| Stran v tématu: < [1 2] | Different CAT-tools for different clients? Autor vlákna: Silvia D'Amico
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Nicole Schnell 
Spojené státy americké
Local time: 08:25
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In memoriam | Maybe off-topic | Jul 16, 2012 |
SDL Support wrote:
provide access to the TAUS Translation memories database which are based on TAUS members uploading and sharing their TMs
This is pretty much the last thing that any quality-translator wants or needs. Which confirms my suspicion that such systems were developed with anything but the translator in mind.
| | | | | My thoughts too | Jul 16, 2012 |
Nicole Schnell wrote:
SDL Support wrote:
provide access to the TAUS Translation memories database which are based on TAUS members uploading and sharing their TMs
This is pretty much the last thing that any quality-translator wants or needs. Which confirms my suspicion that such systems were developed with anything but the translator in mind.
Seconded...
| | | | | Some discrepancies | Jul 16, 2012 |
Silvia83 wrote:
Hi José,
I agree that the search for a good translator shouldn't be limited to the CAT tool they use.
Yet sometimes it is. I've seen at least a dozen jobs so far here on Proz that required my specific language pair and variant, my #1 specialty area as evidenced by several hundred similar jobs I've successfully delivered so far, and yet the outsourcer used the system features to preclude me from contacting them because I don't use Trados, but WordFast instead.
Silvia83 wrote:
The translation industry has evolved and is evolving based on technological progress that can be used to our advantage. I cannot tell you the amount of time I save using features like autopropagation, concordance search, autosuggest, on Studio 2011. I still use my brain and language skills but the work is faster and more consistent.
No doubt about it, as long as it is to our advantage, as translators, for increased productivity. A mechanic buys power tools, a lumberjack buys a chainsaw, and they become more productive. However do they get paid less for what they fix or for their wood? No! Does any client demand them to use specifically DeWalt, Black & Decker, Makita, Bosch, whatever, or keep out? No!
Silvia83 wrote:
As I said before, no-one is "forcing" me to buy another CAT tool. I was just wondering if it's useful, since like Enrico said, it will be paid off many times with one of the projects I work on.
Of course! I have several programs that I bought specifically for one or another project, and they paid off for themselves handsomely. WordFast has paid for itself several times, which makes me even, however not happy from using its unfriendly interface. And Trados - which I never tried - offered me a questionnaire which would calculate how long it would take to pay for itself in my specific case; the answer, thirteen years, consolidated my decision against buying it, no matter how many prospects demand it absolutely before they'll tell me the time of the day.
I endorse some colleagues' view that any outsourcer demanding a specific CAT tool, be it to shove their TMs down our throats, or to get ours to shove down someone else's, should provide them. If they want us to deliver accurate translations quickly, the CAT too choice should be ours.
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José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
WordFast has paid for itself several times...
I believe that, especially if you have to renew the license every three years.
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Nicole Schnell
Spojené státy americké
Local time: 08:25
angličtina -> němčina
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In memoriam
Stanislav Pokorny wrote:
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
WordFast has paid for itself several times...
I believe that, especially if you have to renew the license every three years.
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Stanislav Pokorny wrote:
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
WordFast has paid for itself several times...
I believe that, especially if you have to renew the license every three years.
Yes, I call it rentalware, like AVG Antivirus, AVG PC TuneUp, Registry Booster.
BTW, after I bought AVG PC TuneUp, I did not renew my Registry Booster license, as the former covered whatever the latter could do, and much more. Likewise, my WordFast license shall expire in about 1.5 year from now. If the present relative state of CAT tools remains unchanged until then, most likely I'll be switching to MemoQ when my WF license expires. Fortunately, I am not bonded to any client to have WF at all times; my clients won't notice the change.
Upgrades are a different matter. OmniPage v8 came bundled with a scanner I bought ages ago. The scanner was faster and better than anything I see nowadays, however the last driver for it runs under Windows 98, and not beyond. So one day I had a job that required scanning 400 pages. I got together some junk I had around, assembled a whole Pentium I, installed Win 98, and in a couple of hours it was done. Back on track, I had been successively upgrading OmniPage until v14. As it still fulfills my needs, I didn't go beyond that version.
All this is to say that the outsourcers that don't want my services usually demand the latest Trados version, so upgrades are a must, like an addiction. AFAIK those 13 years SDL said it would take for Trados to pay for itself in my specific case failed to consider the 12 mandatory upgrades in this meantime.
| | | | Silvia D'Amico
Spojené státy americké
Local time: 11:25
angličtina -> italština
AUTOR TÉMATU | 13 years seem a lot to me | Jul 16, 2012 |
I only bought Studio 2011 in December and I feel like it has already paid off. It was a great investment, and I love Proz Group Buys!
| | | | | They said it; I didn't | Jul 16, 2012 |
Silvia83 wrote:
13 years seem a lot to me
My "typical" job involves less that 5% repetitions, and NO fuzzy matches 75-99%. I sort of internally "celebrate" each repetition, when it comes up.
WordFast helps me a lot by keeping source/target close togehther on the same screen, not letting me skip segments, and preserving Word formatting, which is often a nightmare to rebuild. That's enough of a productivity boost for me.
However I guess ANY CAT tool would do that, even the free ones.
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Meta Arkadia
Local time: 22:25
angličtina -> indonéština
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| Some arguments against multiple CAT tools, and a bit of fanboism | Jul 17, 2012 |
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
However I guess ANY CAT tool would do that, even the free ones.
Hear, hear! And I'd like to add that the most expensive CAT tools are not necessarily the best ones.
My case against more than one CAT tool:
- Price: CAT tools cost money, some of them a lot of it. Buy/use one CAT tool that does it all and is affordable. In a lot of cases, it's not only the purchase price that counts, but also updates, upgrades, and/or "subscriptions."
- Time: Every CAT tool has its learning curve, and some learning curves are very steep. Don't invest time (=money) in it. Buy/use one CAT tool that does it all.
- Convenience: Switching tools requires you to change the way you work. Just think of different keyboard shortcuts.
- Our rates: Our rates are plunging. Why invest in extra tools when we get paid less? And on top of that, why spend money on tools that contribute to our lower rates or even triggered them?
- Freedom: Some tools require the use of one particular operating system, and worse, the purchase of an office suite. In the case of Windows and MS Office, we're talking serious money at that. I don't like that. I'm a Mac. Buy a tool that is cross-platform and that is stand-alone, so when you finally switch to the best OS, you don't have to invest in other software and in time to learn yet another tool.
José is right. CAT tools like OmegaT are cross-platform and stand-alone. More than good enough for "his typical jobs," and it's free, "free" in both meanings of the word. I bought CafeTran (€ 80) because I can't make enough money if I have to refuse jobs that would require an expensive, not up-to-standards CAT tool but that actually doesn't require that particular software at all. http://cafetran4mac.blogspot.com
Cheers,
Hans
[Edited at 2012-07-17 00:44 GMT]
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José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
Stanislav Pokorny wrote:
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
WordFast has paid for itself several times...
I believe that, especially if you have to renew the license every three years.
Yes, I call it rentalware, like AVG Antivirus, AVG PC TuneUp, Registry Booster.
José Henrique,
I understand your position and although I can swallow this in the case of AV software, I really can't in the case of any CAT tool. Once I purchase a CAT tool license, I expect the developer to grant me the right to use the software forever, or as long as I don't upgrade to a later version.
All this is to say that the outsourcers that don't want my services usually demand the latest Trados version, so upgrades are a must, like an addiction. AFAIK those 13 years SDL said it would take for Trados to pay for itself in my specific case failed to consider the 12 mandatory upgrades in this meantime.
Talking about agencies, my scenarios are a bit different: they usually demand Trados 7 (version from 2005 or 2006) or later. Also, don't mix up updates and upgrades. With Trados, updates are for free, while upgrades (denoted with a version number change) are currently released in two-years' cycles. So your calculations may be based on information that is not entirely correct.
And a quick OT note: I strongly advise against using crapware like PC TuneUp or Registry Booster. Any software messing around with the system registry will do more harm than good. The best protection against slowing down a Windows-based machine due to registry problems is to limit software installations and, above all, uninstallations to the necessary minimum.
[Upraveno: 2012-07-17 00:50 GMT]
| | | | Nicole Schnell
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Local time: 08:25
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In memoriam | Registry Booster | Jul 17, 2012 |
Stanislav Pokorny wrote:
And a quick OT note: I strongly advise against using crapware like PC TuneUp or Registry Booster.
Not sure about that. I had to buy and install Uniblue Registry Booster to get some freakin' Idiom software on my 64-bit W7 machine. Maybe the free stuff causes trouble, the paid stuff works like a charm.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
Spojené státy americké
Local time: 08:25
angličtina -> němčina
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In memoriam | Which brings us back to the topic | Jul 17, 2012 |
As a seasoned marketing person I keep wondering how many billions and trillions of dollars can be wasted annually because some R&D departments have to listen to some youngsters who feel compelled to develop some helpful software "for translators" while totally missing the target group.
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| Good for you | Jul 17, 2012 |
Nicole Schnell wrote:
Stanislav Pokorny wrote:
And a quick OT note: I strongly advise against using crapware like PC TuneUp or Registry Booster.
Not sure about that. I had to buy and install Uniblue Registry Booster to get some freakin' Idiom software on my 64-bit W7 machine. Maybe the free stuff causes trouble, the paid stuff works like a charm.
Good for you, Nicole. When I was younger, I tried various registry cleaning stuff, including Norton, AVG TuneUp and whatever the names of all of them are (not sure about Registry Booster though). None of them did a good job in terms of speeding up the system registry, but they all did a tremendously good job in making me re-install my OS within a month.
| | | | | On crapware... | Jul 17, 2012 |
Stanislav Pokorny wrote:
And a quick OT note: I strongly advise against using crapware like PC TuneUp or Registry Booster. Any software messing around with the system registry will do more harm than good. The best protection against slowing down a Windows-based machine due to registry problems is to limit software installations and, above all, uninstallations to the necessary minimum.
The problem (also reported by Nicole), in the days of the PC-XT, was named TSR = Terminate and Stay Resident. Both these programs stay resident - for no purpose - after you shut them down. You have to shut them down again from the Taskbar.
You are entitled to your opinion, Stanislav; mine is different. I had significant and noticeable speed gains from my then aling computer, by using Registry Booster. For a while, I had both, RB and PCTU. By alternating the order I used them, I noticed that RB fell short on its promise, if compared to PCTU. Furthermore, PCTU has a whole flock of other very useful tools for system maintenance and improving computer performance impaired by software of all kinds, some 'sacred' developers included.
Some translators use only Windows, a browser, MS Office, and a CAT tool. As I do a lot of varied work involving audo and video, I often need a lot of "different" software, and when it doesn't work as expected, I uninistall it. Fortunately I know what I am doing, to a reasonable extent. The downside is that I'll stick to Windows XP (as I did for previous versions) for as long as I can. Some people know so little about what they are doing, that their relative knowledge on their OS did not change when they moved to Vista and later to 7. Mine would.
| | | | | Testing and working | Jul 17, 2012 |
José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
...I often need a lot of "different" software, and when it doesn't work as expected, I uninistall it.
That's my situation too, José Henrique. In addition to that, I beta-test some software (three in fact). And for these testing purposes I have a cheap testing machine to test various software properly before I install it on my working machines or server. This has worked for me perfectly.
Some people know so little about what they are doing, that their relative knowledge on their OS did not change when they moved to Vista and later to 7.
This is very true indeed.
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