[試譯] 科普新知_Computers without Borders

Computers without Borders / 電腦無遠弗屆


In the beginning computers were human. Then they took the shape of metal boxes, filling entire rooms before becoming ever smaller and more widespread. Now they are evaporating altogether and becoming accessible from anywhere.



人腦的運算與思考模式，是早期發明電腦的雛型。而後，發明者將此概念透過金屬外殼具體化，大得足以塞滿整個房間，如今電腦不但進化到輕薄短小，且人手一機。

That is about as brief a history of computers as anyone can make it. The point is that they are much more than devices in a box or in a data centre. Computing has constantly changed shape and location -- mainly as a result of new technology, but often also because of shifts in demand.

這是一段任誰都無法精簡的電腦史。重點在於，電腦不僅僅是一個硬體設備或資料處理中心。電腦的發展，持續不斷的改變其外觀與定位－主要是科技的推陳出新，而電腦發展也因應使用者的需求與時並進。

The first “computers” were indeed people. The word originally meant an individual who solved equations, often using a mechanical calculator. Hundreds of them were employed by big companies that needed to do a lot of number-crunching, such as aeroplane manufacturers. It was only around 1945 that the word came to describe machinery.

第一台電腦無庸置疑就是人腦。”computer” 這個字的原意，是指一個經常用機械式計算機來解答方程式的人。需要大量處理數字運算的公司，比如飛機製造商，就會雇用幾百個這樣的「運算者」來工作。當時約是1945年，「機械」這個詞才剛被創造出來。

But even after that, computing kept undergoing mutations -- or, in the jargon, platform shifts. The mainframe, the original computing platform, was dethroned by minicomputers, which in turn gave way to personal computers, which are now being pushed aside by hand-held devices and smartphones. With each step the architecture -- the underlying structure of computing -- became more distributed.

此後，電腦發展歷經不斷地改變，以行話來說，也就是平台的改變。最原始的運算處理平台是大型電腦，一度由個人電腦來改朝換代，之後手提電腦也不得不將位置讓給智慧型手機。現在，傳統桌上型電腦已被許多手提電腦和智慧型手機取代。電腦產業演進的每一步－電腦底層的結構－分工也越來越獨立。

Now, computing is taking on yet another new shape. It is becoming more centralized again as some of the activity moves into data centres. But more importantly, it is turning into what has come to be called a “cloud,” or collections of clouds. Computing power will become more and more disembodied and will be consumed where and when it is needed.

現在，電腦以全新的形式呈現。它更加集中化來做資料處理，更重要的是，電腦趨勢已走向「雲端化」或雲端處理。電腦發展將越來越擺脫實體設備，走向虛實整合的未來。