Zyaga Writing about whatever the hell I want, cuz it's the Interwebz!

Go Big or Go Home: Japanese OS

One of the biggest, scariest things a person can do is to jump head first into water without being able to see whats beneath. This applies to about any and all situations you can think of. People like to ease themselves into things, because it supposedly makes the discomfort gradual and thus easier to handle. Truth be told, they’re just scared. We all are at one point or another. Here’s to getting over that! Japanese Windows 7, here I come! *splash*

Windows 7 in Japanese

Your preference for OS’s may not be Windows, but this applies to any form of computer OS. As I mentioned, diving in head first can be (at least, appear to be) a daunting task. However, it’s the quickest form of improving and generally most of it is all just psychological. We literally psyche ourselves out.

Just the other day I got a brand new PC (a freakin’ beast of a PC too, if I do say so). And I decided it’s time to simply step up and take the plunge. Since I had to buy Windows 7 anyway, I decided to go with Windows 7 Ultimate (OEM, hand built PC) so that I would be able to change my entire OS into the Japanese version, which worked wonderfully.

The goal with changing your OS is to become more Japanese by mimicking the Japanese. If you read, watch, hear, taste, etc Japanese just like the Japanese, you’re going to experience Japanese just like the Japanese. I find the biggest improvements in my language abilities comes from constant contact and being surrounded by only (mostly / whenever possible) Japanese.

I highly promote the idea of everyone else doing the same, so I’ve inserted a video (not mine) of how to change languages in Windows 7 Ultimate below. Sorry if you use another OS, but there are plenty of articles online for any OS.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufXXUrNwGMY

Madobe Nanami

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkijt57Q3uE

You can think of Madobe Nanami as a sort of mascot for Windows 7. Essentially she is just a theme for Windows 7. Desktop, sounds, and little character gadget that you can have pop up. I turned off a few of the sounds because they got annoying, but overall I love the theme. It’s great waking up, getting on the PC, and getting greeted with お帰り！

If you have Windows 7 and you’re interested in checking out the theme, download it here. It doesn’t matter whether or not you have your OS in Japanese or not.

Mobile Japanese

I’ve posted about it before, but I’d like to mention it once more. Using the app for Android MoreLocale2, I was able to change my entire phone OS to Japanese. Now, I can’t say if the iPhone or Windows phone can do the same thing, but I’d be shocked if there wasn’t a 3rd party app at the least that would allow this. Either way, if possible, changing your phone’s OS to Japanese is highly effective!

All the built-in apps names change to be their Japanese name instead (like Calculator is now  電卓). While this might not seem like a big deal, it builds up over time. Eventually you realize you’re essentially using a Japanese phone with little effort (just like the Japanese do!). I know this feeling with eventually reoccur as I get more accustomed to using Windows 7 in Japanese.