乔布斯传 第547期:铃鼓先生(3)

搜索

复制

That July, Sony appointed a veteran of the music industry, Jay Samit,

这一年7月，索尼聘请了一位唱片业资深人士杰伊·萨米特

to create its own iTunes-like service, called Sony Connect,

来制作一款和iTunes类似的服务软件。这款软件被命名为Sony Connect，

which would sell songs online and allow them to play on Sony's portable music devices.

能够在线销售音乐，并能够在索尼的便携式音乐设备上加以播放。

"The move was immediately understood as a way to unite the sometimes conflicting electronics and content divisions," the New York Times reported.

《纽约时报》报道说：“这一举动马上就被看做是电子产品和内容领域的结合，虽然有时二者是相冲突的。

"That internal battle was seen by many as the reason Sony,

很多人都认为，内部纷争是索尼

the inventor of the Walkman and the biggest player in the portable audio market, was being trounced by Apple."

这一随身听发明者和便携音乐播放器市场第一大巨头被苹果打败的原因。

Sony Connect launched in May 2004. It lasted just over three years before Sony shut it down.

2004年5月，Sony Connect发布了。但是只维持了3年，索尼就关闭了这项服务。

Microsoft was willing to license¹ its Windows Media software and digital rights format² to other companies,

微软愿意把Windows Media软件和数字版权授予其他公司，

just as it had licensed³ out its operating system in the 1980s.

就像他们在20世纪80年代授权操作系统一样。

Jobs, on the other hand, would not license out Apple's FairPlay to other device makers⁴; it worked only on an iPod.

但另一方面，乔布斯不会把苹果的FairPlay授权给其他的设备制造商，这个软件只能在iPod上运行。

Nor would he allow other online stores to sell songs for use on iPods.

而且他也不允许其他网上商店销售供iPod播放的歌曲。

A variety of experts said this would eventually cause Apple to lose market share,

一些专家认为，这将最终导致苹果损失市场份额，

as it did in the computer wars of the 1980s.

就像20世纪80年代计算机大战时那样。

"If Apple continues to rely on a proprietary⁵ architecture,"

“如果苹果继续依靠这种‘专有制’结构，”

the Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen told Wired, "the iPod will likely become a niche⁶ product."

哈佛商学院的教授克莱顿·克里斯坦森告诉《连线》杂志：“iPod很可能变成一个小众产品。”

(Other than in this case, Christensen was one of the world's most insightful business analysts⁷,

（虽然这个预言没成真，但不妨碍克里斯坦森是世界上最有预见性、最富洞察力的商业分析师之一。

and Jobs was deeply influenced by his book The Innovator's Dilemma⁸.)

乔布斯深受他的书《创新者的窘境》影响。）

Bill Gates made the same argument. "There's nothing unique about music," he said. "This story has played out on the PC."

比尔·盖茨也有相同的看法。他说：“做音乐没什么特别的。这一点在个人电脑方面得到了体现，容许选择，是行之有效的方式。”

1 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

2 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

3 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

4 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 proprietary   

n.所有权，所有的；独占的；业主

参考例句：

• We had to take action to protect the proprietary technology.我们必须采取措施保护专利技术。
• Proprietary right is the foundation of jus rerem.所有权是物权法之根基。

6 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。