iPad火爆反映电脑业的缺陷?

　　There ought to be some soul searching going on right now among Apple's competitors. For this is not the first time the company has picked up a discredited idea and created not just a successful product, but a whole new industry. There were MP3 players before the iPod. There were smartphones before the iPhone. And there were plenty of tablet computers before the iPad, even if they did run Windows. Certainly building something like this is not an easy thing to do. It requires world-class design teams, dependable supply chains, impeccable quality control, first-rate marketing, an army of high-maintenance developers and the foresight to build a tightly integrated software environment in which all the parts - software, hardware, retail, networking - fit seamlessly together.

　　苹果的竞争者现在应该好好思考一下。因为，这已经不是苹果第一次采用早先不被人看好的创意，然后不仅创造出成功的产品，还创造出了一个全新的产业。iPod出现之前已经有MP3播放器。在iPhone出现之前已经有了智能手机。iPad出现之前也已经有平板电脑，安装的还是Windows操作系统呢。当然，制造这样的产品并非易事。它需要世界级的设计团队、可靠的供应链、完美无暇的质量管理、一流的营销，需要重金聘请一批开发人员，预见性地建设完善而凝聚的软环境。在这种环境中，软件、硬件、零售和网点铺设都要无缝对接。

　　Every other computer and software company can claim to own pieces of that chain. Microsoft has well-integrated operating system and application suite. Sony has the hardware and software designers, as well as the stores. Dell and HP can turn out devices quickly and know how to appeal to consumers. But somehow none of that is enough to transform an industry again and again and again. To do that requires, to paraphrase Jobs' favorite Wayne Gretzky quote, skating to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been. By the few accounts have leaked out of Apple's tightly sealed PR machine, the iPad would appear to be Steve Jobs' baby. First there were the reports that Jobs was pouring all his attention on the iPad, even while he was on medical leave, rejecting design after design until he was fully satisfied. He is said to have told friends and colleagues that the device was the 'most important thing' he has ever done.

　　其他任何一家电脑和软件公司都可以声称拥有这些要素中的一部分。微软有完备的操作系统和应用套装软件。索尼有硬件与软件设计师，还有自己的商店。戴尔和惠普生产速度快，并且知道如何吸引消费者。但他们就是无法一次又一次地改变一个行业。要想做到这个，用乔布斯最爱引用的韦恩?格雷茨基的一句话说，就是朝冰球将要去的方向滑，而不是朝它滑过的方向。苹果公关部门口风严密，但透露的少量信息显示，iPad可谓是史蒂夫?乔布斯的“心肝宝贝”。之前有报道称，乔布斯在iPad上倾注了自己的所有心血，即使他在病假期间，也一次次推倒设计方案，直到完全满意为止。据称，他给朋友和同事说，iPad是他制造的“最重要的产品”。