If you were to see her home office in the early evening, with rows of blinking green, yellow and blue lights and the multitude of screens casting an eerie glow (two laptops, a flat screen, a TV; all turned on), and the productivity gadgets connected to all of it, there would be no doubt in your mind. Here lives and works someone who doesn’t like wasting time. A “multi-tasker”, who can actually pull it off. Anyone who has had the pleasure of working with her knows that its not easy to keep up with this self-professed geek. On occasion, and only half in jest, she has attributed her high level of productivity to ADD high-functioning ADD, that is.

But there’s another explanation: passion. Rahel Anne Bailie is absolutely passionate about what she does which is why shes so good at it. As one of the leading content management strategists and usability experts in the Pacific Northwest, Rahel has developed a solid reputation as an innovative thinker, with a keen sense of business, and with the expertise and the network to get exceptional things done. Most recently, she chaired the very successful and critically acclaimed first annual Content Convergence and Integration conference, bringing together speakers and topics that are seldom connected. If your reputation is also shaped by the company you keep, well, lets just say Rahel keeps some excellent company. Don’t miss her presentation at DocTrain East, Content Convergence: Trends in the Creation, Production, and Maintenance of Technical Content. She’ll inform and inspire you, guaranteed.

Read Rahel’s blog. You can reach Rahel via email or via telephone at +1-604-837-0034. 

across Systems, a leading manufacturer of corporate translation management software, is offering its Personal Edition available for free download for freelance translation professionals. Personal Edition v3.5 was developed by across to offer full translation functionality particularly for freelance translators.

The across Personal Edition can be used either as a standalone application or as a remote client for direct access to across servers (crossWAN). For example, freelance translators always work with one single installation, irrespective of the current task and workflow.

When you register for your free Personal Edition, across takes you through a short, easy registration process that also adds your name and a brief resume of your qualifications to a pool of freelance translators. In this unique database, companies who already use across, but need translators, can easily find one.

across believes this allows for seamless processes, maximum transparency, and shared use of all resources.They also offer full support to freelancers through free on-line training (limit 2 in the course of six months) or their free (unlimited) interactive tutorials on “Project Management and Translating with across.” Tutorials are about 10 to 15 minutes long, so you can learn where and when it’s convenient for you.

While you are at it, you might want to check out the across library of white papers on Consistent Terminology, Translation-Oriented Authoring, or any number of other topics that could make the translation process easier for you and your clients.

across Systems is a Silver sponsor of DocTrain EAST 2007. The event takes place October 16-20, 2007.  Advancing your Career is the theme of the conference and is designed to help you improve the skills and expertise you’ll need to future-proof your career and improve your value as a professional technical communicator.

About across
across Systems is the manufacturer of the across Corporate Translation Management (CTM) software solution. Headquartered in Germany, across Systems is a spin-off of Nero AG, the provider of the world’s leading CD/DVD application.

The software includes a translation memory, a terminology system, and powerful project management and translation workflow monitoring tools. From project managers to translators and proofreaders, all involved parties work within a single system, either in-house or over a seamless connection to external language service providers. Open interfaces allow the smooth integration of third-party systems.