ECONOMICS REPORT - Apple Computer

ECONOMICS REPORT - Apple Computer
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, April 23, 2004

This is Bob Doughty¹ with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

 
Early Macintosh
One of the most powerful tools ever developed is the P.C., the personal computer. One of the companies important to the history of the P.C. is Apple Computer. Apple is based in Cupertino, California.

Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs started the company in nineteen-seventy-six. Mister Wozniak designed an early personal computer, the Apple One. At that time, people who wanted to work with computers often built their own, or used larger systems.

Early personal computers had limited uses. Users had to write commands. This was true of the Apple One. But other Apple computers operated with a system known as a graphical user interface². Users chose from little pictures called icons³. Researchers at Xerox⁴ designed such a system. But Apple was the first to make it popular. Today most personal computers use icons.

Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs tried to sell their ideas to other companies. They were rejected. But soon they found investors⁵. Apple began to sell shares to the public in nineteen-eighty. The company became worth more than one-thousand-million dollars.

 
The brains of the Apple 1: Steve Wozniak, left, and Steve Jobs.
In nineteen-eighty-one, International Business Machines began to sell a personal computer that many people bought. I.B.M. was the biggest computer company in the world. But Apple was known for its creativity. In nineteen-eighty-four, it released the first Macintosh. These computers were simple to use.

Over the years, Apple gained a following of loyal users. But then lower-priced computers appeared. These used the Windows operating system made by Microsoft. Most personal computers today use Windows.

Apple does not compete with makers⁶ of low-cost computers. Many of its computers are designed for special uses like video and music production.

The brain of a computer is the processor. For years, Apple used processors made by Motorola. In two-thousand-three, Apple joined with I.B.M. to create a faster processor. But Apple still has only a small share of the computer market.

Now, one of its most popular products is the iPod. This is a small music player. It can store up to one-thousand songs. Apple says it sold more than eight-hundred-thousand iPods in the three months ending in March.

Apple reported a profit of forty-six million dollars for the period. It says the iPod greatly helped sales.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. This is Bob Doughty.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 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。

3 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

4 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。

5 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

6 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》