Packing and Preparation?

[Kirari]

i was so glad i could just call my parents from my room via GV when i arrived at the hotel during TO rather than waiting in a line to use Skype for 3 minutes only.

Do you mean that you called via your laptop? Did you bring an ethernet cable to get internet? I thought I read somewhere that that was the only way, that you can't easily get wi-fi at the hotel. But i may have gotten that totally wrong.

there is no wi-fi at the hotel.

i did call via my laptop. there is an extremely short ethernet cable included in the room (in my room at least), and i used that to get connected. i wanna say that it was possibly hiding in one of the drawers or something? i can't quite remember. (neither i no my roommate brought an ethernet cable in any case, so it was either provided or left by a previous guest.)

Thanks. I suppose there's nothing stopping me calling/emailing the hotel to ask about it.

Edit: Thanks word. Yeah, I really had no intention of bringing or buying one, but it would be nice to be able to get a quick call in.

[Jax]

Yeah my room had an ethernet cable too... My roommates and I took turns using it. You can call from your room instead of waiting to use the Skype TO sets up.

[kawaiijutsu]

for the ethernet in the hotel, i used my macbook as a wifi hotspot (pretty easy to setup). that way, everyone could use the internet without taking turns. i know some PCs can do it too.

[ChottoMonkey]

Quick bit of advice for those of you coming from the US. If you haven't heard already, get a Google Voice phone number. It is free...

Great tip! I was planing on just using Skype...but I can see how this will be super handy to be able to call friends and family using the google voice app...or calling my wife when we are in japan as well.

[dtrue]

Quick bit of advice for those of you coming from the US. If you haven't heard already, get a Google Voice phone number. It is free...

Great tip! I was planing on just using Skype...but I can see how this will be super handy to be able to call friends and family using the google voice app...or calling my wife when we are in japan as well.

I could have been doing this wrong, but when I set mine up it made it so all voice mails were then sent through to goole voice. It was a total pain in the butt. It would text me the voice mail and would get what the person said all wrong. Maybe you have to pay for the service but my understanding when you pay for the service is that now you are no longer with your current carrier.

[JJJTTT]

I could have been doing this wrong, but when I set mine up it made it so all voice mails were then sent through to goole voice. It was a total pain in the butt. It would text me the voice mail and would get what the person said all wrong. Maybe you have to pay for the service but my understanding when you pay for the service is that now you are no longer with your current carrier.

Yes it can be a little weird sometimes. Essentially Google Voice wants you to ditch your current number and start using your new GV one primarily. Don't! Just use it as a second number. Turn off call forwarding and any other setting that ties it to the current number you use when you sign up. The voicemail transcripts, although often wrong, are sometimes nice when you can't check, but again, you can turn off notifications for those too. Also, just to clarify, the google voice app for the iPhone doesn't let you make calls (it does, but through your original number which will be left behind!). You can see your history, voicemails, texts, ad even send/receive SMS from it, but to make calls you will need an app like talkatone. Feel free to PM me if anyone has a quick question.

[ChottoMonkey]

for the ethernet in the hotel, i used my macbook as a wifi hotspot (pretty easy to setup). that way, everyone could use the internet without taking turns. i know some PCs can do it too.

Another good tip!

Apparently this is easy to do on a Mac....not sure about PC...and for those that run Linux it is possible to setup and share that way as well. Another option would be to plug in a wireless router if you are bringing one with you. Seems like all of the above are a much better option and gives you the chance to be a nice roommate.


Directions for a mac: http://lifehacker.com/283088/share-your ... wirelessly

[Kirari]

for the ethernet in the hotel, i used my macbook as a wifi hotspot (pretty easy to setup). that way, everyone could use the internet without taking turns. i know some PCs can do it too.

Another good tip!

Apparently this is easy to do on a Mac....not sure about PC...and for those that run Linux it is possible to setup and share that way as well. Another option would be to plug in a wireless router if you are bringing one with you. Seems like all of the above are a much better option and gives you the chance to be a nice roommate.


Directions for a mac: http://lifehacker.com/283088/share-your ... wirelessly

I am not technically inclined in the least, but I would like to offer to try doing this, if my future roommates need it. I have a PC though. I just did a quick Google search, and here's something that seems right: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Set-up-a-computer-to-computer-ad-hoc-network

Anyone have a different way of doing it?

[teabot]

Great tip! I was planing on just using Skype...but I can see how this will be super handy to be able to call friends and family using the google voice app...or calling my wife when we are in japan as well.

heads up, calling your wife while you are both in Japan wouldn't be the most effective use unless you were both on computers or something. Google Voice is a US number, so if you're calling a Japanese cell or landline, it will cost you money (off the top of my head, something like 2-9 cents per minute or something, but it still costs).

i haven't quite figured out the app for phones because it seems to me that the Google Voice app was no longer in the Android Market/Google Play store last time i checked, which is unfortunate. when i did have it on my Japanese cell, i used it primarily for texting my friends/family (and even that was occasional). my usage of GV is entirely via my computer now.

I could have been doing this wrong, but when I set mine up it made it so all voice mails were then sent through to goole voice. It was a total pain in the butt. It would text me the voice mail and would get what the person said all wrong. Maybe you have to pay for the service but my understanding when you pay for the service is that now you are no longer with your current carrier.

that's part of the way you use it domestically. i found it pretty useful, but i can understand how it easily gets confusing, and occasionally things would go weird with my voice mail, too. when you're in Japan all of that will be more or less useless, though, so you should just turn it off. (you'll need to keep the original US number associated with your account, but just turn off all the call forwarding/voicemail features.)

Directions for a mac: http://lifehacker.com/283088/share-your ... wirelessly

high-five lifehacker!! i've been a longtime reader and lifehacker has taught me some amazing things. they have several posts discussing some other uses for and tricks you call pull with GV, too. just search for it.

[bananathursdays]

I'm getting ready to buy a new laptop and I am highly considering getting a MacBook Pro.
If there happen to be computers to use at the schools, are they generally Mac or PC? Anybody know which is more prominent in Japan recently? I guess I'm just concerned that if I work on something for a class on my MacBook if I would easily be able to make it work at the school...?
Note: I am not very computer saavy haha

[comedyrun]

I'm getting ready to buy a new laptop and I am highly considering getting a MacBook Pro.
If there happen to be computers to use at the schools, are they generally Mac or PC? Anybody know which is more prominent in Japan recently? I guess I'm just concerned that if I work on something for a class on my MacBook if I would easily be able to make it work at the school...?
Note: I am not very computer saavy haha

I actually just bought a Macbook Air with a super drive (unless you're gaming or doing heavy video editing, I recommend it.) From my understanding from various threads and people who have been there, Mac products are pretty popular there, and you shouldn't have any problems.

[bananathursdays]

I'm getting ready to buy a new laptop and I am highly considering getting a MacBook Pro.
If there happen to be computers to use at the schools, are they generally Mac or PC? Anybody know which is more prominent in Japan recently? I guess I'm just concerned that if I work on something for a class on my MacBook if I would easily be able to make it work at the school...?
Note: I am not very computer saavy haha

I actually just bought a Macbook Air with a super drive (unless you're gaming or doing heavy video editing, I recommend it.) From my understanding from various threads and people who have been there, Mac products are pretty popular there, and you shouldn't have any problems.

I've been thinking about the MacBook Air, but I kind of want a bigger screen (15 inch or above), so I'm leaning toward Pro. I will probably be doing a good amount of video editing.

[coop52]

You don't really see any Mac computers here; the only Apple products that seem common are iPods and iPhones. All the work computers will probably be PC.

[teabot]

You don't really see any Mac computers here; the only Apple products that seem common are iPods and iPhones. All the work computers will probably be PC.

i disagree. at least in terms of what ALTs bring to my BOE office days it seems 50-50 split. (i'm in the mac portion myself.)

in terms of school computers for teachers, yes it seems to be entirely windows. however, all schools in my city seem to have recently been given MacBooks for student use (if teachers elect to use them/are capable of handling technology--you'd be surprised...) several of my schools also seem to have class sets of iPads as well. no idea how common this sort of thing is, especially as i live in a larger city, but it's not impossible/unheard of.

for personal use, buy what you feel comfortable with. there should be little issue in transferring documents between Macs and Windows if you have even the slightest idea of what you're doing. be aware, though, that your school may not allow you to bring your own computer to work due to information privacy policies.

[Gekishinken]

I'm considering buying a tablet to carry with me when I am out and about and wanted some suggestions on what is "best"? I have never had one before and will also be taking a laptop. I plan on having an iPhone in Japan (have one in the US and love it) and have never used an Android product before. I hear lots of people talk about the iPad but is there something better?