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YouTube will start showing video chapters in search results
YouTube has an impossibly large video library, and the company knows that navigating it is easier said than done. To that end, the company is introducing a few new features to improve the search experience. Probably the most significant new tool is chapter view right from the search results page.
Microsoft contractors listen to some Skype calls and Cortana commands
Microsoft is the latest company charged with listening to its users calls and voice commands. A report by Vice found that contractors are listening to bits of conversations collected through Skype's translation service. Some contractors are also listening to voice commands spoken to Cortana.
Facebook Messenger will translate Spanish messages for you
Facebook Messenger can now translate messages from Spanish to English (and vice versa) for you, whatever it is you and your friend are talking about. The feature, called M's translation suggestions, debuted at F8 in May as one of Facebook's new tools for businesses and used to only work for chats between buyers and sellers in Marketplace. Starting today, though, you'll see a "Translate to English/Spanish" module pop up when someone messages you in either language, so long as you're in the US or Mexico.
Black Desert shows off new features for its second beta test
The testing process for Black Desert continues apace in South Korea, and the process of staring at the monitor and speculating continues apace for Black Desert fans who are not actually in South Korea. Luckily, there's a translation available of the game's latest development blog which shows off the new features available in the game's second closed beta test. We've heard about a new region, and now we know about some of the new monsters being introduced as well as a new town. The town is a coastal fishing city known as Eferia, offering players plenty of saltwater fishing opportunities as well as the other services you'd expect from a seaside fishing town. Players will also be facing off against new monsters including what appears to be a dinosaur, a harpy, and... well, that third one isn't exactly clear. Still, it's more new stuff for players to look forward to when the second test goes live. [Thanks to levakd for the tip!]
Google, Mozilla and Wikimedia projects get Maya language translations at one-day 'translathon'
Twenty native speakers of Yucatec, Mexico's most widely spoken Mayan tongue, met last Thursday to help bring the language to Google, Mozilla and Wikimedia projects. The event, dubbed Mozilla Translathon 2012, was organized to provide translations for Firefox, Google's Endangered Languages Project, the WikiMedia software that powers Wikipedia and 500 crowdsourced articles, to boot. Finding the right words, however, can often be a tricky proposition. "There are words that can't be translated," Mozilla's Mexico representative Julio Gómez told CNNMéxico. "In Maya, file doesn't exist. Tab doesn't exist." Gómez continues to explain that the group may keep foreign words as-is, or find other terms to represent the same ideas. In addition to software localization, it's believed that the effort could allow Maya speakers to "recover their identity and their cultural heritage," according to Wikimedia México president Iván Martínez. If you'd like to peruse wiki articles in the indigenous language, check out the source links below.
iTranslate Voice HD comes to the iPad with lots of features
I've looked at some translation apps before, and it seems each time I review a new one I see increased capabilities and better performance. iTranslate Voice has available on the iPhone for awhile, and now it has come to the iPad in an HD edition. Like its smaller sibling, iTranslate Voice HD can translate 31 languages both directions. Some of the 31 are variations or dialects of one language, like Spanish, that appears in Mexican, Spanish and US versions. Operation is simple. Speak into the iPad microphone in your language, and out comes the selected language in your choice of a male or female voice. Another nicety is that you can control the speed of the translation, which is really quite helpful when you are learning a language. You can also use the app like a dictionary, and look up words for definition. Translations can also be copied to the clipboard and mailed. For all its features, you need an internet connection because the heavy lifting of recognition and translation are done on remote servers. If you don't want to speak, you can type your words in, or correct any recognition errors. The app is powered by Nuance speech recognition, which is also providing the same service for Apple's Siri. The translations themselves are done by Microsoft. %Gallery-161274% In my testing, things went pretty well. My high school German came back as reasonable English, and my tests with English to Spanish looked solid. Speed is very good, so if you are in a foreign country or speaking with a non-English person, you can move along with a conversation reasonably fast. iTranslate Voice HD is on sale for a short introductory price of US$0.99. Of course Google Translate is free and supports 64 languages, but I've had some network issues with it and it doesn't seem as smooth and feature rich as iTranslate Voice HD. The iPhone version of this app is separate, so you have to buy again for the iPhone. If I was traveling, the iPhone version would make more sense, with only the larger and louder speaker on the iPad making sense of the idea of carrying an iPad around. Either version of the app works well, as long as they cover the languages you need.
NTT DoCoMo exhibits on-the-fly speech translation, lets both parties just talk (video)
The race to smash linguistic barriers with simultaneous speech-to-speech translation is still wide open, and Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo has just joined Google Translate and DARPA on the track. Whereas Google Translate's Conversation Mode was a turn-based affair when it was demoed back in January, requiring each party to pause awkwardly between exchanges, NTT DoCoMo's approach seems a lot more natural. It isn't based on new technology as such, but brings together a range of existing cloud-based services that recognize your words, translate them and then synthesize new speech in the other language -- hopefully all before your cross-cultural buddy gets bored and hangs up. As you'll see in the video after the break, this speed comes with the sacrifice of accuracy and it will need a lot of work after it's trialled later in the year. But hey, combine NTT DoCoMo's system with a Telenoid robot or kiss transmission device and you can always underline your meaning physically.
En Masse issues official clarification regarding TERA's action combat
Rumors have been flying about TERA this week, mainly due to a pair of ThisIsGame.com interviews with Bluehole Studio higher-ups that were translated from the original Korean by TERAfans. Today, En Masse Entertainment (TERA's North American publisher) has issued an official statement clarifying the second piece, and more specifically, shooting down any notion that TERA's long-touted action MMO combat has changed. "TERA's combat system hasn't changed and action remains a crucial element to the game. There was a mistranslation in the article where the phrase 'lock-on system' was used instead of 'lock-on skill,' which was the original context of that statement. We are committed to making adjustments to TERA based on player feedback, but the game will still offer all the depth of an MMO with the intense action combat system. This will not change," said Matt Atwood, director of public relations for En Masse.
TERA North American release rumors abound
A storm is brewing on En Masse Entertainment's official TERA forums, one that threatens to bring more drama to the intarwebs, kill helpless Popori in their beds, and delay TERA's North American release for months. OK, maybe the first two are a bit overwrought, but there are rumors regarding the game's possible late 2011 arrival swirling around the internet. It all started with an interview at a Korean website called ThisIsGame.com, which spoke with Bluehole Studio boss Kang-Suk Kim. Fan translations of the interview seem to indicate that TERA will launch in Japan during the first half of 2011 and North American/European beta testing will begin a month later (which would lead to an even later final release date). So far though, the dates are a mixture of speculation and conjecture as En Masse (TERA's North American publisher) has declined to offer any clarification. Rest assured that Massively is checking with our Korean sources, and we'll bring you the very latest as it happens.
Word Lens: an augmented reality language translator for iPhone
Word Lens is one of those apps that grabs your attention the first time you see it in action. Created by Quest Visual, it is an iPhone-based optical character recognition (OCR) application used for language translation. In real-world usage, it will translate a foreign language sign in an instant using your camera. Word Lens uses OCR to single out the letters in an image captured by your camera. It identifies letters, builds the words and looks them up in its built-in dictionary. Once the words are identified, translation from one language to another is easy. Translation is not perfect, but it is good enough to get the basic understanding of the translated words. Word Lens is similar in functionality to Google Goggles, which also lets you translate words within an image. Word Lens, though, has a leg up on its competition as the image processing and translating is done on the phone, in real-time. Google Goggles relies on Google's servers for the translation, which slows down the translation time and requires you to have an internet connection. Word Lens is now available on the App Store for you to try. The core app is available for free, and language pairs (English/Spanish) are available as an in-app purchase. At launch, the app only supports English to Spanish and Spanish to English translations. Additional languages will be added in future versions. If you don't want to buy a language pack, it is worth a download as the app includes two demo modes. The reverse mode will reverse the letters in an image, and the erase mode will white-out the words. Word Lens requires iOS 4.0 or later and a video camera. It is compatible with the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS or the 4th generation iPod touch. You can see Word Lens in action after the break.
TERA G-Star information compiled
Looking for a compilation of last week's TERA news from G-Star? TERAfans has you covered in the form of an updated thread that brings together all of the convention news nuggets. From the new trailer (and a helpful primer on the Korean dialogue and associated plot points), to the myriad screenshots, class-based gameplay footage, and numerous translations of Q&A sessions with Bluehole developers, the thread is a must-read for fans of the upcoming action MMORPG. You'll also find helpful links to various discussion threads chewing the fat with regard to the new info (as well as a bit of head-scratching on features that still haven't seen the light of the day). Sound good? What are you waiting for then, head to TERAfans and get your fix.
Hiromichi Tanaka interview discusses the Final Fantasy online installments
There's a lot of material coming up for Final Fantasy XIV. So much, in fact, that according to Hiromichi Tanaka, the game has plans that stretch out for as far off as next winter. When we last took a look at the interview, it had only been translated up through the first section, but the two additional sections include further information on the future of the new game as well as Final Fantasy XI. Final Fantasy XI is slated for more high-level content with the climbing level cap, as much of the existing endgame content was balanced around players at the previous cap of 75. Final Fantasy XIV, on the other hand, was designed in many ways to break away from some of the conventions that its predecessor had in place, while at the same time retaining some of the elements that Tanaka believed were particular strengths. Take a look at the full interview for a rundown of what's in store for both games in the near future.
Microsoft's experimental English-Chinese dictionary mines the web for data (video)
When it comes to quick and dirty machine translation it may not supplant Google Translate anytime soon, but for those who would actually learn another language, Microsoft's working on some fairly impressive tools. Engkoo is an search engine for Chinese speakers that scours the web for its data, finding articles that are written in both Chinese and English to create an continually-updated lexicon, plus provide interactive (and audible) sample sentences that explain nuances of the language. See a rundown (in English) of what's possible so far in a Silverlight video after the break, and try it out for yourself at our source link -- if you must, you can even search for "tiananmen."
Party like a rock star in Final Fantasy XIV
There are players out there who might be dreading parties in Final Fantasy XIV. Well, not precisely; they might well be dreading that the mechanics will be similar to the parties from Final Fantasy XI, where some classes could seemingly wait for ages without a trace of a group. Mercifully, the fine bilingual team at FFXIVCore has continued its apparent tradition of translating information to coincide with the new beta testing, with the newest translation being a guide to getting a working group in the game. Guildleves are the game's core leveling mechanics, but new ones can only be accepted every so often, and they can be hard to complete on higher settings alone. By grouping up, players gain access to more guildleves from other players and more support in tackling the game's bigger challenges. The full translation has information on everything from the interface to form a party to the game's battle regiments, the equivalent of Final Fantasy XI's skillchains. (We're guessing they meant regimens, but that's the challenge of translation.) Final Fantasy XIV fans are advised to take a look at the article to start gearing up for the game's release in two months.
What to do in Limsa Lominsa when you're in the Final Fantasy XIV beta
If you're one of the lucky souls in Final Fantasy XIV's recently expanded beta testing, you might well be a new arrival. And even though the beta build isn't the final release of the game, there's still a lot of different things to do. So where do you begin? Thankfully, there's a new guide available from Famitsu (translated by FFXIVCore) that should give a fair picture of where players can start. It covers everything from sights in the city to the options available for retainers. Once players pick a race for the retainer, a wide variety of appearance is available, but said assistant's name is fixed. You can give a nickname, however, which opens up a number of affectionate (and horrible) possibilities. Of course, that does little for the players not involved in the Final Fantasy XIV beta, but Square-Enix has also released a video on the development of character models and customization in the game. Embedded past the cut, the trailer won't quite take the edge off being unable to use the guide in practice, but it's the next best thing.
Final Fantasy XIV's Hiromichi Tanaka on the goals of the game
Hiromichi Tanaka has been making the rounds of late -- while we had our own chance to interview him during E3, he's been giving several different interviews on a multitude of topics as Final Fantasy XIV nears its launch date. The most recent translated interview from JeuxVideo has Tanaka talking in brief about the upcoming game, but also about his own play experiences. Among the more quotable parts of the interview is a simple statement: Square-Enix isn't trying to compete with World of Warcraft, but to draw in players who might not have looked at the genre before. As Tanaka puts it, the game is designed to be accessible to fans of the long-running franchise who may never have considered playing something multiplayer. He also stresses the emphasis on allowing players to use their time in the game as effectively as possible, citing the Guildleves and the Armory system as two examples wherein players can maximize the useful time spent in-game. Lastly, when asked about other games he's enjoyed, he somewhat happily admits that he's been too focused on developing Final Fantasy XIV to enjoy much since Final Fantasy XI. The full translation is transcribed here, with the embedded video in French (if you happen to be fluent).
No microtransactions in Final Fantasy XIV, but many beta screenshots
There are plenty of contentious issues in the MMO field, but one of the biggest at the moment is microtransactions. Controversy over the C-Store, the $25 "sparkle pony" and subsequent imitators, and the general balance in the burgeoning free-to-play field have made the players of nearly every game form an opinion. But those who detest the practice can take heart -- according to Hiromichi Tanaka, Final Fantasy XIV will not be including any sort of in-game store. That's from a recent interview from JPgames.de, translated by the FFXIVCore fansite community. According to Tanaka, Square-Enix isn't necessarily opposed to the idea if the demand is present, but absolutely does not want in-game power to correspond to real-world money. He also confirmed that players will be allowed to pick their server at launch, unlike the server roulette present at Final Fantasy XI's launch. If the interview isn't enough to tide you over, the game's beta has been given a brief writeup from Famitsu (translated from the Japanese), and there's an excellent gallery of screenshots available here. There are just over two months until the launch of Final Fantasy XIV, and they look to be an exciting ride.
Final Fantasy XIV not due for the Xbox 360 according to Hiromichi Tanaka
Final Fantasy XI isn't just one of the only console MMOs in existence, it's also the most successful of the lot, due in part to the wide spread of available platforms. Since the game has long been playable on the Xbox, there were several Final Fantasy XIV fans (or Xbox 360 owners) hoping it would eventually come out on that console as well. But it's not happening, and according to a recently translated interview from 4players.de, the reason rests squarely with Microsoft. When asked in an interview why Final Fantasy XIV wasn't appearing on Microsoft's console, Hiromichi Tanaka explained that Microsoft was unwilling to work with Square-Enix to deal with the Xbox Live setup. As he put it, it seemed the company made a one-time exception with Final Fantasy XI to get the console in people's minds as an online platform, but now that it's established the gates are closed. There are currently no plans to adapt the game for the console, but it will still be coming out for the PC in late September, with a Playstation 3 release due at some point after that. Check the interview here (if you can read German), and the translated highlights can be found here.
More information on Final Fantasy XIV's crafters and harvesters
With the beta testing in full swing and the release date just around the corner, you might think that Final Fantasy XIV fans would have all the information that they need. Of course, anyone highly anticipating the game would be quick to point out the exact opposite, eagerly looking for any more details about the game, especially with so much left to know about the various Disciplines. A recent article on Famitsu (translated by the helpful team at FFXIVCore) sheds new light on some of the less flashy disciplines -- not those of War or Magic, but the Hand and the Land, gathering and crafting. The new article gives more details on Harvesters (which may be dubbed Botanists in the official translation), Goldsmiths, Armourers (possibly due to lose the British spelling), Woodworkers, and Fishermen. Each class has a small writeup explaining their tasks and talents, such as the rapport that Harvesters enjoy with plants or the equipment-enhancing talents of Goldsmiths. Take a look at the article for a clearer picture of the plethora of non-combat activities that come along with Final Fantasy XIV -- even if many of the noncombatants will be well served by having a few combat-ready escorts.
More information on the stats of Final Fantasy XIV
With the changes coming to Final Fantasy XIV after the first round of public testing, there are many older concepts going away, newer concepts coming in, and more than a few ideas that the community railed against which have been gutted long before release. The most recent issue of Dengeki has taken a look at some of the hard mechanics and numbers in the current test version, and that results in some interesting pieces of new information compared to what we already knew. HP, MP, and TP, previously stats that could be raised as a character's physical level improved, now increase automatically with physical level. Three stats -- Agility, Charisma, and Luck -- have been yanked, with the six remaining stats (Strength, Vitality, Dexterity, Piety, Mind, and Intelligence) still raised via points. It also appears that damage will be applied to various parts of a monster's body, allowing for tricks such as disabling a monster's special attacks via careful targeting. While we don't know quite enough to start down the road toward min-maxing characters in Final Fantasy XIV, we're getting a clearer picture of the game's operation every day.
