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| And Who Says That We Aren't Passionate? |
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This week we made it big-time in the news! "Translation" was all over major news web sites and in newspapers, blogs were going gaga, and translators spoke up with force in many forums and marketplaces.
The reason? Google "accidentally" released a version of the Google Translation Center. It was spotted by the Google blog Google Blogoscoped, which in turn caused all the other excitement. Google took most of the content off the web, but left some, which I think is a pretty sure sign that they were interested in leaking this in the first place to gauge the response -- and a response they got.
There is a cached version of the FAQ page of Google Translation Center that will give you a first idea of what this new service is about.
The idea seems to be a service that will connect translation buyers and translators who would then need to negotiate pricing, etc. At this point Google would step out of the way without looking for any monetary cut, but it would provide the interface in which the translation is carried out. If this holds true, it could be something like a grown-up ProZ (not surprisingly, one of the articles yesterday was called "Watch out ProZ, here comes Google Translation Center") that would reach a much larger audience while at the same time providing the user interface for the translation and collecting the translation memory to advance their own machine translation engine (and I hope that their machine translation will never produce never-ending sentences like this).
So, is this good?
I think that there are a number of sides to it. For the likes of ProZ or TranslatorsCafe, it probably is a threat of some degree. On the other hand, these sites have done well creating communities that go well beyond just providing jobs.
For the larger-sized language service providers, this has very little immediate bearing. The jobs that these guys work on are typically way too complex for a mere matching service with or without a translation interface to compete with. Anyone who
- wants to translate a project into more than just a couple of languages and/or
- is dealing with file formats (including files that have been pre-processed by a TEnT) that are not easily processed by just anyone or any tool and/or
- does not want their content to end up in the big Google TM
will be hard-pressed to see much of an advantage in going to the Google Translation Center if it is indeed structured the way we imagine it to be. And since these are the majority of jobs that those companies work on, there should not be much to worry about (plus it sounds like the likes of Lionbridge and Welocalize may be doing something similar on their own).
I think that the situation may be just a little bit different for the small language service provider. Unless they have carved out a specialty and some excellence in it, they may be hard-pressed to make a case against the Google behemoth -- especially if there are no project management costs when dealing directly with the translator through the Google Translation Center. On the other hand -- and, again, this is speculation -- the Center may very well work as a business platform for small translation agencies.
Which of course brings us to the individual freelance translator. Here I can see a number of benefits, especially in regard to the one mentioned above (the marketing and business platform). As far as the technology platform goes, this remains to be seen. However, if this Google project moves forward and proves to be successful, it could very well become a new technology standard for certain kinds of jobs for which no investment other than training has to be made, and for which (presumably) a gigantic translation memory can be employed.
And what about building up Google's machine translation capabilities by feeding into the TM database? To me this seems to be the major reason for Google's foray into this new arena. While it's possible to sit back, cross your arms and say, "No, I am not contributing to it!", chances are that much of your translation will end up in there anyway if it is published online... |
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| 1. "Free" TEnTs (Premium Content) |
I'm not sure how this works out for you, but in the last few months I have been spending more and more time working with TEnTs (translation environment tools) with translator editions that are available as free downloads.
If memory serves me right, the localization tool Alchemy Catalyst was the first to offer a free freelance edition that could be used only on projects that were created by the expensive corporate editions. A number of TEnTs followed suit, including Star Transit, SDLX, MemoQ, and Déjà Vu. Then there are also large translation management systems (TMS) like Idiom WorldServer, XTM, or Logoport that have free web- or desktop-based application for the translators to use. There are also tools like Across or Lingotek that actually give out completely free and fully functional versions of their apps to translators. And lastly there are the home-grown tools, the tools where some developer genius within a company felt that he could create a translation (memory) environment that would be far superior to anything on the market. And of course there are translator-facing environments for those tools as well -- typically web-based.
Let's talk about the positive side of this equation. For people without much experience with TEnTs, this can be a good way to learn about the different tools. While you need to keep in mind that most of these versions are consciously crippled (so that you cannot use them on your own), you should still get a good feel for the program. And if you have experience with some existing tool(s), it's a good way to get to know some of the competitors - and maybe to realize that there are better environments than the one you presently work in. These advantages, of course, are only true for those tools that actually have a full-fledged tool for translators. If you talk about tools like the translation management systems mentioned above or the independently developed tools, there is no such advantage (aside from being able to work, that is).
Let's talk about the disadvantages.
First of all, there is the time and effort you need to learn a new tool. This can be especially aggravating if you have to do this for only one client or a different tool for each client. Here is what I think about this particular point: This is an area where freelance translators need to ask for payment (or better yet, where payment needs to be offered). While you can probably get started using most of these tools pretty much right away, you will never get to the advanced features that way and/or you will be slowed down significantly. So, why not a default payment of, say, two hours' worth of our time coupled with the appropriate instructions?
Second, there are technical problems when installing, and maybe more so with connectivity issues for server-based tools. While we need to make sure that these are not problems caused by our own ignorance, we also need to ask for reimbursement when the server goes down and we are left to twiddle our thumbs. (I know, I know, we probably won't twiddle our thumbs because chances are that there are other jobs in the pipeline that we can work on in the meanwhile, but there still needs to be a recognition of some downtime.)
Third, there are the problems of language assets. While we are used to keeping our translation memories and glossaries of locally based projects with our normal tool set, typically we won't be able to do it here. Though I don't think that we have much room to complain (since the legal situation might be kind of iffy to start with), it is an area where these projects might compare unfavorably.
And finally, there are the completely inept home-grown tools that we might be presented with (I just talked to a colleague this morning who vented about that). Here we need to play the role of the "enlightener." After all, we know that we are going to be presenting an inferior translation product if the terminology feature does not work right, the translation memory function was state-of-the-art 15 years ago, there is no spellcheck, etc., etc. Though it's entirely possible that we might hurt the ego of the developer who is responsible for it, the next generation of translators will thank us. And for the current job we should be glad to use their tool -- if they pay us 3 cents more per word.
And the variety of existing tools -- especially of the home-grown kind -- might become less and less if Google's experiment (see above) is successful. It might very well become the default translation environment. (Or maybe not.) |
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| 2. Another New Way of Working That's Kind(le) of Cool |
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I received this communication from Julio Juncal the other day. While this also concerns the product of yet another Internet giant that people love to hate, it's still worth sharing:
Recently, I acquired a Kindle from Amazon.com, and it occurred to me that I could use it to read the Translator's Tool Box. So, I attached it to a message and sent it to Amazon.com for conversion to the Kindle format. It did not take long to get it back wirelessly and to begin reading it.
Right now, I'm using the Kindle to do the final reading of a translation before sending it to the client. Reading books is so ingrained for me that I find it less tiring to read on the Kindle than to read on-screen.
I have not invested in a Kindle yet -- and for those few who have not encountered the omnipresent publicity: it's Amazon's attempt at an ebook and it seems to be shaping up to become the first success of its kind -- but I have been jealously eyeing my father-in-law's model ever since he first got ahold of it.
And if this could truly be used for work, and tax-exempted . . . . |
| 3. Another Way of Working that Speaks for Itself |
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Today (August 7, 2008), Nuance released the new version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, the voice recognition software "of no equal" (sounds like a very "cool" official title to me -- or, as Paris Hilton said in her very funny pseudo-presidential campaign video, "hot"). Naturally I haven't had time to test it yet, but David Pogue of the New York Times did and is all gushy about it.
This could not come at a better time for me. I'm having problems with my right hand these days and I literally could not work were it not for voice recognition. I'm working in version 8 -- I skipped the last version of Dragon -- so I'm looking forward to upgrading to the new version 10. Truthfully, I don't have much to complain about when it comes to version 8 -- I have more or less learned to speak in a way that Dragon likes (fast, clearly, and in complete sentences). And while I have not reached the 99% accuracy that Pogue waxes about (which, by the way, he has been claiming for the last few versions . . .), my accuracy is fairly high ("if only" says my editor). Still, if there is only a bit of the promised recognition improvement I would welcome it.
What I would also welcome -- but I doubt that I will find in the new version -- is a correction for the hiccups that Dragon still encounters with the occasional application. For instance, most TEnTs -- Trados, Déjà Vu, etc. -- work fine, but the tool that I have been using the last couple of week, Idiom Desktop Workbench, tends to lose the connection to the voice engine. This can be fixed by quickly switching into another application, dictating a word or two, and then going back into Workbench, but it's a little annoying nevertheless.
As far as which version to buy, I would recommend the Preferred version of Dragon. It is significantly cheaper than the Pro version, and while Nuance tries to carve out more areas where there is a difference between the two (for instance, only the Pro version has advanced support for Outlook and PowerPoint -- which still means that the Preferred version works, but not with some extra features), the main difference is that you can program voice macros in the Pro but not the Preferred edition. (The Pogue article is mistaken on this point -- he claims you can also do this with the Preferred version.) If you are eager to do that, you'll need to shell out almost $1000 (which must equate to about 35 Euro, I believe . . . ). But to be honest, I have the Pro version and I certainly have not used that feature enough to make it worth the investment. Oh, and one last thing. I have written in the past about the foreign language versions of Dragon (German, Spanish, Italian, French, Dutch, and Japanese), but they have not been released in the new version yet. I know that the German version is supposed to be out in a couple of weeks, but I am not sure about the other foreign language editions. |
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| 4. Other Ways of Communicating |
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I know that many of you use Skype. I certainly do, and while it's not perfect, its benefits far outweigh its shortcomings. In fact, my being able to work away from home last year was in no small measure due to the way that Skype allowed me to answer my U.S. phone in Germany.
If you have used Skype for a while, you have gotten used to the interface which really has not changed much at all over the past few years. But -- and I should say: BUT -- it will be changing a lot with the next version. You can download the Beta of version 4 now (though I would not encourage you to do that because it is a little buggy), but once those problems are ironed out, it will be a lot of fun. Everything is now in one interface, you can start typing IMs right from the main window, you can choose whether you are doing a video call vs. a regular call, and so on.
Also, at a seminar in Denver a couple of weekends ago, one of the participants pointed to another communication device: magicJack. It's a USB device that lets you connect your phone to your computer and make very inexpensive long distance calls. It seems to be available only in the U.S. Their website rubs me a little wrong, but the person who recommended thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. So there you go.
While we were at the same seminar, my co-presenter Rosalie Wells recommended one tool that really gave me a kick. It's called Egg and it's a timer for jobs. Now there are a number of tools that do this, but Rosalie swears that this is the one program that has finally made her kids learn not to disturb her at work. When her kids come into her home office and see the egg timer going, they know they are not allowed to disturb her on penalty of immediate disinheritance. And it works!
(No more inheritance for those buggers! Just kidding . . . her kids are very nice, and her 17-year old graciously assured me that my 13-year old will get beyond her constant embarrassment about her dad in a few years' time. . . . I can't wait!)
And one more thing. I promised that I would mention that the Austin Area Translators and Interpreters Association invited me to give a talk about tools in September. |
| 5. Dating Windows Explorer |
If you have a minute between jobs (and are not completely scared to use the Registry Editor), here is a little trick that's fun.
Awhile ago I mentioned a little application that allows you to do tabbed browsing in Windows Explorer: QTTabBar. I had promised to get back to you with some feedback about whether it works. It does (at least in Windows XP) and it's real helpful not to have to have several instances of Explorer open to view several windows.
But here is another cool, albeit more manual, trick. One way of organizing files within folders per client is by date -- in fact, I think it's the most reasonable way. And the best way of doing this is by going year-month-day for each of these folders within a client's folder since this gives you the easiest way to sort. Now, it's possible to do this manually, but it's easier and more fun to add the date to the folder name automatically.
First you need to change the way that Windows displays dates. Select Start> Settings> Regional and Language Options. On the first tab click Customize (in XP) or Customize this format (in Vista). In Customize Regional Options select the Date tab and choose yyyy-MM-dd from the drop-down list. Click OK and OK.
Now you need to make changes to the registry (only do this if you feel comfortable doing this!).
Select Start> Run or press the WinKey+R to open the Run dialog box. Enter regedit and press Enter. In the ensuing Registry Editor navigate to
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell
on the left-hand pane. Right-click the shell icon on the left-hand pane and select New> Key. Type Date_Folder, and press Enter. Select that folder and double-click on the (Default) icon in the right-hand pane. The Value Data box appears and you need to enter the command as you want it to appear on your context menu. For example, you can type
New folder with today's date
or
Another date folder for that silly client
Click OK. Now right-click the Date_Folder key on the right-hand pane and select New> Key. Name it
command
and press Enter. Select the command icon on the left-hand pane and double-click the (Default) icon on the right-hand pane. Into the Value data box you need to type:
cmd.exe /c md "%1\%%DATE%%"
and click OK. Exit the Registry Editor.
Now, ta-da, when you right-click a folder icon in Windows Explorer or on the desktop, your new command will pop up. When you choose it, a Command Prompt window will briefly appear on the screen but then a new folder will come up inside the selected one.
Cool, huh? (If you don't think this is cool, you haven't really read up to here anyway so it's a moot point!) |
| The Last Word on the Tool Kit |
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© 2008 International Writers' Group
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