微软正式推出Win 7 售价119至219美元
微软CEO巴尔默周四在美国纽约正式向全球推出Windows 7
Microsoft Corp. formally unveiled Thursday its newest operating system, Windows 7, as the software giant tries to move beyond the disappointing performance of the previous system and recharge revenue growth.
微软(Microsoft Corp.)周四正式发布新一代操作系统Windows 7。这家软件巨头目前正试图超越上一代操作系统令人失望的表现，给收入增长带来新的动力。
'Today is an important day for the computer industry. Certainly for Microsoft,' said Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer at a launch event in New York that was crowded by Microsoft partners and laptop-toting technology press.
微软首席执行长鲍尔默(Steve Ballmer)在纽约的产品发布会上说，今天对电脑业来说是个重要的日子，对微软无疑是这样。微软的产品发布会上云集了微软的合作伙伴和装备有笔记本电脑的科技媒体。
Mr. Ballmer said he expected 300 million Windows-based PCs to be sold this year, and that 45,000 retailers across the world were now selling Windows 7. Several different versions of the operating system will be available, with Microsoft charging consumers between $119 and $219.
鲍尔默说，他预计今年使用Windows操作系统的个人电脑销量将为3亿部，目前全球有4.5万家零售商都在销售Windows 7。微软将推出Windows 7操作系统的多个不同版本，售价在119至219美元。
Windows 7 has taken on critical importance for the world's largest software maker because it needs to address some of the perceived weaknesses of its predecessor, Windows Vista, which launched in 2007. Vista was poorly reviewed, and many corporate customers岸which generate the bulk of its revenue岸shunned the operating system and opted to keep the older Windows XP.
由于Windows 7操作系统需要解决2007年推出的上一代操作系统Windows Vista暴露出来的一些缺点，它对全球最大的软件生产商微软来说具有非常重要的意义。用户对Windows Vista的评论不佳，很多企业客户（微软操作系统收入的主要来源）都避开了这款操作系统，而是选择继续使用老一代Windows XP操作系统。
To coincide with the Windows 7 launch, computer makers and retailers such as Best Buy Inc. are cutting prices for PCs to try to goose holiday-season sales. Microsoft also is beginning to try running its own retail stores, which has been enormously successful for Apple Inc. The first Microsoft store was set to open Thursday in Scottsdale, Ariz.
在Windows 7发布的同时，百思买(Best Buy Inc.)等电脑生产商和零售商下调了个人电脑价格，以试图刺激年终节日销售。微软也开始尝试运营自己的零售店。苹果公司(Apple Inc.)旗下的零售店取得了巨大的成功。微软的首家零售店定于周四在亚利桑那州斯科茨代尔市开业。
Windows 7 also debuts as Microsoft struggles with problems it has never faced. In April, the company reported its first quarterly revenue contraction in its 23-year history as a public company. Windows accounts for between a quarter and a half of Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft's $58 billion in annual sales.
Windows 7的发布也正值微软面临前所未有的问题之际。今年4月份，微软公布季度利润出现上市23年来的首次萎缩。微软每年销售额为580亿美元，Windows操作系统占了其中的四分之一到一半。微软总部位于华盛顿州雷德蒙德市。
The Windows operating system remains the world's most widely used, with some version of it sitting on roughly 90% of the world's computers. However, according to technology research firm Gartner Inc., more than 80% of Microsoft's corporate customers are still running XP.
Windows仍是全球应用最广泛的操作系统，Windows的有些版本甚至占据了全球电脑的约90%。不过，据科技研究公司Gartner Inc.的数据，微软企业客户中有80%以上仍在使用Windows XP。
一家电脑商店的工作人员在Windows 7正式发布前进行产品陈设布置。
Reviews of Windows 7 have been overwhelmingly positive. The program is designed to be simpler and run at faster speeds. It sacrifices features that can over-complicate the experience and place an unwanted burden on memory, according to reviews.
对Windows 7的评论都是极其正面的。这款操作系统设计得更为简单、速度更快。据评论说，Windows 7去掉了使用起来过于复杂、给内存带来不必要负担的功能。
Windows 7 strips the operating system of some features like email, photo applications and video-editing programs. Many of these features are now available free of charge over the Internet, in tune with a broader move by Microsoft to offer more of its applications over the Web.
Windows 7去掉了电子邮件、照片应用程序和视频编辑程序等功能。很多这类功能如今都可以免费从互联网上获得，这也符合微软通过互联网提供更多应用程序的更广泛举措。
For the first time, with Windows 7, Microsoft has also made available a low-end version of the operating system designed for the stripped-down 'netbook' computers, which have accounted for most of the recent growth in hardware sales.
通过Windows 7，微软还首次推出了针对上网本的低端版本的操作系统。上网本占了最近硬件销售增长的大部分。
Most versions of the operating system come prepackaged with new computers from partners like Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., and many corporate customers sign volume licensing agreements, entitling them to upgrade automatically.
Windows 7操作系统的大部分版本都预装在了微软合作伙伴戴尔(Dell Inc.)和惠普(Hewlett-Packard Co.)的新电脑上。很多企业客户签订了批量许可协议，获得自动升级的授权。
Previous Windows launches have fueled strong revenue and profit growth for Microsoft. According to Jefferies & Co, the company has posted double-digit revenue growth for four quarters after the launch of every operating system.
以往Windows操作系统的发布都刺激了微软的收入和利润实现强劲增长。据Jefferies & Co.的数据，微软每次推出新的操作系统后，收入都会连续四个季度实现两位数增长。
Jessica Hodgson
