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how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - wrightak - 2007-12-19

revenantkioku Wrote:Is reading and writing in Japanese work related?
If it isn't, you don't need the software. Very simple concept that you're overthinking.
I think that for the majority of jobs, reading and writing in another language is work related. There are lots of possibilities for why this might be the case, some of which I outlined above. My workplace allows the IME and all of my Japanese speaking friends who work in London also have it allowed.

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - wasurenaide - 2007-12-19

i hate to sound like the mac snob but macs come stock with japanese and ime ready to go. i don't understand the reason why windows makes it something so locked down, it should be a simple feature ready to go at any time.

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - erlog - 2007-12-19

wrightak Wrote:
revenantkioku Wrote:Is reading and writing in Japanese work related?
If it isn't, you don't need the software. Very simple concept that you're overthinking.
I think that for the majority of jobs, reading and writing in another language is work related. There are lots of possibilities for why this might be the case, some of which I outlined above. My workplace allows the IME and all of my Japanese speaking friends who work in London also have it allowed.
Of course you can argue that it's related in some sort of roundabout way, but you're arguing the wrong issue. Whatever the person's job is, it is not their job to be doing anything japanese-related on company time with company resources. As such, the IT department shouldn't be expected to solve issues regarding it because it does not directly connect, in any way, with that person's job. If it did, then they would gladly install the IME. His company doesn't want him to do it because that's not what they are getting paid for. That is the bottom line.

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - wrightak - 2007-12-19

wasurenaide Wrote:i hate to sound like the mac snob but macs come stock with japanese and ime ready to go. i don't understand the reason why windows makes it something so locked down, it should be a simple feature ready to go at any time.
I completely agree. Does anyone know if Vista improves the situation?

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - Megaqwerty - 2007-12-19

wrightak Wrote:I completely agree. Does anyone know if Vista improves the situation?
You still have to flick the switch in the Language panel, if that's what you mean, but it doesn't require admin access.

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - revenantkioku - 2007-12-19

wrightak Wrote:I think that for the majority of jobs, reading and writing in another language is work related. There are lots of possibilities for why this might be the case, some of which I outlined above. My workplace allows the IME and all of my Japanese speaking friends who work in London also have it allowed.
And I think you'll find for a majority of the jobs the department would say "Is this work related?" and when it isn't, it would stop there! That, or you could waste everyone's time by going and whining to a higher-up, but thems the breaks.
I'd like to believe in your utopian view, but in the end, it's all very set in stone and not without its logic.

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - thegeezer3 - 2007-12-19

just a quick note - i actually asked the IT department if they would allow me to read japanese websties during my one hour break. They allow people to access non work related sites during break time as all my colleagues access amazon, facebook and ebay plus regular blog sites and there is no mention of a ban on their intranet.

I can understand how proxys are a no no but if they had just installed the 2 bloody fonts and let me read sites like my coworkers do except written in a different language then i wouldnt end up trying to circumvent their efforts with proxies etc.

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - wrightak - 2007-12-20

revenantkioku Wrote:I'd like to believe in your utopian view, but in the end, it's all very set in stone and not without its logic.
It's not utopia, it's very much reality in my work place. Our IT department has very strict controls and blocks sites such as facebook etc. These controls are all for very good reasons but if they decided to ban reading and writing in Japanese then I and my Japanese colleagues would take issue. If they decided to ban reading and writing in German or French or Arabic then my colleagues who speak those languages would be pretty upset too. I realise that other people may work in environments where everyone speaks English and nothing else but I think that for the vast majority of industries where you work in front of a computer, a company would benefit from having a member of staff who is proficient in another langauge. If your friends at work are allowed to poke each other on facebook at lunch time and you're not allowed to view Japanese news websites then I think that's ridiculous.

All of this fuss is kicked up because Windows is the only operating system that doesn't allow you to switch languages easily. It doesn't pose a security risk and all it takes is for someone with admin rights to spend two minutes going into control panel. It's not a big demand on company resources.

Also, as this thread clearly demonstrates, if the company had a more liberal policy then it wouldn't encourage people like thegeezer to use proxies and other potentially damaging methods.

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - ファブリス - 2007-12-20

wrightak Wrote:I and my Japanese colleagues would take issue
In that case, it's obvious Wink

thegeezer3 Someone posted a solution here (or was it another thread?) : grab the font files, click them to view them and while they are open, the font is available to other programs, apparently.

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - JimmySeal - 2007-12-20

wrightak Wrote:If they decided to ban reading and writing in German or French or Arabic then my colleagues who speak those languages would be pretty upset too.
His company is not banning reading and writing in certain languages. They're just not going out of their way to enable it. There's a big difference.


Once you make the argument that foreign language could be tangentially beneficial to his job performance (and I don't imagine you know what his job is), you then have to start drawing a line between what would and wouldn't be beneficial to someone's job in some obscure way. Maybe someone has an industry expert friend on Facebook. There are a lot of informative videos on YouTube, and maybe Busty Office Babes gives some unconventional insights on interpersonal interaction in the workplace. There's no end to it.

Likewise for the inconvenience to the IT people. Yes it's a quick and harmless setting, but if they allow that what's to stop someone from asking them to just quickly install iTunes, because he or she works better listening to his iPod at work? Where do you draw the line there?
It's good company policy to not provide any custom settings that aren't specifically necessary for one's job.

Don't get me wrong, I feel for thegeezer and wish things were different for him, but the situation is not without merit.

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - wrightak - 2007-12-20

ファブリス Wrote:
wrightak Wrote:I and my Japanese colleagues would take issue
In that case, it's obvious Wink
If you're implying that my company obviously allows the Japanese IME because there are Japanese people working there then I agree, it makes things a lot easier for me. But a Japanese person could potentially work in any company right?? So how can a company have a policy of prohibiting reading and typing in Japanese?

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - wrightak - 2007-12-20

JimmySeal Wrote:His company is not banning reading and writing in certain languages. They're just not going out of their way to enable it. There's a big difference.
Sure. This is true.

JimmySeal Wrote:Where do you draw the line there?
You're absolutely right, it's about deciding where you draw the line. I personally think that employees should be allowed this as something pretty basic. Sorry for going on about it but I'd encourage everyone to try and see how their Japanese studies might benefit their jobs or careers. There are plenty of possibilities out there.

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - revenantkioku - 2007-12-20

wrightak Wrote:These controls are all for very good reasons but if they decided to ban reading and writing in Japanese then I and my Japanese colleagues would take issue.
Wait, so you work in a multi-lingual office?
Did I just hear the sounds of it becoming work related? HOLY SHIT THE CONNECTIONS. Big Grin

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - thegeezer3 - 2007-12-20

fab: already done, i think my update post of its success has prompted this further discussion.

all:

i dont know about IT policies at other companies but at mine they allow/tolerate people viewing non work related websites during my lunch break. I merely wish to do the same but ones written in a japanese font.

All I wanted them to do was to enable the Japanese fonts (2 fonts). I wasnt interested in writing in Japanese. Its a simple 2 minute process of clicking the check box in regional settings and allowing the update.

Installation of 3rd party applications is obviously risky and should be avoided however I was asking them to install 2 fonts that came with their XP disks and now reside on their network drives.

With regards to Itunes I could understand the argument for it helping to work better but i could understand why the department would say no. First how are you going to get your music on on to the pc (Pirated, downloaded - IT cringe) ? How do you plan to get your paid for music off the pc (more hassles for IT). Dont you have an IPOD? How about a walkman? Your coworkers wont appreciate hearing your music though your headphones and it looks unprofessional, its a 3rd party program and we dont support such a policy etc etc

vs my situation

Install 2 fonts off the network drive and allow you to view news websites like your colleagues do during your lunch break - its not our policy. blah.

How many requests do they get of this kind? I dont think by allowing this they would set a precedent that would result them in getting flooded with lots of requests involving fonts.

Anyway they had their say and your right its where do you draw the line. I just got the fonts anyway.

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - sailornyanko - 2007-12-21

thegeezer3 Wrote:a virtual os...sounds interestnig. Heard of them but never seen one. Not sure how the IT dept. would react if they found out i was diong that.... it may look like im trying my hardest to undermine there measures to keep the network secure.

Its not that they have a beef with Japanese - its people accessing websites they shouldnt be. I think even during our lunch break they dont want us to be accessing 3rd party websites. The reason being a year ago there really was no policy on this and it was discovered that people were installing there own softs on the pc (i.e. firefox - hey who can blame them), using Instant Messengers, opening up all sorts of attachments and even using bittorrent to download illegal material (what a joker! hahaha). The result - A huge trojan got itself into the network and shut the pcs down for 2 days. So the answer - total clampdown.

This means now they wont install japanese fonts or the ime on my pc because theres no reason for me to be reading 3rd party japanese websites.

I reckon going through that proxy of jimmyseals is innocent enough. Doing remote access or using a virtual pc though might get me in serious trouble. What you think? any IT folk here?
Ouch, I'd hate to work at a place like that. If I were the company though, I would have tried to track down the idiot using bittorrent and fire him and may it be a warning to the other staff, but not go so far that nobody could use bloody Firefox!!

IE sucks, it's a known fact.

how do i get around 'no japanese' on my work pc? - ファブリス - 2007-12-21

THey better block Opera too, because Opera has integrated BitTorrent support Smile You can even check all your mail within Opera, it's almost a fullblown email client as well.