20年来12大最具影响力的个人科技产品

1. Newton MessagePad (1993)

1. Newton MessagePad (1993)

This hand-held computer from Apple was a failure, even a joke, mainly because the company promised it could flawlessly recognize handwriting. It didn't. But it had one feature that foreshadowed some of today's most cutting-edge technology: an early form of artificial intelligence. You could scrawl 'lunch with Linda Jones on Thursday' and it would create a calendar entry for the right time with the right person.

苹果推出的这个掌上电脑不仅是失败之作，甚至可以说是个笑话，这主要是因为该公司当时承诺，这个产品可精准无误地识别手写体。但它并没有做到这一点。不过，它倒是的确有一项功能，可谓是如今一些最顶尖技术的鼻祖：人工智能的早期形式。你可以随手写一句“周四与琳达·琼斯(Linda Jones)吃午饭”，然后这个电脑就能对应正确的时间和正确的人生成一个日历项。