latest articles
Successfully localizing mobile games
Apple’s Apps – applications specifically designed for mobile phones – face some tough competition these days. Only the very best games and tools achieve high volume sales in many regions. With a quarter of a million competing products to choose from, localization quality has to be perfect to impress a savvy audience.
Evaluating software documentation projects quickly
Often when we start a new job, or are dropped into an existing software documentation project at our current job, getting up to speed is overwhelming. This article suggests steps to quickly assess the situation, develop a plan, and begin writing.
Distributed working – practical and social aspects of virtual collaboration
In any translation project, it is quite common today for project members to be distributed over different offices, cities or even time zones. In many cases, project members don’t even know their team mates, let alone, have experience in working with them. Under such conditions, how can project managers guarantee a smooth workflow and combine each member’s skills, experience and knowledge to bring out the best possible result?
Linguistic standardization of requirement specifications and functional specifications
Risk assessments, design plans and standardized protocols: These are the documents that first come to mind when thinking of internal documentation. Documents for internal company use, which must be provided mandatorily by law or due to internal process requirements, but which do not usually leave the company. Quite different on the other hand are requirement specifications and functional specifications: They are also typical documents of development processes for internal documentation, but are created to cross the company’s borders and coordinate the cooperation with external partners. And that puts these documents in the sphere of technical writing.
Microsoft Help Viewer V1.0 - a new Help format?
Not much was heard about the development of a new Help compiler by Microsoft for a long time - except denials. But something seems to be happening since 2009. There is talk of a new Help format in the Help community: HTML Help V3. Since the beginning of this year, the new format is called Microsoft Help Viewer V1.0. It was officially introduced in April 2010, with the release of version 2010 of Visual Studio.
Practical tips for PDF: Securing files
The security of PDF files is a common concern. There are several criteria with regard to the security of PDF files: Security from viruses, security against spying, security against loss of PDF files, security against modification by third parties and security against removal of content. This practical tip deals with the simple password protection that is integrated into Acrobat.
SDL AND LEXIMATION TEAM UP
SDL, a provider of global information management solutions, and Leximation, an online publishing solutions provider, have combined Trisoft and DITA-FMx to create a bridge for technical authors between SDL technology and Adobe FrameMaker.
NAVAJO LANGUAGE SOFTWARE
Rosetta Stone, a provider of technology-based language learning solutions, has released a Navajo-language version of its software. The Rosetta Stone Endangered Language Program works with native groups to customize software for exclusive use in language revitalization.
PARTNERSHIP LAUNCHES HANSA VIALANGUAGE
viaLanguage, a provider of translation and localization services, and R K SWAMY HANSA, a marketing communications and services group, have entered into a sales and marketing arrangement creating a new entity called HANSA viaLanguage. Per the agreement, HANSA viaLanguage will provide the marketing and customer relationship management support, while viaLanguage will provide the project management support and access to its network of language experts and localization solutions.
latest news
Sweden is the world’s most digitally enabled country
Previously known as the "e-readiness rankings", the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual technology benchmarking study enters its second decade of existence with a new name—the "digital economy rankings". Individuals and organizations across much of the globe now connect to the internet and telecommunications networks on a regular basis, and "connectivity" is no longer an exclusively rich-world luxury. The 70 countries in the rankings may thus be said to have achieved a state of “e-readiness”. The study's new title reflects the gradual shift of countries' digital priorities from simply making ICT available to the population to maximizing its use for economic and social benefit.
Prices are down in localization
Translation underpins successful business globalization. While technology, business practices, regulatory compliance, and marketing issues support the international or domestic multicultural outreach of any organization, words always convey information about what an organization does, sells, or offers. And, according to new research by Common Sense Advisory, these words are getting cheaper. The net result of global supply, advances in technology, economic troubles, and more aggressive buyers has conspired to drive down the prices of most major and up-and-coming language pairs since the firm last collected data on pricing in late 2007.
GALA announces 2011 conference
The Globalization and Localization Association has announced that its next conference for global content delivery professionals, “GALA 2011: The Language of Business. The Business of Language.” will be held 28-30 March 2011 in Lisbon, Portugal.