????現(xiàn)在的硬件已經(jīng)今非昔比。

????最近，產(chǎn)品檢測(cè)與認(rèn)證公司Underwriters Laboratories公布的一份研究表明，48%的消費(fèi)者認(rèn)為，技術(shù)企業(yè)推出新產(chǎn)品的速度超過他們的需求，最終結(jié)果是造成 “全球性產(chǎn)品更新疲勞”。一方面，消費(fèi)者無法跟上創(chuàng)新的速度；另一方面，制造商過于頻繁地發(fā)布產(chǎn)品更新，卻未能推出足夠多的新功能能，產(chǎn)品升級(jí)名不符實(shí)。

????對(duì)于以上兩個(gè)觀點(diǎn)，筆者深表贊同。筆者是一個(gè)小型設(shè)備迷和早期使用者，過去對(duì)小型設(shè)備的追逐曾經(jīng)令人興奮不已。人們很容易就能找到購(gòu)買新筆記本電腦的原因。因?yàn)樾吕袭a(chǎn)品的差距可謂巨大，用戶可以清楚地指出其中的差異所在。例如，如果確信產(chǎn)品更新?lián)Q代能提高工作效率，人們就會(huì)不由自主的對(duì)產(chǎn)品進(jìn)行更新?lián)Q代。

????但是，硬件的發(fā)展已經(jīng)跨越了一個(gè)門檻：為了獲得優(yōu)良的性能，人們不一定需要最新的產(chǎn)品。如果是一臺(tái)在二十世紀(jì)九十年代購(gòu)買的配備了120MHz處理器的佰德電腦（Packard Bell），幾年后就可以淘汰了。而在我們所生活的當(dāng)代，許多計(jì)算機(jī)設(shè)備的性能“足夠優(yōu)良”。（科技博客TechCrunch前任專欄作家MG?西格勒最近很好地指出了這個(gè)問題。）

????可能你會(huì)說你喜歡一款產(chǎn)品的外觀。但是，即使只花550美元從百思買公司（Best Buy）購(gòu)買的東芝（Toshiba）筆記本，也應(yīng)該能夠運(yùn)行99%的常見軟件，保存高圖形負(fù)荷的游戲或視頻編輯應(yīng)用程序。如果銷量真的能說明問題，那么價(jià)值499美元的平板電腦同樣可以滿足許多人基本的計(jì)算機(jī)需求，比如蘋果公司（Apple）的iPad。

????我們看到，這一觀點(diǎn)正在對(duì)一些高端設(shè)備產(chǎn)生影響，如最新的MacBook Airs和PC ultrabooks。這些設(shè)備融合了“絕佳”性能、設(shè)計(jì)和便攜性。除包裝上的介紹外，“體驗(yàn)”是更重要的特質(zhì)。運(yùn)行速度是否夠快？是否便于使用？是否可靠？如果一臺(tái)計(jì)算機(jī)或智能手機(jī)滿足上述標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，大多數(shù)人可以愜意地使用多年，而無需對(duì)其進(jìn)行升級(jí)。

????但是，我們?nèi)匀豢吹剑掳嬖O(shè)備上市的速度快得令人匪夷所思，甚至有時(shí)候，新版和老版的差別微乎其微。總體而言，硬件變得如此反復(fù)，以至于硬件不斷向軟件看齊——特別是基于網(wǎng)絡(luò)的軟件——非常頻繁地進(jìn)行小幅更新，人們幾乎無法辨別新版與老版之間的差異。

????以谷歌公司（Google）的安卓（Android）系統(tǒng)為例。該操作系統(tǒng)本身非常穩(wěn)定、功能多樣而且用途廣泛。但是我認(rèn)為安卓系統(tǒng)上市的速度過快。僅在過去的兩年中，我們多次看到這樣的評(píng)論：“市面上最棒的安卓手機(jī)”或“史上最棒的安卓手機(jī)”。最佳手機(jī)每個(gè)月都在變來變?nèi)ィy怪消費(fèi)者會(huì)出現(xiàn)“更新疲勞”。如果手機(jī)運(yùn)行速度夠快、便于使用、搭載通用和可升級(jí)的操作系統(tǒng)，提供健康的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)應(yīng)用程序——更不用說電池壽命長(zhǎng)——誰還需要購(gòu)買宏達(dá)電（HTC）Edge系列四核機(jī)等類似產(chǎn)品呢？

????硬件之所以失去了幾年前的魅力，另一個(gè)原因是數(shù)據(jù)的集中。越來越多的數(shù)據(jù)被存儲(chǔ)在云中。消費(fèi)者越來越依靠網(wǎng)絡(luò)視頻流媒體公司Netflix和流媒體音樂網(wǎng)站Sportify等服務(wù)供應(yīng)商遠(yuǎn)程提供的內(nèi)容。另外，更重要的是，我們的很多內(nèi)容可以在大量不同的設(shè)備上存取。例如，購(gòu)買Kindle電子書后，既可以在專門的Kindle電子閱讀器上閱讀，又可以在智能手機(jī)、平板電腦或任何可以使用亞馬遜公司（Amazon）閱讀應(yīng)用程序的電腦上閱讀。網(wǎng)路隨身碟（Dropbox）、Box.net網(wǎng)站和全能便簽 （Evernote）儲(chǔ)存的數(shù)據(jù)也是一樣。

????筆者擔(dān)心的是，對(duì)制造商而言，不斷把重復(fù)的產(chǎn)品銷售給日益“審美疲勞”、對(duì)所謂的“產(chǎn)品更新”逐漸失去耐心的消費(fèi)者，最終將作繭自縛。如果硬件設(shè)備淪為簡(jiǎn)單的接口，而不是具有內(nèi)在價(jià)值的實(shí)用物品，其重要性將被進(jìn)一步弱化。

????譯者：?jiǎn)虡潇o/汪皓

????Hardware just isn't what it used to be.

????Recently, Underwriters Laboratories, a product testing and certification company, issued a study that found that 48% of consumers think tech manufacturers are shipping new products faster than they need them, the end result being a sort of "global gadget fatigue." Either consumers in general just can't keep up with the rate of innovation, or manufacturers are releasing upgrades too frequently with not enough new features to justify the change.

????I think it's both. Being a gadget hound and early adopter, the chase used to be thrilling. Finding cause to buy a new laptop was easy. You could point out the differences because the gap between one product generation and the next were huge. You could easily hang your jones to upgrade, for example, on the increased productivity you were sure to see.

????But hardware has since crossed a threshold where you don't need the newest thing to have good performance. Owning a Packard Bell computer in the 1990s with a 120 MHz processor guaranteed it a trip to the junk bin a few years after purchase. Now, we live in an age where many computing devices are "good enough." (Ex-TechCrunch columnist MG Siegler recently pointed this out nicely.)

????Say what you like about its looks, but even that $550 Toshiba (TOSBF) laptop from Best Buy (BBY) should have enough muscle to run 99% of everyday software, save graphics-heavy games or video editing apps. And if sales are any indication, a $499 tablet like the Apple (AAPL) iPad also fills many people's basic computing needs too.

????On the higher end, we're seeing this attitude permeate some devices like the newest MacBook Airs and PC ultrabooks, which marry "good enough" performance, design, and portability. Instead of what the side of the box reads, it's more about the "experience." Does it feel fast? Is it easy to use? Is it reliable? If a computer or smartphone meets that criteria, most of us may comfortably amble about for years without wanting to upgrade.

????And yet, we're still seeing updated devices hit shelves at a ridiculous rate, sometimes with imperceptible differences. Hardware has generally gotten so iterative that it approaches software -- especially web-based software -- that updates in small increments so frequently, you can barely tell the difference from one update to the next.

????Take Google (GOOG) Android devices. The operating system itself is solid, versatile and widely available. But I'd argue the rate of Android devices hitting the market is just too frequent. Over the last two years alone, how many reviews have we seen end with decrees like, "It's the best Android phone you can buy" or "the best Android phone ever made." Hearing that one Android phone is "the best" one month and that another's "the best" the next, it's no wonder if consumers have gadget fatigue. Because at this point, if it's fast enough, easy enough to use, runs a ubiquitous, upgradable operating system with a healthy ecosystem of apps -- not to mention carries a decent battery charge -- who needs something like the quad-core HTC Edge?

????Another reason hardware may not have quite the same luster it has in years past is the convergence of data. More and more of it is being stored in the cloud. And consumers are becoming more reliant on content streamed remotely from services like Netflix (NFLX) and Spotify. On the one hand, what's really great about that is that much of our content is accessible across a slew of devices. Buy an Kindle e-book, for instance, and you can read it on your dedicated Kindle e-reader, smartphone, tablet or any computer you can access Amazon's (AMZN) reading app. That also applies to data stored via Dropbox, Box.net and Evernote.

????My fear is that could eventually spell bad news for manufacturers who keep foisting iterative products upon an increasingly "fatigued," less receptive audience. If our devices merely become portals, rather than objects with intrinsic value, their importance could be further diluted.