Can still get work as a translator with linux? Thread poster: Luke Mersh
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Luke Mersh 
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:49
Spanish to English
I am a linux user and was wondering if there are clients out there that do not mind linux, and do not need Trados, etc.
Can anybody tell me that you can still get work as a translator with linux?
[Edited at 2012-03-14 13:33 GMT]
| | | | Rolf Keller
Germany
Local time: 07:49
English to German
| Linux? Yes, but ... | Mar 14, 2012 |
luke mersh wrote:
if there are clients out there that do not need Trados, etc.
Yes, of course. Trados etc. is suitable for many texts but completely unsuitable for other ones. Actually I use Trados rather seldom. BUT I HAVE IT - that's the point.
Can anybody tell me that you can still get work as a translator with linux?
Plain text (e. g. contracts or texts from publishers that are to be layouted later on) presents no problem. But if you get a source text with "strange" MS Office formatting, you might discover, that "OpenOffice is 100 % compatible" means "Sometimes OpenOffice is somewhat compatible".
Now look at the situation from a client's point of view. Or from a customer's secretary who has to get you to translate something. "Well, Mr Customer, I'll try to import your file into my OpenOffice. I hope this will work." [Thoughts: "Huh? I hate such technical discussions. What means 'import' anyway? Commissioning this guy might cause trouble and loss of time. Better choose a real translator."] "Oh, that's good, Mr Mersh. We'll contact you next week, bye bye."
OTOH, in the software industry there are some companies that work with Linux and boycott Microsoft. There you could find some customers, provided you are able/willing to translate their - often special - material.
But why don't you set up a virtual machine with Windows? "I want to make nice furniture but I hate to use saws and drills made from steel"? "
| | | | Luke Mersh
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:49
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
thanks for the info.
I am actually considering buying a netbook specifically for this work, with Trados and Office installed.
Please let me know your thoughts on this move.
| | | | matt robinson
Spain
Local time: 07:49
Member (2010)
Spanish to English
| Linux user myself | Mar 14, 2012 |
Unfortunately there are many compatibility issues between open source software and the most frequently used and requested. (I am thinking OpenOffice/MS Office, for example) A document with the minimum of formatting beyond plain text may throw up errors, and I personally (after trying) have found it impossible to work without MS. That said I keep MS as a secondary OS in a virtual box within my linux system, and only run programs on it which I find essential for translating (Trados, Transit, etc.)... See more Unfortunately there are many compatibility issues between open source software and the most frequently used and requested. (I am thinking OpenOffice/MS Office, for example) A document with the minimum of formatting beyond plain text may throw up errors, and I personally (after trying) have found it impossible to work without MS. That said I keep MS as a secondary OS in a virtual box within my linux system, and only run programs on it which I find essential for translating (Trados, Transit, etc.) I actually find it quite stable under those circumstances! I do not have internet connection with this OS and thus can avoid all the attack problems MS is prone to. I have to pass all docs. through a shared folder, but that only takes a few seconds. I run both OSs simultaneously. I have experimented with OmegaT but I would only use it for the most basic of projects, as I don't want any nasty surprises regarding compatibility and none of my clients have ever said that they use linux.
It's a pity but until some open source format has the lion's share of the market I think we will still have to bow to their superior strength. ▲ Collapse
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Luke Mersh
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:49
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
well I finally made the move.
I purchased an acer one netbook with MS office 2003 or 2007 can not remember which for the sole purpose of this work, I will install Trados maybe an older version and start practising with it.
I am hoping that soon I will become a paying member and start working with it in a professional way.
| | | | Rolf Keller
Germany
Local time: 07:49
English to German
| Either Netbook OR Trados | Mar 15, 2012 |
luke mersh wrote:
I am actually considering buying a netbook specifically for this work, with Trados and Office installed.
Please let me know your thoughts on this move.
Screen definitely too small ( 1024 x 600?)
Speed not suffient
Memory & (probably) disk drive too small
Limited to Windows 7 Starter?
| | | | Luke Mersh
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:49
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
seems fine to me.
I have MS office 2003 and Sdl Trados 2009 installed on it.
I think for the purpose of translation work it fit the part.
As thats allI am going touse it for.
| | | | boostrer
United States
Local time: 01:49
Member (2007)
English to Russian
+ ...
| Netbook is a bad choice | Mar 17, 2012 |
luke mersh wrote:
seems fine to me.
I have MS office 2003 and Sdl Trados 2009 installed on it.
I think for the purpose of translation work it fit the part.
As thats allI am going touse it for.
Netbook may be too slow, e.g., if you have to translate complex tables with Trados 2007. Once I had to refuse from a project, because it took Trados about a minute to move to the next segment (at that time I had 1GHz computer).
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Luke Mersh
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:49
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Iwill make the most of it.
As I say I only have a few programs installed on it so it should not be too slow, plus its very portable.
| | | | esperantisto
Local time: 08:49
Member (2006)
English to Russian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
I work in Linux and am asked about Trados very seldom, thus I can easily discard such jobs.
| | | | | A comparison | Mar 18, 2012 |
Imagine an architect asking: "Can I still get work as an architect with Linux?". Well, there are AutoCAD-like software for Linux, but AutoCAD does not exist for Linux. If your customers expect you to use AutoCAD to be part of their projects, then clearly Linux is not an option for you as an architect. Exactly the same as a translator. Your choice!
| | | | | CafeTran for Linux | Jun 22, 2012 |
luke mersh wrote:
I am a linux user and was wondering if there are clients out there that do not mind linux, and do not need Trados, etc.
Can anybody tell me that you can still get work as a translator with linux?
[Edited at 2012-03-14 13:33 GMT]
There is a Java CAT tool called CafeTran that runs very well on Linux too and that handles SDL files (as well as a number of other file formats).
More info in the CafeTran forum:
http://www.proz.com/forum/cafetran_support-1154.html
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| Wordfast Anywhere: online tool | Jul 16, 2012 |
luke mersh wrote:
I am a linux user and was wondering if there are clients out there that do not mind linux, and do not need Trados, etc.
Can anybody tell me that you can still get work as a translator with linux?
[Edited at 2012-03-14 13:33 GMT]
You can work with Linux, but it is really tying one hand behind your back.
Wordfast Anywhere is an online CAT tool that is free to use and will handle all the usual formats of document. But I find that when I have prepared a document in it, I then want to check it with Wordfast on my desktop. If you are prepared to skip that stage you can view the document in Word Viewer, which will run under Wine.
| | | | Teplocteur
Local time: 13:49
English to Chinese
+ ...
luke mersh wrote:
I am a linux user and was wondering if there are clients out there that do not mind linux, and do not need Trados, etc.
Can anybody tell me that you can still get work as a translator with linux?
[Edited at 2012-03-14 13:33 GMT]
There are other tools for your linux, such as OmegaT, OmegaT+, and GlobalSight.
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