Re: tlug: Japanese name brands - why not?

[Jonathan Byrne - 3Web <jq@example.com>]

On Thu, 8 Oct 1998, Jim Tittsler wrote:

>Because we are largely English speakers and therefore more likely to buy
>elsewhere or to favor brands with English documentation?

It's rare to find English documentation even with foreign brands of
merchandise, at least in my experience.  Another underlying cause to this may
be that a lot of that Japanese hardware is Japan-specific and is largely only
supported by Japanese Windows or maybe not even that (requiring use of a
manufacturer's driver disk).  The North American stuff is coming from the same
place that Linux is coming from and is sold world-wide in most
cases, therefore it is well-known to the developers of Linux in the Americas
and Europe, so it's much more likely to be supported. 

Using Linux does somewhat constrain a person toward name brand hardware
purchases, but that actually is a GoodThang (TM), since it really does work
better than bottom-end schlock, as a general rule.

Jonathan Byrne
Media and Content Section
3Web - Your Internet Solution! <URL:http://www.threeweb.ad.jp/index.en.html>
3Web Channel <URL: http://www.3web.co.jp/index.en.html>

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