KanjiTalk

Last updated

KanjiTalk was the name given by Apple to its Japanese language localization of the classic Mac OS. It consisted of translated applications, a set of Japanese fonts, and a Japanese input method called Kotoeri. [1] The software was sold and supported only in Japan. It was available for purchase through other resellers in the United States, but Apple did not support its use outside Japan. [1]

Early versions of KanjiTalk were based on a proprietary Kanji script input system called 2.0 and 2.1. [2] Developments following version 2.0 laid the groundwork for what eventually became Kotoeri, introduced with System 7.1. [3]

KanjiTalk 1.0 debuted in 1986, alongside Apple's universal System 3.0, and first distributed with the Mac Plus. It was followed with limited version updates, up to 2.0, 6.0, and then parallel updates with Apple's System 7. [4] Apple had intended to ship its new PowerBook models with System 7, but development of the new OS was taking longer than anticipated, so Apple released a special version of System 6.0.7.1, with support for KanjiTalk, in order to market its new laptops in Japan. [5] The PowerBook 100 was co-designed and manufactured by Sony. [6] [7]

KanjiTalk was succeeded by Apple's more standardized precursor to Unicode, known as WorldScript, from Mac OS 8 to Mac OS X. This was a controversial decision, as it did not adequately provide for all of the traditional Kanji characters. [8]

Related Research Articles

macOS Operating system for Apple computers

macOS is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and laptop computers it is the second most widely used desktop OS, after Microsoft Windows and ahead of Chrome OS.

QuickTime Extensible multimedia framework by Apple Inc.

QuickTime is an extensible multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. Created in 1991, the latest Mac version, QuickTime X, is available for Mac OS X Snow Leopard up to macOS Mojave. Apple ceased support for the Windows version of QuickTime in 2016, and ceased support for QuickTime 7 on macOS in 2018.

Mac OS 9 Ninth and last release of the Classic Mac OS system

Mac OS 9 is the ninth major release of Apple's classic Mac OS operating system which was succeeded by Mac OS X in 2001. Introduced on October 23, 1999, it was promoted by Apple as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever", highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as iTools and improved Open Transport networking. While Mac OS 9 lacks protected memory and full pre-emptive multitasking, lasting improvements include the introduction of an automated Software Update engine and support for multiple users.

Japanese language and computers

In relation to the Japanese language and computers many adaptation issues arise, some unique to Japanese and others common to languages which have a very large number of characters. The number of characters needed in order to write in English is quite small, and thus it is possible to use only one byte (28=256 possible values) to encode each English character. However, the number of characters in Japanese is many more than 256 and thus cannot be encoded using a single byte - Japanese is thus encoded using two or more bytes, in a so-called "double byte" or "multi-byte" encoding. Problems that arise relate to transliteration and romanization, character encoding, and input of Japanese text.

System 7 Apple Macintosh operating system released between 1991–1997

System 7, codenamed "Big Bang", and also known as Mac OS 7, is a graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers and is part of the classic Mac OS series of operating systems. It was introduced on May 13, 1991, by Apple Computer, Inc. It succeeded System 6, and was the main Macintosh operating system until it was succeeded by Mac OS 8 in 1997. Features added with the System 7 release included virtual memory, personal file sharing, QuickTime, QuickDraw 3D, and an improved user interface.

Mac OS X 10.0 First major release of macOS

Mac OS X 10.0 is the first major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system. Mac OS X 10.0 was released on March 24, 2001 for a price of US$129. It was the successor of the Mac OS X Public Beta and the predecessor of Mac OS X 10.1.

Mac OS 8 1997 Classic Mac OS system by Apple and is the eighth major release

Mac OS 8 is an operating system that was released by Apple Computer, Inc. on July 26, 1997. It includes the largest overhaul of the classic Mac OS experience since the release of System 7, approximately six years before. It places a greater emphasis on color than prior versions. Released over a series of updates, Mac OS 8 represents an incremental integration of many of the technologies which had been developed from 1988 to 1996 for Apple's overly ambitious OS named Copland. Mac OS 8 helped modernize the Mac OS while Apple developed its next-generation operating system, Mac OS X.

Extended Unix Code (EUC) is a multibyte character encoding system used primarily for Japanese, Korean, and simplified Chinese.

PlainTalk is the collective name for several speech synthesis (MacinTalk) and speech recognition technologies developed by Apple Inc. In 1990, Apple invested a lot of work and money in speech recognition technology, hiring many researchers in the field. The result was "PlainTalk", released with the AV models in the Macintosh Quadra series from 1993. It was made a standard system component in System 7.1.2, and has since been shipped on all PowerPC and some 68k Macintoshes.

<i>Mojikyō</i> Character encoding scheme

Mojikyō, also known by its full name Konjaku Mojikyō, is a character encoding scheme. The Mojikyō Institute, which published the character set, also published computer software and TrueType fonts to accompany it. The Mojikyō Institute, chaired by Tadahisa Ishikawa (石川忠久), originally had its character set and related software and data redistributed on CD-ROM's sold in Kinokuniya stores.

ATOK is a Japanese input method editor (IME) produced by JustSystems, a Japanese software company.

Kotoeri (ことえり) was a Japanese language input method that comes standard with OS X and earlier versions of Classic Mac OS until OS X Yosemite. Kotoeri literally means "word selection".

PowerBook 140 Laptop by Apple

The PowerBook 140 was released in the first line of PowerBooks. It was the mid-range PowerBook, between the low-end 100 and the high-end 170. As with the PowerBook 170, and unlike the 100, this PowerBook featured an internal floppy drive. Codenames for this model are: Tim Lite, Tim LC, Replacements, and Leary. In 1992, it was replaced by the PowerBook 145, which was essentially a speed bump, though the PowerBook 160 essentially superseded it as the new mid-line model.

PowerBook 170 Laptop by Apple

The PowerBook 170 was released by Apple Inc. in 1991 along with the PowerBook 100 and the PowerBook 140. Identical in form factor to the 140, it was the high end of the original PowerBook line featuring a faster 25 MHz Motorola 68030 processor with 68882 floating point unit (FPU) and a more expensive and significantly better quality 9.8 in (250 mm) active matrix display. It was replaced by the PowerBook 180 in 1992.

Language input keys, which are usually found on Japanese and Korean keyboards, are keys designed to translate letters using an input method editor (IME). On non-Japanese or Korean keyboard layouts using an IME, these functions can usually be reproduced via hotkeys, though not always directly corresponding to the behavior of these keys.

FutureBASIC

FutureBasic is a free BASIC compiler for Apple Inc.'s Macintosh.

JIS X 0212 is a Japanese Industrial Standard defining a coded character set for encoding supplementary characters for use in Japanese. This standard is intended to supplement JIS X 0208. It is numbered 953 or 5049 as an IBM code page.

JIS X 0208 is a 2-byte character set specified as a Japanese Industrial Standard, containing 6879 graphic characters suitable for writing text, place names, personal names, and so forth in the Japanese language. The official title of the current standard is 7-bit and 8-bit double byte coded KANJI sets for information interchange. It was originally established as JIS C 6226 in 1978, and has been revised in 1983, 1990, and 1997. It is also called Code page 952 by IBM. The 1978 version is also called Code page 955 by IBM.

Classic Mac OS Original operating system of Apple Mac (1984–2001)

Mac OS is the series of operating systems developed for the Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Inc. from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and ending with Mac OS 9. The Macintosh operating system is credited with having popularized the graphical user interface concept. It was included with every Macintosh that was sold during the era in which it was developed, and many updates to the system software were done in conjunction with the introduction of new Macintosh systems.

References

  1. 1 2 Joannidi, Christine (2000-05-25). "KanjiTalk: Frequently Asked Questions". Apple Inc. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2008-05-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ↑ CJKV Information Processing page 463
  3. ↑ "TransPac Software * Projects". Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  4. ↑ http://apple.ism.excite.co.jp/page/漢字Talk.html
  5. ↑ "漢字Talk 6.0.7". apple.ism.excite.co.jp (in Japanese). 2007-04-09. Archived from the original on 2008-12-26.
  6. ↑ Rebello, Kathy (October 28, 1991). "Apple gets a little more help from its friends. (possible alliance with Sony)". BusinessWeek . p. 132.
  7. ↑ Ely, Ed (November 25, 1991). "Apple's PowerBook: is it late, or perfectly timed?". The Business Journal Serving Greater Sacramento. p. 19.
  8. ↑ A Brief History of Character Codes, Steven J. Searle, originally written 1999, last updated 2004


WikiProject Mac Logo.png

This Macintosh-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.