Comments on: Resources for free and open source software users http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2009/04/09/resources-for-free-and-open-source-software-users/ ...the translation industry and becoming a translator Sun, 27 May 2012 05:56:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: GALESL http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2009/04/09/resources-for-free-and-open-source-software-users/#comment-2410 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:08:02 +0000 http://thoughtsontranslation.com/?p=509#comment-2410 I’m just getting into this whole TenT / CAT thing and found another tool you might be interested in:
Anaphraseus: http://anaphraseus.sourceforge.net/

It was originally called Open Wordfast and is a macro/extension for OpenOffice.org Writer.

I’ve tried it out and was impressed, but it is beta software and I soon hit a wall (error messages about an open/broken segment).

But from the little use I’ve had with both, I preferred Anaphraseus (when it’s working ;) ) to OmegaT.

Also wondering what people think about OmegaT +.

]]> By: YaniQC http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2009/04/09/resources-for-free-and-open-source-software-users/#comment-1395 Sun, 12 Apr 2009 01:34:47 +0000 http://thoughtsontranslation.com/?p=509#comment-1395 I run on MacOS now. I tried OmegaT and I was very disappointed. Maybe I’m too spoilt by Déjà Vu X that I use at office, but I was not able to become friends with OmegaT. His continuous problems with Cyrillic encoding drive me mad.
So I had to buy Parallels for my Mac and install Win XP inside it to be able to run my favorite translation soft: DVX, Trados and 5 dictionaries.
Microsoft is a necessary evil.

]]> By: Susanne Aldridge III http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2009/04/09/resources-for-free-and-open-source-software-users/#comment-1394 Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:06:20 +0000 http://thoughtsontranslation.com/?p=509#comment-1394 In the past, I have tried many flavors of Linux using live CDs or temporary installations. Unfortunately, I have found that unless you actually “just do it”, you will never get used to Linux. There will always be something that’ll make you go back and as long as I switched back and forth, I never got into it.
Then, I decided I should have a general file server in the house so my husband and I can share media files etc. and I set that up also with Ubunutu.
Yeah, some things were different and for a while I kept looking back wondering if I should go back and use Windows. I don’t anymore, and I am actually very happy with it. It is not my production environment, but if you plan to go for it, pick a slow time, make a full image backup of your system and jump.

]]> By: John Bunch http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2009/04/09/resources-for-free-and-open-source-software-users/#comment-1392 Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:52:40 +0000 http://thoughtsontranslation.com/?p=509#comment-1392 Good essay, as always. I really like your blog, and it always contains a lot of interesting and useful information.

I use Google Docs for almost everything now. The documents are saved on Google servers, which some people don’t like, but it is very convenient. I never have to back my work up anymore, and I never have multiple versions of the same document floating around my desktop on my laptop. Also, the Google Docs word processor is powerful, without a ton of functionality that I don’t need.

]]> By: Loreto Riveiro http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2009/04/09/resources-for-free-and-open-source-software-users/#comment-1391 Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:27:26 +0000 http://thoughtsontranslation.com/?p=509#comment-1391 Thank you both for sharing your experience.

I have been doing some googling, and I have found a linux distribution for translators: Linguas OS ( I have just posted about it):

http://nextstoptranslation.blogspot.com/2009/04/free-software-for-translators.html

Being also a LiveCD, I guess I will give it a try.

Again, thank you for your comments, this blog always leads me to finding new interesting things!

]]> By: Thoughts On Translation blog: Resources for free and open source software users | Translator's Shack http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2009/04/09/resources-for-free-and-open-source-software-users/#comment-1390 Fri, 10 Apr 2009 09:16:41 +0000 http://thoughtsontranslation.com/?p=509#comment-1390 [...] McKay’s blog contains a useful post about free and open-source resources for translators. I have posted a comment to her post, but I’m re-posting it here because I think it’s [...]

]]> By: Roberto Savelli - Translator's Shack http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2009/04/09/resources-for-free-and-open-source-software-users/#comment-1389 Fri, 10 Apr 2009 09:10:03 +0000 http://thoughtsontranslation.com/?p=509#comment-1389 Perhaps Linux “live CDs” are a good option for Windows users who have doubts about switching to Linux from Windows and do not want to alter their system’s partitions, settings etc. I have tried Knoppix and I think it’s a good choice if you want to get a taste of Linux without getting into trouble.

One aspect that I would like to point out is the choice of your main translation environment tool (TEnT). If you are a professional translator and if you spend a great deal of your time working with such a tool, perhaps choosing the platform (Linux, Mac, Windows) first and then choosing your TEnT as a consequence might not be your best option, since your choice will be very limited on certain platforms.

My suggestion is to gather as much information as possible about TEnTs and choose the one that best fits your and your clients’ needs, and then choose the operating system as a consequence of that.

Wordfast Pro, Heartsome and OmegaT are good tools, but, like all other TEnTs, they have limitations. Perhaps choosing a commercial tool that works on Windows instead of Linux might be a better choice if you notice that this makes you more productive. Of course some commercial tools look expensive at first sight, but what you really should consider is your productivity and (why not?) fun in using the tool.

Any initial saving you make by using an inexpensive solution (no matter if this is open-source, commercial, shareware, etc.) will be wasted if this solution is noticeably less productive than another product that has a high purchase price but that will perfectly pay for itself in the long term.

]]> By: Ryan Ginstrom http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2009/04/09/resources-for-free-and-open-source-software-users/#comment-1387 Fri, 10 Apr 2009 06:20:36 +0000 http://thoughtsontranslation.com/?p=509#comment-1387 When I started translating, I used Unix and the Mac exclusively. Most of my clients weren’t very computer savvy, however, and they’d often complain about incompatibility between the Word files I made on my Mac, and the version of Word they had on their Windows machine.

After a year or two of this, my biggest client actually bought me a Windows machine as a gift. From that point on I gave in; I haven’t bought a Mac since, and although I also run Linux (Ubuntu for me too — yeah!), I do all of my translation and most of my programming on a Windows machine.

]]> By: Loreto Riveiro http://thoughtsontranslation.com/2009/04/09/resources-for-free-and-open-source-software-users/#comment-1376 Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:26:08 +0000 http://thoughtsontranslation.com/?p=509#comment-1376 Hi, Corinne

I have been thinking of changing to linux for some time now, but I am a little scared of messing up with configurations and stuff… when I have a free software developer close by I will certainly give it a try ^-^

Now, seriously: free software applications for translators were very limited before, but nowadays more and more tools are making work much easier. I have tried Omega T and I like it, and there are also a lot of apps for terminology and format conversion which are very interesting.

I am planning to buy a new computer in a few months (waiting for Windows Vista to expire, the word is that in Spain new Windows will be on sale from October), and I will use the old one as a experiment subject with linux configurations. So I will probably turn to you for some advice then.

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