Re: [tlug] Dictionary problem

[Yasuaki Kudo <yasu@example.com>]

Hi,

Many years ago, I used to use to directly search (using grep) the EIJIRO text file. 
I was looking for the most useful Japanese to English suggestions and thought this was the best (at the time, at least :-))

http://www.japaneselanguagetools.com/docs/Eijiro.html

An old version appears to be still on sale. (The site says they don't
plan to sell any of their later versions, unless enrypted for their
product)
http://www.dlmarket.jp/products/detail/302446


Cheers,
Yasu

On Mon, Mar 21, 2016 at 11:35:55AM +0900, Thomas Blasejewicz wrote:
> I have been contemplating the following "question" for a long time, 
> since every time I dare asking something like that, I am stoned to death 
> or burnt at the stake within 7 seconds of posting.
> In a recent response to my (apparently stupid) question about HDD 
> problems, Mr. Turnbull used the term "technopeasant" (a new term?).
> That is exactly what I am.
> And according to the person who wrote the article cited also by Mr. 
> Turnbull http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/faq/crybaby.html#allowed
> *I SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED to use a computer .. at all!*. I should be 
> using pencil (I prefer fountain pen!) and paper.
> 
> With this in mind, my little problem.
> I am working as an acupuncturist - fortunately I do not need a computer 
> for that - and as a translator.
> As a translator I DO(!) need a (at least 2) computer AND .. here comes 
> the problem .. a lot of dictionaries.
> About 8 years ago I came across something called "Linux for translators" 
> and was happy of finally having found something NOT Microsoft!
> Since then I have spent hundreds (maybe thousands of hours) trying to 
> figure out how to make Linux work,
> used multiple computers (even bought one for practice purpose) and the 
> stack of Live-CDs of the various flavors and versions reaches to the moon.
> Unfortunately, I have not had much success so far. (Another proof of my 
> stupidity?)
> 
> By now I can install the OS, use LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird etc. 
> under Linux .. so far so good.
> Dictionaries???
> I have been trying to find dictionaries for Linux. Very little luck.
> And what there is, is mostly not acceptable, like "gjiten", "gwaei" etc. 
> I would NEVER walk into a bookstore and spend money on those, if they 
> were printed on paper.
> Stardict, you say. I have had a look at those too. There you may get 
> (for example) in an English-French dictionary "house" -> "maison" = ONE 
> word + plus a vast white desert on the screen. THAT is not acceptable 
> either.
> Or dictionaries used under Stardict (or the "successor" GoldenDict) like 
> "Meikyo" (a standard Japanese monolingual dictionary) or THE standard 
> German dictionary "Duden"* appear as VERY cheap and largely incomplete 
> (therefore useless) copies of the real things.
> (* By chance I found, that on one of my disks with my various Duden 
> dictionaries there IS a Linux version! Hallejuja)
> Well, as far as I know "Stardict" was a Chinese product. Apparently a 
> pirated product. And the Russians (GoldenDict) are not much better.
> If you want to use Britannica etc. under Linux, then you have to be real 
> computer wizard to do the required compiling and sudo wizardry with 
> hundred of commands. Obviously well beyond the capabilities of a 
> technopeasant (me).
> And there is a very long list of other "dictionaries" I tried. None of 
> them is "up to the job" for professional (translation) purposes.
> 
> Well, try running Windows dictionaries under Linux. I have been spending 
> years on this little tasks.
> VirtualBox? I was not able to make that work.
> Wine? Does not work at all. I tried for years. Trying Crossover 
> (commercial!) did not help either. The technical support there told me: 
> "If it does not work, just forget about it." The advice of the 
> professionals.
> VMPlayer. That is the one I am currently "using". I managed to install 
> Windowx XP (Windowx 7 failed (naturally?), because of those nasty 
> licence tricks of Microsoft.
> However, running my (some commercial, some free) Windows dictionaries in 
> VMPlayer is very far from being a comfortable working environment.
> KVM? I stumbled over that idea in my desparate attemps at finding 
> solutions to my "problem".
> Unfortunately, currently my machines are technically not advanced enough.
> (I am afraid I do not have the money to buy me a high-spec supercomputer 
> for that purpose.)
> 
> So, after all this rambling and complaining ...
> ARE there any "acceptable" dictionaries for Linux.
> With acceptable I mean: I would walk into a bookstore and NOT hesitate 
> to spend money on buying a printed copy.
> (Note: before the internet age I bought + collected MANY (printed) 
> dictionaries. I have literally hundreds of them at home ...)
> 
> Or if not. Is there any other way of using my Windows dictionary 
> software under Linux then the ones listed above?
> Or should I "just forget about using Linux" (like the advice from the 
> Crossover team) when it comes to translation, because it is "not up to 
> the job"?
> 
> Over the last 8 years, in ALL communities, mailing lists I have joined 
> over the years, hinting at THAT possibilty always meant death sentence.
> The Linux community does not speak to technopeasants. The rustics should 
> not be allowed to use computers,
> waste the time of real computer users and go back to using pen and paper.
> (If all the people working in the public sector (gas, electricity, 
> banks, government, etc.) would do that ... none of the enlighted Linux 
> users would be able to live=survive.)
> 
> *BUT .. I DO NOT WANT TO START A HOLY WAR*. The pros and cons of 
> Linux/Windows/Mac etc.
> I AM(!!) planing to replace the Windows XP machine in my clinic with a 
> Linux Mint machine.
> All I want to know is whether this plan is a big mistake or not. (again, 
> probably a very stupid question).
> If Linux really has nothing useful to offer for my "dictionary problem", 
> I maybe be forced to use Windows after all.
> Something I would really like to avoid ...
> 
> Bracing for impact
> Thomas
> 
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