To them, it’s just another merchandise, like bread, or music CDs or motor oil. We don’t think that’s right. If this were a regular English application, then maybe it’s acceptable. (“You should call Microsoft Tech Support for that question”). But we think foreign language programs require special attention – mostly because many of them require special precautions. For example, if you install the English MSN CD under Japanese Windows, you mess up everything. You’ll have to reinstall Windows from scratch to really clean it up. Does Microsoft know that? Yes, but only if you talk to the right person. Can you print Japanese on the HP DeskJet 870C? Yes. Does HP know that? Yes, but not always.

That’s why were here. We don’t have all the answers, but we do have answers that many people don’t have. Hey, even HP calls us sometimes to ask if their printers can print Japanese!

So, before you make that purchase on Japanese software, ask them some questions. Make sure you get it from someone who really knows their stuff. If they can’t answer, maybe they’re in the wrong business. And then you can come to us!

But are we competitive?

We would like to think so. We cannot guarantee the absolute lowest prices, but we think most of the items are at least reasonably priced. If you are confident and don’t really need the peace of mind, then by all means, go for the cheapest. (I really am not trying to be sarcastic here. If you know what you’re doing, then there’s no reason to pay extra.) On the other hand, if you have doubts about anything, you should know that we have sold more copies of Japanese Windows than anyone else in the country. . . if that means anything to you.

Happy Japanese Computing!

Some of the stuff we have done in the past

  • Back in the days of DOS: We were the largest reseller of the only Japanese word processor for the PC-AT, ‘EW+’
  • Back when MacOS J was called KanjiTalk: Created a front-end for beginners that allowed access to applications by simply single-clicking on icons (Sound familiar? The modern Apple version of this concept is the ‘Launcher’. We’d like to think we came up with that idea much earlier, though).
  • When IBM introduced DOS/V and Windows 3.0 J: Created a ‘101 keyboard driver’ for all the folks here in the States
  • When Win 3.1J came out: Created a ‘US Printer Driver Installer’ to allow printing to US printers
  • One of the first to introduce American-made DOS/V PCs to Japan
  • When Windows95J came out Created the ‘Switcher’ to dual-boot between US and Japanese Win95

Our focus has always been on ‘bilingual computing’, and will continue to be so.