LONWEB: How would you best describe Babylon?
Babylon's exciting new software makes it possible to translate words and
expressions from English into the user's own language, with just one click
of the mouse.   Babylon  is automatically activated when the computer is
turned on and is accessed from the computer's  'start-up' menu. Babylon
offers simultaneous translations whilst the user is browsing the Internet,
reading email, accessing menu bars, operating any application and even
playing a game! By placing the cursor over  any word and clicking the right
mouse button, Babylon immediately provides a pop-up translation.

LONWEB: Which is the difference between Babylon and a computerized translation program?
When using Babylon there is no need to copy the word and paste it in the
dictionary. All you need to do is right click on the desired word and in
less than a second you get the translation, thus saving time and effort.
Babylon is based on On-Screen OCR technology (Patent Pending). This
technology enables Babylon to translate anywhere on the screen, including
the menus, desktop and pictures.
In addition, we offer constant updates of the vocabulary and technology. No
other dictionary/ translator has such a rich vocabulary of over 3 million
words and expressions.

LONWEB: Why is the translation only unidirectional?
Babylon is a tool that is aimed for reading. Since most of the text found on
PC's is in English and mainly because 90% of the content on the World Wide Web  is English, we chose to start with translating from English into other languages.

LONWEB: How did the whole idea of Babylon come about?
Babylon was first developed by the creators of the English - Hebrew
computerized dictionary. They thought that there is a need for a fast and
easy to use dictionary that will not require effort from the user.

LONWEB: Why in Israel? Is there any particular advantage connected to this country?
I don't think that Israel has any advantages over other countries. With
that, Israel is a country of immigrants, which is quite helpful when
developing a translation tool....

 

LONWEB: What aim does the project pursue?

Our aim is that every PC user, that English is not his mother tongue will
have Babylon installed on his PC.

 

LONWEB: What kind of user do you have in mind?
Babylon is a tool that suits everyone: Children learning English, Teenagers
surfing the net or playing games. students using the net for research,
Lawyers reading legal documents, Business people who correspond in English with associates in different countries and anyone who is using e-mail in English. For example, You are Italian, I'm Israeli, yet this interview is in English...

LONWEB: Does the project incorporate any particular know-how or software technology?

Babylon is using on-screen OCR technology, (Optical Character Recognition), which enables it to recognize text images (bitmaps) anywhere on the screen.This technology is Patent pending.


LONWEB: How many terms does Babylon's dictionary include? How many set phrases?
Babylon has a prodigious vocabulary, with more than three million words and expressions (approximately 50,000 expressions).  Babylon software is also designed to enable users to contribute new entries to the vocabulary, enriching the ever-growing dictionary.

LONWEB: I personally think Babylon is a wonderful product. Did you get any award for it so far?

During Cebit 98 Babylon was awarded "Byte Best Of Show" and some additional small awards.

 

LONWEB: What has been the response of the general public in different countries?

The response is overwhelming. In every country we launched people loved
Babylon and we got many downloads and in all countries the number of
downloads are going up.


LONWEB: Where are you getting the most downloads from?  Which languages do you plan to add in time?
Most downloads are from Japan and Germany. Babylon has now unveiled new versions in German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Italian, Hebrew and Dutch. These languages represent 80% of the non-English speaking Internet market. Future versions will include Portuguese, Swedish and  Chinese in addition to many other languages.

LONWEB: What are the criteria for choosing the next Babylon language?

Our main criteria is the Internet expansion in the designated countries.




LONWEB: Is Babylon a free product or a shareware?

Babylon is a free software, time limited.

 

LONWEB: Are you planning to distribute Babylon also as a packaged product?


Not at this time.

LONWEB: Do you plan to regularly update the product? Which kind of update are you planning, just increase the dictionary or also other features?
Babylon is already updated regularly with new technical upgrades or
additional vocabulary.

 

LONWEB: How can the existing user base get access to new releases?

By right-clicking the Babylon icon -> connect to the site -> upgrade
Babylon.


LONWEB: Speaking of what, is it thinkable that some time in the future you will be able to include in your Japanese/Hebrew versions also the romanized spelling of the words (that would greatly help people learning those two languages)? Example: click on "madam" and find also "gvéret" written in our alphabet.

We are always happy to get new ideas from our users and we welcome everyone to contact us with their wishes and ideas.

 

LONWEB: And finally, is there anything else you would like to say to existing Babylon users?
Hopefully Babylon will help bridge not only the language gap but also
cultural, religious and political differences, by enabling people to better
understand each other. More Information: Babylon  has now been downloaded by 2 million users from the Babylon web site (www.babylon.com). As the number of users continues to rise, Babylon is fast becoming the world standard for single-click translation.