| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Lame duck? Thread poster: Paul O'Brien
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Paul O'Brien 
Argentina
Local time: 10:02
Member (2007)
Italian to English
+ ...
Has anyone noticed how Trados Studio is basically a lame duck? It's been lying still in the water for years. You would think that, by now, when you translate a segment, it would offer synonyms, for example. And when you really want to do a quality check, you would think that, by now, you wouldn't need to generate a Word file to pick up the errors (including serious ones) that Studio is simply incapable of identifying. Finally, even as I write here, Quillbot is asking me if I need help and is mak... See more Has anyone noticed how Trados Studio is basically a lame duck? It's been lying still in the water for years. You would think that, by now, when you translate a segment, it would offer synonyms, for example. And when you really want to do a quality check, you would think that, by now, you wouldn't need to generate a Word file to pick up the errors (including serious ones) that Studio is simply incapable of identifying. Finally, even as I write here, Quillbot is asking me if I need help and is making suggestions for improvement. Studio allows DeepL, but in Studio you can do nothing with the DeepL segment translated. Yet if you go into DeepL, you can improve the segment using DeepL itself or, again, using Quillbot. Same in Word: you can add-on Quillbot or Reverse. Studio? Lame duck. Dead duck. Still in 2011. Paying out dividends and not investing? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:02
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| Dropped the ball | Dec 29, 2022 |
Paul O'Brien wrote:
Paying out dividends and not investing?
I too struggle to see where they spend their time, and my tentative conclusion is that they are not allocating resources to areas where freelancers like ourselves can actually see it. By that I mean they may be focusing on development of WorldServer and similar products.
Even allowing for that, the pace of change seems glacial compared to some other products I have known, or CafeTran Espresso. Insufficient development resources? Poor development management? I don't know.
What I do know is that there have been consequences. In my (JA-EN) pair Memsource/Phrase was nowhere four or five years ago. Now, in finance at least, Phrase seems to have dislodged Trados as the default choice for many agencies and the corporates they serve. I would say a clear majority of the CAT projects I am offered now use Phrase rather than Trados - probably something like 70/30, in fact.
SDL - this sorry story predates the merger, so we can't blame RWS - once had a dominant position in Japan, despite which they seem to have doggedly torn defeat from the jaws of victory. Will the same thing happen in other markets?
I last upgraded four years ago, in October 2018, to Studio 2019. I do actually plan to move up to Studio 2022 over the next few months. My concern is that whatever version exists in 2026 will not have enough of a market presence to enable me to justify a further upgrade.
Dan
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:02
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| This is the title of my reply | Dec 30, 2022 |
Dan Lucas wrote:
.... seems glacial compared to some other products I have known, or CafeTran Espresso.
CafeTran doesn't do any of the nasty things that Paul describes. Why persevere with software that is just a nuisance?
[Edited at 2022-12-30 08:44 GMT]
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 15:02
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
| Can't really relate | Dec 30, 2022 |
Paul O'Brien wrote:
And when you really want to do a quality check, you would think that, by now, you wouldn't need to generate a Word file to pick up the errors (including serious ones) that Studio is simply incapable of identifying.
I use the Word spell checker in Studio. At least in Dutch there remain very few possible spelling errors if you use it. Apart from that you can configurate your settings in a way that there's a quality check (punctuation, capitalization, translation length, missing tags, wrong tag order, unchanged source text ...) on-the-spot, after the confirmation of each segment.
Paul O'Brien wrote: Finally, even as I write here, Quillbot is asking me if I need help and is making suggestions for improvement. Studio allows DeepL, but in Studio you can do nothing with the DeepL segment translated. Yet if you go into DeepL, you can improve the segment using DeepL itself or, again, using Quillbot.
Interesting point, but the main question is: are there any other CAT tools who provide these features ?
I'm not an expert in CAT tools in general because I have been using Trados, and only Trados, for 22 years now, but in a recent past I used MemoQ (online) for a customer and it really sucked compared to Trados, to the extent that I told my customer that I would only use Studio in the future.
[Edited at 2022-12-30 11:08 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-12-30 12:28 GMT]
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| To each their own | Dec 30, 2022 |
I, too, consider Trados a nuisance, but for the reasons exactly opposite to those mentioned by Paul: to me, it is hugely bloated and offers lots of functionality I don't need.
| | | | Paul O'Brien
Argentina
Local time: 10:02
Member (2007)
Italian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Anton Konashenok wrote:
I, too, consider Trados a nuisance, but for the reasons exactly opposite to those mentioned by Paul: to me, it is hugely bloated and offers lots of functionality I don't need.
Yes, they have these updates and fancy video presentations about stuff that is really of little use. To be sure, it remains the most user-friendly. MemoQ, for example, is laughable. Like working with a block of stone. But Studio is almost Luddite in its fear of technological development. I've had everything from 2011 to 2021 and there's basically no difference. I liked the graphics of 2015, but they replaced those.
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 14:02
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Paul O'Brien wrote:
And when you really want to do a quality check, you would think that, by now, you wouldn't need to generate a Word file to pick up the errors (including serious ones) that Studio is simply incapable of identifying.
I have no problem doing the QA with Trados or another tool I use for that and generating the target file in the original format.
I always do this to spot anything that I may have missed and it is a way for me to review at the same time my own translation before handing it over to the client.
My translation tools are just that, my translation assistants, they don't do the all the work for me.
It's up to me to detect the serious errors, not CAT tools.
| | | | Paul O'Brien
Argentina
Local time: 10:02
Member (2007)
Italian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | So what's it for? | Dec 30, 2022 |
expressisverbis wrote: Paul O'Brien wrote:
And when you really want to do a quality check, you would think that, by now, you wouldn't need to generate a Word file to pick up the errors (including serious ones) that Studio is simply incapable of identifying. I have no problem doing the QA with Trados or another tool I use for that and generating the target file in the original format. I always do this to spot anything that I may have missed and it is a way for me to review at the same time my own translation before handing it over to the client. My translation tools are just that, my translation assistants, they don't do the all the work for me. It's up to me to detect the serious errors, not CAT tools.
So we pay big bucks for what? I likewise always generate a preview just in case. But just as well! These dudes let HOWLERS get through. The QA tells you there are spaces missing when there aren't and tells you there are are no double spaces when there are. Tells you spellcheck is complete when it isn't. Misses joint word-full stop-word. If I have to do it all myself can I have a discount?
While we're at it, I heard from the RWS people. Dudes! About the lack of a synonym option in Studio otherwise available in Word, DeepL and elsewhere, they told me to create my own TB!!! Can you believe that mentality? So if I have the word "angry" RWS says they are not going to develop an option which will offer me, say, "enraged", but that I, i.e. ME, have to put the adjective "angry" in a TB and insert synonyms thereof "for future reference" (their words).
All told, the product remains the best, in my view. But there developments afoot that need to be integrated. And I would hold that, in this regard, Studio or RWS or whoever, are basically useless. Thstcstuff about the synonyms in particular shows you what is going on in their heads. Very offensive proposal.
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expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 14:02
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| Unchecking some options? | Dec 30, 2022 |
I can understand what you feel. I had a more complicated problem (with Trados Live that didn't work), and RWS tried to help, but my client seems to have ignored their help. Technology... it always gives us some headaches!
I get certain files from a client and QA function does exactly that ("spaces missing when there aren't and tells you there are are no double spaces when there are").
What about unchecking some options on Settings? Does it keep showing you those errors?
| | | | | The never ending discussion | Dec 30, 2022 |
Show me a CAT without flaws, and I will tell you its shortcomings.
I don't know whether Trados is the best or the worse, but I am using it since version 6.5. So I am used to it, and it does the job for me, faster then any other CAT.
On the other hand, I am still waiting for the golden 'all in one' tool. Don't you just hate all those incompatibilities?
| | | | Paul O'Brien
Argentina
Local time: 10:02
Member (2007)
Italian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | The best (not referring to myself) | Dec 31, 2022 |
Robert Rietvelt wrote:
Show me a CAT without flaws, and I will tell you its shortcomings.
I don't know whether Trados is the best or the worse, but I am using it since version 6.5. So I am used to it, and it does the job for me, faster then any other CAT.
On the other hand, I am still waiting for the golden 'all in one' tool. Don't you just hate all those incompatibilities?
Yes, I agree that it is the best. No doubt about it. Have you ever worked for a client via a memoQ server? Takes about 20 seconds to confirm a segment! But there have been significant technological developments that RWS is not incorporating. They said to me "contact our Engineering Department". I replied, "you haven't got one". I repeat: as regards the lack of a "synonyms" function, they told me to develop my own TBs, something I already do - and NOT for synonyms. Word has a synonyms function, DeepL has an excellent one. But aside from that complete buck-pass, I think the TBs are an excellent tool as is AutoSuggest etc. In such cases, yes, you have to set time aside to work on them for yourself so that you can leverage them better as time goes by.
| | | | Paul O'Brien
Argentina
Local time: 10:02
Member (2007)
Italian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Quillbot etc. | Dec 31, 2022 |
expressisverbis wrote:
I can understand how you feel. I had a more complicated problem (with Trados Live that didn't work), and RWS tried to help, but my client seems to have ignored their help. Technology... it always gives us some headaches!
I get certain files from a client, and the QA function does exactly that ("spaces missing when there aren't and telling you there are no double spaces when there are").
What about unchecking some options in Settings? Does it keep showing you those errors?
Hi expressisverbis. I'll take a look at things again in the New Year. The RWS guys said to put in a request for the Quillbot plug-in. It's working here on Proz as I write. works on WhatsApp. works in Word.
My sentences: "I'll take a look at things again in the New Year. The RWS guys said to put in a request for the Quillbot plug-in".
Quillbot's suggestion. "I'll reevaluate the situation in the new year. The RWS team advised making a request for the Quillbot plug-in".
Not bad, eh?
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Philippe Noth
Switzerland
Local time: 15:02
Member (2015)
German to French
+ ...
| Lamer than lame | Jan 3, 2023 |
Paul O'Brien wrote:
Has anyone noticed how Trados Studio is basically a lame duck? It's been lying still in the water for years?
Sure, in a fairytale world, we would all be happily translating and revising in SmartCat, XTM, Across, Lingotek… enjoying the limitless power and reliability they give to their captive users. Sounds more like a horror movie to me.
Philippe
| | | | Paul O'Brien
Argentina
Local time: 10:02
Member (2007)
Italian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Philippe Noth wrote: Paul O'Brien wrote:
Has anyone noticed how Trados Studio is basically a lame duck? It's been lying still in the water for years? Sure, in a fairytale world, we would all be happily translating and revising in SmartCat, XTM, Across, Lingotek… enjoying the limitless power and reliability they give to their captive users. Sounds more like a horror movie to me. Philippe
Maybe ee should go back to typewriters and and out-of-date hard-copy dictionaries. Paradise.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 15:02
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Paul O'Brien wrote: Philippe Noth wrote: Paul O'Brien wrote:
Has anyone noticed how Trados Studio is basically a lame duck? It's been lying still in the water for years? Sure, in a fairytale world, we would all be happily translating and revising in SmartCat, XTM, Across, Lingotek… enjoying the limitless power and reliability they give to their captive users. Sounds more like a horror movie to me. Philippe Maybe ee should go back to typewriters and and out-of-date hard-copy dictionaries. Paradise.
It would certainly be a paradise for our rates. No repetition, volume and fuzzy match discounts. No endless CAT tools with expensive upgrades. Just slow work and high rates.
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