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your thoughts on Matecat
Thread poster: Dominique N.
Dominique N.
Dominique N.
France
English to French
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
casmacat demo Apr 26, 2015

Thank you Patrick for the instructions; I found that a Casmacat demo is actually available here http://test.casmacat.eu/ ; however only XLIFF files are supported at the moment. Judging by the demo and screenshots shown on their website, Casmacat offers the same, user friendly interface as Matecat, but lacks some important features, as you've already pointed out. I am definitely looking forward to the version you... See more
Thank you Patrick for the instructions; I found that a Casmacat demo is actually available here http://test.casmacat.eu/ ; however only XLIFF files are supported at the moment. Judging by the demo and screenshots shown on their website, Casmacat offers the same, user friendly interface as Matecat, but lacks some important features, as you've already pointed out. I am definitely looking forward to the version you've been working on ! Please keep us informed of any development.Collapse


 
MateCat Support
MateCat Support
Italy
Local time: 14:23
Matecat, open source and Casmacat Sep 9, 2015

Patrick Porter wrote:

Another similar option is "Casmacat" which is the open source project that Matecat is built around, but it lacks much of the file conversion and translation memory functionality of Matecat.



Just to clarify, MateCat is the result of a 3-year research open source project led by a consortium composed of the international research center FBK (Fondazione Bruno Kessler), Translated srl, the Université du Maine and the University of Edinburgh, as you can read here:
www.matecat.com/about/

The University of Edinburgh has also worked at the Casmacat project.

[Edited at 2015-09-09 10:46 GMT]


 
MateCat Support
MateCat Support
Italy
Local time: 14:23
Optional outsourcing to Translated Sep 9, 2015

Patrick Porter wrote:
I've actually been working on a fork of Casmacat to make it more suitable for professional use by a freelancer or small group...sort of an in-between option between the basic Casmacat and the more enterprise-oriented Matecat (and without the tendency toward consumption of services from Translated).


We would like to clarify the statement.

MateCat is free for LPSs and freelancers without any limitations in the number of users, projects, files and storage.
After having uploaded a file, the user can translate by himself (or in case of an LSP send the link of the job to a freelance translator), or it could optionally outsource to Translated.
So there isn't any "tendency toward consumption of services from Translated", it is just an option for the user, even if the user never outsource to Translated 1 job, he can still use the software for free without any limitation.

You can read more in the FAQ



[Edited at 2015-09-09 10:42 GMT]

[Edited at 2015-09-09 10:42 GMT]


 
MateCat Support
MateCat Support
Italy
Local time: 14:23
Freelancers can use MateCat with their own clients Sep 9, 2015

Dominique N. wrote:

Freelance users can not invite their own clients to collaborate with them over this tool.


Let us clarify that every freelance can use MateCat with its own clients, and many freelance translators are already doing it all over the world.

As you can read the in the FAQ, MateCat is free for LSPs, freelance translators, companies and universities without any restriction.

[Edited at 2015-09-09 10:41 GMT]


 
MateCat Support
MateCat Support
Italy
Local time: 14:23
Beta, new features Sep 9, 2015

Danik 2014 wrote:

It´s drawbacks: A short time ago, it was still in its Beta version, which meant that very often features were added and changed, something that can be confusing and hampering if you are not an informatics expert as well as a translator.


The beta ended on November 2014, at Localization World in Vancouver we announced the first official release. Translated, who has co-developed Matecat, on August 2014 had switched all its internal production to MateCat for all the thousands of translators we work with all over the world.

We are adding features listening to customer feedback, and users are not confused at all.

Here you find a list of the release notes.

Just as an example, we recently released a collabaration feature, comments like in Google docs, and our users love it!

The MateCat user interface is very simple with just a few buttons, you don't need to be an informatic expert to use it. Furthermore, since MateCat is online and it can be used with a browser, the user doesn't need to install any upgrade every time that we deliver a new release, it is automatically delivered by us behind the scenes to the MateCat website. In other words, the users goes to www.matecat.com and start using the new feature without being an informatic expert.

[Edited at 2015-09-09 11:15 GMT]

[Edited at 2015-09-09 11:15 GMT]


 
MateCat Support
MateCat Support
Italy
Local time: 14:23
Confidentiality Sep 9, 2015

Alejandra Reznik wrote:


I found Matecat useful, but I'm not too sure yet about confidentiality issues.


If you use private TMs, you're files are kept private and you're the only one allowed to read and use them, and it also written in our Terms of service.


[Edited at 2015-09-09 13:40 GMT]


 
danny-boy
danny-boy
Russian to English
Great CAT TOOL Sep 22, 2015

Have been using intensely for half a year - very easy and user friendly.

Could you please add export to bilingual docx and some filters some day?

Thanks!


 
Patrick Porter
Patrick Porter
United States
Local time: 09:23
Spanish to English
+ ...
um... Sep 23, 2015

MateCat Support wrote:

Patrick Porter wrote:
I've actually been working on a fork of Casmacat to make it more suitable for professional use by a freelancer or small group...sort of an in-between option between the basic Casmacat and the more enterprise-oriented Matecat (and without the tendency toward consumption of services from Translated).


We would like to clarify the statement.

MateCat is free for LPSs and freelancers without any limitations in the number of users, projects, files and storage.
After having uploaded a file, the user can translate by himself (or in case of an LSP send the link of the job to a freelance translator), or it could optionally outsource to Translated.
So there isn't any "tendency toward consumption of services from Translated"...


...of course there is...what would you call it? To paraphrase what you are saying: "there's no intent to drive business to us...but we've put in a user option that we hope will drive business to us"

Option or not, the point of the commercial version of MateCat is to drive translation business to Translated, in addition to utilizing the 'MyMemory' services. Don't worry, it's nothing to be ashamed of. You are entitled to try and monetize all the work put into the project. I never said your terms of service were unfair or your motives disreputable. But be clear about the intent.

...And by the way...my opinion is simply that the commercial aspect doesn't appeal to my individual preferences. I happen to think that overall MateCat would be a good tool for those inclined to use it. It seems very well developed, with lots of consideration for what translators need in a CAT tool. It also seems like a good TMS system in its own right. Furthermore, there aren't too many browser-based CAT solutions on the market right now, in particular ones that are free of charge.


[Edited at 2015-09-23 12:40 GMT]


 
MateCat Support
MateCat Support
Italy
Local time: 14:23
Thanks! Sep 23, 2015

danny-boy wrote:

Have been using intensely for half a year - very easy and user friendly.

Could you please add export to bilingual docx and some filters some day?

Thanks!



Thank you for using MateCat!

What filters would you need?

We will add support for over ten new file formats by mid-October and release new file converters which are over 10 times faster than the current ones. Also, over the next couple of months, we will release a new version which will allow to create custom file filters in a new and supercool way (no more regexp or xpath as other tools requires you to use).

Regarding the bilingual docx, that may be trickier... It is not in the roadmap at the moment, but let's talk about it again in 2016 and see if we can squeeze it in then.

Alessandro


 
danny-boy
danny-boy
Russian to English
Filters Sep 23, 2015

MateCat Support wrote:




What filters would you need?



Alessandro


For example, I have certain strings which have different word order, I'd like to show them and check translation side by side.


 
Patrick Porter
Patrick Porter
United States
Local time: 09:23
Spanish to English
+ ...
confidentiality Sep 23, 2015

MateCat Support wrote:

Alejandra Reznik wrote:


I found Matecat useful, but I'm not too sure yet about confidentiality issues.


If you use private TMs, you're files are kept private and you're the only one allowed to read and use them, and it also written in our Terms of service.


[Edited at 2015-09-09 13:40 GMT]


I've read your terms of service and wanted to comment that your stated philosophy of giving translators control over their data makes sense. From what I can see it looks like your terms are as good as or better than the privacy terms of other cloud-based service providers. The terms also make an interesting and valid point that from the perspective of a work provider, managing translations in a central place actually enhances privacy. That's one reason why I think a TMS like MateCat can be good for enterprise users.

But from the freelance perspective, things can be a bit different. In my case, for example (a purely anecdotal one of course), much of my work deals with confidential corporate information. Part of the value I offer to many clients is a promise to keep all of their data in my custody and not transmit it to any third parties, including cloud providers, except for backup in encrypted format. Some clients look for this and I can gladly provide it.

For my part, therefore, a locally-based solution is better. So that brings me to a question that I hope the MateCat support will answer here: If I were to run MateCat locally on my own Linux box or VM, when I upload private TMs to the server running on localhost, what happens to those TMs?...i.e. are they managed locally in a database or are they sent over the network to MyMemory?


 
MateCat Support
MateCat Support
Italy
Local time: 14:23
. Sep 23, 2015

danny-boy wrote:

MateCat Support wrote:




What filters would you need?



Alessandro


For example, I have certain strings which have different word order, I'd like to show them and check translation side by side.


Oh, OK, I understand now. It is a good suggestion and we will try to work on that. However, I am afraid this is not something I can promise for the near future. It could go into next year's roadmap.

Alessandro


 
MateCat Support
MateCat Support
Italy
Local time: 14:23
Regarding local instances of MateCat Sep 23, 2015

Patrick Porter wrote:

MateCat Support wrote:

Alejandra Reznik wrote:


I found Matecat useful, but I'm not too sure yet about confidentiality issues.


If you use private TMs, you're files are kept private and you're the only one allowed to read and use them, and it also written in our Terms of service.


[Edited at 2015-09-09 13:40 GMT]


For my part, therefore, a locally-based solution is better. So that brings me to a question that I hope the MateCat support will answer here: If I were to run MateCat locally on my own Linux box or VM, when I upload private TMs to the server running on localhost, what happens to those TMs?...i.e. are they managed locally in a database or are they sent over the network to MyMemory?


MateCat, be it the hosted solution on www.matecat.com or local installations, uses MyMemory as its translation memory server hence the segments are sent over to MyMemory.

There are two solutions here:
- Building connectors to other translation memory servers (not sure which one, though)
- Developing a version of MyMemory which can be installed on a local machine.

The second solution is tough, but that is the one we are investigating at the moment. I have to admit however that we are far from the solution...

Alessandro


 
Patrick Porter
Patrick Porter
United States
Local time: 09:23
Spanish to English
+ ...
thanks for the info Sep 23, 2015

MateCat Support wrote:

...

MateCat, be it the hosted solution on www.matecat.com or local installations, uses MyMemory as its translation memory server hence the segments are sent over to MyMemory.

There are two solutions here:
- Building connectors to other translation memory servers (not sure which one, though)
- Developing a version of MyMemory which can be installed on a local machine.

The second solution is tough, but that is the one we are investigating at the moment. I have to admit however that we are far from the solution...

Alessandro


Thanks for the info. If I did end up using MateCat as a local installation I might be interested in something along the lines of the first choice. In fact, I've been working on a very basic TM server implemented in Python and it could be made to return data in any format. If at some point I have technical questions about linking to MateCat, can these be submitted through your regular support channels (i.e. the link on website)?

[Edited at 2015-09-23 22:08 GMT]


 
MateCat Support
MateCat Support
Italy
Local time: 14:23
Free support Sep 23, 2015

Patrick Porter wrote:
If at some point I have technical questions about linking to MateCat, can these be submitted through your regular support channels (i.e. the link on website)?

[Edited at 2015-09-23 22:08 GMT]


Yes, you can submit questions to our technical support via the website.

We provide free support to all users on the features of the translation software and even on more technical aspects such as custom development and integration.

Just click on the Get Support button and send us an email.

Alessandro


 
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