Berlitz: TransWeb Express
February 26th, Dublin

Berlitz weaves its Web Technology into the Localisation Industry

By Shiera O’Brien

This SLIG meeting held great interest for those of us faced with the complexities of HTML and Web Localisation. The main focus of the meeting was the new commercial product developed by Berlitz called TransWeb Express. TransWeb Express is a QA tool developed specifically for localising and testing HTML files and is an ideal tool for testing the functionality of localised Web Pages.

Michael Gavin, MD of Berlitz Ireland introduced the session. The first presentation was given by Mary Fitzpatrick presented Berlitz, the company and the services offered by the new Berlitz Language and Technology Centre. This centre was established in the past year to meet the growing demand for well-trained localisation resources. The second presentation given by Lucy O’Driscoll told us of the type of Berlitz training courses available to the industry, including language, testing and engineering training programs. The third section, presented by Eric Burke, Berlitz Recruitment Manager led a discussion on the challenges in sourcing localisation resources in the shadow of the scarcity facing the industry.

Kieran Roche, one of the key developers of the TransWeb product, gave the TransWeb Express demonstration. The launch of TransWeb follows that of Translation Craft’s commercial tool HTMLQA 1.0a, which is a tool designed to tackle HTML localisation problems.

In brief, TransWeb Express is an impressive tool and is comparable to the HTMLQA in its functionality. Kieran demonstrated the main features including Source-Target Comparison utilities, Project Analysis, the selection of Browser Options, including Netscape Navigator, MS Internet Explorer. He also demonstrated how easily graphics and content can be compared using the tool. TransWeb is demonstrably user-friendly, and with this technology Berlitz has managed to integrate the interdependent tasks of the Web localisation team. TransWeb includes utilities for the Project Manager, Software Tester and Engineer, thus making the whole Web localisation workflow far more efficient.

Time constraints did not allow for indepth discussions on how TransWeb Express compares with other Web localisation tools. TransWeb Express has its strengths and weakness, and it certainly has gone a long way towards resolving some of the challenges of localising Web pages. TransWeb Express and HTMLQA were reviewed in detail by Ultan O’Broin in the December 1997 issue of Localisation Ireland.

Shiera O’Brien
Manager, ALPNET Ireland
17-19 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay
Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 679-9010
Email: dublin@alpnet.com