(1991年年輕的喬布斯和比爾蓋茨)

第十六章中,個人電腦時代的雙子星(binary star)喬布斯和比爾蓋茨開始有了正式交集,他們在麥金塔電腦項目中建立了合作關(guān)系。不過同出生1955年、同樣有著輟學經(jīng)歷(college dropouts)的這兩個人,對對方卻頗有些看不過眼(each one thought he was smarter than the other one)。他們就麥金塔電腦中的Excel軟件項目達成秘密協(xié)議,但不久又因圖形用戶界面(graphical user interface)展開了爭斗。1983年11月(先于麥金塔電腦上市),微軟宣布為IBM個人電腦開發(fā)Windows系統(tǒng),這種類似于偷竊概念的行為讓喬布斯大為火光,自此后對比爾蓋茨耿耿于懷,多年后仍是大為批判。雖然微軟的復制品并不成功看似也很粗制濫造,但微軟還是贏了操作系統(tǒng)之爭(end up winning the war of operating systems)。喬布斯和比爾蓋茨,他們到底有什么不同?

【英語原文】

Gates was good at computer coding, unlike Jobs, and his mind was more practical, disciplined, and abundant in analytic processing power. Jobs was more intuitive and romantic and had a greater instinct for making technology usable, design delightful, and interfaces friendly. He had a passion for perfection, which made him fiercely demanding, and he managed by charisma and scattershot intensity. Gates was more methodical; he held tightly scheduled product review meetings where he would cut to the heart of issues with lapidary skill. Both could be rude, but with Gates—who early in his career seemed to have a typical geek’s flirtation with the fringes of the Asperger’s scale—the cutting behavior tended to be less personal, based more on intellectual incisiveness than emotional callousness. Jobs would stare at people with a burning, wounding intensity; Gates sometimes had trouble making eye contact, but he was fundamentally humane. (Chapter 16 Gates and Jobs: The Macintosh Partnership)

【滬江譯文】

比爾·蓋茨擅長電腦編程。和喬布斯不同的是,他為人更務實、更為自律,分析處理的能力也更強。喬布斯則更喜歡憑直覺,個性更浪漫,在科技的實用性、設計的愉悅感和界面的友好化方面有著更高的天分。他對完美主義有著狂熱的追求,這使得他為人特別苛刻。他的管理主要是依靠自身的個人魅力和對各方面的高要求。蓋茨的管理哲學則更為條理系統(tǒng)。他緊密安排每次的產(chǎn)品測評會議,在會上總是能有技巧地準確切入問題的核心。他們兩人的方式其實都很粗魯,但因為在職業(yè)生涯初期有著典型極客的阿斯伯格綜合癥傾向,蓋茨的刻薄舉止并非針對個人。他的判斷主要是基于對技術(shù)知識的深刻了解,而并非是因為情感上的麻木不仁。喬布斯會用灼熱傷人的眼神死盯著別人看,蓋茨有時候無法與別人進行眼神溝通,但他其實更有人情味。

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【翻譯筆記】

1. intensity:強度,亮度,集中程度。這個單詞來源自形容詞intensive, 意為集中的,加強的,透徹的。intensive這個單詞組成的短語用于很多不同的領(lǐng)域:intensive care 重癥特別護理,特護病房的縮寫ICU就是intensive care unit;intensive agriculture 指的是高密集的集約型農(nóng)業(yè);intensive management 集約化管理;intensive reading 指的是英語專業(yè)的精讀課程。intensive 還表示(語法)中加強語氣的,an intensive adverb 就表示強調(diào)性副詞。注意區(qū)分intensive和intense:intense表示熱情的,強烈的,非常的。

But the intensity of the necessary correction is going to be a tough test for the authorities.
但是,經(jīng)濟調(diào)控措施該有有什么樣的強度,將成為對權(quán)力部門的一大考驗。

This solves at a stroke the difficulty matching the Indians in labour-intensive outsourcing.
這一舉措解決了印度勞動密集型的外包行業(yè)所面臨的困境。

This is why we should make intensive reading as well as extensive reading, and at the same time make listening practice in large quantity.
這就是為什么除了精讀外還需要進行泛讀的訓練,同時需要進行大量聽力的訓練。

2. Asperger Syndrome: 阿斯伯格綜合癥

阿斯伯格綜合癥的患者主要有社交困難(social deficit)、溝通困難(communication deficit),和固執(zhí)或興趣狹窄(rigidity or restricted interest)等三種典型癥狀?;颊邔ν蝗缙鋪淼霓D(zhuǎn)變感到不安,甚至出現(xiàn)不穩(wěn)定的情緒,一般會對一種或多種異常強烈的興趣模式產(chǎn)生執(zhí)著的態(tài)度。不過阿斯伯格綜合癥患者智力正常,甚至有些是資優(yōu)生,與自閉癥(autism)有所不同。

In fact, some children who are diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome have extraordinary language and reading skills.
事實上,一些誰被診斷為阿斯伯格綜合癥的孩子就具有不同尋常的語言和閱讀技能。

3. 比爾·蓋茨的經(jīng)典反駁

得知微軟要開發(fā)Windows 操作系統(tǒng),喬布斯怒氣沖天的要求與比爾·蓋茨當面對質(zhì)。在蘋果的會議室,面對喬布斯的指責,蓋茨很淡定很冷靜的拋出了下面這句經(jīng)典的反駁(classic zinger

?“Well, Steve, I think there’s more than one way of looking at it. I think it’s more like we both had this rich neighbor named Xerox and I broke into his house to steal the TV set and found out that you had already stolen it.”
“好吧,史蒂夫,我覺得我們可以換個角度來看待這個問題。對于我來說,我覺得目前的情況更像是這樣:我們有個共同的有錢鄰居施樂,我闖進他們家想偷走電視機,結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)已經(jīng)被你先偷走了”。

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