Localizing the Bull way

One of the greatest stimuli for language industry applications during the 1980s was the mass adoptance of product localization within the computer industry. Translation companies sprung up to address this lucrative market, vying for contracts by offering one-stop package deals for multiple target languages, the fast turnaround required in the notoriously ephemeral software world, and ostensibly supplying the technical expertise and infrastructure which computer companies might reasonably expect. With the translation companies arrived various forms of computer-aided translation software to enhance the process. Within a few short years, localization has evolved from a casual afterthought to be a highly automated, vital marketing weapon.