经济学人:IBM的反叛呼喊(2)

 Red Hat's OpenShift is supposed to create an uber-cloud, 红帽子的OpenShift程序有望创造出一个超级云，

allowing computing¹ workloads² to run anywhere: whether it is in corporate³ data centres, on any of the big public clouds or a combination thereof. 让计算机工作可以在任何地方运行：不论是在公司数据中心、任何一个大型公共云或是两者合并。

There are plenty of ways for the merger⁴, which is the largest in IBM's history, to go wrong, however. 但此次IBM历史上最大的一次收购有多种出错的可能。

One question is whether the added flexibility⁵ of such mixed systems 其中一个问题在于这种混合的体系中的额外灵活性

and the promise of not getting locked into any one vendor⁶ will be enough to lure⁷ firms onto IBM's new platform. 和不被锁定到任何一家供应商的承诺是否足以吸引公司入驻IBM的新平台。

They could shy away from the additional complexity⁸ and still prefer to put their data into one cloud. 他们可能会回避这种额外的复杂性，且仍宁愿将他们的数据放到一个云上。

Another is the risk of a cultural clash between IBM's still relatively⁹ strait-laced culture and Red Hat's freewheeling one. 另一个问题是IBM仍然相对古板的文化和红帽子自由文化之间的文化冲突风险。

Such concerns, in addition to the high price tag, explain why the firm's shares fell by 4% the day after the deal was announced. 除了高价格标签之外，这些担忧解释了为什么在交易宣布后的第二天，公司股价下跌4%。

And then there is the question of what the acquisition means for Watson, IBM's much-promoted AI business, which has disappointed so far. 还有一个问题是此次收购对Watson的意义，这家IBM大力追捧的AI公司到目前为止表现令人失望。

Some have suggested that buying Red Hat could mean that IBM will turn away from Watson, instead focusing even more on cloud computing. 一些人认为收购红帽子可能意味着IBM将脱离Watson，转而更多地关注云计算。

Yet the opposite is true: Red Hat's software containers are meant to be a vehicle to deliver AI everywhere. 但事实却相反：红帽子的软件容器注定要成为向各地运输AI的媒介。

The idea is that IBM's cloud failure held Watson back; now it has the chance to spread more widely. 其想法是IBM的在云上的失误抑制了Watson的发展；现在它有了大范围传播Watson的机会。

However the merger plays out, it has already produced one big winner: opensource software, 但并购完成，一个大赢家已经产生：开源软件，

which is developed collectively by firms that benefit from it and also by volunteer programmers. 由从此中获益的公司和自愿程序员共同开发。

Red Hat is the third multi-billion dollar acquisition of an open-source firm this year 继微软以75亿美元收购GitHub，Salesforce以65亿美元收购MuleSoft后，

after MuleSoft, bought by Salesforce for $6.5bn, and GitHub, taken over by Microsoft for $7.5bn. 红帽子成了今年第三个收购价格为数十亿美元的开源软件公司。

Not bad for a type of code whose pioneers saw themselves as rebels fighting "evil" proprietary-software makers¹⁰. 这种代码的开创者将自己视为和“邪恶”专用软件制造商斗争的反叛者。

Such origins were the inspiration for Red Hat's name, 这种想法的起源是红帽子这个名字的灵感，

as Bob Young, the company's co-founder, once explained: 18th-century revolutionaries in America and France wore red caps during their uprisings. 正如公司联合创始人鲍勃· 扬曾解释的那样：美国和法国18世纪的革命分子在起义时都戴着红帽子。

Now, open-source firms look more like the establishment. 如今，开放源代码公司看起来更像是企业。

 

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 workloads   

（某一人或组织）工作量，工作负担( workload的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Project management software can provide such visibility into everyone's skills and workloads. 项目管理软件可以提供这样的能见度到每个人的技能和工作量。
• Doctors have complained of heavy workloads. 医生投诉工作越来越繁重。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

5 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

6 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

7 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

8 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 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》