Top 50 Portable Open Source Apps

Collections/Suites

1) PortableApps.com PortableApps.com is probably the best known suite of open-source apps that you can download and run from a USB drive. The basic suite consists of twelve apps, including portable versions of Firefox, Thunderbird, ClamWin, KeePass, PNotes and others. In addition, the site includes a huge directory of portable versions of other software that integrates with the platform. Operating System: Windows. 2) winPenPack While its not as well-known as PortableApps.com, winPenPack also offers dozens of open source apps in portable versions. You can download the apps individually or you can get the Full or the Essential suite. Operating System: Windows.
3) Democrakey If you're worried (or paranoid) about privacy and censorship, Democrakey bundles together open source applications for secure Web browsing, secure e-mail, secure chat, encryption, file shredding and anti-virus. You can download it to your own USB drive from the link above or purchase a USB drive with Democrakey installed from Democrakey.com. Operating System: Windows.
4) Tor Browser Bundle Like Democrakey, the Tor Browser Bundle packages together several apps that you can use from a thumb drive to protect your privacy while surfing. It includes Tor, Vidalia, Polipo, Firefox, and Torbutton. Operating System: Windows.

Directories

5) Portable Apps Directory In addition to the collection of software included in the standard PortableApps.com suite, the site also lists more than one hundred other apps that have been packaged to work from a thumb drive. Choose from accessibility tools, development tools, games, educational apps, multimedia software, Internet software, office productivity tools, security apps and utilities. Note that while all of the apps on this list are free, not all are open source. Operating System: Windows.
6) OS X Portable Applications This site includes twenty-two free portable applications, many of which are open-source, that can be used on any Mac. The list includes Adium, Audacity, Gimp and more. Operating System: OS X.
7) Pendriveapps.com Pendriveapps.com has an exceptionally large library of portable applications, many of which are open source. It provides reviews and downloads for software in dozens of different categories. Operating System: Various.
8) PortableLinuxApps.org This site offers more than 150 apps that can be downloaded to a USB drive and used from any Linux system running Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) 32-bit, OpenSUSE 11.3 (GNOME) 32-bit , or Fedora 12 (GNOME) 32-bit. Well-known titles on the site include the VLC media player, TrueCrypt encryption software, Pidgin instant messaging, LibreOffice and many others. Operating System: Linux.

Audio Player

9) Songbird Similar to iTunes, Songbird helps you organize your music collection, and it plays your audio files. It's also available in a mobile version for Android. Operating System: Windows.

Backup

10) Create Synchronicity When zipped, this extremely lightweight backup utility occupies just 180KB. It offers a simple, very intuitive interface and fast performance. Operating System: Windows, Linux.

Browsers

11)Firefox Portable Any PC you use will likely have a browser installed, but if you bring your own browser with you, you can also get access to your bookmarks, passwords and customization settings. Firefox portable is included in the PortableApps.com Suite or you can download it separately from the link above. Operating System: Windows.
12) X-Chromium If you prefer Google's browser, this app is based on the same open source project that is the basis for Chrome. It also allows you to carry your bookmarks and personalization preferences with you. Operating System: Windows.
13) Qt Web Browser Based on Nokia's Qt framework and Apple's WebKit rendering engine, this browser was designed to be lightweight, secure and portable. It's just 6MB, and it offers a highly customizable interface and a long list of privacy-protection features. Operating System: Linux, OS X.

Compresson Tools

14) PeaZip This helpful archiving tool can create 7 different file types and extracts 129 different file types. It offers encryption and the ability to create self-extracting files, and it comes in a portable version. Operating System: Windows, Linux.
15) Unrar Extract and Recover If you need to extract a lot of RAR archive files and you're not exactly sure what all the passwords are, this tool can help. It "handles password-protected, multi-part and encrypted archives with ease," and it requires no installation. Operating System: Windows, Linux.

Developer Tools

16) GVim Portable This project packages the vim text editor so that you can use it from a thumb drive on any Windows system. Vim is an updated version of the vi text editor for Unix. Operating System: Windows.
17) ATPad This Notepad replacement includes a number of features for developers, like a tabbed interface, line numbering, word wrapping, text coloring and more. It's won a number of awards. Operating System: Windows.
18) Notepad++ Like the regular version of Notepad++, this portable version features a tabbed interface, syntax highlighting, auto-completion, macros, and more. Supported programming languages include C, C++, HTML, ASP, Java, Pascal and CSS. Operating System: Windows.

File Manager

19) TuxCommander This Linux-only file manager requires no installation, so it's completely portable. It offers a tabbed, two-panel graphic interface and support for files larger than 4GB. Operating System: Linux.

Games

20) Big Solitaires 3D Portable This collection includes 40 different popular solitaire card games, including Forty Thieves, FreeCell, Golf, Klondike, Russian, Scarab, Spider, Yukon and others. Choose one of the built-in deck images or load one of your own. Operating System: Windows.
21) PokerTH Portable This classic Texas Hold 'Em style poker game lets you play against up to ten networked or computer-generated players. It offers an attractive and highly customizable interface. Operating System: Windows.
22) Battle for Wesnoth Portable This popular open source turn-based fantasy strategy game offers a range of different sagas to play or you can create one of your own. Both single- and multiple-player options are available. Operating System: Windows.
23) T^3 Portable Play Tetris in 3D! It's simple, familiar and fun. Operating System: Windows.
24) WinBoard Portable Play the standard chess game you know or one of the variants like xiangqi (Chinese chess), shogi (Japanese chess), Makruk, Losers Chess, Crazyhouse, Chess960 and Capabanca Chess. You can play on your own or connect to other players on the Internet. Operating System: Windows.
25) Get Sudoku Portable Stumped by a Sudoku puzzle? Enter the values you know into this app and it will help you keep track of the possible answers for all of the other boxes. Operating System: Windows.

Graphics

26) Gimp Portable Similar to Photoshop, Gimp offers professional-quality photo editing tools. You can use it as a painting program, to re-touch photos and more. Operating System: Windows.
27) Inkscape Portable Inkscape offers professional-quality vector graphics editing, similar to CorelDraw or Illustrator. The features are advanced, but the interface is still relatively easy to use. Operating System: Windows.

Instant Messaging

28) Miranda This lightweight IM client fits easily on a USB drive (or even on an old-school floppy disk). It supports AIM, Facebook, Gadu-Gadu, IAX, ICQ, IRC, Jabber, MSN, Yahoo, and other networks. Operating System: Windows.v

Note Taking

29) The Guide This tool lets you organize your notes in a hierarchical, tree-based format. It's similar to a mind mapper, but not as complex. Operating System: Windows.

Office Productivity

30) LibreOffice Portable This fork of the OpenOffice.org suite allows you to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, drawings and more that are compatible with Microsoft Word and other office productivity software. Note that this is a larger portable application – 382-582MB. Operating System: Windows.
31) AbiWord Portable If you only need a word processor, AbiWord gives you a more lightweight alternative to a full office productivity suite. It's just 15 MB installed, and it supports Word, WordPerfect and OpenOffice.org file formats. Operating System: Windows.
32) X-OOo4Kids OpenOffice.org for Kids offers a simplified version of OpenOffice.org designed to be used by those aged 7-12. The advantage of this version, even if you're not a kid, is that it loads and runs very quickly and requires very little space on your portable drive. Operating System: Windows.

Operating System

33) Damn Small Linux Just 50MB, Damn Small Linux (DSL) was designed to boot from a USB drive or a business card CD. It's based in part on Debian code and includes applications like Firefox, XMMS, Ted, XPDF and a surprising number of others. Operating System: Linux.

PDF Reader

34) Sumatra PDF This lightweight PDF reader requires just one file, so it's easy to run from a USB drive. It's very fast, thanks in part to a minimalist design with only the most necessary features. Operating System: Windows.

Personal Finance Manager

35) YAPBAM Short for "Yet Another Bank Account Manager," YAPBAM is a simple financial management program that can run from a USB drive. Key features include import and export capabilities, budgeting, alerts and more. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.

Screenwriting

36) Portable Celtx Celtx makes it easier to format text so that it meets the standards for screenwriting submissions. This version runs from thumb drives and other portable devices. Operating System: Windows.

Security

37) TrueCrypt Downloaded more than 14 million times, TrueCrypt can protect your entire hard drive or thumb drive. Check the documentation area of the website for information on how to use portable mode. Operating System: Windows.
38) Portable PGP This Java-based encryption tool lets you encrypt, decrypt, sign and verify text and files. It's easy to use and very lightweight. Operating System: Windows, Linux.
39) Portable KeePass KeePass stores all of your passwords in an encrypted database so that you only have to remember one master password. The portable version lets you take your passwords with you wherever you go. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.
40) ClamWin Portable Take your anti-virus protection with you, with ClamWin Portable. Note that this app doesn't provide real-time scanning or a scheduled system scan capability – you'll need to select files to be scanned manually. Operating System: Windows.

Server Software

41) EasyPHP If you're a PHP developer, you can use EasyPHP to set up a WAMP (Windows, Apache, MySQL and PHP) server on a thumb drive. It also includes de-bugging and development tools like PhpMyAdmin and Xdebug. Operating System: Windows.
42) Z-WAMP Another option for creating a portable WAMP stack, Z-WAMP aims to be lightweight and easy to install. Additional applications included in the package include Adminer, MongoDB Admin, MemCached, SQLite, eAccelerator, and Alternative PHP Cache (APC). Operating System: Windows.

Sticky Notes

43) PNotes Bring your virtual sticky notes with you with PNotes. This app requires no installation and includes features like spoken notes, scheduling, password protection and encryption. Operating System: Windows.

Time Tracking

44) Rachota Just 609 KB, this portable time tracking app offers an intuitive interface and plenty of reporting features. It's Java-based, so it will work on just about any system. Operating System: OS Independent.

To Do List

45) Task Coach This portable scheduling tool gives you the ability to break large tasks into smaller sub-tasks and mark them off when completed. It's also compatible with Outlook and Thunderbird—allowing you to drag and drop tasks from one app to the other. Operating System: Windows, Linux, OS X.

Utilities

46) BleachBit Portable Take this app with you to protect your privacy when using someone else's PC. It cleans up your cache, temporary files, cookies and Internet history, and it includes a shredder to eliminate all traces of erased files. Operating System: Windows.
47) Portable Keyboard Layout If you learned a different keyboard layout or want to try an alternative to the QWERTY keyboard to prevent carpal tunnel and repetitive motion injury, this app is for you. Just plug it into your system and it will transform your keyboard into the one you've set up on your thumb drive. Operating System: Windows.
48) Folder Menu This handy tool makes it easier to jump to your favorite files and folders. It works with Windows Explorer, open/save dialog boxes, or the command prompt. Operating System: Windows.
49) Appetizer Appetizer is a dock-style application launcher for Windows (2000, XP or Vista). It supports the PortableApps.com file format, so it will automatically detect any other portable apps you have on your thumb drive and include them on the dock. Operating System: Windows.

Vulnerability Assessment

50) BackTrack Linux The "most widely adopted penetration testing framework in existence," BackTrack includes a complete Linux distribution with an up-to-date set of tools for penetration testing. Easy instructions for downloading it to a USB drive are included on the site. Operating System: Linux. Source: http://itmanagement.earthweb.com

Firefox Speed Tweaks

1) Tweak the page render time from 250ms to 0ms.
This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it displays the web page. Mozilla applications render web pages incrementally - they display what's been received of a page before the entire page has been downloaded. Since the "start" of a web page normally doesn't have much useful information to display, Mozilla applications will wait a short interval (default: 250ms) before first rendering a page. But with fast broadband connections you can set this to '0' and get a nice speed boost!

How:
Open the Firefox “config” page: click into the Firefox address location bar, and type about:config, and press Enter. The Config file will appear in the Firefox browser.
Right-click, New, integer. Type 'nglayout.initialpaint.delay' and set to '0'.

2) Turn on http pipelining, a technique in which multiple HTTP requests are written out to a single socket without waiting for the corresponding responses. This results in a dramatic improvement in page load times. Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time, but when you enable pipelining it will make several at once. How:
In the about:config page, filter on this text 'pipel', which will display this:

Set your settings as follows:
network.http.pipelining: true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests: 8 (screenshot shows '100' but it maxes out at 8)
network.http.proxy.pipelining: true

3) Increase RAM cache setting value for 'browser.cache.memory.capacity'
When images are loaded, they can be cached so they don't need to be decoded or uncompressed to be redisplayed. This reduces the amount of network activity to reload previously viewed messages. This preference controls the maximum amount of memory to use for caching decoded images, messages, and chrome items (application user interface elements). By default it is set to '-1' to automatically decide the maximum memory to use to cache decoded images, messages, and chrome based on the total amount of RAM. Here's the default values depending on your RAM:

Physical RAM	Memory Cache (in KB)
32 MB	2048
64 MB	4096
128 MB	6144
256 MB	10240
512 MB	14336
1 GB	18432
2 GB	24576
4 GB	30720
8 GB and up	32768

The default values are a bit on the low-side. For instance, I have 16GB on my PC, so I can easily bump the automatic 32676 setting to double or even triple that. If you set this to a high fixed value you will see noticeably improved back/forward button performance while going many steps back/forward within Firefox.

How:
In the about:config page, you can search for 'browser.cache.memory.capacity'. If it's not there, just add it with the type 'Integer' and set the Integer value to a high value. I set mine to 131072.

4) This tweak is debatable. I've read changing content.notify.backoffcount can improve performance. What does this parameter do? According to Mozilla, "Rather than wait until a page has completely downloaded to display it to the user, Mozilla applications will periodically render what has been received to that point. Because reflowing the page every time additional data is received greatly slows down total page load time, a timer was added so that the page would not reflow too often. This preference controls the maximum number of times the content will do timer-based reflows. After this number has been reached, the page will only reflow once it is finished downloading."

So, if a page reflows too often, it can slow down your browser. This was probably more true when on pokey dial-up connections where some of the images would load but not finish and depending on the size of the image, it could reflow the text incorrectly until another image loaded or the css stylesheet finished loading, etc. Nevertheless, if you want to try this tweak, I read setting it to '5' works well. So Firefox will reflow 5 times, and then on the 6th time, it will just wait for the page to completely load instead of reflowing the entire page again. But if you want to give it a go:

How:
In about:config, set content.notify.backoffcount = 5

5) Enable Windows to swap memory Firefox is using from RAM onto the hard disk. Benefits: Frees up RAM Firefox is using, so that Firefox is only using about 10MB when minimized. As a side benefit, this seems to help with the "memory leak" that Firefox is known for. Somehow when you minimize Firefox, and then restore it, Firefox does NOT use as much RAM as it did previously. So no need to restart Firefox periodically! Drawback: It can cause a delay when the program is restored since it has to read from your hard disk instead of RAM.

How:Set config.trim_on_minimize to 'true' (If this doesn't exist in about:config, add it as a Boolean value). Make sure Network.prefetch-next = 'true'. Source: http://blog.tmcnet.com

Romanian Police Ranks

Rank	Shoulder insignia	Translated as	Military rank equivalent	French police rank equivalent	British Metropolitan Police rank equivalent
Chestor-general de poliţie		Police Quaestor-General	General	Directeur des services actifs	Commissioner
Chestor-şef de poliţie		Police Chief-Quaestor	Lieutenant General	Inspecteur général	Assistant Commissioner
Chestor principal de poliţie		Police Principal Quaestor	Major General	Contrôleur général	Deputy Assistant Commissioner
Chestor de poliţie		Police Quaestor	Brigadier General	Contrôleur général	Commander
Comisar-şef de poliţie		Police Chief-Commissioner	Colonel	Commissaire divisionnaire	Chief Superintendent
Comisar de poliţie		Police Commissioner	Lieutenant Colonel	Commissaire de police	Superintendent Grade I
Subcomisar de poliţie		Police Sub-Commissioner	Major	Commandant	Superintendent
Inspector principal de poliţie		Police Principal Inspector	Captain	Capitaine	Chief Inspector
Inspector de poliţie		Police Inspector	Lieutenant	Lieutenant	Inspector
Subinspector de poliţie		Police Sub-Inspector	Second Lieutenant	Lieutenant intern	Temporary/Probationary Inspector

• 
  

Rank	Shoulder insignia	Translated as	Military rank equivalent	French police rank equivalent	British police rank equivalent
Agent-şef principal de poliţie		Police Principal Chief Agent	Sergeant Major	Brigadier-major	Station Sergeant
Agent-şef de poliţie		Police Chief Agent	Staff Sergeant	Brigadier-chef	Station Sergeant
Agent-şef adjunct de poliţie		Police Deputy Chief Agent	Sergeant	Brigadier	Sergeant
Agent principal de poliţie		Police Principal Agent	Corporal	Gardien de la paix	Acting Sergeant
Agent de poliţie		Police Agent	Private	Gardien de la paix stagiare	Constable

MemoQ Webinar Online 22.04.2010

Localization Information

Software Localization
Catalyst Software localization tool. Product description and CATALYST Translator/Lite download (previously known as QuickShip).
Language Studio Software localization tool. C++ and VB source files. Available in 3 versions (Standard, Pro and Enterprise)
Microsoft LocStudio Unfortunately not available to the public but probably the most powerful of them all.
Multilizer Software localization tool; different file formats supported; TMX memories from other translation tools can be imported and used; 30-day evaluation version (fully functional) available.
SDL Insight Software localization tool from SDL International. See also section Tools (Translation Memory and other)
PASSOLO Software localization tool. Demo version available. Interface to Trados and Star. Optional add-ins: .NET, Delphi, Java, XML (incl. XLIFF). Customization using automation and scripting possible.
RC-WinTrans Software localization tool. Limited demo version available. Supported fily types include .exe, .dll, .ocx, .ini. properties, shl.
Visual Localize Software localization tool. C++ and VB applications, XML and databases.
Lingobit Localizer Software localization tool from Lingobit Technologies.
Sisulizer Software localization tool.

(Translation Memory
Dejá Vù CAT (Computer Aided Translation)
SDLX CAT tool. Now part of SDLTrados 2006 which bundles Trados and SDLX.
across CAT tool by Ahead Software AG
Transit (Transit XV) CAT tool by Star
Wordfisher Cheap CAT tool that does almost everything for you if you only work in Word files. Targeted mainly at the freelance translator. Simulates Trados.
Trados CAT tool. Now part of SDLTrados 2006 which bundles Trados and SDLX.
Heartsome XLIFF Translation Editor CAT tool. Also available as Translation Suite with some other tools, e.g. TMX Editor and Dictionary Editor.
Wordfast CAT tool. Wordfast is a Translation Memory engine available for Microsoft Word on PC and Mac.

Machine Translation
Systran This is also the engine that is behind Babelfish at AltaVista.
Transcend Machine Translation Engine from SDL International (engine behind freetranslation.com). Enterprise translation server also available. As all MT engines, this is only useful if it's highly customized and the source language is controlled.
Personal Translator Machine translation software by Linguatec. Personal and corporate highly customizable versions available.
Reverso MT software by Softissimo
Comprendium MT technology developed by Sail Labs; formerly T1 (Langenscheidt); historically this is the result of the development of METAL

Avral Tramigo Flash localization solution for Macromedia® Flash™ professionals and translators.
Click here for more information.
ApSIC Comparator ApSIC Comparator is a freeware tool that allows you to create side-by-side reports with all the changes made to a translation by a reviewer. Trados bilingual "uncleaned" files (.doc and .rtf), Trados TagEditor files (.ttx), and SDLX files (.itd) are supported.
HelpQA, HTMLQA, ToolProof QA tools for RTF help, HTML help and localized software resources. Not sure where they are on SDL's current website. The links above are old and do not seem to be supported any longer.
UniTerm Terminology Management System by Acolada (former EPP and Alpnet Technology)
Java Internationalization and Localization Toolkit 2.0 The JavaTM Internationalization and Localization ToolKit (Java I18n/L10n ToolKit) is no longer supported by Sun but still available for download from the archive area at Sun.
Lingoport's Globalyzer LingoPort’s Globalyzer provides an ideal solution for developers and QA engineers who must internationalize new and existing software applications. Globalyzer scans code to locate and report potential internationalization issues.
Globalization Image Assistant This is a tool designed for localizers, translators, project managers and other language professionals. It facilitates rapid analysis, classification, reporting and QA of images that are part of a localization or globalization project.
Restorator Customization, localization, and translation tool for Windows resources of applications and application components.
Translation tools by AIT AIT (Advanced International Translations) produces several tools for the translation industry: Translation Office 3000 (Accounting tool), AnyCount (Counting tool), Projetex (project management software) and CATCount
MadCap Flare Leading help authoring tool by MadCap Software.
ECM Engineering Filter tools by ECM Engineering, e.g. for Visio, Illustrator, etc.
Heartsome freeware Some freeware tools from Heartsome, e.g. RTF Styler, CSV Converter (creation of TMX files from CSV files) or TBX Converter.

Dictionaries
Ectaco Electronic Dictionaries Large selection of electronic and handheld dictionaries, dictionaries for pocket PCs, etc.
Computer Currents High-Tech Dictionary Computer dictionary in English, contains explanation of HTML-tags or domain suffixes, file types, Y2K terms, chat stuff & emoticons;
Dictionary.com User friendly dictionary/thesaurus that also knows answers to non-technical stuff.
IATE InterActive Terminology for Europe. The EU inter-institutional terminology database system. Combines the following legacy databases: Eurodicautom (Commission), TIS (Council), Euterpe (EP), Euroterms (Translation Centre), CDCTERM (Court of Auditors).
FOLDOC Another computer dictionary (free on-line dictionary of computing)
OneLook Dictionary Search Search dictionary web sites for words and phrases. Meta Dictionary Search Engine.
TechEncyclopedia For free. Detailed tech articles.
Roche Medical Dictionary An indispensable resource if you translate medical texts from German into English
YourDictionary.com Numerous links to dictionaries and other linguistic stuff. Maybe one of the best link collections up-to-date.
Woerterbuch.info Seems to be an extensive and easy-to-use dictionary and thesaurus for en > de and de > en. Just type in your word and click "Suchen". You can also install a toolbar directly into your browser.

Glossaries
Acronym and Abbreviation Server Search for acronyms and abbreviations (meaning, context)
Commando Glossary on internet and data transmission
Interest Verlag Glossary on telecommunication not available for free any more.
Microsoft terminology The Microsoft glossaries have been replaced by one concise file that now includes approx. 9000 English terms and translations in up to 45 languages. Not every term has been translated into all languages. It's still for free and a must for any IT translator.
SUN glossaries Sun glossary tool 2.0. Register for free and get access to many glossaries from Sun. A MUST for any software translator.
Netlingo Glossary of internet terms (in English)
Netzwerkers Lexikon Data transmission and telecommunication terms
Novell Glossaries by Novell: Translation Style Guides, Netware Translations, Groupware Translations, LAN Glossary, etc. downloads in several languages available;
Whatis.com Technology glossary with good search facility
Online glossary by IDS Scheer Online glossary in German from IDS Scheer AG - an excellent resource for definitions on E-Business, Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Customer Relationship Management
(CRM)
IBM terminology (glossaries) Most of the IBM glossaries collected in one location.
elektroniknet Electronics glossary in German
InvestorWords.com Financial glossary

Terminology / Linguistics
International Standard Date and Time Notation (summary by Markus Kuhn) Very helpful for web designers and software engineers who deal with the internationalization of web sites and software. (ISO 8601)
JavaTM Look and Feel Design Guidelines, 2nd edition Style Guide for creating cross-platform Java applications and Java applets. You may order the full printed edition here.
Ethnologue Contains information on probably all languages of the world;
Animal Sounds Translation of animal sounds
Anglicisms and translation traps Translation mistakes and false friends (e.g. genie)
Institut für deutsche Sprache Incl. a page on the Rechtschreibreform and Microsoft contributions to the Neologismenwörterbuch, – a lot on linguistics
Deutsches Institut für Terminologie Terminology infos, very good bibliography
LETRAC Language Engineering for Translators Curricula (a lot of theory)
TERMITE Extensive database that contains terms on 'international telecommunication', Search in English, French, Spanish or Russian.
Terminology Forum Good link collection on terminology topics (general, many languages)
Merriam Webster Language Center (dictionary/thesaurus, etc.)
Terminology Information System (TIS) Terminology database of the European Union (incl. search function)

Literature/Articles
A Practical Guide to Localization Update of the classic by Bert Esselink. Second fully updated and revised edition available. Updates available here.
Mac localization and internationalization Information on the Apple website: this encompasses a collection of Mac OS X technologies and resources developers can use to internationalize or localize their applications.
Sapient - Translation is not enough. Considerations for global Internet development. Report from Sapient on an approach for global Internet development
Software Testing and Internationalization Free copy for download from the LISA website. Book by Manfred Rätzmann and Clinton De Young. Published by Lemoine International
Multilingual Web site to the print edition (by Language Technology Research Center)
Translation Agencies TRANFREE, free E-Zine with lots of interesting stuff on translation.
The Guide to Translation and Localization (Lingo Systems) You must register to get your free copy of this localization guide (...easy-to-read summary of translation and localization processes).
Microsoft (The Localization Process...) The Localization Process: Globalizing Your Code and Localizing Your Site. Very interesting article from the guys that really know how to handle localization. Microsoft TechNet – what more can you say?
Microsoft on internationalization and globalization of an application Globalization Step-by-Step. Overview (for project managers) as well as details that are interesting for developers and engineers.
Microsoft - Localization (Design Specifications and Guidelines) This article section summarizes some of the key design considerations regarding the localization of software.
Lionbridge Knowledge Center The Knowledge Center features articles and white papers on localization and translation topics.
Flash Localization Check put the producers' website (Macromedia) for their instructions on best practices for Flash localization.
The Tool Kit A computer newsletter for translators.

General Info
Open Internationalization Resources Directory I18ngurus.com. Link search engine only on internationalization/localization, etc.
Localisation Research Centre Infos, workshops, meetings, and a free quarterly newsletter (Localisation Focus)
Silicon Valley Localization Forum ...all about loc...a lot of extensive articles, also interesting for developers
iLove Languages Formerly "The Human Languages" page. General info and links on languages and linguistics.
AArdon Germanleads Extensive link collection of translation resources.

Translation/Forums
Aquarius-number one in translation Database for translators; job offers, a lot of forums and contacts to colleagues and clients
ProZ Well structured database; job offers, contacts and help on translation questions
transref.org includes translator database, knowledge base, news on industry events... worth to check this out
Institute of Translation and Interpretation Association of practicing translators and interpreters in the UK. (UK equivalent of ATA in the US or BDÜ in Germany)
International Federation of Translators Meetings, conferences, information for freelancers (law/contracts)
SFT - Société francaise des traducteurs French translator and interpreter database
Bundesverband der Dolmetscher und Übersetzer BDÜ German Interest group of translators and interpreters, extensive database with an exact search function
ATA - American Translators Association American translators' organisation, links to other American translation organisations; ATA-journal Chronicle online available; job offers
Associazione Italiana Traduttori e Interpreti Italian translators' association - Italian equivalent of ATA or BDÜ
Associação Portuguesa de Tradutores Portuguese translators' association - Portuguese equivalent of ATA or BDÜ
Swedish Association of Professional Translators (SFÖ) Swedish translators' association - Swedish equivalent of ATA or BDÜ
Tekom Gesellschaft für technische Kommunikation
TranslationDirectory Portal for freelancers: translation jobs, work from home, language projects, database of translation agencies, translation resources, etc.

Organizations/Educational Resources
Lisa The Localisation Industry Standards Association
ELECT Online Localisation/internationalisation portal. A portal that catalogues links to localisation information, companies, publications and projects. Also contains the latest news and events, and a vast professional directory listing hundreds of localisation companies.
GALA Globalization and Localization Organization. Rather new (founded in April 2002) international industry association.
Localization World Conference Annual event for the localization community.
Localization Institute Seminars and training for localization professionals. Probably the best in training/education that is currently available.
I18N inc. Internationalization workshops and training available. The people behind I18N inc. also teach internationalization at the University of Montreal and hold various workshops at LISA conferences, etc.
University of Limerick Graduate Diploma in Software Localisation after a one year course.
California State University, Chico Localization Program that leads to a "Certification in Localization".

AHK script to add words to a dictionary text file

Sometimes it may come handy to add words to a dictionary, in this case a tab-delimited file, without opening the file and writing the term and the definition. This script works by selecting the term, pressing the Windows+W key, adding the definition at the end of the input box and pressing enter or confirming with the mouse. The script adds the word pair to a file called "dict.txt" and saves and closes the dictionary file. The dictionary file must be in ANSI format.

#w::  ; Win+H hotkey
; Get the text currently selected. The clipboard is used instead of
; "ControlGet Selected" because it works in a greater variety of editors
; (namely word processors).  Save the current clipboard contents to be
; restored later. Although this handles only plain text, it seems better
; than nothing:
AutoTrim Off  ; Retain any leading and trailing whitespace on the clipboard.
ClipboardOld = %ClipboardAll%
Clipboard =  ; Must start off blank for detection to work.
Send ^c
ClipWait 1
if ErrorLevel  ; ClipWait timed out.
    return
; Replace CRLF and/or LF with `n for use in a "send-raw" hotstring:
; The same is done for any other characters that might otherwise be a problem in raw mode:
StringReplace, Hotstring, Clipboard, ``, ````, All  ; Do this replacement first to avoid interfering with the others below.
StringReplace, Hotstring, Hotstring, `r`n, ``r, All  ; Using `r works better than `n in MS Word, etc.
StringReplace, Hotstring, Hotstring, `n, ``r, All
StringReplace, Hotstring, Hotstring, %A_Tab%, ``t, All
StringReplace, Hotstring, Hotstring, `;, ```;, All
Clipboard = %ClipboardOld%  ; Restore previous contents of clipboard.
; This will move the InputBox's caret to a more friendly position:
SetTimer, MoveCaret, 10
; Show the InputBox, providing the default hotstring:
InputBox, Hotstring, New Definition, Type your definitin at the indicated insertion point.,,,,,,,, %Hotstring%`t
if ErrorLevel  ; The user pressed Cancel.
    return
IfInString, Hotstring, :R`:::
{
    MsgBox You didn't provide an abbreviation. The hotstring has not been added.
    return
}
; Otherwise, add the hotstring and reload the script:
FileAppend, `n%Hotstring%, dict.txt  ; Put a `n at the beginning in case file lacks a blank line at its end.
Reload
Sleep 200 ; If successful, the reload will close this instance during the Sleep, so the line below will never be reached.
MsgBox, 4,, The hotstring just added appears to be improperly formatted.  Would you like to open the script for editing? Note that the bad hotstring is at the bottom of the  script.
IfMsgBox, Yes, Edit
return

MoveCaret:
IfWinNotActive, New Hotstring
Send {End}
return
; Otherwise, move the InputBox's insertion point to where the user will type the abbreviation.
Send {Home}{Right 3}
SetTimer, MoveCaret, Off
return

Read the content from RAM (Random Access Memory)

On Linux, it is possible to access and analyze RAM contents.
In Linux, everything is a file so the path to the RAM file is /dev/mem. To dump its contents, you can use the following command as root only:

hexdump -c /dev/mem

and you should see something like ...

00fea90   s   t   a   r   t   e   d   ,       b   u   t       t   i   m
00feaa0   e       m   a   y       b   e       i   n   a   c   c   u   r
00feab0   a   t   e   .  \r  \n  \0   A   t   t   e   m   p   t   i   n

Traduceri şi traducători…

De multe ori avem nevoie de traducerea unor texte dintr-o limbă străină, în general dintr-o limbă de circulaţie internaţională, în speţă din limba engleză. Repede, bine şi ieftin. Şi dacă se poate, bineînţeles ieri…

Acest deziderat este des întâlnit în colaborarea cu majoritatea firmelor, care nu planifică de multe ori nici în buget, nici în schema de alocare a timpului eventualele cheltuieli şi întârzieri datorate traducerii unei documentaţii. Deşi multe companii se bazează pe cunoştinţele propriilor angajaţi, aceste cunoștințe de limbi străine sunt uneori limitate sau insuficiente, sau nu acoperă un spectru mai larg de domenii. În această situaţie intervine necesitatea externalizării acestor servicii. În acest moment, soluţia cea mai la îndemână este apelarea la serviciile unui birou de traduceri, care trebuie să rezolve rapid şi eficient problema cauzată deseori de lipsa unei coordonări suficiente la nivelului companiei, după mottoul: lasă pe mâine că poate nu mai trebuie, pentru ca "mâine" să ne dăm seama de fapt că documentaţia trebuia tradusă deja de ieri. Şi atunci intervine replica de acum celebră: "Când aveţi nevoie de documente?" - "Ieri". Bineînţeles că există pretenţia ca această activitate să se desfăşoare la acelaşi nivel de calitate indiferent de timpul alocat, fără a lua în calcul faptul că o activitate intelectuală nu este multiplicabilă strict matematic ca la producţia în serie.

Dacă generaţiile de după 1989 au avut şansa de a studia în şcoală, în timpul studiilor universitare sau ulterior în cadrul unor cursuri de limbi străine anumite limbi de circulaţie internaţională, nu întotdeauna acelaşi lucru se poate spune despre persoanele mai în vârstă, care au fost instruite în special în limba rusă, care, după căderea comunismului, şi-a pierdut din relevanţă, fiind înlocuită aproape invariabil de limbile engleză, franceză şi germană, iar în ultimul timp, limba italiană şi spaniolă căpătând accente noi, rezultate mai ales din numărul mare de persoane plecate la muncă în străinătate.