Tag: Multilingual
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»
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Microsoft released the Multilingual User Interface Packs for Windows 7 RTM on August 25th 2009 via Windows Update. At the end of the past week, the direct download links for the Windows 7 RTM MUI Packs were also made public, allowing all users to grab the releases. Of course that not all Windows 7 users will in fact be able to take advantage of the MUI Packs. When it comes down to Windows 7, Microsoft went with the same strategy as for Windows Vista.
In this regard, only the Ultimate and Enterprise editions of Windows 7 are capable of integrating the Multilingual User Interface packs, just as it was the case with Vista’s Enterprise and Ultimate SKUs. Windows 7 Enterprise is of course available only to volume licensing customers with Software Assurance, while Ultimate is the high-end edition of Windows 7, and the most costly.
The MUI Packs allow end users to install more languages than just one in Windows 7 and to have the operating system’s graphical user interface be tailored for each specific additional language. The general strategy for Microsoft is to serve the MUI Packs as optional updates via WU to just Enterprise and ultimate users of Windows 7. But for those who want to grab the Windows 7 MUI Packs themselves, the direct download links are now available both for the 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) flavors of the operating system. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | 3 Comments »
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»
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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»
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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»
Posted in Internet, Windows XP | No Comments »
Microsoft is offering Windows Vista users no less than 17 User Interface (UI) Language packs designed for integration with the operating system. However, the company informed that only the 32-bit editions of the latest Windows client can have LIPs implemented. In fact, the Language Interface Packs are restricted only to the English language versions of 32-bit Vista, with no support for the 64-bit variant of the operating system or for previous Windows releases. The 17 LIPs can be installed on Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate, but only 15 of them also play nice with the Starter SKU.
Albanian, Assamese, Bosnian – Cyrillic, Bosnian – Latin, Gujarati, Hindi, Icelandic, Indonesian, Kazakh, Macedonian, Malay, Marathi, Serbian – Cyrillic, Tamil, Uzbek – Latin, Vietnamese and Welsh are all the language UI packages offered for Windows Vista. With the exception of Icelandic and Welsh, all can also be deployed on the Vista Starter edition. The rest of the Vista SKUs are supported by default. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | 2 Comments »
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»
Posted in Windows XP | 11 Comments »
One of the aspects correlated with the ubiquity of the Windows operating system is the fact that the platform is tailored to specific markets around the world. In this context, Windows Vista features no less than 36 different languages, designed to produce an intimate experience for end users. All the editions of Vista can be set to a specific language, with the Ultimate SKU being able to switch between linguistic configurations. But in addition to the resources integrated by default in the latest Windows client as well as those served through Windows Update, Microsoft is now making available the Windows Vista Language Interface Pack for the English version of the operating system.
“Windows Vista Language Interface Pack (LIP) [integrates with the] English versions of Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, Business and Enterprise. Many Vista LIP languages are also available for Windows Vista Starter,” Microsoft informed. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | 1 Comment »