[tlug] hajimemashite

[Marco Bresciani <marcobresciani_1974@example.com>]

Hajimemashite TLUG mailing list members,
  my name is Marco Bresciani (http://marcobresciani.altervista.org) and I am a
new Italian user of Debian GNU/Linux (Sarge, 3.1). I also am interested in
Japan and Japanese culture and society so, when I've found out the TLUG, I've
decided to join this mailing list.

I'm new to Japan and Japanese, and I'm about new to Linux... but I'm trying to
do my best.
  I easily have installed Debian, with GNOME, and I'm using "normal" features
like this Mozilla ThunderBird, or Mozilla FireFox, GAIM, Totem and so on.

Now I've decided to learn Japanese, in order to visit that Country as soon as
possible. I've started studying on my own, even if I've planned to attend a
Japanese language course next Autumn.
  So, I'm trying to learn kanas using the useful Kana test software available
within Debian and I also am trying to input japanese kanas (and hopefully
kanjis) with my system.
  I once tried to use Microsoft IME for Japanese on my MS Windows 2000
Professional system and I think it was a nice and easy input method. It allows
to change from Italian to Japanese with a simple keystroke and to choose
between kanas for writing. Then, after a kana is wrote, it also allows to
choose the available kanji, automagically or from a list.

(If anyone of you can read Italian, you could take a look at this 1,4MB file
I'm working on with the help of some kind friends... who know Japanese better
than me: http://marcobresciani.altervista.org/dati/QdG.pdf)

I tought I've read enough things and I also have searched documents on the
InterNet, so I've just tried to install some Japanese fonts and packages from
Debian GNU/Linux. I've installed uim, canna and other things. I also have
chosen to create both Italian and Japanese locales so I thought I could input
Japanese kanas too. It seems installation worked nicely so I've put UIM bar on
GNOME panel, opened OOo and pressed Shift+Space to make it work...

I've simply tried to write down マルコ, my name, using ma-ru-ko, as I did with
MS IME... but UIM wrote these 人隊打... three kanjis instead of three
syllabes. I think I've tried all the available configurations and settings...
but it always input those kanjis.

I'm not so good at searching and modifing things on Linux systems... could
someone please help me? Arigatou gozaimasu.

Konban wa,

Marco Bresciani