IP based websites
 

I understand what companies are trying to do. Based upon your IP they assume that everybody who logs on will want to read their website in the language that is common for that country.

But as a traveller, I find this very difficult to overcome.

I can't read Chinese but I am based in Taiwan right now. I can't update my microsoft update because I can't read the instructions.

Is there any way I can force it to upload in English?

Well, there are some work-arounds.

My company provides me with a VPN-client in order to access my corporate network (and Exchange server), this seems to work as a proxy; all my network traffic is routed via our VPN server, so Microsoft will actually receive my request as if I were sitting in my office.

Is there really any reason you need to update your system while you're in china?

If you're on the road I highly recommend against making any changes to your computer...even minor ones. Updates sometimes cause problems and I wouldn't risk having a non-working laptop when traveling. Even if you are very tech-savvy (as I am), a problem that takes even a few hours to fix could potentially ruin your entire trip if it is scheduled tightly.

Even worse...what if you lose your data? Even if it is backed up, how are you going to quickly get access to that backed up data?

If you do really need/want to update, I find it much easier to download the patches/fixes "for IT professionals" rather than use windows update. You can easily use the USA English site and download a simple file or twelve.

You can also try surfing through a proxy such as http://anonymouse.org
(Yes, that's how it's spelled.) It does slow down response time a bit and you have to put up with pop-up adverts, but it masks your IP address to one of theirs. You may run into the same language translation problem based on the proxy's address, but it seemed to work for the Windows Update site.

Wirelessly posted (Nokia E61i: Mozilla/5.0 (SymbianOS/9.1; U; en-us) AppleWebKit/413 (KHTML, like Gecko) Safari/413 es61i)

There's also a little app heavily promoted by the EFF, it's called "Tor" and will also protect your privacy while surfing the dangerous web. :D

Well its not just windows update. Windows is just one of the ones I am trying to find a work around for.

I am here for at least another 6 months so waiting until I get home may not be wise.

I get a critical update notice in English then when I try it comes back at me in Chinese.

I appreciate IP based profiling but there should be an override or some instructions to force it to stay in the language of the operating system for example.

There is a program called HTTPTunnel which allows you to use a proxy for most applications - there is a free version which offers very poor speeds, and a subscription service that offers faster proxies. I mention this because it works for more than just web browsers, and may be what you need.

Still, accessing the windows update site through any USA based proxy server might be all you need as a work around for your problem.

I do agree though, having just gotten back home myself, it feels really good to not have Google or webmail default to a different language!

also make sure that you have english as your primary language in IE.
In IE goto Tools -> Internet Options -> Languages (should be on the first tab). Make sure english is at the top of the list (if you have more then one). Many sites, including Microsoft sites, will show info in whatever language is listed first.

That is my problem. The default language is set for English but it changes to Chinese because of where I am physically when I log in. (I am in Taiwan right now)

When in Rome...
 

learn Chinese? Perhaps you could get one of the locals to help you out?

it should not change automatically unless there is a domain policy in effect. when you say "it changes... when I login" what are you logging into? a corporate network/domain? or something else?

Microsoft Update for one. Even my google account changes but I can guess it back to English. Options are fairly limited if if I choose in error, the pain is limited to guessing again.

Yep. Happened to me on a trip earlier this year. I was having some problems, so I decided to do a Windows Update to see if it would fix them. It messed up my bootfile. All the knowledge in the world couldn't save me, because what I needed was a Windows XP disc, which was something I didn't have. Tracking one down at a repair shop would have taken me half a day. I learned my lesson that time.