双语：美媒盘点2012年十大科技败笔

　　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，众多科技产品纷纷登台亮相。设计轻薄的iPhone5问世，并支持4G网络；谷歌发布Nexus7平板电脑，内置安卓4.1操作系统，与亚马逊的Kindle Fire展开竞争；三星打出强有力的组合拳，推出Galaxy S III和Galaxy NoteII手机。此外，众多超级本与苹果超薄笔记本争夺市场。

　　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，有好消息也就有坏消息。今年科技领域也出现了许多重大败笔。下面就是livescience网站总结的2012年科技领域十大败笔：

　　1.Wrong-Way Award: Apple Maps
　　1. “指错路”奖：苹果地图

　　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。
　　人们对苹果iOS 6系统拥有众多期待，很多人马上放弃了谷歌地图，开始尝试使用苹果公司的新版地图程序。但当用户改用苹果地图后，大家又开始抱怨并抗议iOS系统的地图远不及谷歌地图好用。这一地图应用程序错误百出，包括地址错误、立交桥地标扭曲，此外还缺少完整的大规模交通指示图标。

　　Apple eventually apologized for the Maps gaffe, and even recommended alternatives. CEO Tim Cook probably put it best, saying "we screwed up."
　　苹果公司最终为地图错误致歉，甚至建议大家改用其他地图。苹果公司CEO蒂姆－库克可能做得最好，他说：“我们搞砸了。”

　　2.False Start Award: Windows 8
　　2. “启动错误”奖：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。
　　在微软公司发布大家寄予厚望的Windows8预览版后，用户们吃惊地发现，尽管新系统的桌面与W indows 7的桌面并无两样，但缺少“开始”菜单。微软用“开始”屏幕的快捷方式取代了“开始”菜单，这意味着用户要被迫离开桌面，以启动这一能将他们带回桌面的应用程序。

　　3. Worst Sales Pitch: Dell’s “Daily Deals”
　　3. “最糟糕的推销用语”奖：戴尔的“每日优惠”

　　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》杂志的年度“技术支持评选”活动时，我们曾三次致电戴尔公司的技术支持热线，并得到了“意外惊喜”。通话期间，戴尔公司向我们推销保险担保服务，并称我们在每日抽奖活动中中奖，只需花317美元就可以购买价值500美元的4年延保服务。

　　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."
　　我们真幸运，我们被选中花更多的钱购买不必要的服务！当我们拒绝时，销售代表开始在电话中应付我们，不愿回答我们的问题，但还是滔滔不绝地推销他们的保险，因为如果我们放弃，下一位打进电话的用户就会“中大奖”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。
　　据戴尔介绍，使用“抽奖”作为销售策略违背了公司政策。但强硬地向消费者推销延保服务和硬件却不违反政策。我们在另外两次致电戴尔时，技术支持代表对赚钱更感兴趣，而不是解决我们的问题。

　　4.Most Sexist Tweet Award: ASUS at Computex
　　4. “最具性别歧视色彩的推文”奖：台北国际电脑展－华硕

　　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。
　　在今年的台北国际电脑展期间，华硕公司在推特上发布了一张TransformerAIO功能一体机的图片。图片说明写道：“后部看上去非常漂亮，新款Transfor-merAIO也是如此。”麻烦的是，展示这款一体机的一名年轻女子的臀部也出现在这张图片上。

　　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。
　　这张图片引起强烈反响，华硕公司之后删除了推文。数码营销经理蒂姆-斯莫利随后发表道歉，谴责有人盗取了公司的社交媒体账户。华硕公司也发表推文道歉，但没能消除在社交媒体上产生的负面影响。

　　5. IP-(Uh)-O Award: Facebook
　　5. “IPO失败”奖：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。
　　尽管Facebook的IPO(首次公开募股)融资超过160亿美元，创下科技类公司的最高纪录，但却迅速成为这个十年中最糟糕的IPO。今年5月，这家社交网络巨头以每股38美元的发行价上市，公司市值达到1040亿美元。但仅在两周后，Facebook股价就开始急剧下跌，至每股26.9美元。