Way to store my master TM on cloud and access it with CAT Thread poster: Umang Dholabhai
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I was wondering if there is a way to store my master TM which I can access on the cloud and work with it in real time in my CAT tool. This way I can do away with storing the TM on each of my machines (I use a desktop and a laptop) and stop worrying if both machines have an equally updated TM.
Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
[Edited at 2015-06-25 18:31 GMT]
| | | | Patrick Porter
United States
Local time: 18:20
Spanish to English
+ ...
| various ways | Jun 25, 2015 |
Assuming that your setup is typical and that the universe of possibilities where you want to store the TM has no limits, you could store it on a cloud volume (e.g. AWS) and set up a VPN on the cloud provider. That way you could map the volume as a network drive and access it via the internet.
A simpler way might be to use a service like MS OneDrive, which automatically maps to a local folder (at least in Windows 7; I can't figure out how to do this in Windows 8; hopefully they fix ... See more Assuming that your setup is typical and that the universe of possibilities where you want to store the TM has no limits, you could store it on a cloud volume (e.g. AWS) and set up a VPN on the cloud provider. That way you could map the volume as a network drive and access it via the internet.
A simpler way might be to use a service like MS OneDrive, which automatically maps to a local folder (at least in Windows 7; I can't figure out how to do this in Windows 8; hopefully they fix it in Windows 10). Then select the TM from that local folder and the service will keep the online and offline versions synchronized in the background (although this could be a performance hit). I imagine other file storage services have similar solutions.
There is also possibly an even simpler alternative. If you are going to have network access, you could keep your TMs and all other work materials on one machine (e.g. desktop) and use a remote desktop connection to that machine when using the other one (e.g. laptop), although that would require keeping both machines turned on at the same time, and probably a VPN connection or SSH tunnel when outside the LAN (i.e. when connecting via the internet). ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michael Beijer 
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:20
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
| Dropbox or one of the others will do | Jun 25, 2015 |
Umang Dholabhai wrote:
I was wondering if there is a way to store my master TM which I can access on the cloud and work with it in real time in my CAT tool. This way I can do away with storing the TM on each of my machines (I use a desktop and a laptop) and stop worrying if both machines have an equally updated TM.
Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
[Edited at 2015-06-25 18:31 GMT]
You will just need to experiment with saving/syncing of opens files and select the one that performs the best.
Watch out with OneDrive, which I tried. It has all kinds of limitations no one tells you about. For example, it doesn't do differential sync (not entirely sure this is the right term), meaning: if you make one small change in a 500MB TM (or a 1GB glossary file), OneDrive wil have to re-upload the entire file, every single time it changes. Which is obviously insane and stupid.
Dropbox does offer differential sync (as do several other providers); it only uploads the parts that have changed.
| | | | Patrick Porter
United States
Local time: 18:20
Spanish to English
+ ...
Michael Beijer wrote:
Watch out with OneDrive, which I tried. It has all kinds of limitations no one tells you about. For example, it doesn't do differential sync...
Good point Michael. For that very reason, OneDrive probably isn't the best choice for this particular purpose. If there is another one that does an incremental syncing with local folder mapping, then it would be much better.
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Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 03:50
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
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SITE LOCALIZER | Thank you for this tip! | Jun 27, 2015 |
Michael Beijer wrote:
Watch out with OneDrive, which I tried. It has all kinds of limitations no one tells you about. For example, it doesn't do differential sync (not entirely sure this is the right term), meaning: if you make one small change in a 500MB TM (or a 1GB glossary file), OneDrive wil have to re-upload the entire file, every single time it changes. Which is obviously insane and stupid.
Dropbox does offer differential sync (as do several other providers); it only uploads the parts that have changed.
Many thanks for this tip. I have been using OneDrive to keep my TMs and have been facing all sorts of problems. One issue is that my desktop runs on Windows 7 and the laptop on Windows 8, and the OneDrive on both these seem to be a bit different and incompatible.
I have also faced the issue of large TMs taking an inordinately long time to synchronize.
I had to abandon OneDrive because of these issues. I will now try Dropbox and hopefully will have better luck.
What do you think of GoogleDrive? Does it perform any better than OneDrive, or does it have the same issues? At least the issue of different versions in Windows 7 and 8 won't be there as the same Google Drive will be used on both.
The reason for asking is that we get a larger cloud drive with GoogleDrive (15 GB, I think) than Dropbox (2 GB).
Also, are confidentiality issues involved when we keep things like TMs on the cloud?
| | | | Umang Dholabhai
India
Local time: 03:50
English to Gujarati
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TOPIC STARTER | Thank you, it helped. | Jun 27, 2015 |
Michael Beijer wrote:
You will just need to experiment with saving/syncing of opens files and select the one that performs the best.
Watch out with OneDrive, which I tried. It has all kinds of limitations no one tells you about. For example, it doesn't do differential sync (not entirely sure this is the right term), meaning: if you make one small change in a 500MB TM (or a 1GB glossary file), OneDrive wil have to re-upload the entire file, every single time it changes. Which is obviously insane and stupid.
Dropbox does offer differential sync (as do several other providers); it only uploads the parts that have changed.
Thank you Michael for the invaluable tips.
Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
The reason for asking is that we get a larger cloud drive with GoogleDrive (15 GB, I think) than Dropbox (2 GB).
Bala, thank you for pointing this out.
| | | | 2nl (X)
Netherlands
Local time: 00:20
Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
What do you think of GoogleDrive?
I think that it explicitly states that by using it, you allow Google to harvest the content of your Drive.
Also, are confidentiality issues involved when we keep things like TMs on the cloud?
For GoogleDrive and Dropbox you can use BoxCryptor.
Wuala and SpiderOak are two cloud services that come with end-to-end encryption.
Now how about the TMs that you are going to store? I would say that CAT tools that store their TMs in TMX (CafeTran, omegaT) and not in a binary format, are in favour here.
[Edited at 2015-06-27 07:16 GMT]
| | | | Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:20
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
| You don't really believe that, do you Hans? | Jun 27, 2015 |
2nl wrote: Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
What do you think of GoogleDrive? I think that it explicitly states that by using it, you allow Google to harvest the content of your Drive.
Also, are confidentiality issues involved when we keep things like TMs on the cloud?
For GoogleDrive and Dropbox you can use BoxCryptor. Wuala and SpiderOak are two cloud services that come with end-to-end encryption. Now how about the TMs that you are going to store? I would say that CAT tools that store their TMs in TMX (CafeTran, omegaT) and not in a binary format, are in favour here. [Edited at 2015-06-27 07:16 GMT]
Google will not "harvest the content of your drive", don't worry. Google won't do anything sinister with the content of the documents on your computer. That would be insane. That's just an urban myth people like to tell around the campfire 
A special encryption solution can be used, but please be aware that unless you really know what you are doing, things can easily go very wrong. One wrong move (for example if you forget your master password) and you might lose access to all your own data permanently.
Michael
[Edited at 2015-06-27 10:11 GMT]
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2nl (X)
Netherlands
Local time: 00:20
| Please read carefully: after all you are a translator! | Jun 27, 2015 |
Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
What do you think of GoogleDrive?
2nl wrote:I think that it explicitly states that by using it, you allow Google to harvest the content of your Drive.
Michael Beijer wrote: Google will not "harvest the content of your drive", don't worry. Google won't do anything sinister with the content of the documents on your computer. That would be insane. That's just an urban myth people like to tell around the campfire
Please read carefully: after all you are a translator! I didn't write they DO harvest. I actually wrote that you are allowing them to do so.
| | | | Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:20
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
| Close reading 101 | Jun 27, 2015 |
2nl wrote: Balasubramaniam L. wrote:
What do you think of GoogleDrive? 2nl wrote:I think that it explicitly states that by using it, you allow Google to harvest the content of your Drive. Michael Beijer wrote: Google will not "harvest the content of your drive", don't worry. Google won't do anything sinister with the content of the documents on your computer. That would be insane. That's just an urban myth people like to tell around the campfire Please read carefully: after all you are a translator! I didn't write they DO harvest. I actually wrote that you are allowing them to do so.
So you want me to read what you wrote carefully, huh? OK, but before I do so, might I then in return suggest that instead of merely parroting what other have said a thousand time already on this site and others about the alleged dangers of using cloud syncing/storage services to store your business data, you instead show us where exactly it says so, in their actual terms and conditions, or on a site or blog where this is discussed by a professional with sufficient legal knowledge and understanding to discuss this in a meaningful way?
OK, and now on to the careful reading part. You wrote "I think that it explicitly states that by using it, you allow Google to harvest the content of your Drive." What exactly do you mean by "harvest"? And, if possible, as I mentioned above, can you provide any sources to back this up?
From my limited understanding of how these types of T&Cs work, they usually contain a clause to the effect that you, the user, give the company the right to use your data (here comes the important part!) to improve the service. Look it up and then get back to me.
Pre-emptive counterargument(s):
People who say that using cloud services violates NDAs and puts the data their clients have entrusted to them in danger, often seem to forget one thing: email. 99% of the email providers used by us translators (especially if they are based on Google (both Google Apps for Work or free accounts) or Microsoft products) (1) have very similar T&Cs to the cloud offerings, and (2) are as insecure (if not sometimes even more insecure) than cloud syncing/storage services. So if you have sworn to never use a cloud service and feel all smug about your choice, maybe you ought to stop using email too, or encrypting all your email content and using encryption keys, etc., which is always a sure-fire way of making your daily interactions with your clients work smoother and more efficiently
All of this is a bit of a moot point for me personally, as I now use CrashPlan PROe, via an authorised UK reseller, who stores all my data on servers in Amsterdam. Meaning, my data cannot be snooped on my the CIA, etc., which is of course another campfire story in its own right …
The reason I stopped using Dropbox for my work data is not based on any alleged NDA violations or the evil intentions of big, bad corporations, who are all out to get us, but rather, on a technical issue I was having with it. Dropbox can cause a number of Windows file managers to slow down and become unresponsive when it is syncing. In my case, this happened when using both XYplorer and DirectoryOpus, as well as Windows Explorer. It has something to do with the icon overlays (the little green, blue or red icons that tell you what state a file is in), I think, and several people have tried to figure it out in the XYplorer and DirectoryOpus forums (including the respective developers of these tools themselves), but so far all we can say is it is probably Dropbox's fault, and until they fix it on their end, there is little that can be done about it. If it happens to you, you can try switching off the icon overlays in the settings of your file manager, but even that didn't really help on my computers. Anyway, so I switched to Crashplan, and have been very happy with it so far. Note though that CrashPlan isn't a syncing solution, so it won't keep an identical copy of your TM on all your devices. It's an online backup solution. However, if anything goes wrong, CrashPlan will give you access to previous versions of all your files, like with Dropbox, and it has a few other tricks, one of them being it can also back up to local and external drives, so you are double sure your data is safe if their servers explode or are stolen by a band of radical Belgian data activists.
Michael
| | | | Patrick Porter
United States
Local time: 18:20
Spanish to English
+ ...
| privacy 102 ;) | Jun 27, 2015 |
Michael Beijer wrote: ...Google will not "harvest the content of your drive", don't worry. Google won't do anything sinister with the content of the documents on your computer. That would be insane. That's just an urban myth people like to tell around the campfire ... ... ...on a site or blog where this is discussed by a professional with sufficient legal knowledge and understanding to discuss this in a meaningful way?... .... ...So if you have sworn to never use a cloud service and feel all smug about your choice, maybe you ought to stop using email too, or encrypting all your email content and using encryption keys, etc., which is always a sure-fire way of making your daily interactions with your clients work smoother and more efficiently ...
Well, I have studied law, and although I don't practice as a lawyer, I do know a bit about privacy and contracts and the like, and much of my translation work deals with these areas, especially information privacy. So based on that, I feel qualified to comment here, but of course the following is just my opinion and I am not claiming to be a legal expert on privacy or offering any actual legal advice, to anyone, on anything.
Data privacy is important and should be taken seriously. While it is possible to take it too far and be hyper-vigilant to an unreasonable extent, there may actually be some problems with storing a client's data on a traditional cloud server, and encryption is probably not a bad idea. Possibly not completely necessary, no, but why would it hurt? And distinctions can be made between the type of content being protected and the means with which it will be stored/transmitted.
For example, sometimes I translate content that is freely available on the public internet. In those cases, there isn't much privacy concern, at least with the actual content. However, if there is an NDA, it is likely about more than just the content. There is a sort of meta-content in these translator-client relationships, i.e., back office procedures, email addresses, names, etc. that for various reasons a client might want kept confidential. This might seem a bit insubstantial, but it's a factor nonetheless.
Then there is content which is highly sensitive and confidential. In my case, I'm not dealing with state secrets or anything, but often the content I translate does contain trade secrets and "know-how". Much of what I translate is explicitly marked "confidential" or "for internal company use only". That's the point of having contractors sign an NDA.
Of course on one hand, the "don't worry" argument does make some sense. Probably no one will look at and/or steal your data or that of your clients. Even if a cloud provider were hacked or there were a malicious sysadmin with read access to your volume, data could arguably be considered safe by virtue of it being a needle in a haystack. In other words, how would anyone know exactly where to look for something worth stealing in the mountains of data for just one user, let alone the multitude of all users? But it doesn't matter what I think the likelihood is of someone actually snooping or stealing. Any NDA I've ever signed has required complete confidentiality, not something like: "go ahead and hand over our stuff to a third party as long as you think it's reasonably unlikely to be accessed and/or used maliciously".
As for email, I have to admit that it is a little mystifying when clients who ostensibly are very serious about privacy send me sensitive documents as email attachments. Many of my clients use their own secure portals or secure FTP for file transfer, but not all of them. So, yeah, this does make the whole privacy concern seem like a storm in a teacup. We surely can't do away with email, and as was alluded to earlier in the thread, end-to-end email encryption is not a realistic solution.
But when it comes to encrypting cloud storage, what's the harm? As long as it's a technically reasonable solution it seems worth it to me. I might be a bit biased. For my part, I was a slow adopter of cloud storage, partly because I run my own server and don't need the cloud for mobility. But currently I do use the cloud for periodic (encrypted) backups, which seems like a reasonably prudent thing to do. I have a script that automatically backs up certain volumes, encrypts them, and uploads them to cloud storage. It's really not a big hassle for me to do this.
For real-time cloud storage, encryption might be more complicated, and admittedly I'm not very up-to-date on the storage services out there and how efficient it is to use encryption with them. Since I don't need this kind of service right now it hasn't been worth looking into. But if there is a reasonably efficient solution to encrypt, I don't see a problem in doing it.
[Edited at 2015-06-27 16:40 GMT]
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