乔布斯传 第518期:白鲸的白(6)

 Jobs unveiled the iPod on October 23, 2001, at one of his signature product launch events. 2001年10月23日，乔布斯以他那标志性的产品发布会隆重推出了iPod。

"Hint: It's not a Mac," the invitation teased. 邀请函上开玩笑般地写着："提示：这不是一台Mac。"

When it came time to reveal the product, after he described its technical capabilities¹, 在描述了产品的技术参数之后，到了掲幕产品的时刻。

Jobs did not do his usual trick of walking over to a table and pulling off a velvet² cloth. 这一次，乔布斯没有像往常那样走到一张桌子前掲开遮布，

Instead he said, "I happen to have one right here in my pocket." 而是说："我口袋里刚好有一个。"

He reached into his jeans and pulled out the gleaming white device. 他把手伸进牛仔裤口袋，拿出了一个炫目的白色机器。

"This amazing little device holds a thousand songs, and it goes right in my pocket." "这绝妙的小机器里面装着1000首歌曲，而且刚好能放进我的口袋。"

He slipped it back in and ambled³ offstage to applause. 说完他把iPod又放回口袋，观众爆发出热烈掌声。

Initially⁴ there was some skepticism among tech geeks, especially about the $399 price. 最初，在技术极客中有一些对于iPod的质疑，尤其是关于399美元这个价格。

In the blogosphere, the joke was that iPod stood for "idiots price our devices." 在博客圈里流传着一个笑话，说iPod的全称是"白痴给我们的产品定的价"。

However, consumers soon made it a hit. 不过，消费者中还是掀起了iPod热潮。

More than that, the iPod became the essence of everything Apple was destined⁵ to be: 不仅如此，iPod也代表了苹果品牌的核心价值：

poetry connected to engineering, arts and creativity intersecting with technology, design that's bold and simple. 诗意与工程紧密相连，艺术、创意和科技完美结合，设计风格既醒目又简洁。

It had an ease of use that came from being an integrated end-to-end system, 简便的操作得益于整合的端到端一体化的系统，

from computer to FireWire to device to software to content management. 从计算机到火线、设备、软件，再到内容管理。

When you took an iPod out of the box, it was so beautiful that it seemed to glow, 当你从盒子里拿出一台iPod，它美丽得耀眼，

and it made all other music players look as if they had been designed and manufactured in Uzbekistan. 让所有其他音乐播放器都黯然失色，看起来就像是在乌兹别克斯坦设计和制造的一样。

 

1 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

2 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

3 ambled   

v.（马）缓行( amble的过去式和过去分词 )；从容地走，漫步

参考例句：

• We ambled down to the beach. 我们漫步向海滩走去。
• The old man ambled home through the garden every evening. 那位老人每天晚上经过花园漫步回家。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

5 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。