微軟傳言可能推出平板電腦
Ever since Apple's iPod revolutionised the digital music industry, Microsoftexecutives have been drawn by the allure of producing their own consumer devices.
自從蘋果(Apple)iPod帶來數字音樂行業革命以來，微軟(Microsoft)的高管們就一直受到誘惑，想要生產出自己的消費者產品。Enthusing about the iPod's simple scroll wheel, the hardware interface that made it easy to sift through large libraries of music, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive, said at the time that his company might have to develop more of its own hardware if it wanted truly to compete with Apple.
微軟首席執行官史蒂夫•鮑爾默(Steve Ballmer)對iPod簡單的滾動輪很感興趣。這個滾動輪是一種硬件接口，使得在大型音樂庫之間來回切換變得很容易。鮑爾默當時表示，微軟如果真心想與蘋果競爭，可能就不得不自行開發出更多的硬件產品來。Now, seven years later, the moment may finally have arrived.
七年之後的今天，這個時刻可能終於到來了。
The world's biggest software company has been gearing up to introduce its own tablet computer, which would compete head-to-head with Apple's iPad, according to people familiar with its deliberations.
瞭解微軟思路的知情人士表示，這家全球最大的軟件公司最近正準備推出自己的平板電腦，與蘋果的iPad展開正面競爭。The move would mark a sea change in the 30-year history of the personal computing industry. But with Apple threatening to disrupt the way of doing business on which its fortune is founded, Microsoft may have little choice.
微軟此舉將標誌着，已有30年曆史的個人電腦行業將發生翻天覆地的變化。但由於蘋果有可能破壞微軟的財富所依賴的經營模式，微軟可能沒有多少選擇機會。
