The language packs really *are* on the XP cd. I remembered when I reinstalled XP a couple of weeks ago I didn't have to download them because I included them at the install.

Control Panel > Regional and Language Options > Languages. Check the box that says "Install files for East Asian Languages"
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As for Triad, it does pain me to say it, since I liked a lot of their work in the past, but good riddance. They could have simply said, "Within the group we've lost interest, so we're dropping Nanoha" or "We've lost interest and most of the raws are of such terrible quality, we decided to drop it and focus on ___". They've really changed from the group they used to be. I've noticed more mistakes in a lot of their work, or just very unpolished translations, which is odd for their typical quality. I appreciate what they've done in the past, but to get out of it this way...

Though, their description of the first 6 episodes is undoubtedly accurate. StrikerS has had a much slower pace than both previous seasons. However, StrikerS is also twice as long, so this slowdown should be expected. I really don't mind them training if it means more impressive displays later on.

In the first season, Nanoha had to get a crash course in Mahou Shoujo in order to defeat and befriend Fate. It helped that she was absurdly strong on a base level. The same thing goes for A's. The only power up Nanoha and Fate had was the addition of cartridges into their devices so they could release explosive bursts of power (which Nanoha did fine on her own anyway). Even Hayate, once she gained control over the Book, instantly had all the knowledge the book had ever absorbed.

In StrikerS, the girls (and boy) are all total novices. Subaru can barely use magic without the cartridges (which is why she uses Modern Belkan style, said in eps 4). Tiana is a genius at tactics, but is incredibly weak in terms of stamina. Caro doesn't have any offensive abilities since she's like Shamal, and Elio is very specialized in speed combat. Look at A's when the other Bureau mages show up. They are fairly weak. The past two seasons we've been spoiled by how advanced the girls all were. It's kind of nice to see how others have to be trained in order to achieve some competency. If we have to wait before Subaru can belt out a Point-Blank Starlight Breaker, I'm all for it.

(Note: To fully understand how overwhelming Nanoha really is, read the wiki article on what the Starlight Breaker actually does according to the dvd booklets. Offensive Abilities Yes, that means expended energy from everyone.)