OpenOffice.org is a fantastic office suite for most translators. It's free, it's stable, it's localized into many languages that the proprietary companies will never touch ...there's a lot to love. For a long time, the only feature of OO.o that I've found problematic (other than the fact that its … [Read more...] about Inserting accented characters in OpenOffice.org
Google Translation Center
Thanks to reader Dierk Seeburg for sending the link to an article from the Washington Post about Google's new Google Translation Center service (not yet fully launched, login seems not to work using a regular Google account). The Post article has a link to a yet more interesting article on Google … [Read more...] about Google Translation Center
Happy Swiss National Day
Although the thought of a traditional bonfire isn't particularly appealing when it's supposed to be 98 degrees, Joyeux Premier Août to all the Swiss out there! As an honorary Swiss (being the wife, daughter-in-law and now mother of Swiss citizens!), one of the things I love about Switzerland is how … [Read more...] about Happy Swiss National Day
How to do an acceptable job on a rush job
First, note that the title of this post is not "How to do a good job on a rush job," because often the two concepts are mutually exclusive. Realistically, no translator does her/his best work under extreme time pressure, but the nature of the industry is such that deadlines are often tight. So, when … [Read more...] about How to do an acceptable job on a rush job
Think like the clients you wish you had
Amybeth Hale, a Sourcing Strategist (one of those jobs your high school guidance counselor didn't know existed!) who writes the blog Research Goddess, offers some excellent advice in her post Where do I go to find people?. We translators could replace "people" with "clients" and her advice is … [Read more...] about Think like the clients you wish you had