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Why don't you have a demo version? |
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1. This is not just a simple learn-by-rote teaching program. It's a complex suite of programs and data files that has many capabilities, and is completely expandable. The Thai dictionary, for example, currently has over 39,000 words, but can handle 60,000. Each word may have a picture and sound file. There are currently more than 5,000 pictures and 5,000 sound files. 2. Many of the programs interact with each other and with the dictionary; the Thai Editor, for example, has a "hot box" which lets you type a word in English, and then finds the word in the dictionary, and places the Thai equivalent in the document. 3. So it's too complex to have a simple demo; I'd have to create a stripped down version of several programs, with limited data, then package it all up in a nice setup program. Frankly, I'd rather spend my time fixing problems and further developing the existing software. 4. You can look at the screen captures to see what the software provides and whether it's appropriate for you. 5. The software you download is the same software you get
when you buy the CD-ROM; it is not crippled in any way, and is
fully updatable. The dictionaries are identical and complete,
too. In fact, we make the CD-ROM by copying the files from the
web site distribution area on our server, so we know they are
the same. They differ in only one aspect: some of the images
and sound files are encrypted with a password. When you try to
download the files with MLD Web Update, it will first ask you
if you know the password; if so, you enter it and the files are
downloaded and installed. You get the password by donating US$49
or more to this project. This is the same price as you pay for
the CD-ROM. On the CD, the password is automatically entered
by the installation program. So download the software and try
it out. Images and sounds in the encrypted files can't be used;
they are replaced with a simple message saying they haven't been
downloaded yet. But you can run Speak Easy and see if you like
the approach we have taken. If you like the software, donate
$49 and we can then send you the password. You then get full
access to all the images and sound files. If you don't like the
software, go to the section "Removing the Software"
in the main index at the left, and run the Uninstall program;
it will remove everything automatically, without leaving any
spam generators or other junk behind. You won't have wasted any
money, just the time taken to download stuff you subsequently
decided not to use. |
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Will it run on a Mac? |
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With the latest Macs, the ones with an Intel processor, yes. There are two ways:
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I bought the Speak Easy Thai CD-ROM (or donated US$49). When Speak Easy Isaan (or Speak Easy Lao or Speak Easy Khmer...) is available, do I get it free? |
If you have purchased a CD-ROM or donated US$49 or more, then you get the bonus images (currently more than 4200) and all future updates to those free. Each language requires a new CD-ROM purchase or donation
of US$49 to get the extra (bonus) sound files (minimum
4000 sound files) for that language. |
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If I buy the CD-ROM, or donate money, what's your policy on updates? |
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Simple: all updates to software, dictionaries, basic images, and basic sounds are free. Updates to bonus images and bonus sound files for that language are also free. To get the bonus files for other languages you need
to make a further donation or purchase of the retail CD-ROM for
each Asian language. This money is our only income for the continued
development and maintenance of this project. |
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I downloaded all the files, but Web Update is asking for a password for some files. Why? And how to I get the password? |
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The reason some files have a password is because a) we need to generate some money to keep this project running; There are 3 ways to get the password. 1. Donate US$49 or more to the project; there is a link in the main menu "Help This Project". 2. Buy the CD-ROM, from Thai-Culture-Publishing.com. The CD-ROM is a copy of the web site and includes the protected files, unlocked. 3. You speak <German|French|Italian|whatever>, yes? Edit the <whatever> dictionary. When you have sent me 500 corrections or new words, I will send you the password; this is your reward for helping us. The protected files add at least 3000 pictures and 4000 sound files, so Speak Easy Thai is much better. If you make <whatever> the default language, rather
than English, Speak Easy Thai will first try to show the <whatever>
word against the Thai; if there is no <whatever> word in
the dictionary yet, it will show English. So the more <whatever>
words in the dictionary, the better Speak Easy Thai works. |
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How can I use FTP to download the files directly? |
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You can't. MLD Web Update handles the download of all files. The reason for this is that we have split the entire suite into multiple, small downloads, more than 80 at the moment, but this will increase as we add more sound files and images. This allows us to update a few pictures or sound files, for example, with a relatively small download, rather than a huge one. You only need the files related to what you want to do. If you are interested in Thai but not Isaan Lao, Web Update will not download any of the Isaan files. Web Update has a "profile" where you specify what tickles your fancy / turns you on / satisfies your innermost urges / what languages and functions you want. Then it checks your system to see what you have and compares that list with what's available on the server; if stuff has been updated, it downloads the update. If not, it skips that one. In the old days, we used a long list on the web site and people
had to decide what to download and install the stuff themselves.
A nightmare. MLD Web Update works well. Use it. Don't fight Mother
Nature. |
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Can I help with the <whatever> dictionary? |
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You certainly can; we welcome all input. First, run MLD Dictionary Update. You need to enter the registration code; if you have not received your registration code by e-mail, send an e-mail requesting it. Only people who have identified themselves can update a dictionary; this is to avoid grafitti and other spurious or malicious entries. Once you have entered your code, you can right click on the British flag and select your preferred language. This makes that language the default language. The Dictionary Update program lets you browse through the dictionary in various ways. There are arrow buttons to move forwards and back, there is a search facility (click on the binoculars icon and enter a word in the window that pops up), and there is a an extended search (click on the tool icon). The extended search will let you search in many ways other than keyword. If you click on the down-arrow next to the Euro word, you will see the other Euro languages that you downloaded, with English at the top. If the text for your language is OK, leave it and go to the next record by pressing the right arrow button in the menu. If the text is wrong or missing, correct it and press the Enter key. The icon of the diskette in the menu at the top will change from grey to blue. This means a change has been made to the record. Click that button to save the record; the icon will go back to grey. Changes you make are written to a text file. The next time you run MLD Web Update, that text file (it's called an "audit file") will be uploaded to the web server, which is in Toronto. I collect these files from the Toronto server, update the dictionary here in Bangkok, and post the corrected dictionary to the web site so that you and other people can download it automatically via Web Update. In Speak Easy Thai, when the program retrieves a word from the dictionary, it attempts to get the matching Euro word, and will display that if found. If there is no Euro word available, it will display English. So the more of your language there is in the dictionary, the better Speak Easy Thai becomes. Initially, I put the words into each Euro dictionary by using an automated process. Since the algorithm is not perfect, there are likely several or many errors, so this is why it is important for someone who speaks that language better than me to check and make corrections. This project relies on volunteers, so I thank you for your time. But do not feel that you have to work every day on this. Any work you do at all helps other people who speak your language. Sometimes there is more than one volunteer working on the same language dictionary; in this case, I will assign a range of records to each person. It is important not to correct records outside your assigned range, as they may conflict with something the other person did. When you have sent me 500 corrections or additions, I will
send you the password that unlocks the protected bonus files.
There are more than 3000 pictures and 4000 sounds in the bonus
files. These files make Speak Easy Thai very usable; they are
the same files included on the CD-ROM that is sold by Thai Culture Publishing. |
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Web Update gets error message: "cannot connect to server". |
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If your Internet access in general is working, then this message means the Internet access is blocked for this program. If you have a firewall, then you probably replied with the default "Block" when asked by the firewall software when the program was first run. To fix this, open your firewall software, locate MLDwebUpdt3.exe (it's usually under
C:\Program Files\Multi-Language Dictionary\Binaries\)
and change the setting to allow Internet access always.
If you can't figure out how to do that, go to Control Panel,
Add/Remove Programs, and uninstall the MLD Thai Bootstrap, then
download it and install it again. When it is run, watch for a
firewall message asking if it should allow or block access to
the Internet. Choose the "Allow Always" option. |
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I get error message: "No default printer". |
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Some of the software requires that a default printer be set.
It doesn't have to be physically present. If you do not have
a printer, and get the diagnostic "No default printer",
then go to Control Panel, Printers and Fax, and set up a new
printer, any manufacturer, any model (such as Epson ActionLaser
1000), or better yet, download and install a PDF maker, and set
that as the default printer. This will allow you to print to
a PDF file. You can get a free PDF maker, which installs as a
printer driver, from http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/ . |
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I found an error in the dictionary. |
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Great! In MLD Dictionary Maintenance, choose Options in the main menu, and make sure there is a tick mark next to Make Audit File of Changes. Then find the bad record in the dictionary. There are a couple of ways to do this. 1. Click on Database, then Update Database / Find
a Word. This will run the Dictionary Update program. Either
enter the record number, or click the binoculars button to find
the record. Then make the correction, and save the record (by clicking
the diskette icon). This will write a text record to an audit
file (extension .ADT) in the directory where the software was
installed. The next time you run Web Update, it will automatically
send the audit file to me and I will update the master copy of
the dictionary. |
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I'm only interested in Thai OCR, not the other stuff. Do I have to download everything else? |
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No, Thai OCR (now called MLDOCR) is a standalone program. At this stage, it makes no reference to the dictionary or other control files. In a future version, it will validate words by using the dictionaries. It uses MLD Web Update to update itself, but it has another
update facility for character definitions. |
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When will MLDOCR (Thai OCR) be available? |
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I'm working on it, but there's no particular date I have in mind. When I think it's stable enough for public use, I will post it to this web site. If you want me to tell you when I do that, send me an e-mail and mention MLDOCR (or Thai OCR), and I will add you to my list. I won't sell or give away your address to anyone else, and won't inundate you with junk mail about making your penis bigger. There will be a public beta test, but you will have to commit to using and testing the software; I don't want people running the not-yet-ready program, saying "it's no good" and then discarding it. If you want to participate in the testing, there will be a
US$50 fee to ensure you are committed. In exchange, you will
obtain the final retail version (expected to sell for US$250)
free, and lifetime upgrades and enhancements free. If you want
to participate, send
me an e-mail and I will let you know when the testing details
are finalised. |
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I'm a <poor starving student> | <Christian missionary> | <poverty-stricken invalid> | <unemployed ageing hippie>, can I have a free CD-ROM? |
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Short answer: no. Long answer: We all have our crosses to bear. This project has consumed thousands of man-hours and employs between 1 and 3 Thai people (with a very low income) in Bangkok with young children to support back home in the provinces. They depend on the sales of the CD-ROM and donations to the web site. My time so far has been donated. More than US$100,000 has been spent by me in actual cash outlay on the development of this software since January 2005; more than 80% went on salaries and rent, the rest on hardware. So, sorry, no freebies, we need every baht we can raise. If you know of an individual, company, or government organisation (in any country) that could help defray expenses, please contact them and tell them about us. If you know of a business that could help sell CD-ROMs for us, in any country, please have them contact us; we will provide a discount for volume purchases. [As an aside, we have so little income, that when we make
an Internet sale, the ladies get all excited: "We made a
sale!" This is because that $49 means three days' income
for one person.] |
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I was using Speak Easy Thai; in the subjects section, the picture that was displayed was not right for that Thai word. |
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Sorry about that. With multiple people updating the dictionary, sometimes pictures get changed the wrong way, or a word gets deleted but its picture does not, then a new word is inserted and picks up the wrong picture. One time, I noticed that the pictures for "left" and "right" were wrong; they were reversed. It used to be that "left" had a picture of a hand pointing left, and "right" had a hand pointing right. When I asked the girl who changed them to be opposite, she said for "left": "It have right hand pointing, I change". Sigh. Whether this is an example of Thai logic or female logic, I don't know, but in any case, I fixed that one. If you find an error, or if a picture is inappropriate or
offensive, send us an e-mail identifying the language,
the word, and the problem. |
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I am getting error message: "Thai Label Box is not registered". |
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When MLD Web Update is first run, it asks for your interests,
which you define in the Profile section. Then it scans your system,
and presents a list of stuff to be downloaded in the Current
Downloads section. You must select everything (press the Select
All button). If you only select one or two files, stuff will
be missing and programs will not work. Some of the image and
sound files are protected and need a password. These are not
critical for the initial download, but everything else is. Run
MLD Web Update again, select everything, and let everything install. ... |
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Speak Easy Thai has a welcome message in Thai when it starts. Can I turn this off somehow? |
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Yes. First close Speak Easy Thai if it is running. Using Windows Explorer, go to the directory C:\Program Files\Multi-Language Dictionary\Thai\Programs and open the file "Local.ini" with Notepad. In the section labelled "[SPKEASYTHAI]", add this
line: Now save the file and restart Speak Easy Thai. No more welcome
message. |
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Speak Easy Isaan Lao has a welcome message in Lao when it starts. Can I turn this off somehow? |
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Yes. First close Speak Easy Isaan Lao if it is running. Using Windows Explorer, go to the directory C:\Program Files\Multi-Language Dictionary\Isaan\Programs and open the file "Local.ini" with Notepad. In the section labelled "[SPKEASYISAAN]", add this
line: Now save the file and restart Speak Easy Isaan Lao. No more
welcome message. |
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Last modified: 19 Sep 2009