Tag: languages

Windows 7 RTM in Over 35 Languages

November 10, 2009 by Jason

There are more ways than one in which end users can translate Windows 7 into different languages. For some users, Windows 7’s Multilingual User Interface (MUI), including Windows Language Packs and Language Interface Packs (LIPs), is the most known way to translate the operating system. Deploying an MUI or an LIP will actually have Windows 7’s graphical user interface display all information in another language than the one that is default to the installation. But there are additional ways to translate Windows 7, not just elements of the OS but the actual terminology built around the platform.

On the Microsoft Language Portal, users can find equivalents of English technical jargon in their own language. The Redmond company is essentially offering the Windows 7 terminology for no less than 35 languages. However, the resources available on the webpage span across more than just terminology.

“On these pages you can search our localization glossaries and terminology database for over 90 languages, download style guides, give us feedback on terminology used in our products and find pointers to other languages and localization sites in Microsoft,” a message on the website reads. Read More»

Windows 7 RTM Multilingual User Interface

August 27, 2009 by Jason

Microsoft released the Multilingual User Interface (MUI) Packs for Windows 7 RTM on August 25th, 2009 and started serving them to users via Windows Update. I just want to clarify exactly what goes into downloading and installing the MUI packs for Windows 7. First off all, no, the Windows 7 Multilingual User Interface packs are not available as standalone downloads. Microsoft is only offering the MUI packs to customers running Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate editions of the latest Windows client release.

“Windows 7 language packs are available for computers that are running Windows 7 Ultimate. The Windows 7 language packs can be installed only from the Optional Updates section on the Windows Update site. These language packs are not available on the Microsoft Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) Web site or through the Microsoft Download Center,” Microsoft explained.

The Enterprise SKU of Windows 7 is considered on par with the Ultimate edition but is only available to Volume Licensing customers with Software Assurance. And as you can see in the screenshot included with this article I am running Windows 7 RTM Ultimate (100% genuine and from Microsoft) and all the MUI Packs were delivered through WU. As a rule I don’t need them, I keep my GUI in English, but it’s nice to know that they’re there. Read More»

Windows 7 RTM Language Packs

August 26, 2009 by Jason

Microsoft has made available for download the language packs for the gold development milestone of Windows 7. The Redmond-based company is attempting to help end users across the world tailor Windows 7 RTM to their specific language. According to the software giant, the language packs for Windows 7 have been released via Windows Update. In this regard, Windows 7 users will have to turn to WU in order to install extra languages into their copy of Windows 7 in addition to the default language.

By offering the language packs through Windows Update, Microsoft is following the same strategy that it did with Windows Vista. In this context, the company is restricting access to the language packs. And, of course, the limitations also survived from Vista. Microsoft permitted only users of the two high-end editions of Windows Vista to install additional languages, Enterprise and Ultimate. The same is the case for Windows 7.

“These language packs are available to our enterprise customers running Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 7 Ultimate RTM versions only. Customers on the Windows 7 Release Candidate are not eligible for these language packs,” revealed Microsoft’s Stephen L. Rose. Read More»

Internet Explorer 8 RTW MUI Packs for XP SP3

May 15, 2009 by Jason

Microsoft is enriching the collection of language packs available for Internet Explorer 8 RTW. At the end of April 2009, the Redmond company promised that it would deliver the IE8 gold language packs aimed specifically at Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 in mid-May. With the release of the two Multilingual User Interface packages for the two operating systems, the software giant managed to live up to its promise. The IE8 MUI packs are designed to play nice with the 32-bit and the 64-bit versions of Windows XP SP2, Windows XP SP3, and Windows Server 2003 SP2.

Vishwac Sena Kannan – IE International program manager, and Jatinder Mann – IE Setup program manager, explained that end users would have to tailor the IE8 MUI pack to the specific language and architecture of their operating systems. In this regard, they will first need to install the IE8 bits in English, and only after deploy the MUI pack matching the OS MUI pack already deployed. Read More»

20 Tips Optimise your system for OS X

May 01, 2009 by Jason

1. Boost memory
The simplest way to a faster Mac is by installing extra RAM. Before you buy, check the maximum RAM capacity of your Mac. You can download a free program called MacTracker that will tell you the precise technical specifications of every Mac ever produced.

2. Install RAM in pairs
Many Macs will give you a speed boost if you install matching RAM modules in pairs. G5 and Mac Pro towers actually require the installation of pairs of modules, though most other Macs will allow the use of an odd number, with the proviso that you won’t get the fastest possible performance from them. Crucial’s website will tell you the specifics for your model.

3. Faster drive
Installing a faster hard drive as the boot drive on a tower Mac will yield performance gains, especially if you go up to a 10,000-speed drive. On a laptop, installing a 7,200rpm drive (to replace a 5,400 rpm model) will also make things faster, though older Mac portables don’t have user replaceable hard drives Read More»

All 25 language versions of Internet Explorer 8

September 17, 2008 by Jason

On September 16, the Redmond company went live with the second wave of IE8 Beta 2 releases, offering the browser in no less than 21 localized versions. The fresh IE8 Beta 2 releases covering 21 additional languages on top of the original four are supported only on the 32-bit versions of Windows Vista RTM and Service Pack 1, Windows XP SP2 and SP3 and Windows Server 2008.

“The IE team is pleased to announce the availability of Internet Explorer Beta 2 in 21 additional languages. The languages released today are fully localized versions of the IE8 English Beta 2. The Complete List of IE8 Beta 2 Languages: Arabic, Chinese (Hong Kong), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish,” explained Vishwac Sena Kannan, International Program Manager.

Microsoft is currently gearing up for the availability of the gold build of Internet Explorer 8. The Redmond giant has not confirmed a deadline, except to say that it expects to deliver the final IE8 two years after the general availability of Internet Explorer 7 considered by the company to be January 30, 2007, the Windows Vista launch day. Read More»

Windows XP SP3 RTM Multilingual User Interface (MUI) Pack

May 08, 2008 by Jason

The Multilingual User Interface Pack for Windows XP is designed to enable the end user to swap the languages for the graphical user interface. Microsoft has available a version of the MUI Pack which is tailored to XP Service Pack 2. Now, with the advent of XP SP3, the Redmond company has not made available a new variant of the MUI Pack, but instead introduced an update set up to make the Multilingual User Interface package for XP SP2 play well with Service Pack 3. The update is, in fact, meant to fix an incongruity between the MUI Pack and the gold bits of XP SP3.

“On a computer that is running the English version of Windows XP SP3 with the Windows XP SP2 Multilingual User Interface (MUI) Pack, you can select a non-English language for the user interface (UI). However, text may appear in English in the UI instead of in the selected language. The English text may appear in lists, menus, dialog boxes, product Help, and other locations,” Microsoft informed. Read More»

How to Use Gmail in Your Native Language

August 22, 2007 by Jason

If you didn’t know, Gmail is a mail solution that is available in numerous languages although most of the users prefer to use the product in the main US interface. However, if you want to change your language, here’s what you must do: login in to your Gmail account, click on ‘Settings’ and you should be able to see a Gmail display language drop down menu. Click on it and choose one of the numerous languages included in the list.

As you can see, you can choose from Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, UK English, US English, Ukrainian, or Vietnamese, as the Mountain View company mentions them in the Gmail help center. Read More»

Searching for Program Source Code

April 27, 2007 by Jason

Students at the University of California Irvine are working on some new technology for understanding and categorizing source code. They’re using it to power two projects, a source code visualization tool and a source code search engine. You can check it out at: sourcerer.ics.uci.edu – They’re just getting started, but click on the submenu items under the “Fingerprints” tab to get an idea of the heuristics they’re looking into (control structures, attributes, and micro-patterns). Read More»