The Next Killer Applications

Chuck Talk writes “As a writer, I am constantly hampered by linguistic barriers that make comprehension of my intended message an exercise in humor (or so I have been told on occasion) for my global audience. It isn’t that I intentionally write silly messages or comments; I have meaningful messages to convey to my audience (at least I hope so). The problem lies in the inherent inability of translation software to accurately translate the various global languages.

I don’t think there will ever be a completely accurate translation engine; I
do think that a translation engine that follows standard rules for a language is possible with grid computing though. If there is a killer application that grid computing is designed for beyond number-crunching applications, then lingual-crunching (translation) is definitely a worthwhile project. Not only is such a project a desirable goal for business communications, but it has other very important applications for world
peace and stability as well.

Although it is a common skit on comedy shows around the world, the ability to accurately translate languages is a deficiency that hurts this nation just as much as it does every nation. Accurate linguistic translation is often as prone to error due to bias, incompetence or misunderstanding. Language, for all of the
technological advances we have made, remains the key for communication. Failing
to understand what is being said or misinterpreting a message can lead to dire consequences, errors in judgment and embarrassment.”