MyMemory Pro - an acceptable fee?
Thread poster: Matthew Docherty
Matthew Docherty
Matthew Docherty  Identity Verified
Italian to English
+ ...
Jul 11, 2017

Hi all,

For those who use the MyMemory plug-in, you've probably noticed that it is no longer free to use.

If you translate more than 1000 words per day, you'll have to use the Pro version for which you'll be required to pay €0.004 per word.

For a translator who translates 50,000 words per month, for example, this would equate to €200 per month or €2,400 per year.

I would like to ask your opinion if you think this is a reasonable fee for t
... See more
Hi all,

For those who use the MyMemory plug-in, you've probably noticed that it is no longer free to use.

If you translate more than 1000 words per day, you'll have to use the Pro version for which you'll be required to pay €0.004 per word.

For a translator who translates 50,000 words per month, for example, this would equate to €200 per month or €2,400 per year.

I would like to ask your opinion if you think this is a reasonable fee for this automatic machine translation.
How often do you get human matches with this TM and how do you rate the quality of these matches?

In a nutshell, do you think it's worth it and what alternatives might you recommend for working in Trados?
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Robert Rietvelt
Robert Rietvelt  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:04
Member (2006)
Spanish to Dutch
+ ...
No I don't Jul 11, 2017

Matthew Docherty wrote:

Hi all,

For those who use the MyMemory plug-in, you've probably noticed that it is no longer free to use.

If you translate more than 1000 words per day, you'll have to use the Pro version for which you'll be required to pay €0.004 per word.

For a translator who translates 50,000 words per month, for example, this would equate to €200 per month or €2,400 per year.

I would like to ask your opinion if you think this is a reasonable fee for this automatic machine translation.
How often do you get human matches with this TM and how do you rate the quality of these matches?

In a nutshell, do you think it's worth it and what alternatives might you recommend for working in Trados?



I use MyMemory, not as plug-in, but as a kind of last resort. Sometimes it comes up with the right translation, mostly not (in my language combinations).

If your maths are right (didn't check), I would say NO, it isn't worth it. Unfortunately we are the worst paid higher educated professionals in the world and this would mean another reduction on our income.

Alternatives? Linguee?

My advice, don't use a plug-in, use your expertise/skill.

PS) Can't you translate (in Trados) without all those online tools? I learned it the old way, with dictionaries and common knowledge. Still use it, but also see the advantages of the modern tools.





[Edited at 2017-07-11 22:32 GMT]

[Edited at 2017-07-11 22:33 GMT]

[Edited at 2017-07-11 22:35 GMT]


 
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: This post is being deleted as requested by the user.
Meta Arkadia
Meta Arkadia
Local time: 19:04
English to Indonesian
+ ...
I haven't noticed it... Jul 12, 2017

... and I don't think I need to worry.

Their website mentions: Provide a valid email ('de' parameter), where we can reach you in case of troubles, and enjoy 10000 words/day., and I'm glad if I can do 2,000 words a day.

Cheers,

Hans


 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 13:04
Member
English to French
More math Jul 12, 2017

From a non-user

Our time is ultimately what we sell.
So for any alleged "productivity" tool or service purchase, we need to think in terms of time savings.

Matthew Docherty wrote:
...€0.004 per word...

If you charge 0.1/word, 4% of your gross income is spent on the service. That's a Paypal fee.
Or 2% if you charge 0.2/word. That's an exchange fee.
Let's assume the plug-in fee roughly amounts to one whole working day of gross income every month. If you think the plug-in saves you more than 1 working day/month or 2-3 hours/week, then it's worth it.

Is it something you can quantify? Maybe you could correlate it with the time you would save on tidying/cleaning if you employed a cleaning lady a few hours a week.

Actually, if I had to choose, I'd rather pay my accountant.
He's much cheaper per word, he's local, he's an individual, he pays taxes, and he's probably saved me more time and money than any plug-in would.

In a nutshell, I don't know if it's a reasonable fee, but a reasonable way to look at it is to assess the perceived or actual benefit you get from it. Without marketing noise.

Philippe

[Edited at 2017-07-12 10:53 GMT]


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 13:04
Spanish to English
+ ...
Noooooooo! Jul 12, 2017

Nay, nay, and thrice nay. It's way over the top for an MT tool IMHO. At these prices, I'd expect it to bring me breakfast in bed...

 
Jean Dimitriadis
Jean Dimitriadis  Identity Verified
English to French
+ ...
What is the source? Jul 12, 2017

Is there a link or source for such information?

I can't find anything related to this on http://mymemory.translated.net/

[Edited at 2017-07-12 11:11 GMT]


 
Matthew Docherty
Matthew Docherty  Identity Verified
Italian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Voilà Jul 14, 2017

Jean Dimitriadis wrote:

Is there a link or source for such information?

I can't find anything related to this on http://mymemory.translated.net/

[Edited at 2017-07-12 11:11 GMT]


http://mymemory.translated.net/doc/sdl-v3.php


 
Jean Dimitriadis
Jean Dimitriadis  Identity Verified
English to French
+ ...
MyMemory Pro Jul 14, 2017

Matthew, thank you for the link.

One of the advantages of MyMemory Pro over MyMemory SDL Trados plugin as listed in the above-mentioned page is “MT for professionals: Neural & Adaptive Machine Translation”. If this refers to Google Translate and its NMT, then according to: https://cloud.google.com/translate/docs/premium

“the premium features of the Google Cl
... See more
Matthew, thank you for the link.

One of the advantages of MyMemory Pro over MyMemory SDL Trados plugin as listed in the above-mentioned page is “MT for professionals: Neural & Adaptive Machine Translation”. If this refers to Google Translate and its NMT, then according to: https://cloud.google.com/translate/docs/premium

“the premium features of the Google Cloud Translation API have been made generally available in the Standard Edition. All users have access to the robust translation features available using the Neural Machine Translation (NMT) model, as well as the capabilities of the Phrase-Based Machine Translation (PBMT) model. There is no difference in pricing between the standard, PBMT model, and the NMT model.”

So currently, Premium pricing no longer applies for Google Translate NTM results.

Of course, there are other features listed for MyMemory Pro (no daily limit, more matches due to access to additional quality corpora), as well as the possibility to use CustomMT to customize MT results.

Anyway, I too feel the pricing is too steep.

Alternatives that come to mind: Google Translate ($20 per 1,000,000 characters) and Microsoft Translator (first 2,000,000 characters per month are free), both need setting up an account and adding billing details.
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MyMemory Pro - an acceptable fee?






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