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，手机、可穿戴式设备以及能够自动驾驶的汽车已经成为人们滔滔不绝地谈论着的技术的未来，不过，看似过时的浏览器也在经历重生，其引领的趋势将影响消费者在网上工作和娱乐的方式。
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.
从谷歌(Google Inc.)到小型初创企业，很多公司都在给浏览器配备种种新的功能，比如可以在浏览器内实现笔记、文件的记录与同步，并实现语音识别、视频通话和短信功能。这些企业还在为汽车等近来也可以使用浏览器的“设备”重新设计浏览器。
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.
在一个新的实验战线上，浏览器公司傲游(Maxthon Ltd.)将在本月让用户能够通过其浏览器在不同设备上同步已经下载的文件和本地文件，对Dropbox Inc.等文件分享服务商形成潜在竞争。消费者可以通过浏览器的一个下拉菜单将数据下载或发送到云存储账户或同样运行该浏览器的其他设备。该公司已经实现了在浏览器内部记笔记并同步笔记。
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.
这个鲜为人知的软件旨在满足消费者从多种设备上获取个人文件的需求。傲游说，这款软件有大约1.2亿每月活跃用户，其中超过一半用户在中国。这家公司推出了台式电脑、手机、平板电脑甚至车载系统的浏览器。今年早些时候，傲游宣布与凯新达电子有限公司(Pioneer Electronics Co., Ltd.)达成交易，将使用户能够在一个车载的触屏设备上浏览网页。
'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.
傲游副总裁兼总经理马特森(Karl Mattson)说，显然，我们正在进入一个多设备的世界，这就产生了许多需要解决的问题。他说，这款浏览器就是解决这个问题的自然框架。傲游公司有大约220名员工。
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.
浏览器行业最近几年从表面上看似乎没什么变化，市场主要由微软(Microsoft Corp.)、谷歌和苹果(Apple Inc.)等科技巨头占据。根据Net Applications的数据，微软的IE浏览器在台式机中仍然占据着领先的市场份额，在全球台式机的市场份额达到56%。由于iPhone和iPad的风靡，苹果的Safari浏览器在手机和平板设备中的市场份额最高，为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.
但是在幕后，许多公司一直在不声不响地改进和重新设计网络浏览器，新的技术使用户可以通过浏览器完成大量活动，取代了需要下载到电脑或移动设备上的软件。实现这些功能的新的编程技术通常被称作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.
众多公司都向“插件”和应用程序敞开了大门，允许用户实现从一个主页面上登入游戏和第三方软件等功能。今年早些时候，开发了Chrome浏览器的谷歌发布一款软件，让开发者可以在自己的网页上增加语音识别功能，这样用户只需要说话就可以浏览网页了。谷歌同时还发布了一款用于其Google Keep笔记服务的Chrome应用，可以将笔记直接与Google Drive存储服务同步。
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.
微软一直将其Internet Explorer浏览器朝着触摸操作的方向改进，专注于让该浏览器在Surface等平板电脑上表现得灵敏快捷。最新版的Internet Explorer还经过了设计，配合SkyDrive存储服务。
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.
移动应用抢走了浏览器的一些风头，特别是当消费者发现移动应用比浏览器速度更快、使用更方便时。这催生了一些最新的浏览方式创新。
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.
浏览器开发商Mozilla Corp.首席营运长沙利文(Jay Sullivan)说，由于出现了各种使人们可以与朋友分享浏览内容的简单新方法，网络浏览将变得社交性更强。他说，它将变得更加活跃、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)浏览器推出了新的功能，比如能够与社交网站整合，用户能够在浏览器框内看到Facebook Inc.的更新和信息。此外，该公司正在测试与新浪微博的整合，以便向中国用户推出这一功能。
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正在开发嵌入式通讯功能。比如，消费者可以在他们的浏览器内打开一个聊天室屏幕，从网页上拖拉视频到屏幕上立即进行分享。Mozilla也在努力说服网站使用一个名为“Persona”的新身份识别系统，该系统旨在消除密码。它使用户可以用现有的账户和密码登陆网站。
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.
以往浏览器方面的创新尝试并不总能取得成功。曾经的浏览器初创公司Rockmelt曾宣称可以实现与Facebook的一体化。该公司说，它的桌面浏览器曾有450万用户，但未来几个月将停止运营。它已经改变业务类型，转而提供帮助挖掘有趣网络内容的服务。
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联合创始人、首席技术长豪斯(Tim Howes)在一份声明中说，今天的浏览器在消费者看来只是愚蠢的大窗口。
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.
分享文件等一些新浏览器功能旨在复制现有那些可轻松实现跨设备使用的功能或网络服务。这些功能或服务目前可通过Google Drive或Dropbox等服务实现。
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.
傲游的马特森说，一体化的功能对用户来说更方便。他将一些单独的服务比作用高射炮打蚊子，而实际上用浏览器内一些更加简单的功能就能实现。