In a long and rambling release, Lionbridge today announced its retread CMS strategy spouting predictable aphorisms reminiscent of “sliced bread.” In a briefing last week, product manager Dmitry Grenader conveyed more convincingly the value of Lionbridge’s approach.

Energy costs are up, so airlines and shipping companies regularly levy fuel surcharges in response to rising oil prices. It’s the same with currencies. A falling dollar means prices will go up for internationally sourced goods and services — at the gas pump, at the checkout line, at your car dealer, and at your favorite translation agency. The dollar/euro conversion rate signals translation pricing re-alignments.

It could be the start of a bad joke: “Do you know the one about the Jewish journalist who used free online MT to translate an e-mail to a Dutch diplomat and almost caused an international incident?” Stories of bad translations done by computers abound, but seldom do they make the news like the recent [...]

IPOs by Alibaba.com and PetroChina, a new Chinese site from Google, and a giant Ferris wheel dominate this week’s new from China.