乔布斯传 第118期:像保时捷那样

 Like a Porsche

像保时捷那样

Jef Raskin's vision for the Macintosh was that it would be like a boxy carry-on suitcase,

杰夫·拉斯金设想中的麦金塔电脑就像一只四四方方的手提箱，

which would be closed by flipping¹ up the keyboard over the front screen.

可以将键盘翻起来盖住屏幕从而合上电脑箱。

When Jobs took over the project,

乔布斯接管项目之后，

he decided² to sacrifice portability for a distinctive³ design that wouldn't take up much space on a desk.

他决定牺牲便携性，改用一个不会占用太多桌面空间的独特设计。

He plopped down a phone book and declared, to the horror of the engineers,

他把一本电话簿扔到众人面前，然后宣布，

that it shouldn't have a footprint larger than that.

电脑占用的桌面面积不能超过这本电话簿，这让一群工程师吓傻了眼。

So his design team of Jerry Manock and Terry Oyama began working on ideas

于是，设计团队的负责人杰里·马诺克和天才设计师大山特里开始研究一个方案：

that had the screen above the computer box, with a keyboard that was detachable.

将屏幕放到机箱的上方，再用上可拆卸的键盘。

One day in March 1981,

1981年3月的一天，

Andy Hertzfeld came back to the office from dinner

安迪·赫茨菲尔德吃完饭回到办公室，

to find Jobs hovering⁴ over their one Mac prototype in intense discussion with the creative services director, James Ferris.

发现乔布斯正站在一台麦金塔样机旁，和公司的创意总监詹姆斯·费里斯激烈地争论着。

"We need it to have a classic look that won't go out of style, like the Volkswagen Beetle," Jobs said.

“我们要设计出一个经典的外形，不会过时的那种，就像大众的甲壳虫汽车一样。”乔布斯说。

From his father he had developed an appreciation⁵ for the contours of classic cars.

受他父亲的影响，他对经典车型的外形轮廓十分赞赏。

"No, that's not right," Ferris replied.

“不，不对，”费里斯说，

"The lines should be voluptuous⁶, like a Ferrari."

“外形应该很性感诱人，就像法拉利那样。”

"Not a Ferrari, that's not right either," Jobs countered.

“法拉利也不对，”乔布斯反驳，

"It should be more like a Porsche!"

“应该更像保时捷！”

Jobs owned a Porsche 928 at the time.

这么说并不奇怪，乔布斯当时就拥有一辆保时捷928。

When Bill Atkinson was over one weekend, Jobs brought him outside to admire the car.

一个周末，比尔·阿特金森来了，乔布斯把他带到外面去欣赏那辆保时捷。

"Great art stretches the taste, it doesn't follow tastes," he told Atkinson.

他告诉阿特金森：“伟大的艺术品不必追随潮流，它们自身就可以引领潮流。”

He also admired the design of the Mercedes.

他还十分欣赏奔驰汽车的设计。

"Over the years, they've made the lines softer but the details starker,"

“多年来，他们把汽车的线条做得更加柔和，但细节之处的用心依然清晰可见，”

he said one day as he walked around the parking lot.

一次他在停车场周围散步时说，

"That's what we have to do with the Macintosh."

“这正是我们要在麦金塔电脑上实现的目标。”

Oyama drafted a preliminary design and had a plaster model made.

大山特里拟出了一个初步设计方案，并制作了一个石膏模型。

The Mac team gathered around for the unveiling and expressed their thoughts.

Mac团队的成员们聚集到一起观看展示然后发表自己的看法。

Hertzfeld called it "cute." Others also seemed satisfied.

赫茨菲尔德大赞“可爱”，其他人似乎也很满意。

Then Jobs let loose a blistering⁷ burst of criticism.

但乔布斯却给出了猛烈的批评：

"It's way too boxy, it's got to be more curvaceous.

“这造型太方正了，必须再多一些曲线美的感觉。

The radius⁸ of the first chamfer needs to be bigger, and I don't like the size of the bevel."

第一个倒角的半径要再大一点儿，斜角的尺寸我也不大喜欢。”

With his new fluency⁹ in industrial design lingo¹⁰,

他把刚刚熟练掌握的工业设计术语用上了，

Jobs was referring to the angular or curved edge connecting the sides of the computer.

其实指的就是电脑相邻两个面之间的弯曲过渡。

But then he gave a resounding¹¹ compliment. "It' s a start," he said.

但紧接着，乔布斯还是给出了一句响亮的称赞。他说：“这是一个开始。”

1 flipping   

讨厌之极的

参考例句：

• I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！
• Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

4 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

5 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

6 voluptuous   

adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的

参考例句：

• The nobility led voluptuous lives.贵族阶层过着骄奢淫逸的生活。
• The dancer's movements were slow and voluptuous.舞女的动作缓慢而富挑逗性。

7 blistering   

adj.酷热的；猛烈的；使起疱的；可恶的v.起水疱；起气泡；使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡

参考例句：

• The runners set off at a blistering pace. 赛跑运动员如脱缰野马般起跑了。
• This failure is known as preferential wetting and is responsible for blistering. 这种故障称为优先吸湿，是产生气泡的原因。 来自辞典例句

8 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

9 fluency   

n.流畅，雄辩，善辩

参考例句：

• More practice will make you speak with greater fluency.多练习就可以使你的口语更流利。
• Some young children achieve great fluency in their reading.一些孩子小小年纪阅读已经非常流畅。

10 lingo   

n.语言不知所云，外国话，隐语

参考例句：

• If you live abroad it helps to know the local lingo.住在国外，学一点当地的语言自有好处。
• Don't use all that technical lingo try and explain in plain English.别尽用那种专门术语，用普通的词语解释吧。

11 resounding   

adj. 响亮的

参考例句：

• The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
• He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。