It's somewhat interesting to think about the fact that not that long ago, not long after the turn of the century, accurate language translation was something costly and mostly reserved for those few who knew the languages in question.

Thanks to the impressive evolution of computing tools in the 20th century (and the launch of Google Translate in 2006) changed everything, and instant, free, and accurate translations are now readily available with just a few clicks.

There are many ways to translate text on a computer, the most accessible way is simply accessing one of the many online translation services. However, for a bit more consistency and improved workflow, a desktop app can also prove to be awesome.

Crow Translate is one such application, a desktop translation app that brings some of the best translation services to the tips of your fingers. These include Google Translate, Yandex, DeepL, DuckDuckGo, LibreTranslate, MyMemory, and Reverso.

The is not the most impressive tool of this sort out there, but keep in mind that it's free and open-source. It's fully written in C++ and Qt and it uses Mozhi, a software that acts as a proxy in order to protect your privacy.

The app is part of the KDE ecosystem, but as far as I can tell, it works pretty well on other DEs as well (GNOME included).

In terms of features, it's a pretty standard affair. You can use the app to translate texts (and there's even the standard text-to-speech feature). Other highlights of the app include the fact that it has a nice command-line interface (with tons of options), a D-Bus API, and a lot of customizable shortcuts.

Another cool aspect of the app (which is something most KDE apps have) is that has a lot of customization options. From the Settings section, you can change everything from the main window orientation, the app's general language, the translation mode, various tray options customization options, as well as the app's looks and feel.