Introduction of Some Basic Concepts

Last updated Auguest 10, 1996.
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I make no attempt to answer all the questions users have asked, instead I would just like to discuss a few basic concepts. I may not reply to your e-mail, but as more people ask the same question, I will try to answer it here or in other sub-pages.

Chinese Windows or a Chinese add-on?

Microsoft does produce Chinese Windows: GuoBiao (GB) versions for Mainland China and Singapore, and BIG5 versions for Taiwan and HongKong. They are available for Windows3.1x, Windows95, and WindowsNT. If Chinese is the only language you want in your system, Chinese Windows should be your choice. Please contact your local software dealers for pricing and availability.

Even if you have a Chinese Windows, you may still need to read this page because your version can only deal with one code, either GB or BIG5. When you surf the Net, you may read the code your system does not support. Say you have a MS-Windows GB version, you can't read a page written in BIG5 and you need one of the Chinese add-ons for help. The side effect is that your menu titles may turn into garbage if the code you selected for the add-on is different from your default system.

In western countries, Engilsh MS Windows is common. You need one of the Chinese add-ons to enable your system to display/input Chinese. Please note that Chinese add-ons are not specifically designed for Internet tools like NetScape or MS Internet Explorer although those are the topics of this Page. The Chinese capability is system-wide, meaning all applications (16 bit for now and some exceptions) will display Chinese, such as MS-Word, NotePad, and Write.

If you have lots of disk space and $$$, you can install all Windows versions (English, Chinese GB, and Chinese BIG5) into different directories.

Why a Helper?

You need a HELPER because those programmers of NetScape, MS Internet Explorer, ... are not smart enough to produce products that support Chinese INTERNALLY so their products need EXTERNAL HELP. Therefore those Chinese viewers discussed here are HELPERS. Of course, Chinese viewers are not the only helpers needed by those two web browsers. They need other helpers too, like GhostView for viewing Postscript files, Telnet clients for telneting, Adobe Acrobat Reader for Portable Document Format (PDF) files, and so on.

Chinese viewers can be used on all platforms of MS-Windows either the English version or the Chinese version.

An Add-on or a Helper?

My answer is both. For direct reading, an add-on is a must. A helper is needed when you: a) access a server where Chinese files are configured as applications (you certainly have the option of downloading in this case if you don't have a helper), b) do not have enough disk space and memory to run an add-on. The decision is yours.

I Have Unpacked the Zipped File, Then What?

Read the "Readme" file first if there is one. Then run either install or setup. Some software may need only copying files to a directory.

How Can I Write Chinese Web Pages?

Good question! Hire me if you really want to know:-). Honestly I don't have time to write that part or answer your question. Sorry.

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