Simplicity can save you both time and money, especially when it comes to a software localization project. Looking for a few simple ways to keep the process streamlined and efficient? Think concatenation will solve all your problems or that you have enough room in your current design for translated text? Read on to see what simple steps can save your next project’s budget.
September signals the end of Summer and the start of classes, and for companies who follow Agile software development methodologies, this post welcomes you back to school, too. It’s time to become a student of localizing for global releases in an Agile development cycle.
So if you’ll pardon our extended metaphor, sprint your way onto Acclaro’s big yellow school bus and we’ll teach you seven simple lessons to help you ace your first big test when it comes to localizing releases within an Agile development environment.
After all, no one wants to be held back a grade while their competitors graduate to a wider global customer base.
If the idea of launching your software in multiple languages sounds mind-bogglingly complex, you’re right, it is. But like any project which seems daunting at the outset, a little mental metaphor for the steps involved can help package those complexities into something more manageable, and give you the clarity and motivation to get started.
In that spirit, this post dissects the software localization process to that most humble of domestic improvement projects: repainting a room. True, you won’t find yourself translating strings and cleaning code while you’re taping off the molding in your study, but three major steps in a painting project can help shed light on the major moves in a software localization launch.
So put on your overalls and let’s get ready to refresh your software with in a brand new (international!) color.
The goals of software localization are pretty clear cut: If you really want to capture the minds of consumers in new international markets, you must speak the language. For over a decade, Acclaro has done exactly that, helping brands large and small localize their software for markets across the globe.
But what’s really under the hood of a smooth-running software localization machine? Quite a bit! To make sure it all works together in perfect synchronicity, we bring an array of tools and talent to each project.
Curious about the nuts and bolts of software localization? Read on, and let our localization mechanics give you the executive tour.
The only thing that evolves as fast as the technology we use every day is the jargon used to describe it. The phrases “cloud computing” and “in the cloud” are employed on a daily basis by CEOs, CIOs, project managers, and advertising execs to describe a variety of technology and productivity situations in our network-obsessed culture. Like many others, you may have a general sense what “the cloud” is, but what, exactly, do these phrases really describe? And how does the cloud operate for international businesses?
Even if you haven’t invested in a cloud computing solution for your own business, global or otherwise, you’re probably already accustomed to cloud-based services. Whether synchronizing your eBook reading or streaming your music collection through Spotify or Rdio, you’re already relying on the tenets of cloud computing. In this post we’ll define that nebulous nimbus phrase, take a look at some of the pros and cons of building a business dependent upon it, and shed a little light on cloud computing in other countries.
Localized software, like its English counterpart, benefits from pre-launch testing to ensure a smooth release. You may need to look beyond your English testing scope, however, as different languages present their own testing challenges, and there may be code-level variables that need to be adjusted for specific global markets. In today's post, we will cover the most common types of testing we offer and why they're important.
Left to right, right to left — what difference does it make? When it comes to translating bidirectional languages, it can be a pretty big one. And if you want to expand your software business into the Middle East, Malaysia or Indonesia, it helps to understand the differences. Unlike English, bidirectional (or BiDi) languages like Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu and Farsi read from right to left instead of left to right. Although it might seem easy enough to just switch directions for your Arabic or Hebrew translation, bidirectional languages can present some technical challenges. Here are some things to think about before you get started on a bidirectional translation project.
Are you launching your next global app for Android? Android currently holds the lion’s share of global markets, with a whopping 59% of global operating system share and a healthy lead in device share. (Google revealed earlier this year that there are currently one million Android device activations and fifteen billion Google Play app downloads per day!)
One of the well-known downsides to Android is how fragmented its market is, being that it’s multi-carrier, multi-OS, multi-device, multi-screen resolution, etc. However, you can alleviate some of these challenges with a little preparation.
As you begin to craft a localization strategy for going global with your application, let’s take a look at four Android-specific tips that can help you plot your course.
If you're considering creating a mobile app but aren't sure if a global audience will respond, let us reassure you: they will. Mobile apps are hot, and especially so outside the US. In fact, a majority of the fastest-growing mobile markets are found beyond American soil, and mobile app localization has moved from nice-to-have to an absolute must.
However, localization of mobile apps requires some unique considerations, such as the screen size and how much "real estate" it will afford, how much your content will expand or contract in translation, fonts, styles, images, and the various operating systems on which your app will be displayed.
But fear not. Read on for our tips on how to tackle mobile app localization with confidence.
Our resident globalization architect and localization geek, Jon Ritzdorf (see his Geek2Geek webpage) answers your localization and translation questions. Read on for the most recent Q&A about externalizing strings using a grep tool or Lingoport's Globalyzer, and what Jon has to say about internationalization.
In celebration of Acclaro's tenth anniversary, we are taking a look back at how our industry has changed over the past decade. In this post, we cover a topic that is near and dear to anyone involved in the localization industry: websites. The last ten years saw some pretty phenomenal changes in the development of global websites, perhaps more so than any other medium we work with. Curious to know more? Acclaro's own Localization Geek, Jon Ritzdorf, explains.
Back in March, the Acclaro blog celebrated its two year anniversary and now it’s time to revisit a blog post published, yes, two years ago, on International Organization for Standardization (known as ISO) and language codes. We’ll delve a bit deeper now and look at the codes and the “flavors” of a language.
In this cost-savings blog series, we offer tips from our in-house localization experts on how to shave dollars off of your translation budget. Software localization can be especially unruly when it comes to managing costs. This post reviews four ways to set yourself up for serious savings and keep your software localization project on track with your finances.
Around the world, the growing field of mobile health, known as mHealth, is using simple wireless devices to keep people healthy and help doctors and public health workers work effectively with patients near and far. Wireless health can also help spread accurate information about public health crises like a tuberculosis outbreak almost as quickly as the spread of the disease itself.
In the developed world, people use mobile health apps for everything from quitting smoking to monitoring calorie intake. But mHealth is particularly effective in the developing world, where mobile devices are much more common than computers or TVs. While most trends in global health start with governments, mobile health is being driven primarily by the private sector. This new industry of health-related mobile apps presents challenges and opportunities for developers and users alike.
2012 marks Acclaro’s 10th anniversary and we’re taking a look back at how the translation industry has changed over the past decade. This month, we’re all about software. Mobile devices, in particular, have changed the way software is developed and presented, and our localization and testing procedures change too, as more and more companies offer software to global users. Read on to find out more about the changes we’ve seen and how we’ve adapted.
Unless you work at the UN, real-time translation isn’t always easy to find. Mobile translation apps make it easy to take a translator with you wherever you go. Unlike language apps that teach you a foreign language, translator apps can help you have a face-to-face conversation in an unfamiliar tongue, decipher street signs, and decode foreign phrases without having to acquire an entirely new vocabulary.
When is a software localization project truly done? Is “satisfactory” in the eyes of your user truly enough to protect and promote your business globally? A savvy translation partner will make sure you’re covered in all aspects of going global with your software, not only with the basics of localization, but also with the devilish details described in today's post.
Complete software localization means taking the time to go beyond code prep, translation, editing, cultural analysis and mission-critical testing. In this post we’ll look at six often neglected aspects of software localization and explain why leaving these areas out of your localization project could be a costly mistake.
So you need to get your English website translated into German, Japanese, Spanish and Korean. Your globalization team comes back with a document that says:
en into de, jp, ko, es
What new language is that? Well, it’s not really a language, but rather internationally accepted abbreviations for world languages. “En” represents English, while “de” represents German and so on. And now to your next question: How did they get “de” from the word “German”? The word in German for the German language is Deutsch — hence the “de” abbreviation.
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