美媒盤點年十大科技敗筆(一)

A lot of good things happened in tech this year. The iPhone 5 premiered with 4G and a feather-light design. Google released its Nexus 7 tablet to go head-to-head with the Amazon Kindle Fire, and equipped it with Jelly Bean. Samsung delivered a powerful one-two punch with the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II. And we saw a fair number of Ultrabooks that gave the Macbook Air a run for its money。

今年，衆多科技產品紛紛登臺亮相。設計輕薄的iPhone5問世，並支持4G網絡；谷歌發佈Nexus7平板電腦，內置安卓4.1操作系統，與亞馬遜的Kindle Fire展開競爭；三星打出強有力的組合拳，推出Galaxy S III和Galaxy NoteII手機。此外，衆多超級本與蘋果超薄筆記本爭奪市場。

But where there’s good, there’s bad. And there were plenty of major fails this year. Read on for the 10 biggest tech flops of the year。

但是，有好消息也就有壞消息。今年科技領域也出現了許多重大敗筆。下面就是livescience網站總結的2012年科技領域十大敗筆：

g-Way Award: Apple Maps

1. “指錯路”獎：蘋果地圖

With all the anticipation surrounding iOS 6, many didn’t think twice about giving up Google Maps for Apple’s new Maps app. But once users switched over, the complaints and outcries that the iOS app was far inferior to Google Maps mushroomed. The app was riddled with errors, including wrong addresses and warped-looking landmarks in the Flyover view while it lacked integrated mass-transit directions。

人們對蘋果iOS 6系統擁有衆多期待，很多人馬上放棄了谷歌地圖，開始嘗試使用蘋果公司的新版地圖程序。但當用戶改用蘋果地圖後，大家又開始抱怨並抗議iOS系統的地圖遠不及谷歌地圖好用。這一地圖應用程序錯誤百出，包括地址錯誤、立交橋地標扭曲，此外還缺少完整的大規模交通指示圖標。

Apple eventually apologized for the Maps gaffe, and even recommended alternatives. CEO Tim Cook probably put it best, saying "we screwed up."

蘋果公司最終爲地圖錯誤致歉，甚至建議大家改用其他地圖。蘋果公司CEO蒂姆－庫克可能做得最好，他說：“我們搞砸了。”

e Start Award: Windows 8

2. “啓動錯誤”獎：Windows8

After Microsoft released a preview of the highly anticipated Windows 8, users were dismayed to find that, although the new system's desktop was practically identical to the Windows 7 interface, it lacked a Start menu. Microsoft had substituted the menu with a shortcut to the Start screen, which meant users are forced to leave the desktop just to launch an app that takes them right back to the desktop。

在微軟公司發佈大家寄予厚望的Windows8預覽版後，用戶們吃驚地發現，儘管新系統的桌面與W indows 7的桌面並無兩樣，但缺少“開始”菜單。微軟用“開始”屏幕的快捷方式取代了“開始”菜單，這意味着用戶要被迫離開桌面，以啓動這一能將他們帶回桌面的應用程序。

3. Worst Sales Pitch: Dell’s “Daily Deals”

3. “最糟糕的推銷用語”獎：戴爾的“每日優惠”

During LAPTOP’s annual Tech Support Showdown, we made three calls to Dell's tech support line and got more than we bargained for. During the calls, Dell pushed premium warranties on us, saying we had won a daily drawing that would allow us to buy a $500 four-year extended warranty for just $317.

在《LAPTOP》雜誌的年度“技術支持評選”活動時，我們曾三次致電戴爾公司的技術支持熱線，並得到了“意外驚喜”。通話期間，戴爾公司向我們推銷保險擔保服務，並稱我們在每日抽獎活動中中獎，只需花317美元就可以購買價值500美元的4年延保服務。

Lucky us — we were chosen to spend even more money on something we didn’t need! When we resisted, the representative rushed us through the call, barely attempting to answer our question, but routinely haranguing us to buy the warranty, because otherwise the next caller would get our "prize."

我們真幸運，我們被選中花更多的錢購買不必要的服務！當我們拒絕時，銷售代表開始在電話中應付我們，不願回答我們的問題，但還是滔滔不絕地推銷他們的保險，因爲如果我們放棄，下一位打進電話的用戶就會“中大獎”了。

According to Dell, using "drawings" as a sales tactic is against company policy. However, aggressively pushing extended warranties and hardware purchases is not, as we experienced on two other calls where support reps seemed more interested in making a commission than solving our problems。

據戴爾介紹，使用“抽獎”作爲銷售策略違背了公司政策。但強硬地向消費者推銷延保服務和硬件卻不違反政策。我們在另外兩次致電戴爾時，技術支持代表對賺錢更感興趣，而不是解決我們的問題。

Sexist Tweet Award: ASUS at Computex

4. “最具性別歧視色彩的推文”獎：臺北國際電腦展－華碩

At this year’s Computex in Taiwan, ASUS tweeted a picture of its Transformer AIO with the caption, “The rear looks pretty nice. So does the new Transformer AIO。” Trouble was, the photo also highlighted the backside of a young woman who was showcasing the Transformer。

在今年的臺北國際電腦展期間，華碩公司在推特上發佈了一張TransformerAIO功能一體機的圖片。圖片說明寫道：“後部看上去非常漂亮，新款Transfor-merAIO也是如此。”麻煩的是，展示這款一體機的一名年輕女子的臀部也出現在這張圖片上。

After understandably receiving tons of backlash, ASUS deleted the tweet. Then Digital Marketing Manager Tim Smalley released an apology, blaming a third party that had access to the company’s social media accounts. ASUS also sent out an apology tweet, but that didn’t stop the negative social media buzz。

這張圖片引起強烈反響，華碩公司之後刪除了推文。數碼營銷經理蒂姆-斯莫利隨後發表道歉，譴責有人盜取了公司的社交媒體賬戶。華碩公司也發表推文道歉，但沒能消除在社交媒體上產生的負面影響。

5. IP-(Uh)-O Award: Facebook

5. “IPO失敗”獎：Facebook

Although Facebook’s IPO initially set a record for technology companies by raising more than $16 billion, it quickly became the decade’s worst initial public offering. When the social networking giant went public in May, its initial offering price was set at $38, while the company was valued at $104 billion. However, a little more than two weeks later, Facebook shares had dropped dramatically to $26.90 per share。

儘管Facebook的IPO(首次公開募股)融資超過160億美元，創下科技類公司的最高紀錄，但卻迅速成爲這個十年中最糟糕的IPO。今年5月，這家社交網絡巨頭以每股38美元的發行價上市，公司市值達到1040億美元。但僅在兩週後，Facebook股價就開始急劇下跌，至每股26.9美元。