分类：商业

出版业的未来

电子出版，成败难料

Mar 31st 2010 | SAN FRANCISCO
From The Economist print edition

 
对图书出版商来说，iPad及其同类产品是福亦是祸

约翰·葛里逊是一名多产的律政惊悚小说作家，长期以来他拒绝将其作品以电子书形式出售。在去年的一次电视采访中，他嗟叹电子书的出现与大型零售商对印刷书籍的漠视是出版业的“一个长久性灾难”。但就在上个月，葛里逊的出版商表示这位作家的心意已变：从今以后，他的所有作品都会发售电子版本。这一时机抓得恰到好处。4月3日，苹果公司将开始如期交运旗下第一批iPad平板电脑，它对电子书销售欲产生的巨大推动作用可谓众望所归。 继续阅读“电子出版，成败难料”

加纳的采矿业

金萝卜与大棒

资源富足的加纳与外国采矿公司的较量

Mar 31st 2010 | ACCRA | From The Economist print edition

大英帝国的殖民者们曾将加纳称作是“黄金海岸”。直到今天，加纳也一直保持着非洲第二，仅次于南非，以及全球第九产金大国的位置。目前，由于金价再创新高，五家国外采矿公司正在加纳大型露天矿区加紧作业。然而，曾被国外采矿业视为非洲最受欢迎矿区的加纳，如今对外来采矿的态度也开始变得严苛起来。 继续阅读“金萝卜与大棒”

美国生质燃料的泥沼

（发布者注：此文译者为台湾人，台湾说的生质燃料即大陆的生物燃料）

落了一场空

美国将很难达成其生质燃料上的宏大目标

Mar 25th 2010 | CHICAGO | From The Economist print edition

美国环保署在二月公布的再生能源标准，描绘了生质燃料(biofuel)宏大的远景。该署希望运输用的生质燃料能从2010年的130亿加仑(490亿公升)，在2022年时增加到360亿加仑，而且大部分增加的燃料必须是较先进的生质燃料，不是从玉米转化而来的乙醇。虽然未来看起来很光明，现在却是十分黯淡。该署不得不削减木质乙醇–最被广为推荐的非玉米生质燃料–2010年的目标产量，从一亿加仑降到六百五十万加仑，比起玉米乙醇在2009年的产量一百一十亿加仑，还不到千分之一。 继续阅读“美国生质燃料的泥沼”

贸易保护主义和国防采购

最好的飞机输了

Mar 11th 2010
From The Economist print edition

政治决定美国新空中加油机供应竞争

 
燃料很多，但没客户

他们最终屈服于必然。诺斯罗普格鲁曼公司（Northrop Grumman）及其合作伙伴欧洲宇航防务集团（EADS）本周决定不再与波音公司竞争向美国空军（USAF）提供新一代空中加油机。这次竞标价值350亿美元。这个决定实属预料之中，但对于这两家防务公司而言，仍然是一个沉重的打击。对于美国纳税人和美国的武装部队而言，这一天同样不是好日子。 继续阅读“最好的飞机输了”

仿冒的蔓延
冒牌的便宜货开始流行
快速扩散的假货惹恼了企业和政府

Mar 4th 2010 | NEW YORK | From The Economist print edition

模仿应该是一种最真诚的恭维，不过这可不是大部分的品牌厂商所乐见的。在三月一日，一家烟草巨擘摩理斯(Philip Morris)，对八家贩卖仿冒其品牌Marlboro香烟的美国零售商提起了告诉。仿冒品现在是随处可见，这要归因于网络的崛起，无远弗届的国际供应链，还有最近世界的不景气。在泰国曼谷街上，仿冒的保时捷(Porsche)和法拉利(Ferrari)呼啸而过。一家德国的银行在他们的金库里发现了一锭由钨制成的假造金块。而根据一个德国电视频道的调查报告，许多世界上的金融机构也都如出一辙的被蒙了。美国的太空总署NASA甚至购入了有问题的制造材料。

模仿應該是一種最真誠的恭維，不過這可不是大部分的品牌廠商所樂見的。在三月一日，一家菸草巨擘摩理斯(Philip Morris)，對八家販賣仿冒其品牌Marlboro香菸的美國零售商提起了告訴。仿冒品現在是隨處可見，這要歸因於網路的崛起，無遠弗屆的國際供應鏈，還有最近世界的不景氣。在泰國曼谷街上，仿冒的保時捷(Porsche)和法拉利(Ferrari)呼嘯而過。一家德國的銀行在他們的金庫裡發現了一錠由鎢製成的假造金塊。而根據一個德國電視頻道的調查報告，許多世界上的金融機構也都如出一轍的被蒙了。美國的太空總署NASA甚至購入了有問題的製造材料。
在美国海关主管知识产权事务的伦达索(Therese Randazzo)说，仿冒”在过去是奢侈品才有的问题”。她又说，现在人们开始尝试走私”会对经济造成广泛影响”的物品，例如药品和计算机零件。一项美国商务部的新研究指出，假货甚至渗透到美国陆军里去了。美军电子系统中的仿冒零件数量在2005年到2008年之间增加超过一倍，因而可能损及他们高科技的武器。

在美國海關主管智慧財產權事務的倫達索(Therese Randazzo)說，仿冒”在過去是奢侈品才有的問題”。她又說，現在人們開始嘗試走私”會對經濟造成廣泛影響”的物品，例如藥品和電腦零件。一項美國商務部的新研究指出，假貨甚至滲透到美國陸軍裡去了。美軍電子系統中的仿冒零件數量在2005年到2008年之間增加超過一倍，因而可能損及他們高科技的武器。
根据经济合作与发展组织(OECD)估计，国际上仿冒品和盗版品在2007年的贸易总值约为两千五百亿美元。国际反仿冒联盟(International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition，IACC)这个说客集团，则认为真正的数字应接近六千亿美元，因为OECD的估计并不包括网络盗版和在同一个国家制造及贩卖的仿冒品。根据IACC的说法，仿冒品占世界贸易的5-7%。

根據經濟合作與發展組織(OECD)估計，國際上仿冒品和盜版品在2007年的貿易總值約為兩千五百億美元。國際反仿冒聯盟(International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition，IACC)這個說客集團，則認為真正的數字應接近六千億美元，因為OECD的估計並不包括網路盜版和在同一個國家製造及販賣的仿冒品。根據IACC的說法，仿冒品占世界貿易的5-7%。
近几年仿冒品的成长是归因于几个因素。大部份世界上的制造转移到对知识产权低度保护的国家，因而提供了仿冒商科技和机会来制造便宜的假货。一般而言，网络，特别是像eBay这样的网购网站，使得仿冒品能更容易的流通。根据马克监视(MarkMonitor)这家在网络上帮助维护品牌的公司估计，经由网络销售的仿冒品今年将达到一千三百五十亿美元。

近幾年仿冒品的成長是歸因於幾個因素。大部份世界上的製造轉移到對智慧財產權低度保護的國家，因而提供了仿冒商科技和機會來製造便宜的假貨。一般而言，網路，特別是像eBay這樣的網購網站，使得仿冒品能更容易的流通。根據馬克監視(MarkMonitor)這家在網路上幫助維護品牌的公司估計，經由網路銷售的仿冒品今年將達到一千三百五十億美元。
富有国家的经济衰退也可能助长了仿冒品。在一个称做正牌基金会(Authentics Foundation)的反仿冒集团工作的莫斯特(Frederick Mostert) 说，他注意到在这次衰退中便宜假货数量上的激增，因为消费者在金钱短缺的情况下用次级品把真货取代了。企业界降低成本的措施，也可能导致仿冒的零件出现在他们供应炼里的风险。2008年时，在美国边境被查扣的假货，价值比前一年增加了接近40%。虽然去年查扣的价值下跌了4%，不过比起全部进口总值减少的25%却要好得多了(见图)。在2008年，欧洲海关查扣了比前一年多两倍的仿冒品。

富有國家的經濟衰退也可能助長了仿冒品。在一個稱做正牌基金會(Authentics Foundation)的反仿冒集團工作的莫斯特(Frederick Mostert) 說，他注意到在這次衰退中便宜假貨數量上的激增，因為消費者在金錢短缺的情況下用次級品把真貨取代了。企業界降低成本的措施，也可能導致仿冒的零件出現在他們供應鍊裡的風險。2008年時，在美國邊境被查扣的假貨，價值比前一年增加了接近40%。雖然去年查扣的價值下跌了4%，不過比起全部進口總值減少的25%卻要好得多了(見圖)。在2008年，歐洲海關查扣了比前一年多兩倍的仿冒品。
企业界在不景气中更加强烈的感受到因仿冒品而失去的营收，也因而更加努力的想将仿冒商揪出来。奢侈品公司LV在去年所做的抱怨，导致了将近9,500件假货的查扣，比2008年要多31%。一家英国法律事务所(Marks & Clerk Solicitors)的合伙人葛伯特(Kirsten Gilbert)说，企业对仿冒品的制造商和配销商所提起的告诉达到了史无前例的数量。

企業界在不景氣中更加強烈的感受到因仿冒品而失去的營收，也因而更加努力的想將仿冒商揪出來。奢侈品公司LV在去年所做的抱怨，導致了將近9,500件假貨的查扣，比2008年要多31%。一家英國法律事務所(Marks & Clerk Solicitors)的合夥人葛伯特(Kirsten Gilbert)說，企業對仿冒品的製造商和配銷商所提起的告訴達到了史無前例的數量。
用来反制盗版的科技也日新月异。全息标签(Holograms)是一种可以用来区别真伪的便宜科技，不过仿冒者复制这种标签的技术也越来越好。因此，特殊墨水、水印、以及其他”隐蔽”(肉眼无法看见)的科技也正变得更受欢迎。许多的”品牌保护”公司也已经开始贩卖无线识别科技(RFID)来帮助企业追踪他们的产品。公司可以在包装的纸箱和板条箱上贴上这种芯片，其发射的讯号可以用来辨识真伪。

用來反制盜版的科技也日新月異。全息標籤(Holograms)是一種可以用來區別真偽的便宜科技，不過仿冒者複製這種標籤的技術也越來越好。因此，特殊墨水、浮水印、以及其他”隱蔽”(肉眼無法看見)的科技也正變得更受歡迎。許多的”品牌保護”公司也已經開始販賣無線識別科技(RFID)來幫助企業追蹤他們的產品。公司可以在包裝的紙箱和板條箱上貼上這種晶片，其發射的訊號可以用來辨識真偽。
辨识真品最牢靠的方法是将有特殊遗传基因的物质放进包装或产品当中。公司或官员可以真正的用遗传基因来确认一项物品的真伪。虽然这技术比其他反仿冒的方法要贵，但是那些生产非常高价位物品的公司，例如最知名的酒庄，却把这技术当宝。遗传基因应用科学公司(DNA Applied Sciences)的老板黑华德(James Hayward)坚持的说，虽然经济不景气，新的客户却”快把我们的门给敲烂了”。

辨識真品最牢靠的方法是將有特殊遺傳基因的物質放進包裝或產品當中。公司或官員可以真正的用遺傳基因來確認一項物品的真偽。雖然這技術比其他反仿冒的方法要貴，但是那些生產非常高價位物品的公司，例如最知名的酒莊，卻把這技術當寶。遺傳基因應用科學公司(DNA Applied Sciences)的老闆黑華德(James Hayward)堅持的說，雖然經濟不景氣，新的客戶卻”快把我們的門給敲爛了”。
网络品牌保护公司，也就是替客户在网上查缉仿冒的公司，也同样的欣欣向荣。欧普谢保全(OpSec Security)是一家既提供实体也提供网络品牌保护的公司。虽然过去两年他们在实体货运上的营收因为货运量渐少而降低，但是网络监视生意上的营收却有着20%的年成长。由于需求非常高，马可监视(MarkMonitor)在去年将其网络品牌保护的服务费提高了18%。美国最大型的公司平均每一年花费两百万到四百万美元在打击仿冒上，而这个金额是随着网络一起成长。

網路品牌保護公司，也就是替客戶在網上查緝仿冒的公司，也同樣的欣欣向榮。歐普謝保全(OpSec Security)是一家既提供實體也提供網路品牌保護的公司。雖然過去兩年他們在實體貨運上的營收因為貨運量漸少而降低，但是網路監視生意上的營收卻有著20%的年成長。由於需求非常高，馬可監視(MarkMonitor)在去年將其網路品牌保護的服務費提高了18%。美國最大型的公司平均每一年花費兩百萬到四百萬美元在打擊仿冒上，而這個金額是隨著網路一起成長。
各国政府也同样的在扩大打击仿冒。仿冒不只伤害合法的商家，也造成政府税收的减少。据一家顾问公司Frontier Economics的研究，G20的国家每年因仿冒和盗版损失的税金和多付的失业救济金约在六百二十亿欧元之谱。美国商会(US Chamber of Commerce)估计，美国政府每花一块钱在打击仿冒上，就可以多收五块钱的税金。最近几年，法国、意大利、和其他国家先后制定了法律，对购买仿冒品的消费者处以重罚甚至监禁。

各國政府也同樣的在擴大打擊仿冒。仿冒不只傷害合法的商家，也造成政府稅收的減少。據一家顧問公司Frontier Economics的研究，G20的國家每年因仿冒和盜版損失的稅金和多付的失業救濟金約在六百二十億歐元之譜。美國商會(US Chamber of Commerce)估計，美國政府每花一塊錢在打擊仿冒上，就可以多收五塊錢的稅金。最近幾年，法國、義大利、和其他國家先後制定了法律，對購買仿冒品的消費者處以重罰甚至監禁。
美国在去年秋天指派了他们第一位的”知识产权总督”，也正在发展一套新的执法策略。欧盟成立了一个反仿冒的”观察小组”来收集资料和宣传侦测假货的技巧。为了加强国际上对仿冒和盗版的控管，欧盟、美国、日本、和其他国家也正在讨论一个名为反仿冒贸易协议(Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA))的国际条约。这条约预计在今年会签订。

美國在去年秋天指派了他們第一位的”智慧財產權總督”，也正在發展一套新的執法策略。歐盟成立了一個反仿冒的”觀察小組”來收集資料和宣傳偵測假貨的技巧。為了加強國際上對仿冒和盜版的控管，歐盟、美國、日本、和其他國家也正在討論一個名為反仿冒貿易協定(Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA))的國際條約。這條約預計在今年會簽訂。
不过在被认为制造世界上80%假货的中国，官员们却很不情愿打击一个正在茁壮的国内产业。一般预期中国不会签署ACTA，也因而该条约还没生效就开始失去效力了。也许中国可以制造出一个能以假乱真的条约来做替代吧。

不過在被認為製造世界上80%假貨的中國，官員們卻很不情願打擊一個正在茁壯的國內產業。一般預期中國不會簽署ACTA，也因而該條約還沒生效就開始失去效力了。也許中國可以製造出一個能以假亂真的條約來做替代吧。

《经济学人》（The Economist ( http://www.economist.com ))仅同意ECO （www.ecocn.org）翻译其杂志内容，并未对上述翻译内容进行任何审阅查对。

译者：zenpotdavid
中英链接及译文讨论：http://www.ecocn.org/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=31673&extra=&page=1

Charity as advertising
慈善之名  广告之实
Give and take
欲取之，先予之
Will Pepsi  profit by enlisting the public in its philanthropic efforts?
争取公众参与其慈善活动，百事能从中获益吗？

Feb 11th 2010 | NEW YORK | From The Economist print edition

THE 107m Americans who tuned in to watch the Super Bowl on February 7th did not see any advertisements for Pepsi. Instead of spending $20m on a handful of 30-second *spots*（注1）, the firm decided to give that amount away. Under the slogan “Refresh Everything”, the Pepsi Refresh campaign asks the public to vote online for charities and community groups to receive grants ranging from $5,000 to $250,000. A few days before the game its arch-rival, Coca-Cola, was also bitten by a charitable *bug*（注2）. It promised to give $1 to the *Boys & Girls Clubs *（注3）of America every time someone watched its Super Bowl ads on its Facebook page, up to a maximum of $250,000.
二月七日，有1.07亿美国人收看了橄榄球超级大赛。但他们没有看到百事可乐的任何广告。百事可乐公司决定与其投资2000万美元用于插播30秒的广告，不如把这笔资金捐赠出去。打着“刷新一切”的口号，百事换新项目鼓励民众在网上投票，以决定哪些慈善机构和社区团体能接收5000美元至250000美元的慈善基金。大赛前几天百事可乐的主要竞争对手，可口可乐也积极进行慈善活动。可口可乐承诺，人们在Facebook网页上每观看一次其橄榄球超级大赛的广告，就捐1美元给美国男孩女孩俱乐部（25万美元封顶）。

Pepsi Refresh is probably the most prominent example so far of “cause marketing”—trying to win customers by ostentatiously doing good. Other recent examples include Chase Community Giving, in which small charities competed to win $5m in donations from JPMorgan Chase, and American Express and *NBC Universal’s*（注4） “Shine A Light” programme, which awarded a grant of $100,000 to a small business chosen through its website.
百事换新活动也许是目前为止最著名的“公益营销”例子——旨在通过行善而争取顾客。最近的另外几个例子还有，大通社区竞捐大赛（小型慈善机构相互竞争以赢取摩根大通捐赠的500万美元资金）和美国运通以及NBC环球联手举行的“亮光”项目（该项目奖励其网站上选出的小型企业10万美元）。

Marketing people say consumers are increasingly trying to do good as they spend. Research in 2008 by Cone, a brand consultancy, found that 79% of consumers would switch to a brand associated with a good cause, up from 66% in 1993, and that 38% have bought a product associated with a cause, compared with 20% in 1993. Rather than try to make products that can be marketed as ethical in their own right, such as “fair trade” goods, firms are increasingly trying to take an ordinary product and boost its moral credentials with what one marketing guru calls “embedded generosity”. The fad for online competitions to award the *handouts*（注5） also appeals to another trend, so-called* “slacktivism”*（注6）, whereby people are turning to the internet to give their consciences a boost without doing anything more onerous than clicking a mouse a few times.
营销人员指出，消费者花钱的同时越来越愿意行善。品牌评估公司，康恩的调查显示，2008年79%的顾客转向消费与公益相关的品牌，1993年只为66%，38%的顾客购买过与公益相关的产品，1993年仅为20%。不象之前的“公平贸易”产品那样——公司以自己的方式把产品标榜成道德之物。这次公司纷纷推出普通的产品，以营销专家称之为“嵌入式慷慨”的方式来增加它们的道德内涵。网上竞争进行慈善的风尚有赖于另外一种潮流”懒惰主义” ，即人们通过互联网不需劳神，只需点几下鼠标，就可以“大发良心”。

The strategy seems to be working, judging by the proliferation of articles (such as this one) noting Pepsi’s campaign. JPMorgan Chase claims its campaign was not marketing, but simply an attempt to manage its existing corporate philanthropy more imaginatively. If so, its marketing staff are missing a trick, given that around 2m people signed up to vote on Facebook, many of whom were not existing Chase customers. Moreover, the favourable headlines generated by Chase’s $5m outlay contrasted strikingly with the grudging reaction to Goldman Sachs’s launch around the same time of a $500m campaign to support small businesses.
针对百事可乐此项活动的大量报道相继出现（比如这篇），据此可知，这项活动效果不错。摩根大通集团声称公司参加此次活动并不是营销策略，只是开展形式多样的公司慈善事业。如果事实真的如公司所说，那营销部工作人员不免错失良机，因为约有200万人在Facebook上投票，这些人大部分不是公司现有的顾客。另外，旨在帮助小型企业的5亿美元筹集活动中，摩根大通积极响应，捐资500万美元，引来各大头条报道的赞许之声，而高盛集团却迟迟不愿捐资，二者形成鲜明对比。

Although the public likes online popularity contests, they can have unintended consequences. Chase, for example, caused a fuss by excluding a pro-life group and an outfit that wants to legalise cannabis from its competition. Moreover, many firms see virtue in tying themselves to a particular cause. Ten firms, including Gap, Apple and most recently Nike, have deals with (RED), a scheme fronted by Bono, a rock star, to raise money to fight AIDS. It has raised $140m so far, despite fears that, as Susan Smith Ellis, its boss, puts it, “it would be just a big launch on Oprah then never heard of again.” Equally, Pepsi’s efforts to promote healthy lifestyles while selling healthier products and Coca-Cola’s various initiatives to protect water supplies in developing countries are critical to the pair’s future. Refreshing everything, in contrast, is a more nebulous goal.
尽管民众喜欢网上这种投票活动，但却会产生一些意想不到的后果。比如说，大通银行将一家反堕胎团体和一个提倡大麻合法化的团队排除比赛，此事引起轩然大波。另外，许多公司认为从事某项公益活动益处多多。包括Gap，苹果以及新近加入的耐克等十家公司与摇滚歌手波诺发起的（RED）计划联合起来为抗击艾滋病筹集资金。尽管曾有担心，但目前已筹集1.4亿美元。正如RED计划首席执行官Susan Smith Ellis所言，“像是在奥普拉节目上宣扬了一番，然后却不了了之”。百事可乐销售更健康的产品以努力提倡健康的生活方式，可口可乐也采取不同行动保护发展中国家的供水系统，这些对于两大公司的未来发展至关重要。与此相比，刷新一些不过是个朦胧的目标。

注1.Spot: A short presentation or commercial on television or radio between major programs
注2.An enthusiasm or obsession: got bitten by the writing bug.
注3.美国男孩女孩俱乐部，致力于增进会员健康，培养其社交、教育、职业、个性能力的全国性俱乐部组织。俱乐部成员6至18岁不等。各俱乐部都是相互独立的非营利性组织，由义务性质的理事会管理，其中管理人员是拿工资的专业人士。俱乐部的重要项目涉及健康与体质、职业规划、教育发展、少年犯罪预防和禁毒禁酒等领域。俱乐部由联合劝募会（United Way）募捐或靠直接捐赠维持。
俱乐部起初只面向少年，19世纪60年代在新英格兰州出现。1906年，大约50家俱乐部共同组建美国男孩俱乐部。由于很多地方俱乐部后来接受少女入会，于是1990年更名为“美国男孩女孩俱乐部”以便名副其实。该组织现有会员200多万，分属大约1670家地方俱乐部。全国性机构位于佐治亚州的亚特兰大。
注4.NBC环球（NBC Universal）是美国的一家大型媒体集团，于2004年5月成立，由国家广播公司（隶属于通用电气）和维旺迪环球（法国维旺迪集团的娱乐事业部门）合并而成。
注5.handout – giving money or food or clothing to a needy person
注6.Slacktivism (sometimes slactivism) is a portmanteau formed out of the words slacker and activism. It is a pejorative term that describes taking painless “feel-good” measures in support of an issue or social cause that have little or no practical effect other than to make the person doing it feel satisfaction. A person that engages in such activity is called a slacktivist.

欲想了解更多关于最后一段的故事，请看http://t.douban.com/view/note/large/public/p59664127-1.jpg
http://www.douban.com/group/topic/9845810/
http://sports.sina.com.cn/c/2009-12-01/18084723568.shtml

译者：dreamslink

如想与译者本人对该文进行切磋，请到如下链接：http://ecocn.org/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=31040&extra=&page=1

Cruise lines in the recession
经济危机下的游轮业
Damn the torpedoes
去你丫的鱼雷
Travel companies are launching luxurious ships into perilous waters
旅游公司相继向危险水域推出豪华游轮
Feb 11th 2010 | NEW YORK | From The Economist print edition

IN LATE January Silversea Cruises christened its newest ship, the Silver Spirit, with champagne and sent it on a 91-day voyage around Latin America. The ship, which can accommodate 540 guests, is the company’s largest and most luxurious. Suites are serviced by butlers. Passengers can choose between eight types of pillows. The spa is vast. If it sounds out of tune with the times, it is: the ship was commissioned in 2007, before the start of the economic crisis. But Amerigo Perasso, the boss of Silversea Cruises, insists he is happy with the investment. “People want to see the state of the art,” he says.
一月下旬银海游轮在香槟四溢中将其最新游轮命名为“银色精灵”，并环绕拉美航行91天。这艘游轮是该公司最大也是最豪华的游轮，能够载客540名。套房有男仆提供服务。8种枕头认旅客选择。休闲健身中心场地开阔。也许这些听起来与经济危机的大环境格格不入，那是因为这艘轮船是在经济危机之前的2007年开始建造的。但是银海游轮的老板 Amerigo Perasso认为此次投资是值得的，因为人们愿意看到最精湛的技术发展水平。

Silversea is not the only cruise line to launch a new ship in troubled economic waters. In December Royal Caribbean International, the world’s second-biggest cruise operator, rolled out Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in history. It can accommodate 5,400 guests and has a park with live plants, a large auditorium and a carousel, as well as other amenities normally found in amusement parks. In 2009 cruise companies invested $4.7 billion to build 14 new ships. They will launch a further 12 vessels this year. Many of these plans were laid before the economy sprang a leak.
在经济不景气的大环境下，银海游轮并不是唯一一家推出新游轮的公司。去年12月份，世界第二大游轮公司，皇家加勒比推出史上最大的游轮“海洋绿洲号”。该游轮可载客5400名，配有植物茂盛的公园，大礼堂，旋转木马，以及其他一些通常在游乐园提供的娱乐设备。2009年该公司投资47亿建造了14艘新邮轮。今年打算再推出12艘。而这些计划大部分都是在经济危机之前作出的。

The “supersizing” of the cruise industry comes as other industries are downsizing and consumers are curbing unnecessary expenses. To entice customers, cruise lines have cut prices dramatically, sometimes by as much as 40%. Because of these discounts, more people are taking cruises: 13.4m in 2009, up from 12.6m in 2007, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, an industry body. But the discounts have eaten into earnings. At Carnival Corporation, the biggest cruise line, revenues were more than 10% lower in 2009 than in 2008. Even if the economy recovers, growing capacity may prevent firms from raising prices much.
其他产业不断减少规模，顾客也在控制不必要的开支，而游轮业却不断发展壮大。游轮公司为了吸引游客，采取大幅降价的措施，有时价格下降40%多。因为有折扣，很多人都愿意消费。据国际游轮业协会数据显示，2007年有1260万游客，2009年增至1340万。但是折扣影响收入。最大的游轮公司——嘉年华游轮公司2009年的收入比2008年降低了10%多。即便经济复苏，不断增长的容客量也会抑制公司上调价格。

Still, the cruise industry is doing better than other bits of the travel business, like hotels and airlines, which have been battered by a fall in business travel. Cruises can appeal to consumers by touting themselves as “all-inclusive” (even though many amenities, like alcohol and *excursions*(注）, cost extra). Cruises also allow some people to go on holiday without paying for a flight. There are around 30 ports of embarkation in America alone.
由于商业旅游数量的减少，其他旅游生意，如旅馆，航空公司都受到严重影响，游轮业与之相比发展甚好。游轮业对于有预算意识的游客来说很有吸引力，因为游轮业声称游客所交费用是包括一切的（即便像酒和登岸观光的费用不包括在内）。对于一些游客来说还可以省下飞机票钱，因为仅在美国就有30处起运港。

The industry’s bosses hope to attract even more customers in the next few years. Only around 20% of Americans have been on a cruise. Most of these are not spring chickens. Firms are trying to draw in younger passengers and families with lower prices, as well as things like ice-skating rinks and cinemas. As a result of these efforts, the median age of cruise passengers in 2008 was 46, down from 53 in 2002. Ross Klein, a cruise-industry analyst, says that cruise lines’ decision to invest in colossal ships may help them diversify their customer base without losing elderly customers. Their sheer size, he says, gives everybody “some place to hide out”.
游轮业的老板们希望该产业在未来几年内能够吸引更多的游客。大约只有20%的美国人坐过游轮。而这20%的人群中大部分不是年轻人。各大公司试图以低价，溜冰场，电影等形式拉拢年轻游客和家庭游客。这些尝试的结果是，2008年旅客的平均年龄是48岁，而2002年是53岁。一位游轮业分析专家 Ross Klein说，游轮公司相继推出大型游轮也许会丰富消费层，同时又不丢掉年老的顾客。他说，大型游轮给每个人“藏身之所”。

注：根据经验，皇家加勒比从美国迈阿密至巴哈马的游轮曾有2次登陆观光，因此此处采取这种译法

译者：dreamslink
如想与译者本人对该文进行切磋，请到如下链接：http://ecocn.org/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=30980

Apple unveils the iPad
苹果公布iPad

Steve Jobs and the tablet of hope
史蒂夫-乔布斯和他的平板之寄托(原译：充满希望的史蒂夫-乔布斯和平板电脑)

The innovation machine churns out another game-changing device
苹果公司再“耍”电脑新花样(原译：创新产品搅局，改变游戏规则)

Getty Images

Jan 28th 2010 | SAN FRANCISCO | From The Economist print edition

“HEROES and heroics” is one of the central themes of the current season at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, which prides itself on showcasing contemporary artists who challenge conventional ways of doing things. On January 27th the centre played host to one of the heroes of the computing industry: Steve Jobs, the boss of Apple, who launched the company’s latest creation, the iPad. Mr Jobs also has a reputation for showcasing the unconventional. He did not disappoint.

旧金山前卫艺术中心本季的中心主题之一是“英雄与壮举”，该中心以展出标新立异的当代艺术家作品而引以为荣。1月27号前卫艺术中心为计算机行业的英雄之一做东：史蒂夫-乔布斯，苹果公司的老板，在此推出苹果的最新设计——the iPad。乔布斯先生同样也因标新立异而享有盛誉。他，没有令人失望。

The iPad, which looks like an oversized Apple iPhone and boasts a colour screen measuring almost ten inches (25cm), promises to change the landscape of the computing world. It is just half an inch thick and weighs 1.5lb (680 grams). “It’s so much more intimate than a laptop, and so much more capable than a smartphone,” Mr Jobs said of the device, which will be available in late March.

The iPad看起来像是一款特大号的苹果iPhone手机，这款“iPhone”手机的彩屏有近10英寸（25厘米）那么夸张。The iPad有望让计算机界焕然一新(原译：为之焕然一新)。它仅有半英寸厚1.5磅重（680克）。The iPad将于三月底面市，乔布斯先生称它“比笔记本电脑更为贴心，比智能手机功能更多。”。

The new iPad has important limitations, which critics were quick to point out. It does not have a camera or a phone and users cannot run multiple applications on it at the same time. But Apple should be able to correct such flaws in due course. Together with a host of other touch-screen “tablet” computers that are expected to reach shops over the next year or so, the iPad looks set to revolutionise the way in which digital media are consumed in homes, schools and offices.

批评家们很快就指出，新iPad有很大缺陷。它没有摄像功能或者电话功能，而且用户无法运行多应用同时操作。但苹果公司应该会有能力及时修正这样的瑕疵。the iPad连同许多其它明年有望面市的触摸屏式“平板”电脑，即将彻底扫清数字媒体进入家庭，学校和办公场所的障碍。

The flood of devices is likely to have a profound impact on parts of the media business that are already being turned upside-down by the internet. The move from print to digital has not been easy for newspaper or magazine publishers. Readers have proved reluctant to pay for content on the web. Companies are unwilling to pay as much for online advertisements as for paper ones—hardly surprising, given the amount of space on offer. The iPad will probably accelerate the shift away from printed matter towards digital content, which could worsen the industry’s pain in the short term. Yet publishers hope that tablets will turn out to be the 21st-century equivalent of the printed page, offering them compelling new ways to present their content and to charge for it. “This is really a chance for publishers to seize on a second life,” says Phil Asmundson of Deloitte, a consultancy.

因为各种先进设备的涌现，传媒业中那些已经被互联网弄得天翻地覆的媒体公司可能会深受影响。对于报社或杂志出版商来说，从印刷转变到数字化并非易事。已证实读者是不愿为网页内容付费的。相比平媒广告，公司不愿对在线广告付出同样的广告费——这毫不令人奇怪，因为广告所占面积太小。(原译：在线广告的收入会和纸制上的一样多？传媒公司对此不抱希望——毫不令人惊奇)。The iPad将加速印刷物品朝数字化内容的转变，这在短期内会使传媒业雪上加霜。出版商希望平板会成为21世纪的出版物，能让他们以匠心独具的新方法来送出内容和对内容收费(原译：这使他们以强制性的新方法来送出内容和对内容收费)。“对于出版商来说，这真的是重获新生的机会，”德勒咨询公司的 Phil Asmundson称。

It does not come as a surprise, then, that Apple has already attracted some blue-chip media brands to the iPad’s platform. During his presentation Mr Jobs revealed that the company had struck deals with leading publishers such as Penguin and Simon & Schuster. They will provide books for the iPad, to be found and paid for in Apple’s new iBooks online store. More agreements ought to be signed before the first iPads are shipped in March. Users will also be able to download applications that give them access to electronic versions of newspapers such as the New York Times, which presented an iPad app at the launch.

于是，苹果公司把一些优质的名牌媒体公司吸引到the iPad平台上，就看起来就不那么令人惊奇了。展示期间，乔布斯先生公布苹果公司已跟Penguin,Simon & Schuster.等出版业领军人物签订了合作协议。它们将给iPad提供书籍用来创办苹果公司的iBooks网店，同时也作为给该网店的报偿。大部分协议应该会在三月首批iPad面市之前签定。推出iPad后，纽约时报等电子版报纸会出现在iPad的app上，用户届时可通过下载应用程序看到它们。

Apple’s media partners no doubt have mixed feelings about dealing with Mr Jobs. Apple is now widely demonised in the music industry for dominating the digital downloading business with its iTunes store. The firm has been able to control the price of music, boosting sales of iPods but not bringing the record companies a great deal of money. That said, Apple did provide a way for the music business to make a profit online, which had hitherto eluded it. Apple’s sleek iPhone has also given plenty of content producers a platform on which they can charge for their wares.

苹果公司的媒体合作伙伴们觉得与乔布斯先生合作无疑就像打翻了五味瓶一样。由于iTunes网店统治数字音乐的缘故，苹果公司现在在音乐界可是臭名远扬。苹果公司能够控制音乐价格了，这抬升了iPods的价格但却对唱片公司赚钱没什么帮助。苹果确实为音乐商户提供了在网络上赢利的方式，只是它们至今还未见成效(原译：那就是说，苹果公司提供了一种音乐交易的方式，从而在网络上获得了利润。苹果至今对此避而不答。苹果那外表光滑的iPhone 也替很多内容制造者提供了收费赚钱的平台(原译：苹果那外表光滑的iPhone也让很多内容制造者赚了钱)。

The firm’s record suggests that it will be able to make one of the computing industry’s most fervent wishes come true. Technology companies have repeatedly tried to make a success of tablets or similar devices. But the zone between laptops and mobile phones has been something of a Bermuda Triangle for device-makers, points out Roger Kay of Endpoint Technologies, a consultancy. “Products launched in there have usually disappeared from the radar screen,” he says.

苹果公司的纪录表明自己能够使计算机业最强烈的愿望之一变为现实。科技公司们多次努力尝试，希望能在平板或同类产品上获得成功(原译：它多次地努力尝试，终于成功造出了平板等类似设备)。但是介于笔记本电脑和移动电话之间的领域对电脑元件厂商来说从来都是百慕大三角般的神秘和充满危险。终点科技公司顾问罗杰-凯指出。“以前推出介于笔记本电脑和移动电话之间的产品，现在即使用雷达都找不到了，”他称。

Among them are previous generations of tablet-style computers. In the 1990s various companies experimented with the machines, including Apple. When its Newton personal digital assistant failed to take off, Mr Jobs killed the project. Tablets were once again briefly in the limelight when Microsoft’s Bill Gates predicted they would soon become people’s primary computing device—powered, of course, by his company’s software. That did not come to pass because consumers were put off by tablets’ high prices, clunky user interfaces and limited capabilities. Instead the devices, which cost almost as much as proper PCs, have remained a niche product used primarily in industries such as health care and construction.

先前消失的产品中也有平板型的电脑。上世纪90年代，包括苹果公司在内有许多公司研发平板电脑。由于牛顿掌上电脑未能取得成功，乔布斯先生裁掉了该项目。当微软老板比尔-盖茨预言它们将很快成为人们主要的计算机设备时（当然，是用微软公司软件的装置），平板电脑也只是在公众的视线里一闪而过。预言没能实现的原因是由于平板电脑高昂的价格，粗糙的用户界面和有限的功能阻碍了消费者购买。平板电脑反而是作为主要用于医疗保健和建筑业等行业的小众产品而保留下来。

Why are tablets causing so much excitement these days? One reason is that innovations in display, battery and microprocessing technologies have greatly reduced their cost. Apple’s iPad is priced at between $499 for the basic version and $829 for one with lots of memory and a 3G wireless connection, bringing it within the reach of ordinary consumers. Another reason for optimism is that interfaces have improved greatly. The iPad boasts a big virtual keyboard, which pops up when needed. It also features multi-touch, meaning that two fingers can be used to change the size of a photo. Furthermore, tablets will benefit from the fact that people have become accustomed to buying and consuming content in digital form (see chart).

为什么这些天来平板能造成如此轰动？一个原因是科技革新使显示，电池和微处理技术大大减少了成本。苹果电脑基本型号的iPad定价为499美元，而容量更大和带有3G无线功能的版本定价为829美元。这样的价格让一般消费者都能买得起iPad。另一个乐观的原因是界面有了很大改善。令The iPad洋洋得意的大号虚拟键盘，即用即弹出。The iPad还有多指感触这一大特色，使用者只要用两根手指头就能够把一张图片调大调小了。而且，平板之所以能从中获益，是因为人们如今已经习惯购买和消费数字化形式的内容产品了(见图)。

All this explains why other firms are eyeing the tablet market too. Dozens of prototypes were on show at a consumer-electronics trade fair in Las Vegas earlier this month, including ones from Motorola, Lenovo and Dell. Jen-Hsun Huang, the chief executive of NVIDIA, a maker of graphics chips, reckons this is the first time he has seen telecoms firms, computer-makers and consumer-electronics companies all equally keen to produce the same product. “The tablet is the first truly convergent electronic device,” he says.

所有这些就解释了为什么其它公司也目不转睛盯着平板市场。本月初，成打的样品在拉斯维加斯消费电子交易博览会上展示，当中包括摩托罗拉，联想和戴尔等知名厂商的产品。显卡制造商英伟达公司的首席执行官黄仁勋认为，这是他第一次看到电信公司，计算机制造厂商和消费电子公司不约而同地热衷于同一种产品。“平板电脑是第一个真正汇聚群英的电子产品(原译：平板是第一个真正的收敛型电子产品)，”他称。

Netbooks and e-books
上网笔记本与电子书

The iPad and other tablets could shake up the computing scene. There has been some speculation that they could dent sales of low-end PCs, including Apple’s MacBook. But a more likely scenario is that they eat into sales of netbooks, the cheap mini-laptops that are used mainly for web surfing and watching videos. Netbooks have been on a roll recently, with global sales rising by 72% to $11.4 billion last year, according to DisplaySearch, a market research company. That makes them a tempting target.

The iPad同其它平板产品将撼动计算机业。，有部分预测认为，包括苹果公司的MacBook在内，虽然平板产品能从低端个人台式电脑市场分到一杯羹，但是大部分的盈利还要看它们在上网笔记本产品上的表现。上网笔记本是一种便宜的迷你笔记本电脑，主要用于上网观看视频。上网本最近火热大卖，据市场调研公司-显像资讯管理顾问公司调查显示，去年上网本全球销售额升幅72%，达到了114亿美元。这使得众平板产品无不觊觎于上网笔记本。

Apple’s new device also poses a threat to dedicated e-readers such as Amazon’s Kindle, though these will probably remain popular with the most voracious bookworms. Apple’s long-expected entry into the tablet market has already forced e-reader firms to consider making their devices more versatile and exciting. “You will see more readers using colour and video over the next five years,” predicts Richard Archuleta of Plastic Logic, which produces the Que proReader. And more makers of e-readers may mimic Amazon’s recent decision to let third-party developers create software for its line of Kindles.

尽管在如饥似渴般的书虫眼里，像亚马逊Kindle这样的电子书阅读器依然风韵犹存，但是苹果公司的新产品已对它们虎视眈眈。苹果公司对进入平板市场朝思暮想，这已迫使电子阅读器公司打算把它们的产品变得功能更多和更令人感兴趣。“接下来的五年中，你将看到越来越多的读者使用彩色和能够播放视频的电子阅读器，” 生产Que proReader的塑胶逻辑公司的Richard Archuleta预计道。而且越来越多的电子阅读器生产商会仿效亚马逊公司最近对Kindles的做法，让第三方为电子阅读器设计上线软件。

Book publishers are quietly hoping that Apple’s entry into e-books will help to reduce the clout of Amazon: the Kindle has 60% of the e-reader market, according to Forrester, a research firm. They are also excited by the opportunities that tablets offer to combine various media. Bradley Inman, the boss of Vook, a firm that mixes texts with video and links to people’s social networks, believes the iPad will trigger an outpouring of creativity. “Its impact will be the equivalent of adding sound to movies or colour to TV,” he says.

图书出版商默默地希望苹果公司进入电子图书市场会有助于减弱亚马逊的影响力：据福里斯特研究公司调查，Kindle拥有60%的电子图书市场份额。图书出版商们还因为平板电脑有机会使各种媒体结合到一起而兴奋不已。经营内容集视频与社交网络于一体的Vook公司老板Bradley Inman坚信iPad会让创造力如泉涌般多起来。“它的影响力之大，就如同给电影加入了声音或电视加上了色彩，”他认为。

Newspaper and magazine publishers are also thrilled by tablets’ potential. Their big hope is that the devices will allow them to generate revenues both from readers and advertisers. People have proven willing to pay for long-form journalism on e-readers. But these devices do not allow publishers to present their content in creative ways and most cannot carry advertisements. Skiff, a start-up spun out of Hearst, is a rare exception to this rule. Its 11.5-inch reader is large enough to show off all elements of a magazine’s design and accommodates advertising too.

报纸和杂志出版商也因为平板电脑的潜力而兴奋不已。他们最大的希望就是平板电脑能让他们从读者和广告商身上都赚到钱。业已证明人们是愿意为电子阅读器上的长篇新闻付款的。但是目前这些电子阅读器还无法让出版商们以创造性地方式把他们的内容赠送出去，同时大部分电子阅读器不能刊登广告。由赫斯特公司推出的Skiff是屈指可数不墨守此归的产品。它的11.5英寸阅读器大到足以在显示杂志设计的全部内容时，还能显示广告。

非常棒，但是开关在哪儿呢？
EPA
Apple’s arrival in the tablet market means that publishers will have to develop digital content for these devices, as well as for e-readers and smart-phones. Many will prove unable or unwilling to do so themselves. That may boost firms such as Zinio, which has developed a digital-publishing model called Unity. This takes publications’ content, repurposes it for different gadgets and stores it in “the cloud”, the term used to describe giant pools of shared data-processing capacity. Users pay once for the content and can access it on various Zinio-enabled devices, increasing the chances that it will be consumed.

苹果公司进入平板电脑市场意味着出版商们不仅要为电子阅读器和智能手机订制数字内容，还必须要为这些平板电脑订制数字内容。许多出版商自身或许没有能力或者不愿这么做，这可能就促进了像Zinio这样的公司的发展。Zinio已经开发出一种叫Unity的数字出版模型。它能改变出版物的内容，以使出版物能够适合不同的小型设备，以及存储在“云端”上——术语，形容分享数据处理量的巨型共享存储池。用户给一段新闻内容付费一次后就能在不同Zinio化的设备上阅读，这增加了消费新闻内容的机会。

Apple has other ambitions for the iPad. It hopes it will become a popular gaming machine and has designed the device so that many of the games among the 140,000 apps available for other Apple products will run on it straight away. The company has also revamped its iWork suite of word-processing, spreadsheet and presentation software for the iPad in an effort to ensure that the new device will catch on with business folk.

苹果公司对iPad还有其它雄心壮志，它希望iPad会成为一款流行游戏机，而且已经设计出了驱动程序，以便其它苹果公司产品的14万种适用程序当中的游戏能够直接在iPad上运行。苹果公司还修改了iWork套装软件的文字处理，电子表格和演示软件，以示其能够迎合商业人士。

Apple’s shareholders are no doubt hoping that the iPad will live up to its billing as a seminal device in the history of computing. They have already seen the company’s share price soar. Defying the recession, on January 25th Apple announced the best quarterly results in its 34-year history, with revenues rising to $15.7 billion and profits to $3.4 billion—an increase of 32% and 50% respectively over the previous year. They will be keeping their fingers crossed that the iPad turns into another billion-dollar hit. Whether or not that turns out to be the case, Mr Jobs has already proven heroic enough to merit a portrait on the Yerba Buena Center’s walls.

作为计算机史上的创意之作，苹果公司的股东们无疑都希望iPad在赢利上能够名符其实。他们已看到公司的股价高涨了。无视于经济的衰退，1月25号苹果公司公布公司34年历史以来最佳的季度成绩：季度收入增加到157亿美元，利润增加到34亿美元——分别比去年增加了32%和50%。他们希望iPad好运，成为另一款日进斗金的流行产品。无论这成真与否，乔布斯先生都已经证明了一项壮举，它足以与挂在前卫艺术中心墙上的任何一幅画像相媲美。

译者：triumph02
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A chill in the boardroom

会议室里的一股寒气

Dec 10th 2009 | WASHINGTON, DC
From The Economist print edition

商业游说议员抱怨一场监管海啸正在到来。然而一些公司拥戴被提议的改革
继续阅读“A chill in the boardroom 会议室里的一股寒气”

MAN, VW and Scania
男子汉，大众和斯堪尼亚

MAN overboard
被边缘化的男子汉公司
Nov 26th 2009
From The Economist print edition

An abrupt departure may pave the way for the fusion of three truckmakers
哈坎的突然离开促成三大卡车巨头的合并

HAKAN SAMUELSSON had been an exemplary boss of MAN, Europe’s third-biggest truckmaker. After taking charge in 2005, he transformed it from a clunky conglomerate with interests from printing presses to spaceflight into a business focused on building trucks, turbines and the house-sized diesel engines that power more than three-quarters of the world’s big ships. He also put in place a vigorous international expansion plan that included the purchase last year of Volkswagen’s Brazilian heavy-truck business and this year of a 25% stake in Sinotruk, China’s biggest maker of heavy trucks. Within five years, analysts expected MAN to be earning almost half its revenues in emerging markets. So when Mr Samuelsson abruptly stepped down on November 23rd it came as a shock to nearly everyone. Even his spokesman was on holiday.
哈坎-萨缪尔森一直是欧洲第三大卡车生产商男子汉公司的模范老板。自从2005年接受男子汉卡车公司以来，哈坎将男子汉公司从一个下制印刷机，上制宇宙飞船的杂七杂八大制造工厂，变为一个专注于制造卡车，涡轮以及可给世界上四分之三的超大型船只供能的，体积堪比房屋大小的柴油机。同时，哈坎积极的实施其国际扩张计划，这个计划包括去年对大众巴西重卡的收购，以及今年针对中国最大的重型卡车制造商中国重汽25%股权的收购案。分析家预测，五年内，男子汉集团有将近一半的收入将来自发展中国家新兴市场。所以在今年11月23日哈坎提出辞职的消息时，众人皆表示震惊。甚至于他的发言人也没有任何准备，正在逍遥度假中。
继续阅读“”