科技前沿:網頁瀏覽器經歷"重生",多功能橫向發展

Mobile phones, wearable devices and self-driving cars are generating buzz as the future of technology. But the old Web browser is being reinvented too, in a trend with implications for how consumers work and entertain themselves online.

如今，手機、可穿戴式設備以及能夠自動駕駛的汽車已經成爲人們滔滔不絕地談論着的技術的未來，不過，看似過時的瀏覽器也在經歷重生，其引領的趨勢將影響消費者在網上工作和娛樂的方式。

Companies from Google Inc. GOOG -0.31% to small startups are introducing new features, such as taking and syncing notes and files within the browser, voice-recognition, video calls and messaging. They are also reinventing the browser for newly connected devices like cars.

從谷歌(Google Inc.)到小型初創企業，很多公司都在給瀏覽器配備種種新的功能，比如可以在瀏覽器內實現筆記、文件的記錄與同步，並實現語音識別、視頻通話和短信功能。這些企業還在爲汽車等近來也可以使用瀏覽器的“設備”重新設計瀏覽器。

In one new front of experimentation, browser company Maxthon Ltd. will next month offer users the ability to sync downloads and local files across devices via its browser, in potential competition with file-sharing services like Dropbox Inc. Consumers will be able to download or send the data to a cloud storage account or other device running the browser from a drop-down menu within the browser. The company already offers the ability to take and sync notes in the browser.

在一個新的實驗戰線上，瀏覽器公司傲遊(Maxthon Ltd.)將在本月讓用戶能夠通過其瀏覽器在不同設備上同步已經下載的文件和本地文件，對Dropbox Inc.等文件分享服務商形成潛在競爭。消費者可以通過瀏覽器的一個下拉菜單將數據下載或發送到雲存儲賬戶或同樣運行該瀏覽器的其他設備。該公司已經實現了在瀏覽器內部記筆記並同步筆記。

The little-known software, which Maxthon says has some 120 million monthly users, more than half of them in China, aims to capitalize on consumers' desires to access their files from a range of devices. The company offers browsers for desktops, mobile phones, tablets and even in-car systems. Earlier this year, Maxthon announced a deal with Pioneer Electronics to enable users to browse the Web from an in-car touch-screen device.

這個鮮爲人知的軟件旨在滿足消費者從多種設備上獲取個人文件的需求。傲遊說，這款軟件有大約1.2億每月活躍用戶，其中超過一半用戶在中國。這家公司推出了臺式電腦、手機、平板電腦甚至車載系統的瀏覽器。今年早些時候，傲遊宣佈與凱新達電子有限公司(Pioneer Electronics Co., Ltd.)達成交易，將使用戶能夠在一個車載的觸屏設備上瀏覽網頁。

'It's clear we're shifting to a multi-device world and that creates a lot of pain points,' says Karl Mattson, vice president and general manager of Maxthon, which has about 220 employees. 'The browser is the natural frame for this,' he says.

傲遊副總裁兼總經理馬特森(Karl Mattson)說，顯然，我們正在進入一個多設備的世界，這就產生了許多需要解決的問題。他說，這款瀏覽器就是解決這個問題的自然框架。傲遊公司有大約220名員工。

The browser industry may have appeared staid in recent years, with the market dominated by tech giants such as Microsoft Corp., MSFT +1.04% Google and Apple Inc. AAPL +0.39% Microsoft's Internet Explorer remains the market-share leader for desktop browsers, according to Net Applications, with a 56% share of the desktop market globally. Apple's Safari browser leads on mobile phones and tablets, with 59% share, thanks to the popularity of the iPhone and iPad.

瀏覽器行業最近幾年從表面上看似乎沒什麼變化，市場主要由微軟(Microsoft Corp.)、谷歌和蘋果(Apple Inc.)等科技巨頭佔據。根據Net Applications的數據，微軟的IE瀏覽器在臺式機中仍然佔據着領先的市場份額，在全球檯式機的市場份額達到56%。由於iPhone和iPad的風靡，蘋果的Safari瀏覽器在手機和平板設備中的市場份額最高，爲59%。

But behind the scenes, many companies have quietly been enhancing and reimagining the Web browser, as new technologies have made it possible to do numerous activities in the browser instead of through software downloaded to a computer or mobile device. The set of new programming techniques enabling the features is often referred to as HTML5.

但是在幕後，許多公司一直在不聲不響地改進和重新設計網絡瀏覽器，新的技術使用戶可以通過瀏覽器完成大量活動，取代了需要下載到電腦或移動設備上的軟件。實現這些功能的新的編程技術通常被稱作HTML5。

Companies have opened up to 'add-ons' and apps, allowing users to access features like games and third-party software from a homescreen. Earlier this year, Google, which develops the Chrome browser, released software that allows developers to add voice-recognition to their Web pages, so users can browse the Web by speaking. It also released a Chrome app for its Google Keep note-taking service that syncs notes directly with its Google Drive storage service.

衆多公司都向“插件”和應用程序敞開了大門，允許用戶實現從一個主頁面上登入遊戲和第三方軟件等功能。今年早些時候，開發了Chrome瀏覽器的谷歌發佈一款軟件，讓開發者可以在自己的網頁上增加語音識別功能，這樣用戶只需要說話就可以瀏覽網頁了。谷歌同時還發布了一款用於其Google Keep筆記服務的Chrome應用，可以將筆記直接與Google Drive存儲服務同步。

Microsoft has been tailoring its Internet Explorer browser for touch, focusing on making it responsive and fast for tablets like its Surface. The latest version of Internet Explorer also is designed to work well with its SkyDrive storage service.

微軟一直將其Internet Explorer瀏覽器朝着觸摸操作的方向改進，專注於讓該瀏覽器在Surface等平板電腦上表現得靈敏快捷。最新版的Internet Explorer還經過了設計，配合SkyDrive存儲服務。

Apps have stolen some thunder from browsers, especially as consumers find apps faster and more convenient to use than the Web. That has spurred some of the latest browser innovation.

移動應用搶走了瀏覽器的一些風頭，特別是當消費者發現移動應用比瀏覽器速度更快、使用更方便時。這催生了一些最新的瀏覽方式創新。

Jay Sullivan, chief operating officer of browser maker Mozilla Corp., says browsing is going to become more social through new and easy ways to share what people are browsing with friends. 'It will be more lively, quick and fun,' he says.

瀏覽器開發商Mozilla Corp.首席營運長沙利文(Jay Sullivan)說，由於出現了各種使人們可以與朋友分享瀏覽內容的簡單新方法，網絡瀏覽將變得社交性更強。他說，它將變得更加活躍、迅速、有趣。

Mozilla's Firefox browser has rolled out new features, such as the ability to integrate with social-networking sites so users can see updates and messages from Facebook Inc. FB +0.52% within the browser's frame. It is also testing the feature with Sina Corp.'s SINA -0.76% Weibo for Chinese users.

Mozilla的火狐(Firefox)瀏覽器推出了新的功能，比如能夠與社交網站整合，用戶能夠在瀏覽器框內看到Facebook Inc.的更新和信息。此外，該公司正在測試與新浪微博的整合，以便向中國用戶推出這一功能。

Mozilla also is working on embedded communication features. For instance, consumers could open up a chat screen within their browser and drag a video from a Web page into the screen to share immediately. Mozilla is also trying to persuade websites to adopt a new identity system called Persona that aims to eliminate passwords. It allows users to log into websites using existing accounts and passwords.

此外，Mozilla正在開發嵌入式通訊功能。比如，消費者可以在他們的瀏覽器內打開一個聊天室屏幕，從網頁上拖拉視頻到屏幕上立即進行分享。Mozilla也在努力說服網站使用一個名爲“Persona”的新身份識別系統，該系統旨在消除密碼。它使用戶可以用現有的賬戶和密碼登陸網站。

Past attempts to spiff up browsers haven't always taken off. Onetime Web-browser startup Rockmelt, which once trumpeted its integration with Facebook, says its desktop browser had 4.5 million users but will be discontinued in the next few months. It has changed course to become a discovery service for finding interesting Web content.

以往瀏覽器方面的創新嘗試並不總能取得成功。曾經的瀏覽器初創公司Rockmelt曾宣稱可以實現與Facebook的一體化。該公司說，它的桌面瀏覽器曾有450萬用戶，但未來幾個月將停止運營。它已經改變業務類型，轉而提供幫助挖掘有趣網絡內容的服務。

Tim Howes, Rockmelt co-founder and chief technology officer, said in a statement that 'browsers today are just big dumb windows in [consumers'] way.'

Rockmelt聯合創始人、首席技術長豪斯(Tim Howes)在一份聲明中說，今天的瀏覽器在消費者看來只是愚蠢的大窗口。

Some new browser features, like file-sharing, aim to replicate functions or Web services that are already easy to access across multiple devices through services like Google Drive or Dropbox.

分享文件等一些新瀏覽器功能旨在複製現有那些可輕鬆實現跨設備使用的功能或網絡服務。這些功能或服務目前可通過Google Drive或Dropbox等服務實現。

Mr. Mattson of Maxthon says integrated features are more convenient for users. He likens some of the stand-alone services to 'using a five-pound hammer to kill a mosquito' when something simpler within the browser will do.

傲遊的馬特森說，一體化的功能對用戶來說更方便。他將一些單獨的服務比作用高射炮打蚊子，而實際上用瀏覽器內一些更加簡單的功能就能實現。