Forum: MateCat support
Topic: your thoughts on Matecat
Poster: Alejandra Reznik
Post title: There are as many CAT tools as translators nowadays
Hi, Dominique.
Picking a CAT tool nowadays is not an easy task. I've been working the last few days with Matecat and I too find it quite user friendly. Having said that, I've been working with SDL Trados/Studio for several years now. Just like Dan, I also went with Studio because many of the agencies I work with used Studio, but it paid for itself in no time. It's a big investment upfront (like any paid CAT tool). I was later able to benefit from it when working with direct clients.
I believe most of the free versions of paid CAT tools are quite limited. For example, MemoQ's free version doesn't allow you to import TMs, so you can't take advantage of it to ensure consistency (I guess not much of a problem for literary translation). Wordfast Anywhere is a web-based tool and it's quite user-friendly. However, if your internet is not fast enough, it can be really slow. I found Matecat useful, but I'm not too sure yet about confidentiality issues. OmegaT for me has a bit of a primitive UI and still needs some work (again, I'm a Studio user) but it is not a bad choice to see whether a CAT tool can help you with your work.
Having said all this, I guess most CAT tools were thought from the agency's perspective, not the freelancer. For me, it's all about downloading the free trial or open software and give it a go. It's the best way to see what really works for you.
Best,
Alejandra
Topic: your thoughts on Matecat
Poster: Alejandra Reznik
Post title: There are as many CAT tools as translators nowadays
Hi, Dominique.
Picking a CAT tool nowadays is not an easy task. I've been working the last few days with Matecat and I too find it quite user friendly. Having said that, I've been working with SDL Trados/Studio for several years now. Just like Dan, I also went with Studio because many of the agencies I work with used Studio, but it paid for itself in no time. It's a big investment upfront (like any paid CAT tool). I was later able to benefit from it when working with direct clients.
I believe most of the free versions of paid CAT tools are quite limited. For example, MemoQ's free version doesn't allow you to import TMs, so you can't take advantage of it to ensure consistency (I guess not much of a problem for literary translation). Wordfast Anywhere is a web-based tool and it's quite user-friendly. However, if your internet is not fast enough, it can be really slow. I found Matecat useful, but I'm not too sure yet about confidentiality issues. OmegaT for me has a bit of a primitive UI and still needs some work (again, I'm a Studio user) but it is not a bad choice to see whether a CAT tool can help you with your work.
Having said all this, I guess most CAT tools were thought from the agency's perspective, not the freelancer. For me, it's all about downloading the free trial or open software and give it a go. It's the best way to see what really works for you.
Best,
Alejandra
