Chrome OS 操作系统令人捉摸不透

This year, Microsoft and Apple are both introducing new versions of their operating systems with important changes to their user interfaces, and with a flurry of publicity. A third major company is also overhauling its PC operating system, but you probably won't hear much about it.

今年，微软（Microsoft）和苹果（Apple）两家公司都在推出各自的新版操作系统，新操作系统在用户界面上有重大变化，并进行了大肆宣传。还有一家大公司也正在测试检验它的PC操作系统，只不过你可能不会对它知之太多。

Google redesigned its PC operating system, Chrome OS. While Google is a major rival to Apple and Microsoft in things like search, smartphones and browsers, Chrome OS hasn't dented the competition in the year since it emerged. It was meant to be radically different than Windows and the Macintosh operating system, a refreshing change for a new era. But it had serious limitations, principally that it ran only apps inside a browser on a handful of special, low-powered laptops called Chromebooks and could do almost nothing when it wasn't online.
谷歌公司（Google）对它的操作系统Chrome OS进行了重新设计。虽然谷歌在搜索引擎、智能手机和浏览器等业务方面是苹果和微软的一个主要竞争对手，但是Chrome OS操作系统自诞生以来还一直未能对其竞争对手形成挑战。它的设计初衷是要成为一种与Windows和Macintosh截然不同的操作系统，开启一个带来清新变化的新时代。但是这种操作系统有着严重的局限性，主要是它只能在少量被称之为Chromebooks的低功率特殊笔记本电脑上在浏览器内运行程序，而且在无网络连接的状态下几乎毫无用武之地。

The new version, which I've been testing, aims to address some of those issues and it makes some progress. But I still can't recommend it over a PC or Mac for average consumers who are looking for the greatest versatility in a laptop. I still find it more of an evolving project than a finished product.
最近我一直都在测试的这个新版本旨在解决上述的某些问题，确实也取得了一些进展。但是对于想尽量发挥笔记本电脑多功能作用的普通消费者来说，与PC和Mac电脑的操作系统相比，我还是不推荐谷歌的这个操作系统。我依然觉得它是尚在开发中的一个项目，还算不上一个成品。

Its fundamental limitations remain. Most importantly, you still can't install your favorite programs, be they Microsoft Office or iTunes or Firefox - only a few thousand 'Web apps' that run inside the Chrome browser. And it still only works on specific hardware: that laptop called the Chromebook or - new this year - a small desktop called a Chromebox. The only hardware maker producing the 2012 versions of these machines so far is Samsung, though Google says more are coming.
Chrome OS根本的局限性依然存在，最主要的是你仍然不能安装自己喜欢的程序，无论是微软Office软件、iTunes还是火狐浏览器（Firefox）──能用的只有Chrome浏览器内建的几千个"网络应用程序"，而且它对硬件还是有特别的要求：名为Chromebook的笔记本电脑或者今年新推出的名为Chromebox的小型台式电脑。迄今为止，三星（Samsung）是唯一在生产2012款的这两种电脑的硬件制造商，不过谷歌说其他硬件制造商马上就会跟进。

Chrome OS does have some admirable qualities - especially its philosophy of simplicity and of being wedded to the cloud. For instance, because it's designed to fetch your apps and documents from the Internet, you can replicate your entire computer by just logging in on any other Chrome OS PC. And, if you mainly use the Web and live in the cloud, it may be the ticket for you, especially as a second machine.
Chrome OS的确有其令人称道的独特之处──尤其是它简约以及与云技术契合的理念。比如，由于它的设计是让你从因特网上取用软件和文件，你可以通过登录其它任何一台装有Chrome OS操作系统的PC机来实现对你自己电脑的复制。如果你使用的主要是网络且生活在云世界里，它也许可以为你所需，特别是作为第二台机器使用时。

Last year's inaugural version of Chrome OS was little more than a giant browser in which you ran only Web-based apps. The new redesign of Chrome OS, released late last month, represents something of a retreat from that dramatic strategy.
去年的Chrome OS操作系统最初版本不过是一个巨型浏览器而已，你只能运行基于网络的应用程序。上个月末发布的经过重新设计的Chrome OS表明谷歌有点想要放弃那种奇特的战略。

Now, Google is touting the new release for features that make it look and work more like a Windows PC or Mac - for instance, multiple, movable windows; a strip along the bottom that holds the icons of apps you use; a slightly greater emphasis on doing things offline; and greater focus on finding and launching apps. None of this is revolutionary for people used to traditional computers.
现在，谷歌正在大力宣传即将发布的新版本，新版Chrome OS具备的特征使其在形式和功能上与安装了Windows操作系统的PC机或Mac机更加相似──比如，多个可移动的窗口；底部收纳你所用应用程序图标的横条；略微增加的离线工作的功能；更强大的查找并启动应用程序的功能。对于习惯使用传统电脑的人来说，这些新特征无一具有颠覆性。

What Chrome OS is exactly can be confusing. While it looks and works a lot like the browser of the same name, Chrome OS is a full-blown operating system that, unlike the Chrome browser, can't be installed on PCs and Macs. Also, Chrome OS is unrelated to Google's best-known operating system, Android. The latter is meant to power smartphones, tablets and other miscellaneous devices.

Chrome OS到底是什么还是让人捉摸不透。虽然在形式和功能上与同名的浏览器十分相像，它却是一个真正的操作系统。与Chrome浏览器不同，它不能安装在PC或Mac电脑上。而且，Chrome OS与谷歌最富盛名的安卓（Android）操作系统没有关系，后者旨在为智能手机、平板电脑和其它多功能设备提供支持。

I tested the redesigned Chrome OS on the new Samsung Chromebook, a model which Google claims has up to three times the performance of the original Chromebook. This laptop has a 12-inch screen, weighs 3.3 pounds and is about 0.8 of an inch thick. I didn't run a formal battery test on it, but Samsung claims it gets up to six hours on a charge, less than the claims for the MacBook Air or the new Windows ultrabooks. In my tests, the battery easily lasted a full day in light to moderate use. The Chromebook is sold online and costs $450. A model that includes a slow, 3G cellular modem is $100 more. The Chromebox desktop is a small box that comes without a screen, mouse, or keyboard, and sells for $330.
我是在三星制造的新版Chromebook笔记本上测试的修订版Chrome OS操作系统。谷歌公司称这种型号的Chromebook性能达到了原始版本Chromebook的三倍。该笔记本电脑的显示屏为12英寸，重3.3磅，约0.8英寸厚。我没有对它的电池进行正式的测试，但是三星公司称电池充一次电续航能力可以达到六小时，比苹果的MacBook Air或新版Windows超级本逊色一点。在我的测试中，中等使用强度下，电池可以轻松维持一天。这款Chromebook笔记本在网上有售，售价为450美元，另一款带慢速3G无线网卡的型号售价要高100多美元。Chromebox台式机是一个没有屏幕、鼠标和键盘的小盒子，售价为330美元。

Because it's primarily meant as a portal to the Internet, the Chromebook has only about as much storage as a smartphone: 16 gigabytes, rather than the hundreds of gigabytes common in other laptops. And it has a wimpy processor, one of Intel's entry-level Celeron models.
由于主要被当成是一个连接因特网的端口，Chromebook笔记本的存储空间只与智能手机相当：16G，而不是其它笔记本电脑通常拥有的几百G大小。它的处理器也很疲弱，属于英特尔（Intel）的一款入门级赛扬（Celeron）处理器。

In my tests, the new Chromebook performed well and did everything it promised. Unlike in the first iteration, I was able to use multiple independent windows and to minimize them or resize them easily. I could store frequently used apps, which still run in browser pages, in the bottom strip, similar to the Windows taskbar or Mac dock - again, nothing new there, but a welcome addition.
在我的测试中，新款Chromebook笔记本表现很好，按设计该做到的都做到了。跟第一代不同的是，我可以使用多个独立的窗口，轻轻松松地把它们最小化或复原。我可以把还在浏览器页面中运行的常用软件存放在底端的条带中，这个条带与Windows系统的任务栏和Mac的停靠栏类似──还是那句话，没什么新鲜的东西，不过是博取兴趣的一个新花样而已。

I was also able to play music and videos, to view and edit photos, and to view (but not edit) Microsoft Office documents. These abilities are a good thing, but also have been long available on other operating systems.
我还可以播放音乐和视频，查看并编辑照片，浏览（但不能编辑）微软的Office文件。这些功能都很不错，但是别的操作系统同样早就具备这些功能了。

In the next month or two, Google plans to update Chrome with two important features: the integration of Google's online file-storage locker, Google Drive, right into the Chromebook's file system; and the ability to edit documents when offline. I was able to test pre-release versions of these features and they worked fine. Google Drive can already be installed and integrated into the Windows and Mac file systems.
在随后的一两个月里，谷歌计划升级Chrome浏览器，使其具备两个重要特征：将谷歌的在线云存储服务Google Drive整合进Chromebook笔记本的文件系统；能够对文件进行离线编辑。我有幸对具备这些特征的预发布版本进行了测试，效果很好。Google Drive已经可以安装并集成到Windows和Mac的文件系统里了。

In fact, all of the important features of the Chrome OS - which is still at heart just a big browser - are available in the Windows and Mac versions of the Chrome browser, including the ability to run Web apps, programs like Google's office suite, or Web-based games. Google concedes this, but says that, by making the whole computer a browser, it has simplified the overall experience.
实际上，Chrome OS操作系统──本质上仍然是一个巨大的浏览器──的所有重要特征在Windows和Mac版本的Chrome浏览器中都可以找到，包括运行网络程序、谷歌的办公组件程序或者网络游戏。谷歌承认这一点，但是它指出，把整个电脑变成一个浏览器，这样可以简化整个体验过程。

Google has big plans for the Chrome OS. It has built-in features it claims will work great with future touch-screen hardware.
谷歌为Chrome OS操作系统制订了宏伟规划，据称这种操作系统内置的性能可以在未来的触摸屏设备上大显身手。

But, overall, I'd say, if you only have the budget for one computer, you're better off with a Mac or a PC.
但是我得说明，总的来说，如果你只有买一台电脑的预算，那么买Mac或PC电脑会更合适一些。