Jan 20 2009
Google Translate In Action
Google Translate is a prime example of things that are happening in the Internet that no one could have imagined in the design of the world wide website. I thought it was time that I investigated the story that I had heard somewhere, I don’t remember where, that the world wide web was the brain child of the U. S. military.
Like all stories that are told from one person to another, and then another, and then another, they end up being different than the original.
My first step in researching something is that I look it up in Wikipedia. The most amazing thing about this reference library is that the majority of its contents are written by contributors. It’s funded by donations, so when I make enough money from writing stories, I will make donations. (Writing’s not the best way to make a living, but it’s true reward isn’t monetary)
The short version is, according to Wiki, is that it was the brain child of a single individual, English scientist Tim Berners-Lee, and the military connection has to to with funding from an arm of the U. S. military—DARPA. The stuff is waaaay to dry for me.
And to double check, I use About.com, as well. It wasn’t as dry and it supported the story that the web did have it’s roots in the U.S. military. (see TBL) It was first called ARPAnet until the hackers got hold of it and used the military computers for free.
Lesson learned. You can’t always believe what you read on the Internet and if they really want to get into your computer they can. Just don’t leave the valuable stuff out in the open to tempt them. That’s what passwords and encryption are for.
But back to Google Translate. In our little Internet community called BozosBrigade, I just recruited a new member who speaks Slovak and she accepted me as a friend. So I sent the usual welcome file and links that I now do for all new team members.
But I decided to try something because she might not speak English. I don’t speak a word of Slovak. So I get out Google Translate, set it to Slovak to English, and typed the following.
Do you speak English? I do not speak Slovak but I can use a translation program that will let me try.Please have fun playing the games.The translation comes back with:
Hovoríte po anglicky? Nehovorím Slovenský ale môžem použiť prekladu programu, ktorý bude nech ma to skúsiť.Prosím, bavte sa hrajú hry.Is it doing it correctly? You got me and I suspect it isn’t quite perfect. It’s a first attempt at something, and a good idea. If you happen to speak Slovak, please feel free to use the comments box and let us know how good or bad the translation turned out to be.
For all I know, the translation could be asking her about the price of eggs in the local grocery store. When she’s ready, she’ll let me know.
I’m no Tim Berners-Lee, but I’m trying something in the Internet to see if we can make the world a better place. You can play, too.
The content of the note is the Slovak translation and the title in the Facebook note is simply one word.
Hello
It all starts somewhere. It’s a lot harder to fight with friends than it is with people you don’t know.
