http://asiajin.com/blog/2009/12/03/googl...nput-beta/

http://googlejapan.blogspot.com/2009/12/google_03.html
http://www.google.com/intl/ja/ime/

"IME tools allow you to import/export your own dictionary difinitions, switch keybind to some popular existing input methods. You can optionally send all your typing and choices to Google server to improve their social dictionary for better conversion algorithm, which is also supported by other commercial and open source input method tools...

... Google has massive Japanese data by their collecting web pages, which indexed and processed for search and Google suggest. That could be a big advantage for showing better Japanese candidates. On the other hand, their boasting “automatically generate from texts on the web” approach may tend to show more colloquial results, popular choices than grammatically correct choices.

As IME is “more popular than web browser” application for Japanese, this release is causing a lot of buzz now and Japanese twitter timelines are now flooded with which minor/niche phrases/proper nouns they tested with the Google IME were properly converted, or not."

Interesting, downloading right now.

Edit: Wow, it's pretty good at suggesting things and it seems to pick up on the fact I use kansai-ben quite a bit, impressive so far.

Mmmm, let's hope they didn't steal their data this time.

would be great if this was available on linux - I hate Anthy.

Codexus Wrote:Mmmm, let's hope they didn't steal their data this time.

That's just wrong 0.0


Unless they settled, of course.

Wow, just got it and haven't even typed much and I already am really liking it.

Been using it for an hour or two now and it already knows loads about my writing style and it can only get better.

Damn, why no Linux support =(

Looks great, but I'm a bit confused about the 'privacy'/secret mode and how it differs from the other check box about sending statistics to Google. That is, is the former an opt-out of the 'social' aspect, or is the latter an opt-in for the social aspect...

At the moment, I'm assuming that you must opt-out of sharing your usage, and this is a two-way effect, so you also don't receive the benefits of it? With the other check box about statistics being more related to general beta stuff.

Argh, I got all excited and then caught that it's 32 bit only for now.

nest0r (quoting the asiajin blog) Wrote:You can optionally send all your typing and choices to Google server to improve their social dictionary for better conversion algorithm,

That blog doesn't seem to be quite right -- the FAQ says it will send google "OS情報、カスタマイズ情報、打鍵数などの統計情報、クラッシュレポート", but not your actual typing (I didn't think google would be quite silly enough to produce a keylogger in a shiny wrapping )

The 'privacy' mode on the other hand is a quick tickybox to disable it using any information it's learnt from your individual typing (words added to its dictionary, guesses about which words you use, etc). I assume this is so you can let your mother borrow the computer without worrying that the IME will autocomplete some innocuous word with something that would reveal how much time you spent writing dodgy fanfic...

What's the advantage over Microsoft IME? Better word suggestion? Is it worth trying even if I am satisfied with Microsoft IME?

Oh sweet...wonder how long before this makes its way onto my Android phone.

Proxx Wrote:What's the advantage over Microsoft IME? Better word suggestion? Is it worth trying even if I am satisfied with Microsoft IME?

It seems to have better suggestions and more options for customization, plus it's not difficult to install and switch to, so it couldn't *hurt*, just depends I guess. Then again, I'm still using Firefox 2.0.0.x, so I'm the master of never upgrading unless absolutely necessary. ;p

pm215 Wrote:

nest0r (quoting the asiajin blog) Wrote:You can optionally send all your typing and choices to Google server to improve their social dictionary for better conversion algorithm,

That blog doesn't seem to be quite right -- the FAQ says it will send google "OS情報、カスタマイズ情報、打鍵数などの統計情報、クラッシュレポート", but not your actual typing (I didn't think google would be quite silly enough to produce a keylogger in a shiny wrapping )

The 'privacy' mode on the other hand is a quick tickybox to disable it using any information it's learnt from your individual typing (words added to its dictionary, guesses about which words you use, etc). I assume this is so you can let your mother borrow the computer without worrying that the IME will autocomplete some innocuous word with something that would reveal how much time you spent writing dodgy fanfic...

Ahh, this makes sense, thanks--I was wondering that in a paranoid way, too. Ha, I never would have thought of an IME version of those kinds of privacy tweaks ppl have. Guess I'm not immersed enough.

I guess if they're using their web crawling data, someone could still complain about it. Ah Google, I love them taking and disseminating information, but the fact that it's one company bothers me.

nest0r Wrote:

Proxx Wrote:What's the advantage over Microsoft IME? Better word suggestion? Is it worth trying even if I am satisfied with Microsoft IME?

It seems to have better suggestions and more options for customization, plus it's not difficult to install and switch to, so it couldn't *hurt*, just depends I guess. Then again, I'm still using Firefox 2.0.0.x, so I'm the master of never upgrading unless absolutely necessary. ;p

To give a specific example - I'm noticing that the suggestions for not-so-common names are better than the Microsoft IME. Try typing :

森住（もりずみ）
南井（みない）
五上（ごがみ）

These are the names of some of my coworkers that I need to type on a daily basis. With the MS IME they just don't appear -- you have to do it one kanji at a time. With Google they appeared right away.

Just downloaded it, seems very nice, the suggestions are definitely better than MS IME.

It does annoy me that it still has the MS IME problems.
1. Writing in capitals produce romaji. WHY!? Learn from OS X please, we want katakana.
2. Why is "direct input" always assuming I have a US keyboard? I do not! I want my åäö etc right there so I don't have to switch and can stay in google IME always.

Tobberoth Wrote:2. Why is "direct input" always assuming I have a US keyboard? I do not! I want my åäö etc right there so I don't have to switch and can stay in google IME always.

Ow yeah, this is hell annoying. You need to do that ugly register hack.

Oh man, do I have to do that for Dvorak too?

Tobberoth Wrote:Just downloaded it, seems very nice, the suggestions are definitely better than MS IME.

It does annoy me that it still has the MS IME problems.
1. Writing in capitals produce romaji. WHY!? Learn from OS X please, we want katakana.
2. Why is "direct input" always assuming I have a US keyboard? I do not! I want my åäö etc right there so I don't have to switch and can stay in google IME always.

Tobberoth lives. Would custom keymapping help? Or using that ATOK/Kotoeri stuff from other IMEs... perhaps there's some kind of Dvorak thingy you can import? (Guess that last bit's a reference to Nukemarine's comment.)

Like, you can change F7 to something else for converting to katakana. Custom keymap-->customize-->import one of the IMEs and then edit the list... (Or like I said, maybe they've got some kind of cool Dvorak or other keymap dictionary already customized and listed someplace...)

nest0r Wrote:

Tobberoth Wrote:Just downloaded it, seems very nice, the suggestions are definitely better than MS IME.

It does annoy me that it still has the MS IME problems.
1. Writing in capitals produce romaji. WHY!? Learn from OS X please, we want katakana.
2. Why is "direct input" always assuming I have a US keyboard? I do not! I want my åäö etc right there so I don't have to switch and can stay in google IME always.

Tobberoth lives. Would custom keymapping help? Or using that ATOK/Kotoeri stuff from other IMEs... perhaps there's some kind of Dvorak thingy you can import? (Guess that last bit's a reference to Nukemarine's comment.)

Like, you can change F7 to something else for converting to katakana. Custom keymap-->customize-->import one of the IMEs and then edit the list... (Or like I said, maybe they've got some kind of cool Dvorak or other keymap dictionary already customized and listed someplace...)

I live indeed, just been in Asia/had some stuff to do in school etc.

As for the keymapping, I don't think it helps. It seems to be how you control the IME options (changing between hiragana and half-width stuff etc). There was a way to "hack" the MS IME so it worked with other keyboards. Unfortunately, this messed up some games and software so that I became unable to write in Swedish in those programs.

[ファブリス]

Added a simple wiki page, feel free to expand it (I suggest Microsoft IME section to go in there as well for now, it si linked from the wiki home page, under "Software").

Anyone else having a problem where, once they switch to Google IME, per-program it automatically changes back to MS-IME and freezes when you "alt-'"? I feel like there's something to prevent that but forgot.

Hmm, actually I think it's just Firefox. Alt-` after Google IME's enabled causes it to freeze. Doesn't switch back to the MS-IME though, not sure where I got that.

Correction again, it's every per-program setting. Alt-` causes it to freeze. Bleh.

Supercorrection: It's not 'alt-`' so much as 'switching from direct input to other stuff' that causes freezes.

Yep always freezing. Oh well, it would've been swell, Google IME. Guess we weren't meant to be.

ファブリス Wrote:Added a simple wiki page, feel free to expand it (I suggest Microsoft IME section to go in there as well for now, it si linked from the wiki home page, under "Software").

I didn't know about the rtkwiki. Shouldn't there be a link to it somewhere?

krungthep Wrote:

ファブリス Wrote:Added a simple wiki page, feel free to expand it (I suggest Microsoft IME section to go in there as well for now, it si linked from the wiki home page, under "Software").

I didn't know about the rtkwiki. Shouldn't there be a link to it somewhere?

Agreed, there has been limited activity on the wiki, it could turn out to be an awesome resource, we need a link on the front page I think.