The translation industry is a pretty small industry and translation technology is a small sector within that industry. However, we do try and deliver high quality software and we have and have had some people who really went the extra mile for their customers.
One interesting fact is that the people in charge of designing the major CAT tools
have all worked at some stage as a translator. This is true for Daniel Brockmann from SDL/ Trados, Yves Champollion from Wordfast, Gábor Ugray from Kilgray and it was true for Emilio Benito who founded Atril. Emilio died on February 8, 2004, ten years ago today and I think it worth taking a moment to reflect on his achievements and thank him.
I had never met Emilio but I have heard stories from Déjà vu users about him. More than once I heard of a translator working through the night to deliver their project at 9AM the next day. As happens on these occasions the problem occurs not at 3PM when someone in support would deal with it but at 3AM. However, their late night “Help me quick!” emails were answered soon after with a solution from Emilio.
There was an obituary of Emilio written by Danilo Nogueira shortly after he died. This is still worth reading and it gives an insight into a very intelligent and capable man who was passionate about solving problems and creating a better software.
There are many things which translators now take for granted which were first introduced through Déjà vu by Emilio and his son, Daniel, who I believe did most of the programming. Emilio was an inspirational innovator and the translation industry should be grateful for his work.
There was an obituary of Emilio written by Danilo Nogueira shortly after he died. This is still worth reading and it gives an insight into a very intelligent and capable man who was passionate about solving problems and creating a better software.
There are many things which translators now take for granted which were first introduced through Déjà vu by Emilio and his son, Daniel, who I believe did most of the programming. Emilio was an inspirational innovator and the translation industry should be grateful for his work.
