A Message For Adam 给亚当的信息

作者: 安迪·赫茨菲尔德 日期: 1981年4月 人物: 亚当·奥斯本、史蒂夫·乔布斯 主题: 性格、性格冲突 概括: 关于苹果第一代Macintosh的开发以及制造它的人的轶事: 我们在西海岸电脑博览会上遇到了亚当·奥斯本

The Apple II was first shown to the public in April 1977 at a special event called the West Coast Computer Faire. This event was important because it was one of the first times that people could see all the new computers and technology that was emerging. I liked these events because they were a time when people passionate about computers got together, before big companies took over and everything became too commercialized.

Apple II 于 1977 年 4 月在一次名为“西海岸电脑博览会”的特别活动中首次向公众展示。
这次活动很重要,因为这是人们第一次看到所有正在出现的新计算机和技术。
我喜欢这些活动,因为在大公司接管一切变得过于商业化之前,那些对计算机充满热情的人们聚集在一起的时代。

In April 1981, a few people from the Mac team left work early and went to San Francisco to visit a big computer show. The big news at the show was the introduction of a new portable computer called the Osborne I. It was made by a new company called Osborne Computer and was called the world’s first portable computer.

1981年4月,Mac团队的几个人提前下班,前往旧金山参观一个大型电脑展。
展会上的重大新闻是推出了一款名为 Osborne I 的新型便携式计算机。
它是由一家名为奥斯本计算机公司的新公司制造的,被称为世界上第一台便携式计算机。

Adam Osborne was a important person in the early days of computers. He was a writer who explained technical things to people. He started a company to write about important computer parts and software, which later became part of a big educational company called McGraw-Hill. He became a well-known writer who wrote about computers in a magazine called InfoWorld. He had a new idea about how computers should work: he thought they should be simple, affordable, and easy to use for many people.

亚当·奥斯本 (Adam Osborne) 是计算机早期的一位重要人物。他是一位向人们解释技术问题的作家。
他创办了一家公司,专门编写重要的计算机部件和软件,该公司后来成为一家名为 McGraw-Hill 的大型教育公司的一部分。
他成为一位著名作家,在一本名为《InfoWorld》的杂志上撰写有关计算机的文章。
他对计算机应该如何工作有了一个新的想法:他认为计算机应该简单、价格实惠并且易于为许多人使用。

In 1980, he made his idea real by starting a company called Osborne Computer Company. The company made a special computer called the Osborne 1. It was a portable computer that was compact and affordable, and it came with some built-in programs. He worked with a very experienced person, Lee Felsenstein, to design the computer’s hardware. They showed their new computer at a computer event on the West Coast, just like Apple had done a few years ago.

1980 年,他创办了一家名为 Osborne Computer Company 的公司,将自己的想法变为现实。
该公司制造了一款名为 Osborne 1 的特殊计算机。它是一款结构紧凑、价格实惠的便携式计算机,并且带有一些内置程序。
他与一位非常有经验的人 Lee Felsenstein 一起设计了计算机的硬件。
他们在西海岸的一次电脑活动上展示了他们的新电脑,就像苹果几年前所做的那样。

The Osborne 1 computer was shown at a crowded stand in the middle of Brooks Hall. It looked like a large lunchbox with a keyboard on the back, and two floppy disk drives and a small 5-inch screen inside. We were surprised because it looked similar to an early design for the Macintosh computer, which Steve had recently changed to a vertical design. Even though it was called “portable”, the computer was quite heavy, weighing around 25 pounds. However, it was small enough to fit under an airplane seat. As fans of the Macintosh computer, we found the character-based programs for CP/M operating system clumsy and awkward to use on the small, scrolling screen.

Osborne 1 计算机在布鲁克斯大厅中间一个拥挤的展台上展示。
它看起来就像一个大饭盒,背面有一个键盘,里面有两个软盘驱动器和一个5英寸的小屏幕。
我们很惊讶,因为它看起来与麦金塔电脑的早期设计相似,史蒂夫最近将其改为垂直设计。
尽管它被称为“便携式”,但该计算机相当重,重约 25 磅。然而,它足够小,可以放在飞机座位下面。
作为 Macintosh 计算机的粉丝,我们发现 CP/M 操作系统的基于字符的程序在小型滚动屏幕上使用起来很笨拙且不方便。

We walked to the front of the crowd to see the things on display. We went to ask a technical question to one of the presenters, but we were surprised when Adam Osborne, himself, was standing right in front of us, reading our name badges before the presenter could answer our question.

我们走到人群前面观看展示的东西。
我们去向一位演讲者提出一个技术问题,但令我们惊讶的是,亚当·奥斯本本人就站在我们面前,在演讲者回答我们的问题之前阅读了我们的名牌。

“Hey guys”, he said in a slightly sneering tone, “What do you think? Don’t you think the Osborne 1 will sell a lot more than the Apple II? What department of Apple do you work in?”

“嘿,伙计们,”他略带冷笑地说道,“你们觉得怎么样?你们不觉得 Osborne 1 的销量会比 Apple II 多很多吗?你们在 Apple 的哪个部门工作?”

When we told him that we worked on the Mac team, he started laughing. “I’ve heard about the Macintosh,” he said. “When can I see it? You should go back to Steve Jobs and tell him that the Osborne 1 will sell more computers than the Apple II and the Macintosh together.” (Note: The Osborne 1 was a computer released in 1981, and the Apple II was a popular computer at the time. Steve Jobs was the CEO of Apple, and he was responsible for the development of the Macintosh computer.)

当我们告诉他我们在 Mac 团队工作时,他开始大笑。 “我听说过麦金塔电脑,”他说。 “我什么时候能看到它?你应该回到史蒂夫·乔布斯那里,告诉他 Osborne 1 的销量将比 Apple II 和 Macintosh 的总销量还要多。”
(注:Osborne 1是1981年发布的电脑,Apple II是当时流行的电脑。史蒂夫·乔布斯是苹果公司的首席执行官,他负责Macintosh电脑的开发。)

Later that day, after going back to our office in Cupertino, we told Steve about our meeting with Adam Osborne. He smiled and pretended to be mad, then picked up the phone from a desk in Bud’s office. He called directory assistance to get the phone number for the Osborne Computer Company.

那天晚些时候,回到库比蒂诺的办公室后,我们告诉史蒂夫我们与亚当·奥斯本的会面。
他微笑着假装生气,然后从巴德办公室的桌子上拿起电话。
他拨打查号台以获取奥斯本计算机公司的电话号码。

“Hello, this is Steve Jobs. I would like to talk to Adam Osborne, please.”

“你好,我是史蒂夫·乔布斯。我想和亚当·奥斯本通话。”

The secretary told Steve that Mr. Osborne is not at work right now and will not come back to the office until tomorrow morning. She asked Steve if he wants to leave a note for Mr. Osborne.

秘书告诉史蒂夫,奥斯本先生现在不在工作,要到明天早上才会回到办公室。
她问史蒂夫是否想给奥斯本先生留一张纸条。

Steve said “yes”. After a moment, he continued, “Here’s what I want to say to Adam: he’s a mean person.”

史蒂夫说“是的”。过了一会儿,他继续说道:“我想对亚当说的是:他是一个卑鄙的人。”

There was a pause while the secretary thought about how to answer. Steve added one more thing, “Also, I heard that Adam is interested in the Macintosh computer. Tell him that the Macintosh is so good that he might even buy some for his kids, even though it hurt his company’s business.”

秘书沉默了一会儿,思考着如何回答。
史蒂夫又补充了一件事,“另外,我听说亚当对麦金塔电脑很感兴趣。
告诉他麦金塔电脑非常好,他甚至可能会为他的孩子买一些,尽管这会损害他公司的业务。”
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