经济学人219:微软和英特尔各觅新欢

 　　Microsoft and Intel

　　微软和英特尔

　　Wintel swings

　　微软和英特尔各觅新欢

　　The marriage that dominated personal computing¹ becomes more open

　　强强联姻主导个人电脑市场之势日趋明朗

　　Sep 17th 2011 | from the print edition

　　TOGETHER Microsoft, the maker² of the Windows operating system, and Intel, the world’s biggest maker of semiconductors³, used to rule the world of personal computing. Now that new computers are as likely to sit in people’s hands as on their desks or laps, life for the Wintel couple is less comfy. On September 13th, at their annual conferences for software developers, both claimed to have found new zest—not least from dallying⁴ with other partners.

　　微软（Windows操作系统的开发者）和英特尔（世界最大的半导体制造商），曾联手统治了个人电脑市场。然时代变迁，如今的电脑已不再局限于放在桌上、膝上，还能持于手上。于是乎，微软和英特尔这两口子也开始心猿意马。就在9月13号，一年一度的软件开发大会上，两口子都宣布已有了新的对象——不仅仅只是和别人眉目传情、暗送秋波了。

　　Gartner, a research and consulting firm, expects that this year only 3.8% more laptop and desktop⁵ PCs will be shipped than in 2010. That is partly because people have tightened⁶ their belts, but also because they are snapping up tablets and smartphones. Both Microsoft and Intel have struggled to adjust. The phone version of Windows has had good reviews but was installed in only 1.6% of smartphones sold in the second quarter; Google’s mobile operating system, Android, scooped⁷ 43%. Windows’ share of tablets is minuscule⁸. And in markets where battery life is prized, economical chips designed by ARM, a British company, have made the running. Intel has made virtually no impression in tablets and none at all in smartphones.

　　研究与顾问咨询公司高德纳预计，今年的笔记本和台式个人电脑的发货量较2010年顶多增长3.8%。这里面部分是因为现在的人都在拉紧裤腰带生活，但也有部分原因是他们都去抢购平板电脑和智能手机了。对此，微软和英特尔都是心急如焚，急于转变。Windows手机综合测评不错，但第二季度只有售出的智能手机只有1.6%是安装其操作系统。而谷歌的安卓操作系统却抱走了43%的市场份额。在平板电脑市场Windows所占份额更可谓是芝麻粒豆。再者，在如今这个极其重视电池续航能力的市场情况下，节能型芯片可谓是前景广阔，而英国ARM公司在这方面已是先拔头筹。可怜的英特尔对平板电脑市场几无影响，对智能手机更是无比汗颜。

　　Both firms boasted this week of liaisons⁹ with others. Intel and Google said that future versions of Android would be tuned¹⁰ for Atom, Intel’s family of low-power processors. Phones with Intel inside should be on sale in the first half of next year. Microsoft showed off the next version of its operating system, code-named Windows 8, using ARM chips. It wants to reassure¹¹ the army of developers who write programs to run in Windows that these will be just as reliable as Intel’s.

　　本周，微软和英特尔都在高调宣传他们的新感情生活。英特尔和谷歌结了姻，英特尔家族的节能处理器凌动未来将会和安卓系统合体，预计将会于明年上半年诞生。另一方面，微软则看上了ARM，并对他们的后代表示出极高的自信，冠以Windows 8的美名。微软此举也就是想消除那些开发Windows系统软件的人们的疑虑，表明此产物会如与因特尔所产的那样稳定可靠。

　　Microsoft also told developers how easy it would be to create applications for Windows 8 and to put them in a “Windows Store”. Happy developers are essential, because the more apps they create, the more users will want to use Windows 8. Better still for both users and developers, the system will run on everything from PCs to smartphones.

　　同时，微软也一直向应用软件开发人员们宣传为Windows 8制做软件并存入Windows软件商店是何其地容易。软件开发者开心是必须的，因为这样才会有更多的应用软件，也就会吸引越多的用户使用Windows 8。此外，这个系统将运行于从个人电脑到智能手机的所有平台，这对用户和开发都来说可谓是喜上加喜。

　　Steven Sinofsky, the head of Microsoft’s Windows division, says Windows has been “re-imagined”. A user sees chunky “tiles”, as on a Windows smartphone today, rather than small icons¹²; and he can view two apps at once, which he cannot do on an iPad. The system is designed for touch-screens, common on mobile devices but not yet on PCs—though you can use a keyboard or mouse if you like.

　　Windows 部门主管Steven Sinofsky说道，Windows 已经重新设计了用户界面。用户将看到像现在Windows智能手机上那样的瓷砖式的显示，而不是小的图标。它还能同时浏览两个应用程序，这是在iPad上也没有的功能。目前这个系统只能在触屏移动设备上运行，个人电脑版的尚未发布，但是如果你想的话，只要接上键盘和鼠标，看起来和PC也没什么两样。

　　Writing off either of these giants, even after their slow start, would be daft. Intel is probably closing the power-consumption gap with ARM. Microsoft claims to have 450m users of Windows 7, the operating system’s latest incarnation on PCs. Many of these, and people with older versions, may upgrade, especially if they can use the same system on all their devices, at home or at work.

　　不管是微软，还是英特尔，尽管他们近来反应迟钝，但无视他们都是一种愚蠢的行为。英特尔完全有可能缩小与ARM 间的能耗差距。微软也声称其拥有4.5亿的用户正在使用其最新的个人电脑操作系统Windows 7。由于Windows8能在所有的设备上运行，不管是在家里还是在工作单位都可以使用一样的操作系统，所以众多的windows7以及更旧版本的用户都可能会选择升级。

　　Even so, the clock is ticking, especially for tablets, where the competition will get fiercer. Apple’s iPad2 is selling like, well, an iPad. By the time Windows 8 tablets appear, a third version may well have won Apple even more customers. Amazon, buoyed¹³ by the success of its Kindle¹⁴ e-reader, is expected to launch an Android tablet within weeks. Its vast online shop, selling much more than books, may be a draw. Other Android tablets are arriving all the time.

　　尽管如此，还是必须争分夺秒，尤其是对平板电脑这种日新月异、竞争激烈的商品而言。苹果的iPad2 正如其一代iPad 一样热销。待到Windows 8平板上市时，苹果的第三版平板可能已经抢占了更多用户。Kindle电子书阅读器的成功也鼓舞了亚马逊，预计其安卓平板也将在数周内上市。其在线销售多种产品的综合网上商城，将会是其一大助力。其他安卓平板也将陆续上市。

　　Some contenders, such as Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, have already stumbled; HP has all but given up. “The longer they [Microsoft] leave it,” says Carolina Milanesi of Gartner, “the more consumers will have found an alternative, and not just for tablets but for PCs too.”

　　其他一些竞争者，像动态研究通信公司（黑莓智能手机制造商），如今已是跌跌撞撞、蹒跚而行。惠普则已是放弃了。“微软要是再拖拉下去，”高德纳的Carolina Milanesi说道，“将会有更多的消费者选择其他替代产品，而且这不局限于平板电脑，个人电脑也是同样的。”

1 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 semiconductors   

n.半导体( semiconductor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Crystals may be insulators, semiconductors, or conductors. 晶体可以是绝缘体，半导体，或导体。 来自辞典例句
• Semiconductors containing such impurities are called p-type semiconductors. 含有这类杂质的半导体叫做P型半导体。 来自辞典例句

4 dallying   

v.随随便便地对待( dally的现在分词 )；不很认真地考虑；浪费时间；调情

参考例句：

• They've been dallying with the idea for years. 他们多年来一直有这个想法，但从没有认真考虑过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of dallying is, in a sense, optimal. 从某种意义上来说，这种延迟是最理想的。 来自互联网

5 desktop   

n.桌面管理系统程序；台式

参考例句：

• My computer is a desktop computer of excellent quality.我的计算机是品质卓越的台式计算机。
• Do you know which one is better,a laptop or a desktop?你知道哪一种更好，笔记本还是台式机？

6 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

7 scooped   

v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 minuscule   

adj.非常小的；极不重要的

参考例句：

• The human race only a minuscule portion of the earth's history.人类只有占有极小部分地球历史。
• As things stand,Hong Kong's renminbi banking system is minuscule.就目前的情况而言，香港的人民币银行体系可谓微不足道。

9 liaisons   

n.联络( liaison的名词复数 )；联络人；（尤指一方或双方已婚的）私通；组织单位间的交流与合作

参考例句：

• She embarked on a series of sexual liaisons with society figures. 她开始接二连三地与社会名流有染。 来自辞典例句
• One of Wentworth's favorite movies is Dangerous Liaisons. went最喜欢的电影之一是《危险关系》。 来自互联网

10 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

12 icons   

n.偶像( icon的名词复数 )；（计算机屏幕上表示命令、程序的）符号，图像

参考例句：

• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons. 用图标来区分重要的文本项。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Daemonic icons should only be employed persistently if they provide continuous, useful status information. 只有会连续地提供有用状态信息的情况下，后台应用程序才应该一直使用图标。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

13 buoyed   

v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神

参考例句：

• Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下，该队有信心再次获胜。
• His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 kindle   

v.点燃，着火

参考例句：

• This wood is too wet to kindle.这木柴太湿点不着。
• A small spark was enough to kindle Lily's imagination.一星光花足以点燃莉丽的全部想象力。