Digital messaging used to be so simple. Once the modem's screeches, clucks and beeps ended and I was connected to AOL's servers, all my friends would be right there, ready to chat. When cellphones untethered us from our computers, texting was all we needed. Sure, it turned our thumbs into gymnasts, but it was manageable.
发送信息曾经再简单不过了。一旦调制解调器发出刺耳的哔哔声，我就连上了美国在线(AOL)的服务器，我所有的朋友都会在那儿，做好了聊天的准备。当手机将我们从电脑上解放下来后，短信能够满足我们所有的需求。当然，这也使我们的大拇指变成了上下飞舞的体操运动员，但是一切都在掌控之中。
Now I feel like taking cover behind the couch to dodge the messages flying at me from every which way -- text messages, iMessage, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts and Twitter direct messages.
而现在，我的感觉就像是躲在沙发后面，躲避着从各个渠道扑向我的信息―文本短信、iMessage、Facebook Messenger、谷歌环聊(Google Hangouts)和推特(Twitter)私信。
Having more options doesn't feel like a good thing. Everyone's on different services, which makes group conversations hard. Most popular services are also missing features like voice memos and read receipts.
选择过多并不见得是件好事儿。每个人都在使用不同的服务平台，这令群聊难以进行。大多数热门的服务平台都不具备语音备忘录和已读回执等功能。
Plenty of upstart apps offer more powerful messaging plus lots of fun features, including sketch pads and meme generators. You haven't fully expressed yourself until you've used animated stickers.
很多新晋应用程序都具备更强大的信息收发和其他许多有趣的功能，包括素描板和搞笑图片制作工具等。只有你在用过卡通贴图之后，你才能淋漓尽致地表达自己。
I set out on a journey with friends and family to test four services: WhatsApp, which gained fame for Facebook's $19 billion acquisition of it, along with Kik, WeChat and Viber. I even called on my parents, who usually stick to texting and emailing, and have no patience for complicated apps and social networks.
我发动我的朋友和家人对以下四种应用服务进行了测试：WhatsApp、Kik、微信(WeChat)和Viber，其中WhatsApp以Facebook对其斥资190亿美元的收购获得了外界的关注。我甚至还邀请了我的父母，他们通常只是发短信和邮件，对于复杂的应用程序和社交媒体，他们全无耐心。
All of these apps work similarly. You download it (most are available for iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and even BlackBerry) and enter your phone number. Then you watch as the app scans your phone's address book for contacts who use the service.
上述四种应用程序使用起来大体相同。你把它们下载下来（大多数应用程序都支持iPhone、安卓(Android)手机、Windows手机、甚至黑莓(BlackBerry)手机），然后输入自己的手机号码。接着等待应用程序扫描你手机通讯录上该应用程序的现有用户。
You can send a text to those not yet on the service, requesting the favor of their presence. Once your people start turning up, you can chat with them privately or form groups.
你可以向尚未启用该应用程序的联系人发送消息，邀请他们加入。当你的联系人接受邀请后，你就可以同他私信或群聊了。
I began with WhatsApp, the easiest for getting started and creating chat groups. When I enlisted my mom, she asked why these were different than text messaging, but quickly answered her own question.
我最先测试的是WhatsApp，这款应用程序最容易上手，也最容易创建群聊。当我向我母亲发出邀请后，她问我，这款应用程序与短信究竟有什么区别，但是她自己很快就找到了答案。
She said chatting felt speedier than texts and iMessage. She loved sending short recorded voice messages to my sister and me. The app makes it easy to throw in photos and video, and to set your status so people know if you're available.
她说，相较于短信和iMessage，她觉得WhatsApp更迅捷。我母亲很喜欢给我姐姐和我发送语音信息。这款应用程序令照片和视频分享变得很简便，另外，设置自己的状态也很容易，这样别人就知道你是否有空了。
WhatsApp was the only one my parents didn't need help figuring out. But the app lacks features, digital stickers and other multimedia gimmicks.
在这四款测试应用中，WhatsApp是唯一一款我父母不需要指导就能掌握的。但是，WhatsApp的功能有限，不具备数字贴图和其他多媒体工具。
It also doesn't have functional tools such as desktop chat, which lets you keep up with your mobile buddies while chained to your computer.
WhatsApp还缺乏一些功能工具，比如桌面聊天等。当手机和电脑连接后，桌面聊天功能可以使你在电脑上和朋友继续聊天。
Kik, incredibly popular with teens because of the crazy multimedia features, allows you to search the Web for fun stuff such as GIFs and YouTube videos and drop them into your chat. You can doodle, insert stickers (yes, I paid $2 for a South Park pack), even add your own words to popular meme photos. There's a Snapchat-like feature to transmit self-destructing images.
Kik在青少年中极其风靡，原因是它具有非常强大的多媒体功能，该应用程序允许用户在网络上搜索GIF和YouTube视频等有趣的内容并在聊天中进行分享。你可以随意涂鸦、插入贴图（我就花费2美元购买了一套南方公园的贴图），你甚至可以在流行的搞笑图片上写上自己的话。Kik还附带类似于Snapchat “阅后即焚”的功能。
Kik, though, doesn't offer easy access to basic video and audio messaging that my family loved in WhatsApp. And for all the fun I had using Kik with friends and colleagues, my parents couldn't have been less interested. Kik's interface is cluttered and confusing, like a teenager's bedroom.
我们全家都非常青睐WhatsApp上轻松收发视频及语音信息的基本功能，但Kik并不具备这一功能。并且，我和朋友、同事在使用Kik时所得到的那种乐趣对我父母没有产生丝毫吸引力。另外，Kik的用户界面混乱不堪，就如同青少年的卧室。
Huge in China, WeChat falls between Kik and WhatsApp, with a handy Web chat mode and a large selection of stickers -- including animated ones from Pixar movies.
在中国极受追捧的微信介于Kik和WhatsApp之间，微信拥有便于使用的在线聊天模式，并且附带大量的贴图―其中包括皮克斯(Pixar)电影中的卡通贴图。
Initially I scoffed at the chat sticker trend, but the cartoons are a fun way to respond to messages without having to say much.
起初，我曾对贴图的风靡嗤之以鼻，但是卡通贴图确实一种是勿需多言并且有趣的信息回复方式。
WeChat's standout feature is an amusing walkie-talkie mode. Hold down the large circular button to talk, release it to hear your friends. Fun for a few minutes? Yes. Practical for everyday use? Probably not.
微信的出色之处还在于其有趣的边走边聊模式。按住大圆键即可讲话，松开即可听取好友的留言。用个几分钟是否有趣呢？是的。日常使用是否实际呢？答案可能是否定的。
WeChat is short on some basics. The overall interface is dull and certain expected features, like showing a message has been received, are missing. Also, my mom and my sister found it the hardest to set up.
微信在某些基本方面表现不足。微信的整体界面较为乏味，并且缺乏一些应有的功能，比如显示信息已被对方获取的功能。此外，我母亲和姐姐都认为微信是最难设置的。
I looked at other popular apps -- Line, Telegram and KakaoTalk among them -- but they were so similar to WhatsApp and WeChat, I felt underwhelmed.
我还关注了其他一些流行的应用程序―其中有Line、Telegram和KakaoTalk―但是，这些应用程序和WhatsApp与微信极其相似，毫无新意。
Until I found Viber.
直到我发现了Viber。
Viber has many of the same text options as the others, but focuses on audio calling. Like Skype, if both users are on Viber, you can make audio calls over Wi-Fi or a data connection. Sound quality was good, though there was an echo on some calls.
Viber拥有与其他应用程序相同的很多文本信息发送选项，但更侧重于视频通话功能。和Skype相同，如果双方用户都登录了Viber，你就能通过Wi-Fi或者其他数据连接方式进行视频通话了。
While the app doesn't pack as many tricks as Kik, it puts a good chunk of them into a tidier control panel. It also has Mac and Windows desktop applications.
尽管Viber并没有附带Kik那么多的花样儿，但是它把不少有趣的功能都设置在了一个更为简洁的操作界面中。并且这款应用程序还有Mac和Windows的桌面客户端。
As smart as Viber is, it needs a user-interface makeover before it can compete with WhatsApp.
即便拥有强大的功能，但Viber也需要重塑其用户界面才能与WhatsApp相抗衡。
(The company says it is working on an update to its outdated iOS app.)
（该公司表示，正在开发iOS旧版客户端的更新版本。）
So my journey ended with an edict that my family and close friends have group chats over WhatsApp, even though I'll miss stickers and could benefit from Web chat. (WhatsApp declined to comment on its road map.)
鉴于我的家人和好友都加入了WhatsApp上的群聊，我的测试也宣布告终。尽管，我将怀念微信贴图，并且本可以受益颇多。（WhatsApp未就自身的路线图置评。）
I may never get everyone on the same chat service, but I've already got some of my favorite people gathered on WhatsApp.
或许，我永远不可能让每个人都齐聚在同一个服务平台上，但是我已经把我最喜欢的一些人聚集在了WhatsApp上。
Besides, the Facebook acquisition has piqued enough curiosity that more are starting to turn up everyday. It's almost like those simpler AOL days, but without the melodious modem sounds.
除此之外，Facebook对WhatsApp的收购也激发了强烈的好奇，越来越多的人开始使用这款应用程序了。以前那种使用美国在线的简单日子似乎回来了，只是少了调制解调器悦耳的声音。