Legendary Dating Sim Tokimeki Memorial Finally Gets a Fan Translation - Twinfinite - Translation

Few games are iconic within the dating simulation genre as Tokimeki Memorial by Konami, despite the fact that it was never officially localized in English.

Now, fan translators at Translated Games have finally filled the gap, proving a patch for the SNES version of the game.

The patch can be downloaded here, and it even comes with a few extra goodies.

Released in 1994 for PC Engine CD, the game received quite a few ports over time, and the one we’re looking at here is the SNES port released in 1996, titled Tokimeki Memorial: Densetsu no Ki no Shita de (Under the Legendary Tree).

The series has continued to this day in Japan, even if most of the latest games are for mobile platforms, while only the “Girl’s Side” sub-series has been released on consoles in recent years. Tokimeki Memorial: Girl’s Side 4th Heart has been launched for Nintendo Switch in 2021.

The original game has you play the role of a high-school student who is in love with the inevitable childhood friend Shiori Fujisaki.

Through the most classic dating sim gameplay, you have to organize your day to improve in various fields, while courting Shiori herself or a variety of additional heroines, all the way to the climatic confession at the end of high school.

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The Dirtiest Word In The Financial Dictionary - Money and Markets - Dictionary

When discussing the so-called “bad or offensive words” of the financial world, one term stands above all: STAGFLATION!

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Were you a fan of George Carlin? 

I know I was. I truly believe he was one of the most brilliant social commentators of our time.

Note that I called him a social commentator, not a comedian.

The truth is that while Carlin was funny and was considered a stand-up comedian…I never looked at him as such. 

To me, he was an observationist that was able to cut to the truth of our society, and he did it while making people smile and laugh, even when that truth wasn’t pleasant to hear. 

Funny? Yes…

But his insight was worth so much more than just “stand-up material,” so to call him a comedian does a great disservice to who he really was.

One of his greatest “bits” was his commentary on the seven words that you can’t say on television. I won’t list them here…but I bet you can guess what some of them are.

Anyway, the segment showed just how ridiculous it is to have words that we can’t say because they’re offensive because being offended is entirely subjective. 

Subjectivity creates a slippery slope. We don’t know where the line is drawn…or even who gets to draw that line. 

The Dirtiest Financial Word

However, in the financial world, we’re a bit luckier. The words that “offend” are almost universal. 

To list a few: foreclosure, depression, insider trading, recession, inflation, short-seller…

These kinds of terms get our hackles up–some more than others–but even so, there are certain people who don’t mind these terms, which brings us back to the subjective portion of this conversation. 

However, there is one term that is all-but-guaranteed to ruffle feathers across the board.

That disgusting term is Stagflation.

Did you just shudder at the mere mention of the word? Do you feel like you need a shower? Can’t say I blame you…

Stagflation is the most disgusting word in the financial dictionary because it represents the non-movement of our economy. 

Say what you want about the other terms, but at least there’s movement involved. We know what to expect and what to do…

When the word “stagflation” gets thrown into the mix, we’re stuck in limbo. 

Now, why are we even talking about stagflation? 

Well, because there are more than a few analysts talking about it in the financial news world right now. The war in Ukraine could easily exacerbate the global inflation that has been driving up prices on everything from food and gas to flights and hotels. 

While a recession could be possible, we’re not even in a bear market yet, so that’s a ways down the road.

But stagflation? That could happen… easily. 

What is stagflation? 

Well, most consider “stagflation” an economic period of high prices coupled with little to no growth in the economy. It’s a pretty simple definition, though, it’s hard to pinpoint what the “high” and “low” are because, again, that stuff can be subjective. 

However, what’s important to understand is that historically, most of our economic recoveries ended with stagflation before turning into a recession–and seeing how we’ve had one of the longest recoveries to date since the crash of 2008, we may be overdue. 

Battling Stagflation: Where To Look

So, if stagflation is on the table, what do we as investors do to combat it? 

Well, we start by finding financial havens that tend to grow during weird financial times.

When it comes to combating stagflation, you want to find stocks that have STRONG earnings ability with a healthy cash flow. That means looking in the financials, materials, energy, consumer services, and healthcare sectors for those quicker returns. 

Or, if you think that stagflation is going to hover over our heads for a while, then you may want to find some longer-term prospects in domestic small-caps or even some emerging markets plays–save for ones in China, of course. You may want to avoid investing there.  

However, if stagflation is HERE, there’s really only one true kryptonite to bring it down, and that’s commodities.

Metals, oil, natural gas–these are the safest places to be during a stagflationary period. Knowing all of this BEFORE it’s here will go a long way towards making sure we’re as prepared as possible.

As much as I hate talking so negatively lately, the fact of the matter is that I don’t have a choice. My job isn’t to pull the wool over your eyes; it’s to show you all of the possibilities laid out before us, good or bad.

I’d rather you know than be caught with your pants down. 

I believe that information defeats fear of the unknown…

And if you’re not afraid, you can act accordingly to profit as much as possible. 

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown” – H.P. Lovecraft

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Baidu Launches AI Platform to Enable on-Device, Real-Time Translation from Speech to Hand Gestures - Yahoo Finance - Translation

BEIJING, March 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Baidu AI Cloud, a leading AI cloud provider, launched an AI sign language platform able to generate digital avatars for sign language translation and live interpretation within minutes. Released as a new offering of Baidu AI Cloud's digital avatar platform XiLing, this platform aims to help break down communication barriers for the deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) community by boosting the accessibility of automated sign language translation. An AI sign language interpreter developed using the platform will perform its duties during the upcoming Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics Games.

Baidu XiLing Sign Language Digital Avatar

Also released along with the platform are two all-in-one AI sign language translators, providing one-stop solutions with a streamlined set-up process and plug-and-use features. By enabling public service deployment in scale, the translators have been designed for a wide range of use scenarios such as hospitals, banks, airports, bus stations and other public areas.

Baidu XiLing All-in-one AI Sign Language Translators

With the technology enablement brought by AI, the production and operational costs of digital avatars have been reduced to a significant degree, making it possible for AI sign language to go scale and serve more deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, said Tian Wu, Baidu Corporate Vice President.

Today, China is home to 27.8 million deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals but is faced with a massive shortage of qualified professionals to serve their needs, with no more than 10,000 sign language translators, a gap especially felt in medical and legal settings.

The XiLing AI sign language platform and the all-in-one sign language translators are designed to fill this significant gap and address the communication difficulties facing the DHH community in both online and offline settings. For DHH individuals who want to study or socialize online without barriers, the platform can be quickly integrated into commonly used mobile applications, websites, and mini programs within a few hours, performing functions like sign language video synthesis and livestream synthesis, text-to-sign language translation, and audio-to-sign language translations.

The all-in-one translators are tailored for offline scenarios to improve the accessibility of public services. Baidu's translators come with two models, a full offline version V3, and a cloud-connected version P3. Both are embedded with core functions of the AI sign-language platform, able to realize ASR speech recognition, speech translation, and portrait rendering. This full range of functions offers incredible potential for empowering the DHH. For instance, DHH individuals will be able to visit the hospital and manage the complicated process of registration, consultation, payment, and medicine collection without further assistance. Additional applications hold the potential to allow the DHH community to travel, dine, and even work independently.

Technical Deep Dive

Compared to translations between spoken languages, the sign language translation is more complicated mainly because it is not translated word by word from verbal speech. Instead, the language refinement and word order must be adjusted in order to show the actual meaning of the sentence. As a relatively rarely-used language, a very limited amount of data on sign language is available for machine learning. It also requires lip language and facial expressions to assist understanding. In real-world settings, solutions are often faced with complex environmental factors making them difficult to deploy. All these practical barriers have posed numerous challenges to the development of AI sign language.

To make AI sign language comprehendible, Baidu scientists had to resolve three key challenges: the clarity of speech recognition, the accuracy of sign language translation, and the fluency of sign language movements.

To address speech recognition clarity, the XiLing AI sign language platform uses Baidu's home-grown SMLTA speech recognition model to achieve end-to-end modeling speech recognition through integrating acoustics and language. Based on Baidu's self-developed deep learning algorithm, targeted training can enable word accuracy in a wide range of fields such as tourism, medical care, and legal proceedings.

In terms of the accuracy and refinement of sign language translation, Baidu has built the first neural network-based sign language translation model with a controllable degree of refinement, which can automatically learn sign language translation knowledge from real data such as word order adjustment, word mapping and length control to generate natural sign language that conforms to the habits of hard-of-hearing people.

To ensure the accuracy of the sign language translation, Baidu has invited over 500 scholars and students with hearing loss in China to help enlarge and vet the sign language corpus, with many joining the project as volunteers. Tiantian Yuan, associate dean of Technical College for the Deaf, Tianjin University of Technology, said she and her students feel incredibly honored to have contributed their parts in collaborating with Baidu to fill in this gap for the community.

To ensure the fluency of sign language actions, the AI sign language platform has sorted nearly 11,000 actions based on the National Universal Sign Language Dictionary with its "action fusion algorithm", so that all digital sign language gestures have the degree of coherency and expression as human sign language. In addition, with the help of 4D scanning technology, the accuracy of mouth shape generation has been optimized up to 98.5%.

About Baidu:

Founded in 2000, Baidu's mission is to make the complicated world simpler through technology. Baidu is a leading AI company with strong Internet foundation, trading on the NASDAQ under "BIDU" and HKEX under "9888." One Baidu ADS represents eight Class A ordinary shares.

Media Contact
intlcomm@baidu.com

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SOURCE Baidu, Inc.

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How to Use Your Smartphone's Translator Apps - AARP - Translation

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If you're feeling the urge to travel abroad, but it has been decades since you took high school Spanish, French or some other language, you probably could use some help.

Whether you’re reading a foreign menu, asking for directions, listening to a lecture or trying to converse with a native, that help is as close as your smartphone. The Google Translate app has been available for Android devices and the iPhone for about a dozen years now. But if you have an iPhone, you might also open the Apple Translate app that Apple unveiled in 2020; it’s baked into iPhones running iOS 14 or later.

Both are free. While neither delivers perfect translations every time, they are increasingly powerful apps that under the right circumstances are magnifique.

AARP

Ukrainian is one more than 100 languages that can be translated in the Google Translate app for both Apple and Android devices.

Google translates 108 languages

Google Translate lets you type and translate between 108 languages, or 59 even when you lack internet connectivity. The app can also translate text found in images across 94 languages, translate conversations in near real time in 71 languages, and recognize drawn text characters in 96. You can also create a phrasebook on your device.

What’s more: You'll not only see translations on the phone display but can hear pronunciations of the words and phrases.

The Google Translate interface differs on the Android and iOS versions of the app, but the basic functionality is the same. Start by choosing the languages you want to translate from and to. If your chosen language is supported, download the file onto your phone. That way you can use the translation features even when you’re offline.  

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You have three main ways to use Google Translate:

• Select Camera to translate the text it sees.
• Go with Conversation mode to have a bilingual chat with a foreign speaker.
• Choose Transcribe to translate words and phrases you either utter aloud or type.

On both iPhones and Androids you can enter text in the spaces provided inside the app or tap a microphone icon to speak or pick up someone else’s voice.

On an iPhone, I tapped Transcribe and then the microphone icon to translate recent comments from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky from Ukrainian to English.

Translate a conversation

When you tap Conversation, two people can speak in turn, each by pressing a microphone button and watching words appear in both languages. While in this mode, you can also tap a Both button on the iPhone or an Auto button on Android to have the phone listen for both languages. This can be handy not only while traveling, but also if a loved one, friend or someone you've hired is more comfortable speaking in their native language, but you're not fluent.

On the iPhone if you tap Camera inside Google Translate, recognized text in the original language is overwritten by the app. You can also snap a picture and select the words you want to translate. Incidentally, in Camera mode on the iPhone, the Google Translate name changes to Google Lens, a feature within the broader Google app.

On Android if you tap Camera, you can tap an Instant button to immediately translate whatever words show up on the screen. Or you can tap Scan to have the phone scan and capture whatever is in front of the camera. Then drag your finger to highlight specific text.

Another option lets you tap Import to translate text from a photo already in your library.

AARP

In Google Translate, you can see a translation on the screen or tap the speaker icon to hear it read aloud.

Google keeps transcriptions

Google points out that any audio you record for translation purposes will be transmitted to the company for processing. And to help improve the service, Google may keep a transcription of a conversation for “a limited period of time.” Google also wants you to make sure you have consent from the people around you before you translate their words.

You’ll also need to make sure in device settings that you give Google Translate permission to access the microphone on your phone. On Android, open Settings, and tap Privacy. Turn on microphone access. On iOS, open Settings, tap Privacy and then Microphone. Enable the button next to Google Translate to turn on microphone access.

Within the settings of the Google Translate app itself, you can choose to block offensive words or change pronunciation speeds, though any of these speed settings do not apply in Conversation mode.

Apple translates 13 languages

The Apple Translate app supports far fewer languages than Google does, just 13 in total, including United States and United Kingdom versions of English and Chinese mainland and Taiwanese versions of Mandarin Chinese. All 13 can be downloaded for offline use.

AARP

The face-to-face option in Apple Translate's Conversation mode lets each speaker see translations right side up.

As with Google, the audio and text you choose to have translated are sent to Apple’s servers for processing. Among Apple’s caveats: “Translate should not be relied on in circumstances where you could be harmed or injured, in high-risk situations, for navigation, or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition.”

Otherwise, the basic functionality is like Google’s — after choosing your languages, you can type text or tap a microphone to speak. And Apple also features a Conversation mode. You can display the interface as side-by-side or face-to-face, where two people directly opposite one another will each see spoken dialog right side up.

Live Text lives in many iPhones' cameras

On an iPhone, you can also translate signs and other text seen through the camera lens. This isn’t done directly through the Apple Translate app but rather the Live Text feature added with iOS 15. The feature is compatible with all iPhones dating to 2018’s Xr or Xs models.

If you have a supported model, launch the Camera app, and point it at what you want to translate. A yellow frame appears around detected text. Tap the circled icon with horizontal lines inside open brackets. It’s toward the bottom on the right when you hold the phone in vertical portrait mode or upper right when you hold it sideways horizontally. It will turn yellow. Swipe or tap to select the appropriate text and tap Translate, which you may have to swipe to get to.

Translation apps are extremely useful, but some of the time anyway, you can use your phone even more easily when you want to know how to say something in another language. Just ask Google Assistant on Android phones or Siri on an iPhone. They can tell you in French, say, that c’est la fin de l’article.

Edward C. Baig is a contributing writer who covers technology and other consumer topics. He previously worked for USA Today, BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report and Fortune and is the author of Macs for Dummies and the coauthor of iPhone for Dummies and iPad for Dummies.

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Company will help district with translation and interpretation of languages - Lehigh Acres Citizen - Translation

The Lee County School District is negotiating a contract with a company that will help translate and interpret 240 languages and dialects, which will further help the district communicate with families.

Student Enrollment Director Soretta Ralph said they have a bilingual staff within the student enrollment department, which is available to assist families.

“Oftentimes there are parents that come in that need assistance. We oftentimes don’t know what language they are going to come in speaking,” she said, adding that often it includes different dialects as well. “That dialect is sometimes another language.”

In order to communicate, Ralph said they often rely on Google Translate, as well as multiple staff members, to assist the family. Even when they get FOCUS up and running for student enrollment, it is still going to take a village to assist families.

Google Translate again is used when families contact them through the student enrollment email, so they can respond in the appropriate language.

ESOL Director Dr. Evelyn Rivera said they have a plan in place, as they are contracting with the company, Language Line Solutions, which provides translations and interpretations for the spoken and written language.

“The contract is going back and forth, fixing things on their end and our end,” she said.

When the contract is finalized, school and district staff will have support for 240 languages and dialects.

“It is going to be a wonderful support for everybody in here,” Rivera said.

There will be a special code to call on the phone and within 20 seconds someone will be there to speak the language, or dialect of the parent, she explained.

Ralph said the district is still growing, as in January alone they enrolled 1,200 new students. She said 160 of those students came to the district with IEPs.

The 2022-2023 application period began on Jan. 17 for enrollment. Ralph said 12,000 students have entered their applications for next school year.

“They have already been processed and this is the last week,” Ralph said last Tuesday afternoon. “We are getting 1,200 students in a month new to the school year. We have the same number of staff and we continue to grow. The school district is continuing to grow. We are really struggling as a district in every place.” 

The School Board approved the English Language Learners Plan for school years 2022-2025.

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New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures Released in Tlapanec - JW News - Translation

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New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures Released in Tlapanec  JW News

Air Force translators enable water sustainment project for African partner nations - Air Force Link - Translation

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFNS) --  

Through the Air Force Culture and Language Center’s Training Partnership Request, the 435th AEW requested translation support for a technical writing project to translate two major documents. The documents, totaling 62 pages, needed translation from German to English. 

“This technical writing project demonstrated the can-do impact of LEAP Scholars on building partnerships in Niger and meeting short-notice operational needs through language and cultural skills,” said Christopher Chesser, AFCLC’s Language Division chief. “In response to Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.’s call to ‘Accelerate Change or Lose,’ our scholars are smashing old paradigms and bringing the capability to bear when and where it’s needed.” 

The translation of these documents was critical for continuing a project in progress with the 435th AEW and its German partners to drill a well at a deployed location for enduring water sustainment. Without support from the LEAP team, the unit’s mission could have been postponed or derailed. 

The LEAP team coordinated with members around the globe and divided into teams. Each team then divided the pages equally amongst team members to work translation. After completing the translation of their assigned section, members sent their documents to a designated partner for review. The lead from each team consolidated the documents and looked for discrepancies. The consolidated documents were then sent out one final time for review before a final copy was sent to the requester.  

German LEAP scholar Maj. Franklin Nesselhuf participated in the project as his first official translation opportunity for the Air Force. 

“The documents prevented the USAF from having to go through the testing and verification process a second time,” he said. “The documents we were using were a German translation from French, from the government of Niger, and revealed the water was too hard for use with filtration. That information will be very useful in informing the civil engineers where to drill and the requisite facilities needed to make the water potable. As we look to compete against Russia and China in Africa, developing bases and promoting stability in societies will be key to geopolitical success and human flourishing.”  

Lt. Col. Gordon Kinney, director of staff at the 435th AEW, thanked the LEAP Scholars for their efforts in fulfilling the translation needs of this project. 

“Africa is an unforgiving environment,” he said. “Between the heat, dust, wind and lack of water, our Airmen are taxed daily. This well affords our Airmen the peace of mind they need to focus on delivering secure, reliable, and flexible power projection platforms to combatant commanders and that’s thanks to the efforts of a few brilliant, dedicated LEAP scholars.” 

Before the requested translation support, the German partners involved in the project had already accomplished well drilling on their side of the base. The team at 435th AEW needed a translation of these documents concerning the established well to expedite and enable drilling of the U.S. forces’ well. Without the translation of these documents, U.S. forces could not proceed with digging the well for airbase sustainment. Funding and engineering were in place, so the document translation was the final piece needed to commence the time-sensitive project.  

Lt. Col. David Troxell, commander of the 768th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron, also expressed appreciation for the LEAP team and their work to support a project that will significantly enhance essential systems on base. 

“This translation helps streamline a $500,000 project, ultimately supporting a $1.6 million total water production, treatment and distribution system,” he said. “This will go a long way to calm our nerves about sourcing water so we can focus on sustaining base operations, building our African partner’s defense capabilities, and enabling counter-violent extremism operations in the Sahel. This isn’t just a win for the U.S., it’s a win for all our allied and partnered nations." 

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