David Pogue: Simplicity sells

翻译人员: Qcshz Ihnus 校对人员: Zoe Chen

(Music: "The Sound of Silence," Simon & Garfunkel)

Hello voice mail, my old friend.

语音信箱 我的老朋友♪

(Laughter)

(笑声)

I've called for tech support again.

我又打了技术支持电话♪

I ignored my boss's warning.

我没听老板的警告 在周一早上打的♪

I called on a Monday morning.

Now it's evening, and my dinner first grew cold, and then grew mold.

现在已是晚上 我的食物先变凉 -- 继而发霉♪

I'm still on hold.

我仍被搁置 我正聆听着寂静之声♪

I'm listening to the sounds of silence.

I don't think you understand.

我觉得你不明白 我认为你们的电话线无人值守♪

I think your phone lines are unmanned.

I punched every touch tone I was told,

我敲打了每个提示的按键♪

but I've still spent 18 hours on hold.

但我还是被晾了18小时♪

It's not enough your software crashed my Mac,

你们的软件不但宕了我的Mac♪

and it constantly hangs and bombs --

还一直挂起和破坏 -- 擦除了我的ROM! 现在那Mac♪

it erased my ROMs!

Now the Mac makes the sounds of silence.

发出了寂静之声♪

In my dreams I fantasize

我在梦中幻想♪

of wreaking vengeance on you guys.

对你们实施报复♪

Say your motorcycle crashes.

咒你摩托出了车祸♪

Blood comes gushing from your gashes.

血流成河 你颤抖着♪

With your fading strength, you call 9-1-1 and you pray for a trained MD.

拨了911 祈祷叫到专业医师 但却叫到了我♪

But you get me.

(Laughter)

(笑声)

And you listen to the sounds of silence.

于是你只听到寂静之声♪

(Music)

(Applause)

(掌声)

谢谢 晚上好 欢迎来到 --

Thank you.

Good evening and welcome to:

"Spot the TED Presenter Who Used to Be a Broadway Accompanist."

“见证曾是百老汇伴奏的TED演讲者"

(Laughter)

(笑声)

When I was offered the Times column six years ago,

当我在六年前得到纽约时报专栏的工作时

the deal was like this:

有人这样对我说: 你会拿到最酷 最热门 最华丽的新玩意儿

you'll be sent the coolest, hottest, slickest new gadgets.

Every week, it'll arrive at your door.

每周都会被送到你家

You get to try them out, play with them, evaluate them

你要试用它们 把玩它们 评估它们

until the novelty wears out, before you have to send them back,

玩厌了再把它们送回去

and you'll get paid for it.

你还可以拿到工资 好好想想吧

You can think about it, if you want.

So, I've always been a technology nut, and I absolutely love it.

我一直都是个技术控 这工作太棒了

The job, though, came with one small downside, and that is,

然而这工作有个小缺点 那就是

they intended to publish my email address at the end of every column.

我的email地址会出现在每个专栏底部

And what I've noticed is -- first of all, you get an incredible amount of email.

对此我的体会是 -- 首先 你会收到无数email

If you ever are feeling lonely,

如果你感到孤单

get a New York Times column,

就去找份纽约时报专栏的工作 因为你会收到成百

because you will get hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of emails.

上千 上万的email。如今我收到最多的email

And the email I'm getting a lot today is about frustration.

是有关挫折的

People are feeling like things --

人们感到 -- 唔

Ok, I just had an alarm come up on my screen.

我的屏幕上刚弹出一个通知 好在你们看不到

Lucky you can't see it.

People are feeling overwhelmed.

人们感到在被淹没 他们觉得有太多技术 更新太快

They're feeling like it's too much technology, too fast.

It may be good technology,

有时候技术是好的

but I feel like there's not enough of a support structure.

但我觉得在支持体系上还做得不够

There's not enough help.

没有足够的帮助 没有足够的精力被用于

There's not enough thought put into the design of it

设计易用和人们乐于使用的产品

to make it easy and enjoyable to use.

One time I wrote a column about my efforts to reach Dell Technical Support,

有一次我写了篇专栏

记录了我呼叫戴尔技术支持的经历

and within 12 hours, there were 700 messages

不到12小时 纽约时报的网站上就出现了

from readers on the feedback boards on the Times website,

超过700条读者留言。有人说 "我也是!"

from users saying,

""Me too, and here's my tale of woe."

"这是我的伤心往事"。我称之为软件焦虑

I call it "software rage."

And man, let me tell you,

老实说 懂得在这种挫折上动脑筋

whoever figures out how to make money off of this frustration will --

从而赚钱的人会 --

Oh, how did that get up there? Just kidding.

哦 那东东怎么出来了? 开玩笑的

(Laughter)

(笑声)

Ok, so why is the problem accelerating?

那为何这问题越来越严重? 一方面的原因是

And part of the problem is, ironically,

很讽刺的 因为行业花了大把精力

because the industry has put so much thought

into making things easier to use.

为了使产品更易于使用

I'll show you what I mean.

我来举个例子

This is what the computer interface used to look like, DOS.

这是以前计算机界面的样子 DOS

Over the years, it's gotten easier to use.

随着时间推移它变得更易于使用

This is the original Mac operating system.

这是原始的Mac操作系统

Reagan was President. Madonna was still a brunette.

里根还是总统 麦当娜还是黑头发

And the entire operating system --

整个操作系统 --

this is the good part -- the entire operating system fit in 211 k.

这就是好的地方 -- 整个操作系统只有211k

You couldn't put the Mac OS X logo in 211 k!

Mac OS X的logo都不止211k!

(Laughter)

(笑声)

So the irony is, that as these things became easier to use,

讽刺就在于 当这些东西变得更易于使用

a less technical, broader audience was coming into contact

更非技术 更广泛的受众就开始了与其的

with this equipment for the first time.

第一次亲密接触

I once had the distinct privilege of sitting in on the Apple call center

我曾有幸在苹果的呼叫中心坐了一天

for a day.

The guy had a duplicate headset for me to listen to.

接线员给了我一个旁听的耳麦

And the calls that -- you know how they say,

那些通话 -- 你知道他们是怎么说的

"Your call may be recorded for quality assurance?"

"为保证服务质量，您的通话可能会被录音"

Uh-uh.

唔唔 您的通话可能会被录音

Your call may be recorded

so that they can collect the funniest dumb user stories

于是他们就能够收集最好玩的小白用户故事

and pass them around on a CD.

刻成CD分发

(Laughter)

(笑声)

Which they do.

他们真的做了

(Laughter)

(笑声)

And I have a copy.

我有份拷贝

(Laughter)

It's in your gift bag. No, no.

(笑声)

就在你的礼物包里。不不

With your voices on it!

里面有你的声音

So, some of the stories are just so classic, and yet so understandable.

有些故事堪称经典 然而也非常容易理解

A woman called Apple to complain that her mouse was squeaking.

一位女性向苹果抱怨说

她的鼠标在吱吱叫 -- 发出嘎吱嘎吱的响声

Making a squeaking noise.

And the technician said,

技术人员问 "女士, 您的鼠标在吱吱叫是什么意思?"

"Well, ma'am, what do you mean your mouse is squeaking?"

She says, "All I can tell you is that it squeaks louder,

她说 "我只知道

我让它在屏幕上动得越快它就叫得越响"

the faster I move it across the screen."

(Laughter)

(笑声)

And the technician's like,

技术人员又问 "女士, 您把鼠标贴在屏幕上动?"

"Ma'am, you've got the mouse up against the screen?"

She goes, "Well, the message said, 'Click here to continue.'"

她说 "提示里讲, '点此处继续.'"

(Laughter)

(笑声)

Well, if you like that one -- how much time have we got?

如果你们喜欢那个故事...还剩多少时间?

Another one, a guy called -- this is absolutely true --

另一个男人的真实故事!

his computer had crashed, and he told the technician

他的电脑宕机了 他告诉技术人员

he couldn't restart it, no matter how many times he typed "11."

他无法重启电脑 不管他输入多少次11

And the technician said, "What? Why are you typing 11?"

技术人员说 "啥? 您为啥要输入11?" 他说,

He said, "The message says, 'Error Type 11.'"

"提示里讲, '错误输入（类型）11.'"

(Laughter)

(笑声)

So, we must admit

因此我们必须承认我们无法指责用户

that some of the blame falls squarely at the feet of the users.

But why is the technical overload crisis,

但是为何技术超载危机

the complexity crisis, accelerating now?

复杂度危机 正在加速呢? 在硬件行业中

In the hardware world, it's because we the consumers want

因为我们消费者希望东西更小 更小 更小

everything to be smaller, smaller, smaller.

So the gadgets are getting tinier and tinier,

因此那些小玩意儿也变得越来越小

but our fingers are essentially staying the same size.

但我们的手指还是原来大小

So it gets to be more and more of a challenge.

因此行业正不断面临挑战

Software is subject to another primal force:

软件行业则面临另一个问题

the mandate to release more and more versions.

强制发布越来越多的版本

When you buy a piece of software,

如果你买了个花瓶 或是块糖

it's not like buying a vase or a candy bar, where you own it.

你可以拥有它. 但如果是软件

It's more like joining a club, where you pay dues every year,

则更像是加入俱乐部 每年缴纳会费

and every year, they say,

于是每年 他们都会说

"We've added more features, and we'll sell it to you for $99."

"我们加入了更多功能, 只卖$99."

I know one guy who's spent $4,000 just on Photoshop over the years.

我认识有人多年来单在Photoshop上就花了$4000

And software companies make 35 percent of their revenue

软件公司将它们收益的35%

from just these software upgrades.

用于这些软件升级

I call it the Software Upgrade Paradox --

我称之为 软件升级佯谬 --

which is that if you improve a piece of software enough times,

当你增强一个软件足够多次

you eventually ruin it.

你最终会毁了它

I mean, Microsoft Word was last just a word processor in, you know,

我是说 Microsoft Word仅仅是一个文字处理器的时代

the Eisenhower administration.

还要追溯到艾森豪威尔

(Laughter)

But what's the alternative?

(笑声)

但替代方案在哪? 微软实际做过这个实验. 他们说

Microsoft actually did this experiment.

They said, "Well, wait a minute.

Everyone complains that we're adding so many features.

"等等. 每个人都抱怨说我们加入了太多特性

让我们做一个单纯的文字处理器

Let's create a word processor that's just a word processor:

Simple, pure; does not do web pages, is not a database."

简单, 纯粹, 不编辑网页, 不是数据库."

And it came out, and it was called Microsoft Write.

于是就有了 Microsoft Write

And none of you are nodding in acknowledgment, because it died.

你们中没人知道它 因为它已死

It tanked. No one ever bought it.

它被打入冷宫 没人买过它

I call this the Sport Utility Principle.

我称之为 运动器械原则. 人们喜欢将自己包围在

People like to surround themselves with unnecessary power, right?

非必须的能力中

They don't need the database and the website, but they're like,

他们不需要数据库和网站 但是他们会想

"Well, I'll upgrade, because, I might, you know, I might need that someday."

"好, 我要升级, 因为我或许有一天会需要它!"

So the problem is: as you add more features, where are they going to go?

问题是 当你加入更多特性 它们会在哪儿?

Where are you going to stick them? You only have so many design tools.

你会把它们放在哪里? 你有那么多设计工具

You can do buttons, you can do sliders, pop-up menus, sub-menus.

你可以做出按钮 滑块 弹出菜单 子菜单

But if you're not careful about how you choose,

但如果你不仔细选择的话 就会变成这样

you wind up with this.

(Laughter)

(笑声)

This is an un-retouched -- this is not a joke --

这是张未加修饰的 -- 不是笑话 -- 未加修饰的Microsoft Word的照片

un-retouched photo of Microsoft Word,

the copy that you have, with all the toolbars open.

你们都有的版本 打开了所有的工具条

You've obviously never opened all the toolbars,

显然你们从未打开过所有工具条

but all you have to type in is this little, teeny window down here.

你们用于输入的就只是这~么小个窗口

(Laughter)

(笑声)

And we've arrived at the age of interface matrices,

我们已进入了界面矩阵时代

where there are so many features and options,

有那么多特性和选项 你不得不做出2维的

you have to do two dimensions, you know:

垂直的和水平的. 你们都抱怨过

a vertical and a horizontal.

You guys all complain

about how Microsoft Word is always bulleting your lists

为什么Microsoft Word总是自动为列表加项目符号 为链接加下划线

and underlining your links automatically.

The off switch is in there somewhere.

关闭选项就在某处

I'm telling you -- it's there.

我说真的 就在某处

Part of the art of designing a simple, good interface,

设计一个简单界面的艺术 部分在于

is knowing when to use which one of these features.

知道何时使用何种特性

So, here is the log-off dialogue box for Windows 2000.

这是Windows 2000的注销对话框

There are only four choices,

只有4个选项

但为何是在弹出菜单里?

so why are they in a pop-up menu?

It's not like the rest of the screen is so full of other components

屏幕上剩下的地方并非满是其他组件

that you need to collapse the choices.

使得你需要折叠选项

They could have put them all out in view.

他们其实可以把选项放到外面

Here's Apple's take on the exact same dialogue box.

这是苹果的同一个对话框

(Applause)

(掌声)

Thank you -- yes, I designed the dialogue box. No, no.

谢谢 -- 是我设计了这个对话框. 不不不

Already, we can see that Apple and Microsoft

我们已经看到苹果和微软

have a severely divergent approach to software design.

对于软件设计有着相当不同的方法

Microsoft's approach to simplicity tends to be:

微软达到简单的方法是

let's break it down; let's just make it more steps.

拆分 采用更多的步骤

There are these "wizards" everywhere.

于是这些向导变得到处都是

And you know, there's a new version of Windows coming out this fall.

你们知道 新版本的Windows今年秋天推出

If they continue at this pace, there's absolutely no telling

如果他们继续这么做 没人知道

他们会做成什么样

where they might wind up.

[Welcome to the Type a Word Wizard]

(掌声)

(Laughter)

(Applause)

"Welcome to the Type a Word Wizard."

欢迎来到 输入一个单词 向导. 好吧 让我们点"下一步"继续

Ok, I'll bite.

Let's click "Next" to continue.

(Laughter)

(掌声)

(Applause)

From the drop-down menu, choose the first letter you want to type. Ok.

从下拉菜单中, 选择您要输入的第一个字母. 恩

(Laughter)

(笑)

So there is a limit that we don't want to cross.

因此我们做事要有限度 但答案在哪?

So what is the answer?

How do you pack in all these features in a simple, intelligent way?

如何才能将所有这些特性以简单 智能的方式包装起来?

I believe in consistency, when possible,

我信仰 "保持一致"

real-world equivalents,

"真实对等" "使用回收站" "使用标注"

trash can folder, when possible, label things, mostly.

But I beg of the designers here

但我请求在场的设计师们

to break all those rules if they violate the biggest rule of all,

打破这些规则 如果它们抵触了最大一条规则

which is intelligence.

那就是"智能". 什么意思呢?

Now what do I mean by that?

I'm going to give you some examples

我会举一些例子 说明智能让某些事物

where intelligence makes something not consistent, but it's better.

失去一致 但却更好

If you are buying something on the web,

比如你在网上购物 你需要输入你的地址

you're supposed to put in your address,

and you're supposed to choose what country you're from, ok?

以及你所在的国家 好了

There are 200 countries in the world.

世界上有200多个国家. 我们常说互联网是地球村

We like to think of the Internet as a global village.

I'm sorry; it's not one yet.

对不起 它还不是

It's mainly like, the United States, Europe, and Japan.

主要是美国 欧洲和日本

但为何美国在"U"字部?

So why is "United States" in the "U"s?

(Laughter)

(笑声)

You have to scroll, like, seven screensful to get to it.

你得要滚动7个屏才能找到它

Now, it would be inconsistent to put "United States" first,

虽然把美国放在第一位会不一致

but it would be intelligent.

但这显得智能. 另一个老故事

This one's been touched on before,

but why in God's name do you shut down a Windows PC

看在上帝的份上 为何关闭一台Windows PC时

by clicking a button called "Start?"

要点"开始"按钮?

(Laughter)

(笑声)

Here's another pet one of mine: you have a printer.

另一个我经常说的故事: 你有一台打印机

Most of the time, you want to print one copy of your document,

大多数时候 你只想打印文档的一份拷贝

in page order, on that printer.

按照页码顺序排列

So why in God's name do you see this every time you print?

看在上帝的份上 为何每次打印时你都会看到这个?

It's like a 747 shuttle cockpit.

看上去就像747的驾驶舱

(Laughter)

(笑声)

And one of the buttons at the bottom, you'll notice, is not "Print."

看这里底部的按钮 还不是"打印"

(Laughter)

(笑声)

(Applause)

(掌声)

Now, I'm not saying that Apple is the only company who has embraced

我不是说苹果是唯一一家

the cult of simplicity.

将简单视为信条的公司

Palm is also, especially in the old days, wonderful about this.

Palm也是 尤其是在过去 精于此道

I actually got to speak to Palm when they were flying high in the '90s,

我曾在90年代Palm鼎盛时去作过演讲

结束后 我遇到一位员工

and after the talk, I met one of the employees.

He says, "Nice talk." And I said, "Thank you. What do you do here?"

他说 "很精彩" 我说 "谢谢, 你是做什么的?"

他说 "我是点击计数员"

He said, "I'm a tap counter." I'm like, "You're a what?"

我说 "你是啥?" 他说 "我们的CEO Jeff Hawkins说

He goes, "Well Jeff Hawkins, the CEO, says,

'If any task on the Palm Pilot takes more than three taps of the stylus,

任何在Palm Pilot上的任务如果需要超过3次点击

it's too long, and it has to be redesigned.'

那就太长了, 需要重新设计.' 所以我是点击计数员."

So I'm the tap counter."

So, I'm going to show you an example

我来举个例子 如果一个公司没有

of a company that does not have a tap counter.

(Laughter)

点击计数员

This is Microsoft Word.

这是Microsoft Word. 当你需要创建一个新文档

Ok, when you want to create a new blank document in Word --

it could happen.

-- 这是能做到的!

(Laughter)

(笑声)

You go up to the "File" menu and you choose "New."

你到"文件"菜单里选择"新建"

Now, what happens when you choose "New?"

选了"新建"后会发生什么? 你得到新文档了么?

Do you get a new blank document?

You do not.

没有

On the opposite side of the monitor, a task bar appears,

在显示器的另一端 出现了一个任务栏

and somewhere in those links -- by the way, not at the top --

在这些链接之中 -- 不是在顶部 顺带一提 --

somewhere in those links is a button that makes you a new document.

有一个按钮会创建新文档

Ok, so that is a company not counting taps.

这就是不计算点击数的公司

You know, I don't want to just stand here and make fun of Microsoft ...

你们知道 我不想只是站在这里取笑微软

听众: 继续

Yes, I do.

David Pogue: 当然

(Laughter)

(笑声)

(Applause)

(掌声)

The Bill Gates song!

比尔盖茨之歌!

(Piano music)

I've been a geek forever

我一直是个geek 我写了第一个DOS♪

and I wrote the very first DOS.

I put my software and IBM together;

我把我的软件和IBM绑在一起♪

I got profit and they got the loss.

我拿利润 他们拿亏损♪

(Laughter)

(笑声)

I write the code that makes the whole world run.

我的代码让全世界运转♪

I'm getting royalties from everyone.

我向每个人收专利费♪

Sometimes it's garbage, but the press is snowed.

有时代码是垃圾 但媒体都已被忽悠♪

You buy the box; I'll sell the code.

你买硬件 我卖代码♪

Every software company is doing Microsoft's R&D.

每个软件公司都在做微软的研发♪

You can't keep a good idea down these days.

这年头你无法独享好点子♪

Even Windows is a hack.

连Window也是个hack 松散地基于Mac♪

We're kind of based loosely on the Mac.

So it's big, so it's slow. You've got nowhere to go.

因为它又大又慢 你没有其他选择 我不是为了受赞扬而工作♪

I'm not doing this for praise.

I write the code that fits the world today.

我的代码适用于今天的世界♪

Big mediocrity in every way.

各方面都平庸♪

We've entered planet domination mode.

我们已进入行星统治模式♪

You'll have no choice; you'll buy my code.

你没有选择 只能买我的代码♪

I am Bill Gates and I write the code.

我是比尔盖茨 我写了代码♪

(Applause)

(掌声)

But actually, I believe there are really two Microsofts.

但事实上 我相信有两个微软

There's the old one, responsible for Windows and Office.

旧的一个 要为Windows和Office负责

They're dying to throw the whole thing out and start fresh, but they can't.

他们渴望将旧东西扔掉 从头再来

They're locked in, because so many add-ons and other company stuff

但他们不能. 他们被锁住了 因为那么多插件

和其他公司的东西都被锁在了1982年的底盘里

locks into the old 1982 chassis.

But there's also a new Microsoft,

但也有一家新的微软

that's really doing good, simple interface designs.

做着好而简单的界面设计

I liked the Media Center PC.

我喜欢Media Center PC. 我喜欢微软的SPOT手表

I liked the Microsoft SPOT Watch.

The Wireless Watch flopped miserably in the market,

这种无线手表可悲地在市场中受挫

but it wasn't because it wasn't simply and beautifully designed.

但这不是因为它的设计简单和美观

But let's put it this way:

这样说吧 你会买个手表

would you pay $10 a month to have a watch

每个月付$10 每晚都要跟你的手机一样充电

that has to be recharged every night like your cell phone,

and stops working when you leave your area code?

当你离开你的区域代码时就会罢工么?

(Laughter)

(笑声)

迹象表明复杂度危机只会变得更糟

So, the signs might indicate

that the complexity crunch is only going to get worse.

So is there any hope?

还有希望吗? 屏幕正变得更小

The screens are getting smaller, people are illuminating,

人们正在启蒙 把手册放进盒子里

putting manuals in the boxes,

things are coming out at a faster pace.

新事物出现得越来越快

It's funny -- when Steve Jobs came back to Apple in 1997,

有意思的是 -- 当史蒂夫乔布斯1997年回到苹果

after 12 years away, it was the MacWorld Expo --

是在离开了12年之后 在MacWorld展会上

he came to the stage in that black turtleneck and jeans,

他站到台上 穿着那套黑色圆领毛衣和牛仔裤

and he sort of did this.

他做了这个动作. 人群沸腾了

The crowd went wild, but I had just seen --

I'm like, where have I seen this before?

但我在想 我在哪里见过这个? 我刚看过电影"贝隆夫人" --

I had just seen the movie "Evita" --

(Laughter)

(笑声)

with Madonna,

-- 麦当娜主演. 你知道 我得为史蒂夫乔布斯唱上一曲

and I'm like, you know what?

I've got to do one about Steve Jobs.

(Music)

It won't be easy. You'll think I'm strange.

这不会简单. 你会认为我奇怪♪

(Laughter)

When I try to explain why I'm back,

当我尝试解释为何我回来了♪

after telling the press Apple's future is black.

在告诉媒体苹果的未来一片黑暗之后♪

You won't believe me.

你不会相信我♪

All that you see is a kid in his teens who started out in a garage

你所看到的只是个在车库发家的小屁孩♪

with only a buddy named Woz.

和一个叫Woz的兄弟一起♪

(Laughter)

(笑声)

You try rhyming with garage!

你试试跟"车库"押韵!

(Laughter)

(笑声)

Don't cry for me, Cupertino.

别为我哭泣 库比蒂诺♪

(Laughter)

(笑声)

我从未离开你们♪

The truth is, I never left you.

(笑声)

I know the ropes now, know what the tricks are.

我知道了内情 找到了诀窍♪

I made a fortune over at Pixar.

我在皮克斯发了财♪

(Laughter)

(笑声)

Don't cry for me, Cupertino.

别为我哭泣 库比蒂诺. 我仍有动力和远景♪

I've still got the drive and vision.

I still wear sandals in any weather.

我仍不管季节穿拖鞋. 只不过眼下♪

It's just that these days,

they're Gucci leather.

它们是古资牌的♪

(Laughter)

(笑声)

(Applause)

(掌声)

Thank you.

So Steve Jobs had always believed in simplicity and elegance and beauty.

谢谢. 史蒂夫乔布斯一直都信仰简单

优雅 与美. 事实上

And the truth is,

for years I was a little depressed,

我一直有些沮丧 因为美国人明显不识货

because Americans obviously did not value it,

because the Mac had three percent market share,

因为Mac只有3%市场份额

Windows had 95 percent market share --

而Windows有95%

people did not think it was worth putting a price on it.

人们不认同它的价值

So I was a little depressed.

因此我有些沮丧. 后来我听了阿尔戈尔的演讲 我意识到

And then I heard Al Gore's talk,

and I realized I didn't know the meaning of depressed.

我还不明白沮丧的含义

(Laughter)

(笑声)

后来证明我错了 因为iPod上市了

But it turns out I was wrong, right?

Because the iPod came out,

and it violated every bit of common wisdom.

它打破了所有常识

Other products cost less; other products had more features,

其他的产品更便宜 其他的产品有更多特性

they had voice recorders and FM transmitters.

有录音和FM调频

The other products were backed by Microsoft, with an open standard,

其他产品有微软的开放标准支持

not Apple's propriety standard.

而不是苹果的私有标准

But the iPod won -- this is the one they wanted.

但是iPod赢了! 这是人们想要的

The lesson was: simplicity sells.

教训是: 至简畅销

And there are signs that the industry is getting the message.

有迹象表明整个行业正在接受这个信息

This is a little company that's done very well with simplicity and elegance.

有家小公司在简单和优雅方面做得非常好

The Sonos thing -- it's catching on.

Sonos -- 它正在赶上

I've got just a couple examples.

我这里有些例子. 近期出现的真正酷

Physically, a really cool, elegant thinking coming along lately.

和优雅的点子

When you have a digital camera,

当你有台数码相机 你会如何将照片放回电脑中?

how do you get the pictures back to your computer?

Well, you either haul around a USB cable,

要么是把USB线拖来拖去 要么是买个读卡器搬来搬去

or you buy a card reader and haul that around.

Either one, you're going to lose.

不管怎样你都有损失. 而我要做的是

What I do is, I take out the memory card,

把记忆卡拿出来 对折 露出USB头

and I fold it in half, revealing USB contacts.

I just stick it in the computer, offload the pictures,

插进电脑 卸下照片 再放回相机里

put it right back in the camera.

I never have to lose anything.

我没有任何损失

Here's another example.

这是另一个例子. Chris 你是所有力量的源泉

Chris, you're the source of all power. Will you be my power plug?

能当下我的电源插座么?

Chris Anderson: Oh yeah. DP: Hold that and don't let go.

Chris Anderson: 哦好

DP: 拿好不要放手. 你可能见过这个:

You might've seen this, this is Apple's new laptop.

这是苹果的新笔记本. 这是电源线. 这样把它钩上

This the power cord. It hooks on like this.

我肯定你们每个人 或是你们的孩子

And I'm sure every one of you has done this at some point in your lives,

都做过这样的事. 你在走路

or one of your children.

You walk along -- and I'm about to pull this onto the floor.

我要把它拉到地上 没关系 这是借来的

I don't care. It's a loaner.

Here we go. Whoa!

开始了 喔! 这是磁性的 不会把笔记本拉到地上

It's magnetic -- it doesn't pull the laptop onto the floor.

(Applause)

(掌声)

In my very last example --

最后的例子 -- 我的很多工作

I do a lot of my work using speech recognition software.

都是通过语音识别软件完成的 你们要安静些

And I'll just -- you have to be kind of quiet

因为这软件很怕生

because the software is nervous.

Speech recognition software is really great

使用语音识别软件可以快速处理email 句号

for doing emails very quickly; period.

Like, I get hundreds of them a day; period.

比如 我每天要处理上百封邮件 句号

And it's not just what I dictate that it writes down; period.

这并不只是单纯的我说它写 句号

I also use this feature called voice macros; period.

我还会使用一项称为语音宏的特性 句号

Correct "dissuade."

修正 "dissuade". "not just"

Not "just."

Ok, this is not an ideal situation,

好吧 这不是个理想的环境

because it's getting the echo from the hall and stuff.

因为大厅里有回声

The point is, I can respond to people very quickly by saying a short word,

要点是 我可以快速回复邮件

只需说一个很短的单词 它就会写下

and having it write out a much longer thing.

So if somebody sends me a fan letter, I'll say,

很长一段. 如果有人发给我一封粉丝信 我会说

"Thanks for that."

"谢谢"

[Thank you so much for taking the time to write ...]

(笑声)

(Laughter)

(Applause)

(掌声)

And conversely, if somebody sends me hate mail --

相反的 如果有人给我发攻击信 -- 我每天都会收到 --

which happens daily --

I say, "Piss off."

我会说 "滚蛋"

(Laughter)

(笑声)

[I admire your frankness ...]

(Laughter)

(Applause)

(掌声)

So that's my dirty little secret. Don't tell anyone.

这就是我的小秘密 别告诉其他人

(Laughter)

(笑声)

So the point is -- this is a really interesting story.

要点是 这是个真正有趣的故事

This is version eight of this software,

这是软件的第8个版本 你知道他们在第8个版本里放了什么吗?

and do you know what they put in version eight?

No new features. It's never happened before in software!

没有新特性 这在软件史上从未发生过!

The company put no new features.

他们没有加入新特性 他们只是说

They just said, "We'll make this software work right." Right?

“我们要让软件工作正确." 是的

Because for years, people had bought this software, tried it out --

因为多年来人们买了这套软件 尝试使用 --

95 percent accuracy was all they got,

发现只能达到95%的准确率 也就是20个单词里就有1个错的

which means one in 20 words is wrong --

and they'd put it in their drawer.

于是人们把它收进抽屉 让那公司很郁闷

And the company got sick of that,

so they said, "This version, we're not going to do anything,

于是他们说 "这个版本, 除了让它变得非常正确以外

but make sure it's darned accurate."

我们不会做任何事."

And so that's what they did.

于是他们做到了. 这种把事做正确的信仰也在开始传播

This cult of doing things right is starting to spread.

我的最终建议 对于你们中那些消费者:

So, my final advice for those of you who are consumers of this technology:

remember, if it doesn't work, it's not necessarily you, ok?

记住 如果产品不工作 那不一定是你的错

It could be the design of the thing you're using.

可能是设计上的问题

Be aware in life of good design and bad design.

在生活中留意好的和不好的设计

And if you're among the people who create this stuff:

如果你是创造东西的人 要做到简单很难

Easy is hard.

Pre-sweat the details for your audience.

让你的受众预热细节. 计算点击数

Count the taps.

Remember, the hard part is not deciding what features to add,

记住 难的不是决定加入什么特性 --

it's deciding what to leave out.

而是决定拿掉什么

And best of all, your motivation is: simplicity sells.

最好你的动机是: 至简畅销

CA: Bravo. DP: Thank you very much.

CA: 赞

DP: 谢谢

CA: Hear, hear!

CA: 非常同意

(Applause)

(掌声)