Microsoft has opened up Skype Translator to anyone who wants to use it, offering users the ability to converse with others who do not speak the same language.
Translator debuted last year to much fanfare, however, it was revealed in December that it required users to sign up, after which access was only given to a few people. Now, users will not have to sign up for the program.
To enable the app, all users have to do is download the Translator app from the Windows Store. The app is free, and only one person is required to have the app enabled for it to work. The app can translate both speech and typed messages.
Microsoft has been working on speech recognition software for a number of years now, and the technology is likely to be useful in a number of areas other than translation. With the technology getting better and better, voice control is also likely to improve.
"Just like speech, the research community has been working on translation for the last 60 years, and as with speech, the introduction of statistical techniques and Big Data have also revolutionized machine translation over the last few years," said Rick Rashid, chief research officer at Microsoft. "Today millions of people each day use products like Bing Translator to translate Web pages from one language to another."
Using Translator, Microsoft advises that users put on a headset rather than relying on the microphone built into a computer. Not only that, but a wired Internet connection is preferable to a Wi-Fi connection.
It's important to remember that while Translator is open to the public, it is still undergoing tests. Because of this, it is likely that at times it will get things wrong. Not only that, but the service also currently only works across four languages, namely English, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin. Despite this, you can instant message users across 50 languages.
The user interface looks very similar to the standard metro style Skype app, with the most important addition being the "translate" slider that allows users to toggle the feature on and off. Users will have to preset which languages are being used, as the technology does not distinguish between languages on the fly. To preset the languages, users will be asked which languages are being used when the "translate" slider is switched to "on," or users can choose from the language options offered within the app.
