Skype Translator Preview Coming in December, Sign-up Required

The confusion of languages dates back to the Tower of Babel in 610 BC, but Microsoft is seeking to end the 2500 year reign of mixed languages and confusing dialects through technology – and you can sign-up to get on a wait list to start testing when the preview releases before the end of 2014.

Announced and demonstrated at the Re/code Conference earlier this year, and then subsequently demoed during a presentation at the company's partner conference (WPC 2014) in July, Skype Translator is fantastic, very Star Trek-like technology. Built into Skype (hence the name), Skype Translator translates languages in real time, allowing people with diverse languages to communicate directly over the Skype service.

Microsoft is planning a preview of the service in December, and has rolled out a sign-up process for those interested in testing. As part of the sign-up, a questionnaire is presented so the company can better understand the languages that will be most prominent during testing. When the preview releases only a handful of languages will be available, so the questionnaire is important for Microsoft to understand the development paths to take for an official release.

Of course, a preview actually means beta software, so don't expect it to be perfect right away. Microsoft promises only that it will be usable and work in most cases, and is using the preview as a way to improve language translation the more it is used.

To get your place in line to test, you have to sign-up. Go here to do it: Skype Translator Preview