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Microsoft Launches New Poetry Simplification
Software
Microsoft Corporation has just announced that they will be intensifying
their effort in finding solutions that will allow ordinary users
around the world to translate poems into the language of their choice:
plain English. Code-named " Simplicity" it is based on
Microsoft's Word spell check engines as well as their latest translation
and summarizing tools. The Vermont company has assured investors
that within the next few years "everyone will be able to read
and understand Ginsberg."
To illustrate this point, project spokes person Judy Spelwright
offered the following example from the celebrated poet's repertoire:
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PRE-'SIMPLICITY' TEXT
The Trembling of the Veil
Today out of the window
the trees seemed like live
organisms on the moon.
Each bough extended upward
covered at the north end
with leaves, like a green
hairy protuberance. I saw
the scarlet-and-pink shoot-tips
of budding leaves wave
delicately in the sunlight,
blown by the breeze,
all the arms of the trees
bending and straining downward
at once when the wind
pushed them
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TRANSLATED TEXT
The Trembling of the Veil
The tree in front of my house is budding.
It's windy
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.
 According
to Spelwright, 'Simplicity' is a leap forward from Microsoft's previous
efforts (see Beowulf example to the right), which focused strictly
on translation of Old English and foreign language texts:
" Although our pervious software was an astounding success
and is now used by academics and students in over three countries,
our goal now is to take it a step further , so that as little amount
of work as possible is required to actually understand the work,
whether it is written in English or by George Bush for that matter".
 At
this stage , the project is still in it's beta testing phase, but
it should hit store shelves within the next few months. Prices will
slightly vary across markets but the product is projected to sell
for around $673 in the US, $35 in Malaysia, and $1.35 when bought
from a bootlegger in Bolivia.
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