介绍:
Window dressing 视窗的装饰
The world’s most popular computer programs are becoming less boring 世界上最火的计算机程序正在变得不那么乏善可陈
主播：凤梨君 个人微信号：fenglisama 微信公众号：EnglishQiPa
Jul 2nd 2016 | From the print edition
BROWSERS, pieces of internet software that people probably spend more time with than they do in bed, have long been boring affairs. Save for occasional innovations such as tabs, these programs have remained fundamentally the same since the release of Mosaic, the first mainstream browser, nearly a quarter of a century ago. Just four browsers account for nearly all users: Apple’s Safari, Google’s Chrome, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox. It is difficult to tell them apart.
1piece |pi:s| （尤指一套中的）一件，一台 2 occasional |əˈkeɪʒənl| 偶尔的；偶然的；临时的 3 save for 除了; 除…外; 4 mosaic |məʊˈzeɪɪk; 美 moʊ-| 镶嵌图案；马赛克
5 chrome|krəʊm; 美 kroʊm| 铬；铬合金
NCSA Mosaic，或简称Mosaic，是互联网历史上第一个获普遍使用和能够显示图片的网页浏览器
New, more interesting browsers have started cropping up. In August internet users will be able to download the first full version of Brave, the brainchild of a co-founder of Mozilla. Mozilla itself is working on a new type of browser which will give users suggestions on where to navigate next. Both are only the latest in a series of such efforts: last year Microsoft unveiled Edge, meant to replace Internet Explorer; March saw the release of Cliqz, a browser developed in Germany; a month later came Vivaldi.
1 crop up（尤指意外的）出现，发生 2 brainchild |ˈbreɪntʃaɪld| （个人或小群体的）主意，发明 3 unveil |ˌʌnˈveɪl| （首次）展示，介绍，推出；将…公之于众
If most browsers are boring and unwieldy, it is because they are expected to do more than ever before: not just surfing the web, but editing documents, streaming music and much more besides. As a result, priority is given to stability and ease of use. Too many fiddly buttons could scare away novice users. Innovation is outsourced to developers of “plug-ins”, which add features to a browser.
1 unwieldy |ʌnˈwi:ldi| 笨重的；笨拙的；不灵巧的 2 stream|stri:m| 用流式传输，流播（无须待整个文件下载到计算机便可播放互联网上的视频或音频文件）3 fiddly|ˈfɪdli| 微小难弄的；需要手巧的；精巧难使用的 4 novice |ˈnɒvɪs; 美 ˈnɑ:v-| 新手；初学者 5 plug-in 插件，外挂
Building a new browser from scratch is a fiendishly difficult and expensive undertaking. Only Apple, Google and Microsoft have the money and resources to throw at developing a fast “engine”, as the core of a browser is called. Their dominance also scares off investors. Few venture capitalists are foolhardy enough to invest in a product that needs to take on three of the world’s most powerful tech companies. Mozilla is a non-profit which partially relies on volunteer developers and donations.
1 scratch |skrætʃ| 划痕，划伤 from scratch 从头开始；从零开始 2 fiendishly |ˈfi:ndɪʃli| 很；极其 3 venture capital 风险资本（投入新公司的资金，风险很大） 4 foolhardy |ˈfu:lhɑ:di; 美 -hɑ:rdi| 莽撞的；有勇无谋的 5
Insurgents are trying to overcome the obstacles in three ways. To reduce development costs, their products are based on existing open-source projects, such as Chromium, which also powers Google’s Chrome. They get money from angel investors, who have an appetite for risk. And most important, they aim their products at niche segments. Brave, for instance, is for surfers who prize privacy. It can block annoying online advertisements and privacy-invading “trackers”, which lurk on websites to follow users around. Cliqz also blocks trackers and is integrated with a new search engine. Vivaldi pitches itself as a browser for “power users”. It is packed with customisable features and comes bundled with an e-mail client.
1 insurgent |ɪnˈsɜ:dʒənt; 美 -ˈsɜ:rdʒ-| 起义者；叛乱者；造反者 2 obstacle |ˈɒbstəkl; 美 ˈɑ:b-| 障碍；阻碍；绊脚石 3 chromium |ˈkrəʊmiəm; 美 ˈkroʊ-| 铬 4 niche |ni:ʃ; nɪtʃ; 美 nɪtʃ; ni:ʃ| 商机；市场定位 niche segments 细分市场 5 lurk |lɜ:k; 美 lɜ:rk| （尤指为做不正当的事而）埋伏，潜伏 6 bundle |ˈbʌndl| 匆匆送走；推搡；赶 ~ sth (with sth) 额外免费提供（设备等）；（尤指出售计算机时）赠送（软件）
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