I’d like someone (could be Google or Yahoo) to provide a browser tool to do unit translation on web pages. You would configure your preferences (for instance, translate everything to the metric system and to Euros) and the tool would work just like Babelfish, but for units. It’s a lot easier than language translation, and would be quite useful as a browser toolbar button (where Google already puts translation).
For instance, I have no idea how much Rs 40 lakh is. Yeah, I know about those sites that let you convert units, but it’s too much of a hassle if you’re reading, say, an article about real estate where you might have a dozen references to distances, surfaces, prices and even temperatures (and this is a lazy web request, dammit). I’ve memorized some rules (e.g. divide square feet by 11 to get square meters), but frankly, with always-changing exchange rates and screwy units such as Fahrenheit degrees, please make my life a little easier.
Well… Google does let you type in unit conversions (do a search like: 40 degrees fahrenheit in celsius) but it doesn’t cover currency, only “static” conversions. If Google has that function built in already, I guess it’s just a matter of time before they roll it into the Toolbar.
Yes Brian, I know about this handy Google feature. What I’m looking for is something that covers more units and works for a whole document, rather than a single operation, in order to take manual work out of the whole thing.
I forgot to mention the most aggravating conversion: miles per gallon into liters per 100 kilometers. Google does it already, so it’s just a matter of automating the parsing and conversion of whole pages.