Now, Google translates Kannada

Internet search engine giant Google's Translate tool will now enable Kannadigas to read in Kannada anything written in German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese or 56 other languages of the world.

On Wednesday, Google research scientist Ashish Venugopal said: "You can explore the linguistic diversity of the Indian sub-continent with Google Translate, which now supports five new experimental alpha languages — Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu." The facility was hitherto available only in Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi and Malayalam.

Tech-savvy Kannadigas have welcomed the translation service. Thejesh G N, a software consultant and Internet geek, said, "I am happy that Google has added Kannada to its translation service. This opens up the whole web to people who know only Kannada. My parents can now read in their mother tongue international blogs in English, French or Chinese. The service is still not perfect but as machines learn better they will translate better."

Kannada Development Authority chairman Mukhyamantri Chandru is happy that the new service has given Kannada a global platform. He said, "It is inevitable for all of us to accept several languages in this modern world. However, if you cannot disseminate information in the language of the land it becomes very difficult to reach out to people. Google Translate in Kannada will eliminate barriers and help both Kannadigas and other language speakers."

Google Translate now supports 63 languages, including 11 newly-launched alpha languages.


Now, Google translates Kannada

Microsoft Releases Office 365 Beta

Microsoft usually releases a few large scale public beta versions to remove possible bugs and has done the same by releasing a beta version of Office 365. This service combines Office Web Apps with hosted versions of Exchange and SharePoint as well as Microsoft's Lync product, which provides the online communication and collaboration piece. Besides this, it also has a variety of features which include document creation and sharing, e-mail, instant messaging, online meetings, and public Web sites.

Another Interesting feature of this is that Microsoft Office 365 is cross platform and can be used through a desktop PC, the Web and a Windows Phone 7 smartphone. However, it is also possible to use it on Android, Apple iOS devices as well as the RIM’s PlayBook. This service can also be operated on different browsers like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari; though it isn’t possible to use it on Safari for iOS.

The beta version of Microsoft Office 365 is available in 36 countries, in 17 languages and will be officially launched later this year.

Microsoft Releases Office 365 Beta