2009/05/09

Apple’s iPod Touch is latest US military weapon 蘋果iPod Touch成了美軍最新武器

◎陳成良

Apple’s iPod Touch is the latest piece of kit for members of the US military that is proving to be a valuable tool in Iraq and Afghanistan.

蘋果公司的iPod Touch在伊拉克與阿富汗現正證明是一種珍貴工具,也是美軍成員最新裝備。

Soldiers need little training with the relatively low-cost consumer device, which can run useful applications in operational areas, according to Newsweek.

士兵幾乎不用練習,就能操作這種相對低成本的消費性裝置,該裝置能夠在軍事行動區執行實用的應用程式,據新聞週刊報導。

The iPod Touch enables soldiers to connect with other soldiers as well as intelligence resources such as aerial images for reconnaissance and translation software.

iPod Touch能夠讓士兵與其他士兵聯繫,並連結到諸如空照圖及翻譯軟體等情報資源。

Soldiers can use iPod Touch apps to translate spoken and written Arabic, Kurdish and two Afghan languages, add translated phases to maps and images, and show video messages to villagers.

士兵可以利用iPod Touch的應用程式翻譯阿拉伯語、庫德語及

兩種阿富汗語言的口語及書面文字,把翻譯過的內容加到地圖及影像中,並將影像訊息給村民觀看。

Another app enables solders to take a photo of a street sign and then get information on local areas such as water supplies and sympathisers.

另一個應用程式可讓士兵拍下街景照片,然後取得諸如有關水源供應及同情者等當地情報。

New applications are constantly being added to the iPod Touch arsenal, such as a secure web browsing tool that prevents users from visiting websites that may contain malware.

iPod Touch的新應用程式不斷增加中,像是一種安全網路瀏覽工具,能讓使用者避免造訪可能藏有惡意程式軟體的網站。

新聞辭典

kit:名詞,成套工具;(士兵的)個人裝備。例句:They marched twenty miles in full kit. (他們帶著全副裝備行軍20英里。)

aerial:形容詞,大氣的、高聳的、飛行的。例句:Aerial shows thrill kids.(小朋友超愛航空展。)

malware: 指的是「malicious software」,又稱為惡意程式、流氓軟體或黑心軟體。spyware則是「間諜程式」,另外ransomware(贖金軟體)則是一種新形態的惡意 軟體,它會加密綁架受害電腦上的重要檔案,威脅受害者付出贖金以取回原有的檔案。

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