乔布斯传 第90期:伟大的艺术家窃取灵感

 "Great Artists Steal"

伟大的艺术家窃取灵感

The Apple raid on Xerox¹ PARC is sometimes described as one of the biggest heists in the chronicles of industry.

苹果公司对施乐PARC的这次技术盗窃，有时被形容为工业史上最严重的抢劫行为之一。

Jobs occasionally endorsed² this view, with pride.

乔布斯偶尔也会骄傲地承认这一说法。

As he once said, "Picasso had a saying:'good artists copy, great artists steal',and we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas."

他有一次说，“毕加索不是说过么：'好的艺术家只是照抄，而伟大的艺术家窃取灵感。“在窃取伟大的灵感这方面，我们一直都是厚颜无耻的。”

Another assessment³, also sometimes endorsed by Jobs, is that what transpired⁴ was less a heist by Apple than a fumble⁵ by Xerox.

乔布斯认同的另一个说法是，与其说是苹果公司实施了抢劫，不如说是施乐公司自己酿下了苦果。

"They were copier-heads who had no clue about what a computer could do," he said of Xerox's management.

“他们就是一帮白痴，根本没有意识到电脑的巨大潜力。”他如此形容施乐的管理层，

"They just grabbed defeat from the greatest victory in the computer industry.

“在这场计算机产业最伟大的胜利中，他们被打败了。

Xerox could have owned the entire computer industry."

施乐本可以称霸整个计算机产业的。”

Both assessments⁶ contain a lot of truth, but there is more to it than that.

以上两种说法都有道理，但并不能说明全部问题。

There falls a shadow, as T.S. Eliot noted⁷, between the conception and the creation.

概念与造物之间，如同T.S·艾略特所说的“落下影子”。

In the annals of innovation, new ideas are only part of the equation.Execution is just as important.

在创新的过程中，新颖的想法只是一部分，具体执行也同样重要。

Jobs and his engineers significantly improved the graphical interface⁸ ideas they saw at Xerox PARC, and then were able to implement⁹ them in ways that Xerox never could accomplish.

乔布斯和他的工程师们对在施乐PARC看到的图形界面技术进行了巨大的改进，然后又以施乐永远无法实现的方式对这些技术作了进一步完善。

For example, the Xerox mouse had three buttons, was complicated, cost $300 apiece, and didn't roll around smoothly¹⁰;

比如说，施乐的鼠标有三个按键，结构复杂，每只造价300美元，移动不够平滑。

a few days after his second Xerox PARC visit, Jobs went to a local industrial design firm, IDEO, and told one of its founders¹¹, Dean Hovey, that he wanted a simple single- button model that cost $15,

乔布斯在第二次造访施乐PARC之后没几天，就找到了一家当地的工业设计公司，告诉该公司的创始人之一迪安·霍维，自己想要一种简单的、只有一个按键的、造价只要15美元的鼠标，

"and I want to be able to use it on Formica and my blue jeans." Hovey complied.

“而且它要能在塑料面板和我的牛仔裤上正常使用。”霍维答应了。

The improvements were in not just the details but the entire concept.

得到提升的并不仅仅是细节，还有整个概念。

The mouse at Xerox PARC could not be used to drag a window around the screen.

施乐PARC的鼠标并不能用来在屏幕上拖拽窗口。

Apple's engineers devised an interface so you could not only drag windows and files around, you could even drop them into folders¹².

而苹果工程师们设计出的界面上，用户不仅可以任意拖拽窗口和文件，还可以将它们拖到文件夹中。

The Xerox system required you to select a command in order to do anything, ranging from resizing a window to changing the extension that located a file.

施乐的系统中，不管是调整窗口的大小还是更改文件的扩展名，用户都必须选择一条指令后才能执行操作。

The Apple system transformed the desktop¹³ metaphor¹⁴ into virtual reality by allowing you to directly touch, manipulate, drag, and relocate things.

苹果的系统将桌面的概念转化为了虚拟现实，允许用户直接触摸、操作、拖拽和移动文件。

And Apple's engineers worked in tandem¹⁵ with its designers,with Jobs spurring them on daily

苹果的工程师和设计师每天都受到乔布斯的鞭策。

to improve the desktop concept by adding delightful¹⁶ icons¹⁷ and menus that pulled down from a bar atop each window and the capability¹⁸ to open files and folders with a double click.

他们协同工作，完善了桌面概念：添加了漂亮的图标和位于窗口顶端的下拉菜单，以及双击鼠标打开文件和文件夹的功能。

1 xerox   

n./v.施乐复印机，静电复印

参考例句：

• Xerox and Lucent are two more high-tech companies run by women.施乐和朗讯是另外两家由女性经营的大科技公司。
• You cannot take it home,but you can xerox it.你不能把它带回家，但可以复印。

2 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

4 transpired   

（事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生

参考例句：

• It transpired that the gang had had a contact inside the bank. 据报这伙歹徒在银行里有内应。
• It later transpired that he hadn't been telling the truth. 他当时没说真话，这在后来显露出来了。

5 fumble   

vi.笨拙地用手摸、弄、接等，摸索

参考例句：

• His awkwardness made him fumble with the key.由于尴尬不安，他拿钥匙开锁时显得笨手笨脚。
• He fumbled his one-handed attempt to light his cigarette.他笨拙地想用一只手点燃香烟。

6 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。

9 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

10 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

11 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

12 folders   

n.文件夹( folder的名词复数 )；纸夹；（某些计算机系统中的）文件夹；页面叠

参考例句：

• Encrypt and compress individual files and folders. The program is compact, efficient and user friendly. 加密和压缩的个人档案和folders.the计划是紧凑，高效和用户友好。 来自互联网
• By insertion of photocopies,all folders can be maintained complete with little extra effort. 插入它的复制本，不费多大力量就能使所有文件夹保持完整。 来自辞典例句

13 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？

14 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

15 tandem   

n.同时发生；配合；adv.一个跟着一个地；纵排地；adj.（两匹马）前后纵列的

参考例句：

• Malcolm's contract will run in tandem with his existing one.马尔科姆的合同将与他手头的合同同时生效。
• He is working in tandem with officials of the Serious Fraud Office.他正配合欺诈重案办公室的官员工作。

16 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

17 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

18 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。