乔布斯传 第607期:蛤、冰块和向日葵(2)

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The G4 Cube was almost ostentatious in its lack of ostentation¹, and it was powerful.

G4 Cube并非虚有其表，其功能也很强大。

But it was not a success. It had been designed as a high-end desktop²,

但是，该产品并不成功。它已然被设计成一款高端台式电脑，

but Jobs wanted to turn it, as he did almost every product, into something that could be mass-marketed to consumers.

但是乔布斯想要将其推向大众市场，就像他的几乎所有产品一样。

The Cube ended up not serving either market well.

结果，Cube在两个市场的表现都不好。

Workaday professionals weren't seeking a jewel-like sculpture for their desks,

普通的专业人士并不追求在自己的桌上放一台宝石般的雕塑，

and mass-market consumers were not eager to spend twice what they'd pay for a plain vanilla³ desktop.

而大众市场消费者宁可购买一款平淡无奇的台式机，也不愿花两倍的价钱买这款产品。

Jobs predicted that Apple would sell 200,000 Cubes per quarter.

乔布斯曾预计，苹果公司每季度将卖出20万台Cube。

In its first quarter it sold half that. The next quarter it sold fewer than thirty thousand units.

但在其销售的第一季度，只卖出了预计销量的一半。第二季度，销量低于3万台。

Jobs later admitted that he had overdesigned and overpriced the Cube, just as he had the NeXT computer.

乔布斯后来承认，Cube设计过度且定价过髙，就像当年的NeXT电脑一样。

But gradually he was learning his lesson.

但是，渐渐地，乔布斯吸取了自己的教训。

In building devices like the iPod,

在制造iPod这类设备时，

he would control costs and make the trade-offs necessary to get them launched on time and on budget.

他会控制成本并作出必要的权衡，让产品能够在预算内按照预定时间发布。

1 ostentation   

n.夸耀，卖弄

参考例句：

• Choose a life of action,not one of ostentation.要选择行动的一生，而不是炫耀的一生。
• I don't like the ostentation of their expensive life - style.他们生活奢侈，爱摆阔，我不敢恭维。

2 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？

3 vanilla   

n.香子兰，香草

参考例句：

• He used to love milk flavoured with vanilla.他过去常爱喝带香草味的牛奶。
• I added a dollop of vanilla ice-cream to the pie.我在馅饼里加了一块香草冰激凌。