http://www.techscribe.co.uk/ Things you need to know when you commission or produce software documentation, and the latest news from TechScribe. http://www.techscribe.co.uk/images/techscribe-web-logo.jpg http://www.techscribe.co.uk/ en-gb TechScribe mike@techscribe.co.uk (Mike Unwalla) mike@techscribe.co.uk (Mike Unwalla) http://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html technical communication technical writing technical authoring software documentation software development writing http://www.techscribe.co.uk/techw/plain-english-problems.htm Plain English is good, but plain English is not sufficient for clear communication to all audiences. Sometimes, plain English is not sufficiently accurate. Plain English is not designed for international readers. Plain English does not minimise translation costs. Plain English is not good for machine translation. mike@techscribe.co.uk (Mike Unwalla) business copywriting internationalisation machine translation plain English plain language technical authoring technical communication technical writing translation writing http://www.techscribe.co.uk/techw/plain-english-problems.htm 27 Feb 2010 17:00:00 GMT http://www.techscribe.co.uk/techw/translation-memory-systems.htm A translation memory system is software that helps human translators. A translator translates words and phrases from a source language into a target language (the translation). When those words and phrases appear again in a source text, the software supplies the previous translation to the translator. The translator can use the translation or change the translation. To minimise the translation cost, the text must be clear and consistent. mike@techscribe.co.uk (Mike Unwalla) copywriting plain English technical authoring technical communication technical writing translation translation memory systems writing http://www.techscribe.co.uk/techw/translation-memory-systems.htm 27 Feb 2010 17:00:00 GMT http://www.international-english.co.uk/mt-evaluation-en-cy.html Previous evaluations show that if English text is optimised for machine translation, Google Translate can give good translations into Spanish and into Norwegian. This evaluation shows that the quality of Welsh machine translation from Google Translate is not satisfactory. Five professional translators who speak Welsh as a first language evaluated 60 translated sentences for fluency and for accuracy. mike@techscribe.co.uk (Mike Unwalla) automated translation business copywriting English global English international English machine translation news plain English technical authoring technical communication technical writing worldwide English writing http://www.international-english.co.uk/mt-evaluation-en-cy.html 16 Feb 2010 14:00:00 GMT http://www.techscribe.co.uk/ta/domains-search-terms-search-engine-rank.htm A very small website can get a high search engine rank with Microsoft Bing, if the domain name is the same as a user's search term. In 2006 and in 2010, we tested the search engine ranks from Bing for the following small websites: software-documentation.co.uk, technical-writing.co.uk, and user-guide.co.uk. mike@techscribe.co.uk (Mike Unwalla) business search engine optimisation SEO technical authoring technical communication technical writing website design http://www.techscribe.co.uk/ta/domains-search-terms-search-engine-rank.htm 15 Feb 2010 16:00:00 GMT http://www.techscribe.co.uk/techw/accuracy-in-terms-and-conditions.htm More than 109,000 companies do not want people to link to their websites without written permission. Make sure that you write what you mean. When you use a template, make sure that you customise the content carefully. mike@techscribe.co.uk (Mike Unwalla) language search engine optimisation search engine optimization SEO terms and conditions usability web design website design websites writing http://www.techscribe.co.uk/techw/accuracy-in-terms-and-conditions.htm 30 Jan 2010 15:00:00 GMT http://www.techscribe.co.uk/techw/newsletter-34.htm The latest news from TechScribe. Issue 34 is about international English, the quality of machine translation into Norwegian, and Mike Unwalla's STC Senior Member grade. mike@techscribe.co.uk (Mike Unwalla) automated translation computer translation English international English machine translation news technical authoring technical communication technical documentation technical writing writing http://www.techscribe.co.uk/techw/newsletter-34.htm 5 Jan 2010 12:00:00 GMT http://www.techscribe.co.uk/techw/press-machine-translation-evaluation.htm Fear about the low quality of free machine translation stops many business people from using the Internet fully in their businesses. Because sufficient data is not available, business people cannot decide whether machine translation is suitable for their websites. New evaluations show that if text is optimised, free machine translation gives satisfactory translations. mike@techscribe.co.uk (Mike Unwalla) automated translation business copywriting English global English international English machine translation marketing news plain English technical authoring technical communication technical writing websites worldwide English writing http://www.techscribe.co.uk/techw/press-machine-translation-evaluation.htm 22 Dec 2009 09:00:00 GMT http://www.techscribe.co.uk/ta/istc-autumn09.htm ISTC online groups. This review covers RTF output from DITA, 3D illustration software, and agile methods for technical publications. mike@techscribe.co.uk (Mike Unwalla) technical authoring technical communication technical documentation technical publication technical writing http://www.techscribe.co.uk/ta/istc-autumn09.htm 17 Dec 2009 08:00:00 GMT http://www.techscribe.co.uk/ta/technical-communication-conference-2009.htm The Technical Communication UK 2009 conference was in Derby, 22-24 September. Mike Unwalla reports on the presentations that he attended. mike@techscribe.co.uk (Mike Unwalla) business technical authoring technical communication technical writing http://www.techscribe.co.uk/ta/technical-communication-conference-2009.htm 13 Dec 2009 09:00:00 GMT