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Skype's live translations are now available in Russian
Since launching last year, Microsoft has steadily been building out Skype's automatic live-translating ability, and making it even easier to speak with more people around the world. The feature, which translates the voice of the person on the other end of your Skype call into instant subtitles and speech, can now handle voice-to-voice and voice-to-text for Russian, in addition to the eight other languages it already supports.
Skype's live translator feature now supports Arabic
Skype is probably best-known as a video chat client, but Microsoft wants it to be all things chat to all people -- even if they aren't speaking the same language. Back in 2014, the app gained the ability to take your speech and translate it into selected other languages so people who didn't speak the same language could still communicate. Today, Skype is officially rolling out support for its eighth spoken language: Arabic.
Skype Translator is rolling out to all desktop users
After a preview offered access to Skype's live translation tool on the desktop earlier this summer, the feature is rolling out to all users. If you're in need of a quick refresher, Skype Translator converts video calls in English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin and Spanish and 50 messaging languages inside the Windows app. The company says that the software leverages machine learning, so it'll only get better as more people use it. In fact, folks who signed up for the preview have already pitched in there. When the tool arrives, you'll notice a new translator icon in Skype that'll let you know it's ready to go to work.
Skype Translator is heading to the desktop app this summer
Last month, Microsoft removed the sign-up requirement for folks to give Skype's live translation chops a try. Now, a preview version of the multi-language tool is heading to the desktop. Skype Translator is scheduled to roll out inside the chat-focused app's desktop software at the end of the summer, delivering real-time translation for voice/video calls and instant messaging. Right now, the speech function supports English, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin, but if you're conversing via IM, there are 50 more languages added to the list. Windows 10 arrives at this summer too, and real-time translating is sure to come in handy when chatting it up on a 84-inch Surface Hub.
Skype's live translation feature is open for anyone to use
Today Microsoft removed the sign up process required to beta test its Skype Translator app. Now if you want to use the almost real-time translation service, you can just download it without filling out a form. The service closes the communication gap between individuals speaking different languages by transcribing what a person just said or typed for the other party. The app is available for Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 preview. If you're interested in chatting folks that speak a language different than your own, the service supports four voice languages -- English, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin -- and 50 languages via IM. So go ahead, make new friends in China and India and start chatting.
Skype's Translator preview sign-ups go live for Windows 8.1 users
We first heard about Skype's Translator feature back in May, and that it should arrive before the end of the year. Well, in keeping with that timeline, the video-chatting outfit opened up a preview for Windows 8.1 devices. As its moniker suggests, the new feature converts speech in real-time, to keep the lines of communication open without the need for a third person to do the translating. It also shows an on-screen transcript during calls and can sort IM translation in 45 languages. If you're wielding a computer or tablet that's running the aforementioned OS, head over to the source link to opt in to the preview ahead of the new tool's official arrival.
