The only problem is, how can you tell? Is there any way for us translators to dig through their servers and make sure that they play by the rules? No, there isn’t. SmartCat claims not to steal any of your intellectual property, and I believe them. That’s because their business model seems to be similar to that of a social network, with some data gathering taking place. SmartCat supports a good amount of files natively, but I wouldn’t necessarily trust using their product for higher-end, confidential projects. I have to agree with that line, and if SmartCat is the result of frustration in the workplace, then I’m glad to say that we should all be more frustrated. The reason why I love SmartCat so much is that its parent company built it with a noble cause, openly admitting to their frustration with traditional software not being compelling for a more modern audience. Learn more about OmegaT here or download it here.

Learn the basics with it and move on to a more integrated environment. It’s a good tool to start your translation journey, but I wouldn’t recommend sticking to it in the long-term. In fact, OmegaT has all the major features that CAT tools usually have, including fuzzy matching, match propagation, multiple-file projects, TMs, glossaries, and so on. It supports a wide range of file formats and it has been around since year 2000 (!!!). OmegaT is a very powerful tool for those of you who like to spend time tinkering and figuring out the ins and outs of software. That is, if you understand how to use the thing.

If you know what you’re doing, OmegaT can help you achieve the best results you could possibly imagine, on par with professional, paid CAT tools like SDL Trados, memoQ, etc. The interface is very clunky, and the software feels dated, but the core translation requirements are there, and they’re stronger than any other free CAT tool you could ever download. As a proud Mac owner, OmegaT is the CAT tool that I started working with, and let me tell you, it was not a pretty experience, at least for me.

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