| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4] > | CAT software for start-up - advice needed Thread poster: Luke Mersh
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| Why does it matter? | Mar 3, 2015 |
You want to know what CAT tool I used before I was given my first paid translation job?
The answer is easy - None. When I started I did not know that such a software existed.
I was working with Word and Excel. My 2nd client bought me a licence for Trados and asked me to use it (Trados 3.0).
How does this piece of information help you?
| | | | Michael Beijer 
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:18
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
| CafeTran (take a walk on the interesting side) | Mar 3, 2015 |
Luke Mersh wrote:
I would like to know what CAT software you used when you first started and before your first paid translation.
I am currently using Wordfast Anywhere, but I would like to know what other people used.
many thanks
Hi Luke,
I have tried pretty much every CAT tool under the sun, and my current favourite, by far, is CafeTran. It has a few quirks (no real manual yet and a pace of development that is so rapid that it makes some users dizzy), but I really enjoy translating in it, which is what matters to me most at the end of the day.
Visually, it is very minimalist, still uses a simple menu design rather than a big shiny colourful vibrating ribbon, and you can roll your own UI out of various building blocks via its ingenious docking system. It is a veritable shapeshifter.
Despite being very, very powerful, it is also only 3-4 MB in size. No idea how Igor does it.
If you have any questions, swing by the "CafeTranslators" Google Group!
Michael
| | | | John Fossey
Canada
Local time: 17:18
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
| Answer to the question | Mar 3, 2015 |
To answer the question simply, I started with Wordfast Classic, then went to SDL Studio because a lot of clients demanded it, and now mostly use memoQ. Wordfast Anywhere, which is rather similar to Classic, should be able to serve you for quite a long time, especially at the price.
I do still use SDL Studio, but pretty much only to connect to certain clients' SDL servers and to return SDL packages - although memoQ can create a SDL return package I have had a few issues with them, ... See more To answer the question simply, I started with Wordfast Classic, then went to SDL Studio because a lot of clients demanded it, and now mostly use memoQ. Wordfast Anywhere, which is rather similar to Classic, should be able to serve you for quite a long time, especially at the price.
I do still use SDL Studio, but pretty much only to connect to certain clients' SDL servers and to return SDL packages - although memoQ can create a SDL return package I have had a few issues with them, so I do the work in memoQ (which I find faster and easier to use than Studio) and create the actual return package in Studio.
[Edited at 2015-03-03 21:21 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Ruled note-pad and pencil. | Mar 4, 2015 |
As an irremediably-convinced
Tom in London wrote:
… stick in the mud, antediluvian, backward Luddite
… I would very strongly recommend you avoid all contact with CAT tools until you’ve earned – and booked - (and paid your taxes on ) income sufficient to give you a profit equivalent to at least ten times your total first-year start-up costs as a new business.
If your business never manages to get ‘off the ground’, the last thing you’ll need is the millstone of unwarranted, ill-thought-out, unnecessary start-up costs (aka: debt).
We know from the many previous topics you’ve posted here that your start-up costs include proz.com membership. Recouping even that small amount will no doubt take you a little while; and that’s only for starters. I presume you have also acquired a computer, legitimate software (nothing pirated, of course…), dictionaries, and so on. You are paying for web connectivity, business premises (maybe you work from your bedroom – but even that has it’s value/price/cost, doesn’t it?), utility bills, copious supplies of coffee, match-sticks to keep the eye-lids apart at 4am during those all-night ‘rush-jobs’, ...
I’m only guessing, but I imagine (given current rates in your language pair…) that it will take you a year or more to reach the above-mentioned target.
Far more importantly, from a translation point of view, is that until you’ve done a significant number of translations quite literally as a “pen-pusher” (i.e., with ink on paper, and a pile of conventional dictionaries and glossaries at hand), you’ll never really get to grips with the communicational niceties of this profession. Before trying to economise on the mechanics of translation (and, remember: CATs are basically mechanical contrivances designed to make economic savings for your clients, not for you), you need to ensure that you have a firm grasp of the essentials of your craft. That starts with fluent and communicative writing – not as a mere 'translator’ but as an 'author of translations'.
Only when you’ve got all that straight in your mind (and in your proven skill-set) will you ever really appreciate either how much CATs can help you (if at all…); or, indeed, how much better off you would/might be without them.
In short: CATs are mere tools. Until you understood what the job really entails, as an exercise in understanding and communication, you won’t be able to assess the worth(lessness…) of any tool designed (according to some sources…) to help you carry it out.
Ha! – I nearly forgot to answer the question ‘as posed’.
When I started translation for professional purposes the PC still hadn’t been invented. A few years later, when I got full-time employment as an in-house translator in a well-known international organization, I was presented on my first day with a pile of ruled note-pads and a box of pencils engraved with the organization’s logo. It was only when my boss’s secretary went off on holiday that I managed to ‘borrow’ an antique typewriter (much to the satisfaction of the girls in the typing pool who, otherwise, were charged with typing up my scribbled translations).
The evolution in my tool-kit during the subsequent four decades is a long story, best left for another time... Suffice it to say that today, almost 40 years later, I have several PCs. But I still do not need, want or use CAT tools
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:18
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| To which I would add.... | Mar 4, 2015 |
I'm constantly struck by the recurring problems people encounter with CAT tools, which far from speeding up their work slow them down and create critical situations. The following examples are just two of many out of a continuous stream of queries and problems about every type of CAT tool (not just... See more I'm constantly struck by the recurring problems people encounter with CAT tools, which far from speeding up their work slow them down and create critical situations. The following examples are just two of many out of a continuous stream of queries and problems about every type of CAT tool (not just the ones mentioned here):
http://tinyurl.com/n7p5vde
http://tinyurl.com/p3bbd
These problems keep coming up in my list of Proz discussion forums, and for me they serve as a constant reminder to stay away from CATs. I just haven't got the time!
[Edited at 2015-03-04 09:19 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Wordfast Classic demo version | Mar 4, 2015 |
I started out with Wordfast Classic, and it's still my favorite many years later. When I started out with CAT tools, I was still working in-house (not a translation agency) and I heard about CAT tools here on these forums, so I decided to try one after reading up on the various advantages and benefits of each tool. Price was certainly one of the factors for me.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 23:18
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Those not answering the question... | Mar 4, 2015 |
Luke, here is some information about the posters in this thread who would not answer your question, based on forum searches:
* Erik: Used Trados Freelance 6.0 in 2006.
* Dan: Only recently became a translator (2014) did not know about CAT tools until after he became a translator.
* Christine: May have used Trados in 2003. Her employer required her to buy Trados 3, but she also used Deja Vu at that time.
* Fiona: Used Wordfast Classic in 2004, but also used the fre... See more Luke, here is some information about the posters in this thread who would not answer your question, based on forum searches:
* Erik: Used Trados Freelance 6.0 in 2006.
* Dan: Only recently became a translator (2014) did not know about CAT tools until after he became a translator.
* Christine: May have used Trados in 2003. Her employer required her to buy Trados 3, but she also used Deja Vu at that time.
* Fiona: Used Wordfast Classic in 2004, but also used the free version before that.
* Alina: Has used "several versions" of Trados.
* Michael: Did not use a CAT tool by late 2008, discovered CafeTran in late 2011.
* Robin: Was not a CAT user in 2008. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Luke Mersh
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:18
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER | CAT software for start-up - advice needed | Mar 4, 2015 |
@Samuel
Thanks for all that info- its gives me a good direction to follow.
It looks like I will work with WFA until I start getting work or A client asks me to use another CAT tool.
I like the ease of use with WFA and would consider to purchase the full versions at a later stage.
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Michael Beijer
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:18
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
| Thorough as usual Samuel | Mar 4, 2015 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
Luke, here is some information about the posters in this thread who would not answer your question, based on forum searches:
* Erik: Used Trados Freelance 6.0 in 2006.
* Dan: Only recently became a translator (2014) did not know about CAT tools until after he became a translator.
* Christine: May have used Trados in 2003. Her employer required her to buy Trados 3, but she also used Deja Vu at that time.
* Fiona: Used Wordfast Classic in 2004, but also used the free version before that.
* Alina: Has used "several versions" of Trados.
* Michael: Did not use a CAT tool by late 2008, discovered CafeTran in late 2011.
* Robin: Was not a CAT user in 2008.
I started with two Word documents side by side, then moved to Trados Workbench, then Across Personal Edition, then memoQ, and I now use CafeTran. In between, I tried most of the other CAT tools and am constantly on the lookout for interesting new ones. The last one I tried was Felix, a very interesting alternative to Wordfast Classic.
Michael
[Edited at 2015-03-04 11:40 GMT]
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Samuel Murray wrote:
Those not answering the question...
Luke, here is some information about the posters in this thread who would not answer your question, based on forum searches:
...
* Robin: Was not a CAT user in 2008.
Luke’s question was:
I would like to know what CAT software you used when you first started and before your first paid translation.
Given that personal computers – let alone CATs – didn’t even exist when I passed the ‘milestone’ mentioned by Luke, it is surely evident that I have in fact answered the question by: a) pointing out that fact; b) informing him of my initial use of paper and pencil; c) saying also that I still do not need, want or use CAT tools.
The undeniable fact dug up through your research, quoted above, is neither more-illuminating, nor more helpful, to Luke than is my own answer, since it surely goes without saying that if I didn’t use CATs in the early 1970s and I don’t use them now, then I didn’t use them in 2008 (an arbitrary intermediate date which is irrelevant to both Luke and myself).
Since when, Samuel, has “none” not been a valid answer to the question “which?” (or, as Luke puts it, “what?”)?
[Edited at 2015-03-04 12:46 GMT]
| | | | Erik Freitag
Germany
Local time: 23:18
Member (2006)
Dutch to German
+ ...
Samuel Murray wrote:
* Erik: Used Trados Freelance 6.0 in 2006.
Samuel is right. I didn't even notice that I hadn't answered your question (sorry), but then again, maybe that's because I can't see the point of it.
[Bearbeitet am 2015-03-04 12:04 GMT]
| | | | | Once you mention it... | Mar 4, 2015 |
Tom in London wrote: I'm constantly struck by the recurring problems people encounter with CAT tools, which far from speeding up their work slow them down and create critical situations. The following examples are just two of many out of a continuous stream of queries and problems about every type of CAT tool (not just the ones mentioned here): http://tinyurl.com/n7p5vde http://tinyurl.com/p3bbd These problems keep coming up in my list of Proz discussion forums, and for me they serve as a constant reminder to stay away from CATs. I just haven't got the time! [Edited at 2015-03-04 09:19 GMT]
Even considering the problems I sometimes have with CAT tools I would still recommend using them for any translation with repeated phrases or terms. I have all the three big ones, use all of them, but currently prefer SDL Studio and would like to get better acquainted with memoQ.
When I started, I used no CAT tool and translated my first few jobs mostly in Excel (a horrible piece of software to use for any text work) - I tried Omega T (is it still around?) and I admit to using a pirated version of Studio for a short while before buying Studio 2011.
Like Michael, I like to try new things and I am getting increasingly interested in CafeTran. However I lack the time to try it out and it will have to wait. Unfortunately I have many clients that insist in using server packages and TMs and therefore cannot always chose which tool I would like to use.
With CAT, I save a lot more time than I lose - for me the advantages in using these tools are enormous. I used to be totally technophobe before - and so glad I got over it!
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Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:18
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| Not quite thorough enough Samuel | Mar 4, 2015 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
Luke, here is some information about the posters in this thread who would not answer your question, based on forum searches:
* Dan: Only recently became a translator (2014) did not know about CAT tools until after he became a translator.
In the interests of accurate reporting...
First, you are incorrect to imply that I did not answer Luke. As you will see I dealt with his question ("I would like to know what CAT software you used when you first started") in my initial reply with the following: "I chose SDL Trados Studio 2014". Unambiguous. I hope you research your translations more thoroughly than your forum posts.
Second, I should probably clarify that technical translation has been a regular part of my professional work for the past two decades although, as you say, I only became a full-time translator in the second half of 2014. Despite this recent start I am earning more than enough from translation to support myself and my family and I am busy enough to be turning down good projects. So I think I can claim that my experience as a beginning freelancer is not only relevant to Luke's concerns but also fresh.
Third, I am happy to acknowledge that I didn't know CAT software existed until 2014 and that I have only been using CAT software for a brief time. Fortunately, if you have the right mindset - which I do - you learn the underlying concepts and the operations of such tools quickly. Going by the general level of technical discussion in these forums I would judge that I'm already a more accomplished user of Studio than most people with a license.
Regards
Dan
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:18
Member (2008)
Italian to English
[.... I would still recommend using them for any translation with repeated phrases or terms [/quote]
I just use macros in MSWord for that. Surprising so few people use macros. A CAT tool is really not much more than a somewhat elaborate system of macros.
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Luke Mersh wrote:
I would like to know what CAT software you used when you first started and before your first paid translation.
I am currently using Wordfast Anywhere, but I would like to know what other people used.
many thanks
I am currently using Trados Studio 2014. Not that I like it (it has given me quite some trouble), but this is the most "extended" CAT tool and I go with the market, not against it.
In any case, whatever tool you choose, do not do "CAT tool hopping". This is a productivity killer. Choose well and stick to it for the rest of your career. They all can do much more than we will ever need (well, most of us; there will always be “super translators” with "special needs").
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