Help please with Mac Air purchase..

[jkrobs]

Happy New Year all!

I have made previous posts about purchasing a Mac BOok Air M2..but still had not made the purchase.

but I now will be ordering it as Apple Japan also have a new year campaign where they will give 16,000 yen and an air tag if you order on the 2nd and 3rd of Jan.

I live in Japan, my wife is Japanese and I'm from the UK.

I will be ordering, M2 Air, space grey. I will be upgrading the ram to 16 Gb and SSD to 512 GB. I will only be ordering

Apple M2 chip with 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine ( I don't think I really need the 10 GPU, do I? )

But my main important question is about the keyboard.

I will be the main user of this laptop..but sometimes my wife needs to compose letters and documents for me in Japanese..so I know she can use a UK keyboard..but it's a little struggle for writing in Japanese.

So I was going to order the JIS (Japanese) backlit keyboard option on the order page, does anyone know if I can type in English using this keyboard? as far as I'm aware the keyboard shows Japanese symbols on the physical keys and also English ABC keys.

and also does this affect the main OS language? what I mean is...I need the actual software to be in the English language. I don't want to find that I'm stuck with Japanese as the actual system language.

If anyone can advise before the 3rd, as I want to order with this campaign before stock runs out!

I have never owned a MAC before, so It's both exciting..but also scary.

I have done so much research online...I have even been told by people to wait as the new MAC air M3 is coming...Is it a good time to buy now? I have no idea...but I do need a new computer!

currently using a Chromebook...

Thanks everyone and Happy new year!

 

[Alpha Centauri]

I will be the main user of this laptop..but sometimes my wife needs to compose letters and documents for me in Japanese..so I know she can use a UK keyboard..but it's a little struggle for writing in Japanese.

So I was going to order the JIS (Japanese) backlit keyboard option on the order page, does anyone know if I can type in English using this keyboard? as far as I'm aware the keyboard shows Japanese symbols on the physical keys and also English ABC keys.

You mentioned your wife only occasionally needing to use the laptop. So why not order the MBA with the English KB of choice and a Japanese ext KB for when the need arises.

 

[jkrobs]

Thank you for this idea.

so If I order the mac book air UK keyboard and buy external magic keyboard for JIS. is it the same thing?

 

[salamanderjuice]

Yes it will work. You can add UK/US layout and type English with a JIS keyboard. Key labels for some symbols won't 100% match the JIS layout but it works. I'm not from the UK so I'm not sure where the extra key next to Z gets mapped but US layout is fine on a JIS board although things are shifted around a bit. The extra keys near space will do nothing when set to US layout.

You can also set the language to English.

External JIS keyboard for occasional use is another way to go.

 

[jkrobs]

Yes it will work. You can add UK/US layout and type English with a JIS keyboard. Key labels for some symbols won't 100% match the JIS layout but it works. I'm not from the UK so I'm not sure where the extra key next to Z gets mapped but US layout is fine on a JIS board although things are shifted around a bit. The extra keys near space will do nothing when set to US layout.

You can also set the language to English.

External JIS keyboard for occasional use is another way to go.

Thank you so much for giving me confidence in my purchase.

my wife has insisted on me buying a JIS keyboard, even though I will use it the most. but as long as I can type in English using JIS I'm Happy!

as for my other questions, I'm using the laptop mainly for numbers/pages creation, web research, music listening, and light video editing creation. do you think Apple M2 chip with 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine is ok? who is the 10 GPU aimed for?

and do you think M3 Air will suddenly release in the next few months?

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Thank you for this idea.

so If I order the mac book air UK keyboard and buy external magic keyboard for JIS. is it the same thing?

Yup, that's it.

I've a MBP with a qwerty Australian KB but also use it to write in German (qwertz), but realistically they're almost identical in comparison to Japanese. For me I just need to worry about the ä, ö, ü that I recreate preceding those letters with the Option key>U. Yes, I can switch to the DE KB, have the KB Viewer on screen as reference but find it interrupting. Or am just too old now to try adapt but it works for me.

Tbh I'm not sure which KB (English or German) I'd even order if in the market now.

Edit: Just read your comment that your wife would prefer the internal KB to be Japanese.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

as for my other questions, I'm using the laptop mainly for numbers/pages creation, web research, music listening, and light video editing creation. do you think Apple M2 chip with 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine is ok? who is the 10 GPU aimed for?

and do you think M3 Air will suddenly release in the next few months?

I think those specs with the 16GB ram/ 512GB storage would be fine but I don't do any Vid editing. What is the price difference of the GPU upgrade? Hopefully someone who edits Vid can chime in.

The M2 Air has only been around since July 2022 so highly unlikely of M3 any time soon. Anticipated are more so the M2 MBP 14" & 16" this quarter.

 

[davidlv]

Thank you so much for giving me confidence in my purchase.

my wife has insisted on me buying a JIS keyboard, even though I will use it the most. but as long as I can type in English using JIS I'm Happy!

as for my other questions, I'm using the laptop mainly for numbers/pages creation, web research, music listening, and light video editing creation. do you think Apple M2 chip with 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine is ok? who is the 10 GPU aimed for?

and do you think M3 Air will suddenly release in the next few months?

Have you already placed your order? The Japanese JIS keyboard is especially handy as it has two keys on either side of the space bar, one for switching to English and one for Japanese. You can also use the Command - Space key combination to do that switch, but that is normally set to activate Spotlight. You can change that in the System Preferences, Keyboard Keyboard Shortcuts.
The System Preferences, General, Language and Region page has a place where you can specify the primary and secondary. etc. language preferences. In your case set the primary to English and to Japanese under that. Then in actual use, switching is as easy as hitting one of those keys next to the space bar. Using and English layout keyboard is easy too but not so obvious as those two keys don't exist, and you have to use the Command - Space bar key combination in conjunction with the input menu on the top right of the Menu bar.
That may sound confusing, but once you get the MBA you will get used to it easily.
In general, Softawre you buy in Japan, such as Office, will be the Japanese version (menus in Japanese, and other changes to facilitate the use of the double width Japanese kana and Kanji system. You can install an English version of Office, for example, but in Japan it is usually better to use the Japanese versions, and I am sure your wife will insist on that too!
Check this source for some pictures of the MBA, scroll down the page from your post;

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/midnight-macbook-air-m2-is-here-first-impressions-and-photos-thread.2351100/

 

[jkrobs]

thank you so much for your kind advice everyone!

If I order office 365 for mac, can I change the language to English? or will it be stuck in Japanese? or is it the office for mac which is stuck in Japanese? sorry I did not understand the comment about that!

I'm going to be placing this order today, so sorry for all my questions.

are you sure I don't need 10 GPU? I would like this computer to last me at least 5 years if possible. that's why I upgrade the ram to 16Gb and SSD to 512gb.

by the way, thanks for the other forum post, I will check it out!

 

[Alpha Centauri]

are you sure I don't need 10 GPU? I would like this computer to last me at least 5 years if possible. that's why I upgrade the ram to 16Gb and SSD to 512gb.

According to this excited You Tuber, it makes a negligible difference. If there's only a US$ 100 difference, I would choose the 10core but that's just me. Definitely a great decision on the memory and storage though.

From 4:30 for Vid editing just to make things more confusing:

 

[jkrobs]

Thank you so much. I'm not looking to make 4k video but even if I did I think 8 GPU would be ok.

someone told me if you upgrade to 10 GPU and 16gb and 512gb it would be better to get the mac pro. but I still see that working out more expensive.

 

[davidlv]

thank you so much for your kind advice everyone!

If I order office 365 for mac, can I change the language to English? or will it be stuck in Japanese? or is it the office for mac which is stuck in Japanese? sorry I did not understand the comment about that!

I'm going to be placing this order today, so sorry for all my questions.

are you sure I don't need 10 GPU? I would like this computer to last me at least 5 years if possible. that's why I upgrade the ram to 16Gb and SSD to 512gb.

by the way, thanks for the other forum post, I will check it out!

I bought Office 2019 a couple of years ago, so I don't know about Office 365. I have English set as the primary language and Japanese as the secondary. Word and the other apps all have the menus and ribbons in English, but if you go to the System Preferences/General/Language and Region pane, you can drag the Japanese to the top of the list, input your admin password, and reboot the machine to get the menus and ribbons in Japanese for Office apps. Some apps will always use English some use Japanese. Office is one of the few that offers both, but it requires a reboot to change. Your wife may prefer to learn to use the English menus (but I doubt it).

 

[jkrobs]

Thank you so much for confirming everything.

I'm going to order this mac book in the next few hours.

just to re-confirm.

M2 Mac book air
16GB Ram
512GB SSD
JIS keyboard
8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine

I have a USB C dongle for SD cards which I use on my current Chromebook computer, I guess that will work on the MAC for reading SD cards. It mentions ordering extra wires on the order page, are there any wires which are really important?

I will keep you guys updated on when it gets delivered and also if I have any questions, I know where to come.

thank you all so much

 

[jkrobs]

Hi all, I have ordered my Mac book Air. Delivery time is not until January the 17th - 20th...so a fair while, I guess needs to be built.

When I ordered it, it asked me to log in with my apple ID or sign as a guest when I went to pay.

The thing is, I have only ever owned 1 apple product in my life, and that was back in 2011 I believe, Ipad 3.

I was living in the UK back then. so not sure how it works being in Japan now.

but I remember selling it and deactivating it for the new buyer.

Is there a way for me to retrieve my apple ID, using my email? I have to know idea what my apple ID is, but my email address is the same email since I was 16 years old.

Thank you so much for your help today.

 

[davidlv]

Hi all, I have ordered my Mac book Air. Delivery time is not until January the 17th - 20th...so a fair while, I guess needs to be built.

When I ordered it, it asked me to log in with my apple ID or sign as a guest when I went to pay.

The thing is, I have only ever owned 1 apple product in my life, and that was back in 2011 I believe, Ipad 3.

I was living in the UK back then. so not sure how it works being in Japan now.

but I remember selling it and deactivating it for the new buyer.

Is there a way for me to retrieve my apple ID, using my email? I have to know idea what my apple ID is, but my email address is the same email since I was 16 years old.

Thank you so much for your help today.

Your "E-mail address" should be your "Apple ID" just as it is. The problem is probably that you don't remember the password you had at that time. Apple may be able to find it for you. Just sign in with your e-mail address and see if there is a "Forgot your password?" message somewhere. Now, Apple always uses a two-tier confirmation system. If you have an iPhone they can send a message to your phone with a number you can use to confirm any sign in process.
That option can be setup once you get the MBA, top item in the System Preferences (included in the Dock by default).

 

[jkrobs]

Dear All,

Yesterday Tuesday the 10th of January, my mac book air M2 arrived.

Firstly I would like to say, thank you for all your support on all my questions.

secondly, I wanted to say I love this Mac book air so much!

The feel of quality, the speakers, the screen.

Yesterday I spent about 6 hours setting it up and getting used to it...I must admit even now I'm still learning.

I keep taping the Ctrl key to paste instead of the command key haha

I do have a few questions to ask,

1. should I buy antivirus software? it does come with firewall software? if I enable this, will it protect me enough?

2. Also my wife was so impressed, we are going to order an iPad for her using the gift voucher money we got from the sale. when the iPad comes. my wife will be using it, so can she set up her own apple ID? and how can I share the files from this mac book air to her iPad? I recently put all my business files onto the I cloud drive and I want her to be able to access it. ( Before she would say, can you pass me the USB , drove me crazy haha )

3. also if you have any other tips or good guides for beginners?

thank you all. I have really been converted and I'm glad I chose 512GB and 16GB. the hard drive was at 468GB when I checked to to OS demand.

 

[1BadManVan]

congrats on your M2 Air! ive had mine for awhile now and by far my favourite laptop ive ever owned! I have the 16gb/1tb model as I want to keep this until it dies. Still learning as I go, my first ever MacBook as well but very worth it.

 

[davidlv]

Dear All,

Yesterday Tuesday the 10th of January, my mac book air M2 arrived.

Firstly I would like to say, thank you for all your support on all my questions.

secondly, I wanted to say I love this Mac book air so much!

The feel of quality, the speakers, the screen.

Yesterday I spent about 6 hours setting it up and getting used to it...I must admit even now I'm still learning.

I keep taping the Ctrl key to paste instead of the command key haha

I do have a few questions to ask,

1. should I buy antivirus software? it does come with firewall software? if I enable this, will it protect me enough?

2. Also my wife was so impressed, we are going to order an iPad for her using the gift voucher money we got from the sale. when the iPad comes. my wife will be using it, so can she set up her own apple ID? and how can I share the files from this mac book air to her iPad? I recently put all my business files onto the I cloud drive and I want her to be able to access it. ( Before she would say, can you pass me the USB , drove me crazy haha )

3. also if you have any other tips or good guides for beginners?

thank you all. I have really been converted and I'm glad I chose 512GB and 16GB. the hard drive was at 468GB when I checked to to OS demand.

1. In general you don't need to buy antivirus software. There are countless posts on this subject on the forum, but just be careful where you go on the web, don't download nefarious software and beware of social engineering (don't respond to e-mail from dubious origins, and you will probably be OK. Get KnockKnock and Malwarebytes (use the free version), and enable the Firewall in the System Preferences.
https://objective-see.org/products/knockknock.html

Mac Virus Scan | 2024 Mac Antivirus and Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes Antivirus for Mac (2024) scans & removes viruses, adware, ransomware & other Mac malware. The Mac antivirus protects you & your mac so it keeps running.

www.malwarebytes.com

2. Search for "sharing Mac icloud access" on the forum or using google, I don't know much about that.
3. In my opinion, you should get Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) and use it to make a backup external SSD backup disk. It is free for a month and in my opinion, the best backup solution available. Well worth the price of purchase, along with Office, that is my first priority for business. A good backup plan is essential, and CCC has saved my bacon several times.
There are several good Cloud-based solutions also available. The general rule is to have your data backed up to at least 3 different sources (disks, cloud or otherwise). My best advice - Do that immediately and keep doing it constantly.
(That will give you another good reason to use that new MBA!) 🍎

 

[jkrobs]

Thank you so much for your advice,

it says on system settings that I have 55 days to sign up for apple care +

does anyone recommend I do so?

I have also backed up my files to I drive and on a USB and external Samsung SSD

 

[1BadManVan]

Thank you so much for your advice,

it says on system settings that I have 55 days to sign up for apple care +

does anyone recommend I do so?

I have also backed up my files to I drive and on a USB and external Samsung SSD

I always do myself. But I also take my laptop with me a lot of places, rather be safe then sorry

 

[davidlv]

Thank you so much for your advice,

it says on system settings that I have 55 days to sign up for apple care +

does anyone recommend I do so?

I have also backed up my files to I drive and on a USB and external Samsung SSD

Could you post a few pictures of your Space Grey M2 MBA? The thread about the Midnight version has some good pictures, but I haven't seen any good pictures of the Space Grey version. Please do that as soon as you have the time!

 

[jkrobs]

Sorry for not replying back sooner. I will take pictures and attach them now.

I also have some new questions.

My wife will be ordering a mac book air M1 ( She is really impressed with Mac and so am I ) She only needs 8 GB and 256 GB base model in rose gold colour.

She will also order Office 2021 for Mac software.

It says the software is available for 2 macs.

So if she orders with her apple ID on the website. Will I be able the software on my MAC M2? I use my own apple ID you see.

Also, I have an apple gift card that I got when I ordered my M2, can that be used for the purchase of my wife's M1 Mac if she is ordering via her apple ID, or is it attached to my apple ID?

It's only been 1 month, But I cannot remember the Set up screen of the MAC?

for example, when you order on the website, it asks for your login details to purchase ( Apple ID )

So when they ship the MAC, does it automatically come with those Apple ID details, or do you have to enter the details at set up?

If so, I can order her MAC with my apple ID details, then when it comes, she can enter her own details.

sorry, maybe I'm confusing everyone.

I think the most important question is the office software it says 2 macs, but can it be used on 2 different apple IDs?

 

[jkrobs]

Hi Guys, also 2 more questions..does anyone have a really in-depth walkthrough guide to imovies? I have just started using it and I don't mean to sound thick...but I'm struggling haha

Also, Im struggling with Apple Music, when I add my music collection from my hard drive, it splits albums and they are all messy, I need to put them in the same album if that makes sense, the problem is I do not know why they are separating in the first place, I tried changing the artist information, making sure its the same but it just makes it separate even more.

for example, I added the soundtrack for gladiator and it splits the 17 tracks. ( 15 in one folder and 2 in another)

if anyone can advise on those 2 questions.

thank you very much

 

[davidlv]

Sorry for not replying back sooner. I will take pictures and attach them now.

I also have some new questions.

My wife will be ordering a mac book air M1 ( She is really impressed with Mac and so am I ) She only needs 8 GB and 256 GB base model in rose gold colour.

She will also order Office 2021 for Mac software.

It says the software is available for 2 macs.

So if she orders with her apple ID on the website. Will I be able the software on my MAC M2? I use my own apple ID you see.

Also, I have an apple gift card that I got when I ordered my M2, can that be used for the purchase of my wife's M1 Mac if she is ordering via her apple ID, or is it attached to my apple ID?

It's only been 1 month, But I cannot remember the Set up screen of the MAC?

for example, when you order on the website, it asks for your login details to purchase ( Apple ID )

So when they ship the MAC, does it automatically come with those Apple ID details, or do you have to enter the details at set up?

If so, I can order her MAC with my apple ID details, then when it comes, she can enter her own details.

sorry, maybe I'm confusing everyone.

I think the most important question is the office software it says 2 macs, but can it be used on 2 different apple IDs?

View attachment 2151492View attachment 2151493View attachment 2151494

Thanks for the pictures! That looks more like Silver than the Space Grey M2. In certain light though, the MBA can look different, so what color is that? And what is that sleeve underneath it (maker and info)?
1. I think you can buy Office on your Apple ID (or your Wife's ID) and then when installing it, you can use your wife's ID and name etc. to register it, and then you may be able to use it on your Mac too (by the way, "Mac" refers to the computer name "Macintosh", but "MAC" refers to a networking protocol, look it up on Google). You may have to contact Microsoft about using the software on your two machines with two different ID's, but as you are husband and wife in the same house, it should be OK. If anyone knows more about this please let us know.
On the MS web site it says two computers but one Mac and one PC.
But I have two Macs and use my copy of Office 2019 on both, no problem at all, so thy it & see what happens, I do use the same Apple ID to register the software on both machines.
2. Music has a setting in the preferences somewhere where it indicates that the software will arrange your music library, turn that off and then arrange the files yourself in folders named as you like. Then you can just drag them to a playlist. Using Music can be confusing, I use the view as Song for my playlists. Experiment a little to see what the different setting do.
3. I think you can use your gift card for the purchase, but why not call Apple and ask? They have staff that speak English too. And you could also ask about using Office on your two machines.

 

[jkrobs]

Thank you very much for your reply.

Sorry maybe the pictures I took were not great! Yes, the colour is space grey!

Thanks for the information, I will call Apple!