Poll: Are online CAT tools slower, provide fewer fuzzy matches, and prevent integration with other tools?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jun 10, 2018

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Are online CAT tools slower, provide fewer fuzzy matches, and prevent integration with other tools?".

This poll was originally submitted by sentrodil. View the poll results »



 
Michael Harris
Michael Harris  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 23:33
Member (2006)
German to English
Other Jun 10, 2018

I use a couple of online CAT tools, and I never use onlive versions of Across as they are a real pain in the neck and very slow ( I have high-speed internet so that is not the problem). I have another customer in Sweden and their online program is fantastic and once you get used to it, quite efficient.

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 22:33
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Jun 10, 2018

I have no term of comparison as usually I don’t use CAT tools, but right now I’m using an online one (XTM) and it’s extremely slow...

 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 07:33
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Yes Jun 10, 2018

If "online CAT tools" is referring to customers' own proprietary tools

Basically, the few I have been forced to use really suck! I refused to work with the customers again after the first job if they didn't vastly improve the interface, access speeds, functionality, etc., which they, of course, never did.
Also, they will never be able to integrate with other mainstream tools since they are server-based, primarily for security reasons.

If customers pay at le
... See more
If "online CAT tools" is referring to customers' own proprietary tools

Basically, the few I have been forced to use really suck! I refused to work with the customers again after the first job if they didn't vastly improve the interface, access speeds, functionality, etc., which they, of course, never did.
Also, they will never be able to integrate with other mainstream tools since they are server-based, primarily for security reasons.

If customers pay at least double my good rate, then I might just deign to work in customers' environments. But, we all know that is not going to happen.
Collapse


 
Ventnai
Ventnai  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 23:33
German to English
+ ...
Hate 'em Jun 10, 2018

I have many resources that I have built up over the years and like to draw on them when translating. An online tool will not integrate them, so it slows me down. I also find that they are not intuitive. One of my main clients has recently moved most of its contracts to Memosource, which is time-consuming and does not have reliable QA tools, meaning everything needs to be copied into Word and checked. I have stopped working for those particular clients.

 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 19:33
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
Good and bad experiences Jun 10, 2018

I had an excellent experience with MemoQ on the cloud a few years ago. I am in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the agency's server was in Toronto, later moved to Los Angeles. We were working as a geographically scattered team of about 15 translators per project. Whatever any of us fed to the TM came up for all others as a match - if and when it were the case - immediately thereafter.

I've had bad recent experiences with Memsource on the cloud. Supposedly its servers should be located in Euro
... See more
I had an excellent experience with MemoQ on the cloud a few years ago. I am in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the agency's server was in Toronto, later moved to Los Angeles. We were working as a geographically scattered team of about 15 translators per project. Whatever any of us fed to the TM came up for all others as a match - if and when it were the case - immediately thereafter.

I've had bad recent experiences with Memsource on the cloud. Supposedly its servers should be located in Europe, though their cloud may be larger. It took about 8-10 seconds for each segment to cross the Atlantic diagonally, get acknowledged, and clear it for the next one. Impracticable! I have been using it offline since my second attempt.

A lot of emphasis is placed on the Internet connection speed provided. My ISP made it a big deal when they doubled my (cable) connection, from 30 to 60 MBPS at no extra charge, while I saw no difference in speed. Now a (fiber optics) competitor is offering 100 MBPS for the same price.

The tech guys will know what I'm talking about, however many fellow translators are surprised when I tell them this...

1. I had a huge video job that would require transferring many GB between me and my client. So I got a 1 TB paid subscription for DropBox, thinking that transfers would be faster that the free one, limited to a couple (?) of GB storage capacity. No deal! Transfers to and fro the cloud there always take place at around 250 KBPS (sic! 0.25 MBPS) in spite of my much faster connection.

2. We have a bunch of online equipment at home. My computer is hard wired to the router, however its WiFi feeds up to 4 computers, 1 printer, 5 cell phones, and 3 smart TVs. No speed issues. One day my wife brought home four classmates from her postgraduate course, so they added 4 computers and 4 smartphones to the load, and everyone was happy with the connection speed they got.

Above a minimum connection speed provided by your (translator's) ISP, if the online CAT tool server is slow, or in any way overloaded, increasing the translator's connection speed won't improve anything.
Collapse


 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 23:33
French to English
Phrasing Jun 10, 2018

"Are online CAT tools slower, provide fewer fuzzy matches, and prevent integration with other tools?".

Are online CAT tools slower than ...?

Do they provide fewer fuzzy matches and do they prevent integration with other tools?

I'm sorry but it would be nice for questions that are posted here to be proofread, particularly as people answering may not be native speakers of English.


 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 23:33
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
The Internet can be an Achilles' heel Jun 10, 2018

Why would anyone want to work online anyway? It just makes everything more vulnerable to security breaches, hackers and down time. The Internet is usually reliable, but we are actually more vulnerable, the more we become dependent on remote technology.

Apart from that, I usually find online CATs a pain in the neck. It is not normally an advantage for the client either, at least if I am the person trying to use their CAT.

I refuse to use them. At the rates clients pay th
... See more
Why would anyone want to work online anyway? It just makes everything more vulnerable to security breaches, hackers and down time. The Internet is usually reliable, but we are actually more vulnerable, the more we become dependent on remote technology.

Apart from that, I usually find online CATs a pain in the neck. It is not normally an advantage for the client either, at least if I am the person trying to use their CAT.

I refuse to use them. At the rates clients pay these days, it is not worth my while if I have to do all the research again, instead of using what I have collected in my own resources.

I cannot take advantage of my experience in the same way as I can with my own CAT, and I cannot concentrate on translating if the short cuts and settings are different, so I cannot guarantee the same quality. I feel pushed back to the beginner stage again…

Thanks, but no thanks, I use my CAT or no CAT!

[Edited at 2018-06-10 13:57 GMT]
Collapse


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 23:33
Spanish to English
+ ...
Don't know Jun 10, 2018

But I would expect them to be dodgy in some way or other. Call me a dinosaur, but whole "cloud" thing seems like smoke and mirrors to me.

 
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Germany
Local time: 23:33
English to German
In memoriam
Mostly yes Jun 10, 2018

They tend to be slower, since there are more parameters influencing the speed, particularly connection speed and server performance.
I couldn't say if they provide fewer or more fuzzy matches. But fuzzy matches are not often helpful anyway.
They do prevent integration with other tools. Voice recognition comes to mind. MemoQ with voice recognition is a fantastic combination, but I never got voice recognition to work seamlessly with a browser based tool yet.


 
Daniel Frisano
Daniel Frisano  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 23:33
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
Heck yes Jun 11, 2018

Don't know about fuzzies, but online tools are a nightmare in terms of speed. I couldn't even use a local memoQ copy when connected to external servers due to those constant split-second delays, and it was certainly not due to connection issues.

[Edited at 2018-06-11 06:15 GMT]


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 19:33
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Yes Jun 11, 2018

Online CATs are usually a complete disaster, a means the agencies have found to prevent extra work aligning pairs and/or importing TMs, but which prevents the translators to feed their own TMs. Of course they have access to your work and they are able to see your progress. But it's very unpleasant for us. Unfortunately, we better get used to them, because they are a strong trend.

 
Noni Gilbert Riley
Noni Gilbert Riley
Spain
Local time: 23:33
Spanish to English
+ ...
Zanata Jun 13, 2018

I'm having to use this at the moment. Very user unfriendly. Can't think of anything to recommend about it.

 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Jared Tabor[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Poll: Are online CAT tools slower, provide fewer fuzzy matches, and prevent integration with other tools?






Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »
TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »