Translation Sites

 Get Lost in Translation Sites

The web makes it possible to search for documents written in every conceivable language, but what if you don't actually know the language you find that special somethin' written in? No worries—there are plenty of online translation services that can give you anything from just a good idea to a complete translation of what you're looking at.

Disclaimer: None of the following language translation services can substitute for a real live human translator.

Language to language

Say you've got a block of text you need translated. Generally, the best tool for the job would be Babelfish, a simple translation service that translates something for you "from" a language "to" a language.

Google Translate can unlock blocks of text for you from language to language. You can also use it to translate an entire web page by simply entering in the URL, but this doesn't always work the way you'd like it to (they also have a language to language dictionary, as well as a way to set Google's interface in your preferred language.) There's also gTranslate, a Firefox add-on that uses the Google translation service to translate the text on the page so you don't have to visit the Google Translate site itself. Windows Live has a similar service.

One of the best (and easiest to use) language translation tools available right now is the FoxLingo add-on for Firefox. It translates web pages and block text in 45 different languages.

There's also Translate 2.0, a simple translation site that keeps a running track of your entries and offers them up in a PDF format for extra handiness.

Language Dictionaries

WordReference is a set of free online translation dictionaries (French, Spanish, Italian, etc.) that offer a bit more than just straight word to word translation; you also get a spoken word demo as well as detailed etymology of the word or phrase you're trying to translate.

Specific Language Tools

There are many translation sites out there that specialize in just one or two languages, which actually makes them more useful since they tend to pick up on more language to language idiosyncrasies. Beolingus is an English/German site that offers translation services as well as definitions, synonyms, example sentences, and aural samples.

Misc. Language Tools

The Speech Accent Archive, while not strictly a translation service, does offer you the opportunity to listen to literally hundreds of languages being spoken by native speakers— a great way to see if you're saying something right or getting an ear for the language.

Anyone who's ever attempted to learn a language knows that verb conjugations can get tricky. That's where Verbix comes in handy; it's a free online verb conjugator available for dozens of languages.

If you want to read news in your language from all over the world, try Newstran, a free translator for over 10,000 global newspapers. Note: be prepared for some slow load times depending on what language you're looking for.
How about videos? dotSub is a small but growing site that offers a selection of (mostly technology-related) videos translated into a variety of other languages.

You can use the Internet Slang Translator to figure out what someone is saying to you online; for more on-the-fly translation goodness, try the Google Translate Buttons, drag and drop language functionality for your browser toolbar. In addition, if you're someone that needs language translation services frequently, you might want to check out setting up a Yahoo Pipes system to translate an RSS feed in another language.

While none of these tools can sub for a native language translator, most of us don't have the luxury of one of these folks sitting right in front of us when we need them. What's your favorite language translation tool? Let's hear in the comments.

Technophilia: Get Lost in Translation Sites

Font Substitution Problems

Summary: If you exchange documents with other people you may run into problems related to font substitution. This occurs when Word, unable to find a required font, substitutes a different font, thereby altering the display and printout of the document. Different ways to approach this problem are covered in this tip. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, and Word 2003.)

Font issues, when it comes to Word, are always interesting. The fonts used in Word are those that are installed within Windows. When you first install Windows, only a limited number of fonts are available on a system. As you install other software, other fonts are added to Windows, and those fonts automatically become available to Word. The problem is that over time, every system will have different fonts available on it. This is because different software is installed on each system, and each piece of software has its own set of fonts.

A real problem crops up when you create a Word document on one system, using the fonts available on that system, and then transfer the document to a different system. When you open the document on the other system, not all the fonts used in the document may be available on that new system. If a font is not available, Word substitutes what it believes to be the most similar font that is available, often with unpredictable results.

The best way around this problem is to make sure that both systems have the same fonts installed. In an office environment, this is not an unreasonable expectation, but it does take a bit of management time on the part of users. Some companies have solved the problem by specifying what fonts can be used in official company documents--fonts that are, again, available on all company systems.

If you cannot be sure that a font will be available, and you must use that font, and the font at issue is a TrueType font, then you can follow these steps:

1. Choose Options from the Tools menu. Word displays the Options dialog box.
2. Make sure the Save tab is selected. (Click here to see a related figure.)
3. Ensure the Embed TrueType Fonts check box is selected.
4. If you will be using a small number of characters in a particular font, choose the Embed Characters In Use Only check box.
5. Click on OK.
6. Work with your documents as normal.

You should realize that embedding TrueType fonts can increase the size of your document files. In fact, if you use a lot of fonts, it can increase the size drastically. In addition, not all TrueType fonts are "embeddable." Some fonts are protected by their creators against distribution by embedding. If you are curious about whether a particular font can be embedded, you can either contact the vendor or download a free Font Properties Extension Tool from Microsoft. This tool is for use with Windows 95 or later operating systems. You can download it at the following address:

http://www.microsoft.com/typography/TrueTypeProperty21.mspx

The tool updates Windows so it displays more information when you right-click on a font file and choose Properties. One of the pieces of information displayed is whether the font is protected or not. If it is protected, it cannot be embedded in a Word document.

WordTips: Font Substitution Problems

BibMe.org

I think most high school, college, and grad students would agree that one of the most annoying parts of writing a paper is creating the bibliography. You spend all night punching out a 10 page paper and just when you think the worst is over, you come to the horrible realization that you still need to make a "works cited" list. This forces you to hunt down your references and figure out the proper format to use. It can be a pain, but luckily there are services online that can make building and formatting your bibliographies a quick, pain-free affair. Bibme.org is one such nifty service that takes much of the legwork out of creating bibliographies.

Thanks to Bibme's auto-fill feature, adding a reference is as easy as plugging in a title and hitting Enter. Bibme searches the title and gives you a list of matching books. Once you select the appropriate edition Bibme fills in all relevant bibliographic information. When the site can't find a piece of information, Bibme highlights the input field in red to let you know you'll need to find that info on your own.

Once you're done adding references you can save your bibliographies to your account, which makes keeping track of bibliographies from different projects easy. You can also download your bibliography as an RTF file in MLA, APA, or Chicago format. Once you download your bibliography all that's left to do is print it out and tack it onto the end of your paper (just be sure to delete the Created at www.bibme.org line at the end of the document).

I like the ease and simplicity of Bibme, but this service isn't comprehensive enough to handle more complicated projects. For a service that can handle all bibliographies, simple or complex,

Easybib.com with

a $7.99/year upgrade to MyBibPro is the way to go. You can check out my full-review of Easybib.com here. Still, Bibme is a better choice when you just need to make quick simple bibliographies with little hassle.

BibMe.org - AppScout

Chokti - Travel Site

 

Even though summer is nearly gone, now could be the perfect time to plan a vacation. Cheap airfare and a lack of crowds can make nearly any destination appealing in the off-season. If you're planning a trip and would like to know about some must-see destinations or attractions in the area, or just want some suggestions of things to do, check out Chokti, a travel site full of user-generated information that'll make planning any trip a little easier.

Whether you're looking for a day-trip nearby or an overseas jaunt, Chokti can help you find tour information, destination suggestions, even audio and video tours that can

help you get around once you're there. For example, today's featured production at Chokti is a video tutorial for the Paris Metro system. You can find other video tours of destinations such as St. Petersburg and download audio tours of places such as the Notre Dame and Rick Steve's list of must-sees in Krakow.

If you want to check out what Chokti has to offer when it comes to a particular location, you can click the global map on the front page and drill down to the location you're traveling to. Users at Chokti add tours, destinations, and information about sights to see in their areas or places they've visited as pushpins on the map. For example, there are over 517 points of interest in the United States, and if you drill all the way down to Washington, DC, you'll see the 19 specific destinations that Chokti members suggested.

Select one of the specific destinations to see it plotted on a Google map and to bring up any associated audio and video tours with the destination, Web sites, user-submitted journals and photos, and more information about the location.

If for some reason you don't find the destination you're looking for, you can always ask for it on the Tour Requests page. Often the requester finds a Web page or RSS feed with podcasts, video, and photos of a destination and asks the site moderators to add the destination to Chokti's list. Because Chokti's content is completely user-generated, members can add pushpins all over the world for locations they think others will find interesting, submit their own travel journals and photos, and add links to more information.

It appears that Chokti scrubs other popular sites for information as well, and it links to a large number of YouTube videos and other publicly available podcasts and tour guides. Between this and allowing its members to freely update and add destinations, audio and video guides, and travel information, the service is remarkably robust. Most of the information centers around North America and Europe, but if you're planning a trip to Australia or New Zealand, you'll find information there as well. The Asia, Africa, and South America sections are a bit underdeveloped, but as the service grows and more members sign up, those sections could fill out easily.

Explore the World with Chokti - AppScout

Changing the Bullet Type in Word

Word allows you to easily create bulleted lists in your documents. As a default, Word uses a small dot as the bullet. You can change the bullet to any character you desire. You can change the bullets by following these steps:

1. Choose the Bullets and Numbering option from the Format menu. Word displays the Bullets and Numbering dialog box.
2. Make sure the Bulleted tab is selected. (Click here to see a related figure.)
3. Select a bullet style from those shown in the dialog box.
4. If you don't like any of the styles shown, select one of the styles and click on Customize. Word displays the Customize Bulled List dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.)
5. Select one of the six bullet characters available in the dialog box. If you use one of these, you can skip to step 10.
6. If you do not like any of the bullet characters shown, click on the Bullet button. (In Word 2002 and Word 2003, click on the Character button.) Word displays the Symbol dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.)
7. Select a symbol to use as a bullet from among those shown.
8. You can select a different set of symbols by selecting a different typeface in the Font drop-down list.
9. When you have selected a symbol, click on OK. Word displays the Customize Bulleted List dialog box again.
10. Click on OK to close the dialog box.

WordTips: Changing the Bullet Type