I don’t want to have to choose between Apple and Google only to find out that one emerges as the winner. And then once again I’m stuck with a loser. I want a long term solution. So I cling to my BlackBerry, hoping that a clear choice will emerge.
我不想仅仅在苹果和谷歌两个牌子中作出选择,选择一个比较流行的然后再 很快又被时尚抛弃,我想有一个长久的解决办法。所以我现在还在坚持使用我的黑 莓手机,等待着一个更明朗的手机流行趋势出现。
Am I destined to be a smartphone loser? Should I just kneel down and give my allegiance to the Apple and Google Gods? Could there be someone out there that saves me? Actually, I think there is a savior. An unlikely savior. And it is Microsoft. Yes. Microsoft.
难道我注定成为智能手机的失败者?难道我真的要屈服并拥护苹果或者谷歌 的产品?难道没有什么可以来拯救我?事实上,我相信有解救者,它就是微软。是的, 微软。
The people may have given us Windows ME, but really they’re no dummies. They know that 38% of small and medium businesses depend on mobile apps. They know that the mobile app market is estimated to be at $25 billion by 2015. They know there’s a big need for small business apps for these devices. The one thing I’ve learned about Microsoft over the past twenty years: they like money. They’re not going to let this opportunity get away from them. Microsoft just entered into a partnership with Nokia. Supposedly these two companies will be churning out the next generation of cool smartphones designed to really help small business owners like me. Only Microsoft, with its billions in cash and thousands of partners can make this happen. I just hope they do three things for losers like me.
他们提供给我们Windows ME操作系统,但他们不是傻瓜。他们了解38%的中小 企业都依赖着手机管理服务端,他们同样了解到2015年手机服务端的市场市值将达到250亿美元。人们对小型服务端有着大量的需求。而过去的20年中,据我了解,微软公司最大的特点就是他们很喜欢钱,因此他们不会让任何搜钱的机会从身边 溜走。微软刚刚与诺基亚进行合作,试想一下,这两大巨头公司将在智能手机发展 的下个时代联袂合作,计划设计出满足像我这样的小客户需要的智能手机。只有有 着几十亿现金和几千个合作伙伴的微软公司才能开创智能手机新的时代。我只希 望他们能对像我这样的失败者做三件事情。
For starters, I hope Microsoft develops the next smartphone killer app. And I hope that killer app is for making payments. Right now Google is testing an And roid based payment system in San Francisco and New York. Microsoft needs to muscle into this area and take the lead. They’re a software company. They write applications. So please write a killer payment application for the smartphone. Use your power to bring in the major card processors and retailers into the fold. Offer deep discounts for your smartphone customers. Leverage the QR code technology so that I can easily wave my phone over a scanner and buy something. Help me get rid of my credit cards. Integrate9 the data with the popular accounting software used by me and my clients. Payment processing is the application that will set smartphones apart from each other. And the market is like the wild west right now. I want to be able to whip out my phone and pay for my business and personal supplies like a 19th century gunslinger. And have my clients payme in the same manner. I can be a smartphone winner, not a loser. Microsoft can make that happen.
首先,我希望微软可以在新的智能手机上开发终结服务端。我指的终结服务端 是指付款。前不久,谷歌刚在旧金山和纽约测试了基于安卓系统的付款系统。微软 需要进人该领域并且当带头人。他们是编写应用程序的软件公司,所以拜托……为 智能手机编一套终端支付程序。用你们的力量将各种卡的处理和商家的系统进行 整合,为智能手机用户提供更多的折扣。运用QR二维条码系统,只要扫描一下我的 手机就可以买东西,帮助我脱离信用卡的苦海,将所有的信息与我及我的客户常用 的财务软件整合起来。支付处理系统将使微软的智能手机与众不同,脱颖而出。现 在的市场就像是未拓荒的美国西部一样。我希望我能像19世纪的神枪手一样轻轻 —挥我的手机,就能支付我所有业务的费用,而我的客户支付给我费用时也一样。 我可以称为智能手机的贏家,而不是失败者。微软会让这一切成为现实的。
The second way Microsoft can make me a winner is by doing what they did so well back in the 90’s. Those were the days when they ruthlessly took over markets, brutally stomping on companies like Netscape, Lotus and WordPerfect. They underpriced and out-developed their rivals. They can do this again in the smartphone market. I don’t want to pay hundreds for a new iPhone. I already pay hundreds every freaking month incell phone bills! I should be given a smartphone. So should my employees. For free. Of course I realize that I Ml be paying for the price of the phone ten times over through a bunch of hidden fees. But hey that’s the cool way to do it. Microsoft and Nokia should change their pricingmodels and make it easier for losers like me to get hold of their new phones. Cheap. They should make these phones available for next to nothing to their vast partner channel too, encouraging them to play and develop new applications.
第二,我希望微软公司可以像他们20世纪90年代那样,疯狂且毫不留情的占据 市场,残酷地将同类公司,例如Netscape,Lotus和WordPerfect等都踩在脚下0当时的 微软通过打价格战,推陈出新战胜他们的对手。如今,他们可以在智能手机市场上 再展宏图。我不想花几百美元买新的苹果手机,我巳经每个月都交几百美元的电话 费了。我应该得到一部智能手机,我的员工也一样。我当然知道事实上我们付的隐 形费用10倍于我们的手机价格,但是这还是让我们觉得很酷。微软公司和诺基亚应该改变他们的价格模式,使像我一样的落伍者坚决拥护新手机。价廉是一个很重要 的方面,他们应该运用他们广阔的合作渠道,更积极地开发新的软件。
And these developers should be allowed to do again what they did with Windows: create a new standard. The technology industry exploded because of Windows. Of course there were better operating systems. But Windows was standardized on just about every workstation around. Developers didn’t have to worry about writing different applications for different operating systems. The smartphone industry needs standardization. Today, there are different app versions for the BlackBerry, the Droid, the iPhone and Windows devices. Apple and Google are so territorial6. Right now no one seems to care because apps are just toys. But as these phones grow in importance to the business community, compatibility will be critical. Microsoft can take the lead by making sure their smartphones support applications from any platform. Open it up. Be friends with all! We want the ability to choose the best application around and have it run on our device. We shouldn’t have to worry about whether it’s compatible or not. Is this feasible? Apple makes devices. Google does search. Microsoft you’re a software company. And this is a software issue.
这些曾经为Wind麵系统设置标准的人,也应该为手机程序设置标准。技术行 业之所以会爆发就是因为Windows系统的出现。当然,曾经有更好的操作系统,但是 Windows对每一个操作设定了标准。软件开发者不用为对不同的操作系统写不同 的软件而担心,智能手机行业需要这样的标准。今天,黑莓,Dried,苹果,Windows# 自有各自的服务端版本。苹果与谷歌都有自己的地盘,目前他们似乎都不担心,因 为服务端就像是玩具。然而随着手机在商务上重要性的增加,兼容性就显得格外重 要了。微软可以引领其他品牌,确保他们的智能手机支持各个平台的软件使用。说 得更形象些,与所有人做朋友!我们想挑选最好的软件安装到手机上,我们不想为 手机的兼容性而担忧。这是否可行呢?苹果主做机身,谷歌主做搜索引擎。微软,你 是一家软件公司,这些都是软件问题。
I am a BlackBerry loser. But I can one day become a smartphone winner. If Microsoft chooses to be a winner too.
我在选择黑莓时失败了,但是我希望有朝一日我能成为智能手机的成功选择 者。如果微软也选择成为成功者,我的梦想就会成真的。