Pop up translater - Help or Hinderance?

Give it a shot if you think it might help.

That said, I vote indispensible for learning Chinese if done correctly. I can now read most newspaper articles without a dictionary and get the gist, and I think that is partly because I used a pop-up translator when reading articles at qq.com. The reason I think this way helped me is that through constant exposure I was able to slowly internalize un-studied words that frequently appeared. If I didn't have a pop-up translator, those characters would just look like interesting stuff to me. If this truly is a problem for you, I would take Baba's advice and force yourself to first read Chinese articles sans translator and then go back and use it to fill in the gaps.

Or try quitting cold turkey. Some people swear by a paper dictionary.

I think that there is a limited role for 'pop-up' translators in my learning at present - after having one loaded up for a week or two I find that I am not using it at all much.  It is there for going to a Chinese website where either I am in a hurry and need information, or, as others have said, scanning newspaper articles on-line (which I don't do much at all - Chinese newspapers are pretty boring).

I find it difficult to use in the way suggested by xiao-phil - I think it works better if you are using it continuously.  Curiosity gets the better of me - I know this word well, but what does my pop-up translator say?   But word-by-word translators are a bit unintelligent so often I am getting information I don't use.  

I guess that I am into 'slow learning'.  Also, I prefer to use my electronic dictionary where I write the character myself (writing practice). Then I get a greater depth of meaning - either through sample sentences, or if I need more I switch to the Chinese dictionary and read what it has to say.  

I am also less than systematic in my study methods, but I am in favor of pop-up translators. I think there are times I would be too tired to even attempt to read if I had to physically look up every unfamiliar word. But with a translator I will read what I can and check words I am not sure about. Sure, I catch myself just scanning over things I already know, but I don't think that is too harmful. Sometimes I use my cursor like a finger on paper when reading something on which you need to concentrate. So I am reading the characters and there happens to be peripheral reinforcement of what I am reading which I can glance at if it need it. And having it available makes me much more bold about using Chinese sites like tudou.

So, yeah, I use it as a crutch. But that is what crutches are for, to let you get around when you aren't strong yet. Which is a lot better for you than doing nothing, or doing too much and losing the joy of learning.

Its great to hear everyones opinions. I also rely on my translator for getting around websites. In fact that is what made me create this post as I didn't seem to be picking up any of the repetative vocab that websites generally use. 

What students at advanced or upper intermediate level need, is a pop-up from an all-Chinese explanatory dictionary. So instead of getting a translation, you would get a short explanation of the term.