[CentOS] Re: Japanese Language Support? -- same system, multiple uses with multiple languages

[Dave Gutteridge]

> I'm kinda confused on what you
>expect out of CentOS that Windows provides?  Or is that you know Windows
>can't provide it but hoping CentOS can?
>  
>

Windows has what is called a "Global IME". I'm not sure what "IME" 
stands for or how it works, but I can tell you what it does for me, the 
end user.

In Windows, I have a small panel called the "Language Bar", which you 
can place anywhere, but I have it on the bottom of the screen, just to 
the left of where my system tray and time display are. It's basically a 
little blue square icon that has the letters "En" on it. By clicking on 
this button, a pop up menu appears, which in my case gives me three 
choices: English (US), English (Canada), and Japanese.

In supported applications, which these days is almost everything, I can 
set the Language Bar to Japanese, and then I can input Japanese straight 
into the program. Not only does this work for Microsoft products like 
Office, but most every other program built within the last couple years. 
Significantly, I can input Japanese directly with Adobe Illustrator and 
Photoshop.

Even more significanly, I can use this input method for programs, in 
Windows, like OpenOffice, Firefox, and Thunderbird. This is why I more 
or less assumed Linux would be able to as well, because the applications 
that I also use in CentOS support the feature in Windows.

As for the keyboards, again, I don't know how it works, but I just type 
in Japanese phonetically, the same way it works on a Japanese keyboard, 
but still using my US English keyboard. In fact, I prefer to use my US 
English keyboard for typing Japanese because Japanese keyboards have a 
tiny space bar that I'm always missing and hitting other keys, and they 
weirdly map thigs like an apostraphe to being above the seven and other 
odd choices. With Windows, my keyboard retains its mapping, but the 
result is that I can type in Japanese characters.

It's this functionality which I assumed CentOS was offering with it's 
"Input Method Switcher". After all, the Input method switcher does sit 
on my top panel with a little white squre icon with "En" on it, just 
like Microsoft's Global IME. If the "Input method switcher" does not 
allow me to type in other languages, then what does it do?

Dave