????微軟（Microsoft）周一宣布對(duì)Xbox 360電視功能進(jìn)行包括語(yǔ)音控制在內(nèi)的重大升級(jí),。一些人不禁開(kāi)始思量，微軟是否在沉寂多時(shí)后終于首次超越了蘋(píng)果（Apple）和谷歌（Google）,。事實(shí)上,，現(xiàn)在我們還不得而知,。

????這次新升級(jí)旨在從多方面對(duì)Xbox進(jìn)行改進(jìn),。用戶可通過(guò)語(yǔ)音命令在儀表板上導(dǎo)航,。他們可以通過(guò)說(shuō)出“視頻”這樣的命令，導(dǎo)航至微軟的Zune商店或者網(wǎng)絡(luò)視頻租賃公司Netflix,。語(yǔ)音命令還能被用來(lái)通過(guò)微軟的必應(yīng)（Bing）搜索引擎進(jìn)行搜索。比如,，如果用語(yǔ)音在必應(yīng)上搜索麥克爾?杰克遜,，那么將搜到來(lái)自YouTube的音樂(lè)視頻。

????更大的驚喜來(lái)自實(shí)況電視（live TV）,。正如史蒂夫?鮑爾默在9月份承諾的那樣,，該服務(wù)將正式登陸Xbox Live。這一點(diǎn)似乎正在成為現(xiàn)實(shí),，盡管其內(nèi)容頗為有限,。本月，威瑞森（Verizon）旗下的FiOS有線服務(wù)將在Xbox上發(fā)布26個(gè)頻道（目前并未提供本地有線頻道）,。另一家有線合作商康卡斯特（Comcast）將于明年初進(jìn)駐Xbox,。Xbox的其它一些媒體合作伙伴，例如時(shí)代華納（TimeWarner）旗下的HBO,、美國(guó)職棒大聯(lián)盟（Major League Baseball）和電影網(wǎng)站CinemaNow等，也都計(jì)劃在明年加盟,。

????微軟表示,，到今年底，多家視頻提供商將發(fā)布一系列應(yīng)用程序,。這些視頻供應(yīng)商包括Vudu,、YouTube、Vevo,、Crackle,、TMZ、MSNBC,、UFC和SyFy等,。雖然Xbox live目前已能支持來(lái)自Hulu Plus、Netflix和ESPN的流媒體,，但這些應(yīng)用程序?qū)脮r(shí)仍將進(jìn)一步升級(jí),。這一動(dòng)向至少意味著互聯(lián)網(wǎng)視頻提供商將借助該服務(wù)成功登陸成百上千萬(wàn)家庭的客廳電視，這無(wú)疑是整個(gè)網(wǎng)絡(luò)視頻行業(yè)的巨大進(jìn)步,。微軟Xbox 360的裝機(jī)量高達(dá)5,800萬(wàn),，不過(guò)僅有1,100萬(wàn)用戶購(gòu)買(mǎi)了使用實(shí)況電視服務(wù)所必需的Kinect傳感器,。Kinect售價(jià)為149美元。Live TV服務(wù)僅對(duì)Xbox Live金牌會(huì)員開(kāi)放,，目前會(huì)費(fèi)為每年60美元,，另外用戶還需向有線電視商付費(fèi)。

????周一另一條引人注目的消息是Kinect傳感器用戶將能享受語(yǔ)音控制功能,。和蘋(píng)果的Siri一樣,，Xbox語(yǔ)音控制聽(tīng)起來(lái)非常酷,，不過(guò)根據(jù)一些體驗(yàn)者發(fā)布的報(bào)告來(lái)看,，它和Siri一樣，還處于開(kāi)發(fā)初期,，遠(yuǎn)稱(chēng)不上完美無(wú)缺（但這并不是說(shuō)Xbox的語(yǔ)音功能無(wú)法運(yùn)行）,。這意味著即使語(yǔ)音功能會(huì)大大超出人們的預(yù)期——而且必應(yīng)的視頻搜索功能顯然比有線電視運(yùn)營(yíng)商提供的原生程序要好的多——但查找視頻還是很費(fèi)功夫，而且仍免不了在遙控器上敲敲打打,。

????這是一場(chǎng)革命嗎,？恐怕未必。這聽(tīng)來(lái)更像是向正確的方向邁進(jìn)了一大步,，而非微軟所自詡的重大變革,。微軟有個(gè)老毛病，莫名其妙地就會(huì)丟掉領(lǐng)先的優(yōu)勢(shì)?，F(xiàn)在該公司面臨的挑戰(zhàn)是吸引更多的有線電視運(yùn)營(yíng)商采用其技術(shù),，而這正是這次升級(jí)所欠缺的。不過(guò)至少,，微軟在給自己與蘋(píng)果和谷歌對(duì)美國(guó)人客廳控制權(quán)的爭(zhēng)奪戰(zhàn)中“儲(chǔ)備彈藥”,。

????譯者：項(xiàng)航

????Microsoft's announcement Monday of a major upgrade to its Xbox 360 television interface, which includes voice commands, has some people wondering whether the company has, for the first time in a long time, gotten a jump on Apple and Google. The truth is, it's simply too soon to tell.

????The new update aims to improve the Xbox in several ways. It allows navigation on the dashboard via voice command. Users can speek commands like "videos" to navigate to Microsoft's (MSFT) Zune store or Netflix (NFLX). Voice commands can also be use to search the web with Microsoft's Bing search engine. Asking it for Michael Jackson will bring up music videos from YouTube, for instance.

????Bigger still, as Steve Ballmer promised in September, live TV will be available through Xbox Live. It looks as if that is happening, although in a limited way. Verizon's FiOS (VZ) cable service will make 26 channels (no local broadcast channels) available through the Xbox this month. Another cable partner, Comcast (CMCSA), won't come on board until early next year. Also due next year are such media partners as TimeWarner's (TWX) HBO, Major League Baseball, and CinemaNow.

????By the end of this year, Microsoft said, apps from a bevy of video providers will be available, including Vudu, YouTube, Vevo, Crackle, TMZ, MSNBC, UFC and SyFy. Xbox live had already been streaming video from Hulu Plus, Netflix and ESPN, but those apps are being upgraded. If nothing else, the service represents a major advance for Internet video providers, who will suddenly have access to millions of living-room screens. Microsoft has an installed base of about 58 million Xbox 360s, though only about 11 million of them are equipped with Kinect sensors, which are needed to access the service. Those cost $149 each. The service is available with a gold Xbox Live membership, now at $60 a year, plus fees to cable providers.

????The attention-grabber on Monday was the voice-activated control that will be available to those who have Kinect sensors. Like Apple's Siri, it sounds pretty cool, but judging by reports from people who have tried it out, it, like Siri, is in early stages of development and isn't flawless (which is not to take away from the amazing fact that it works at all). That means that while the interface might be a lot better -- and the Bing-driven video search certainly sounds much better than the interfaces offered by cable operators -- finding programs could still involve a fair amount of digging around and clumsy typing from the remote.

????A revolution? Not exactly. This all sounds more like a big step in the right direction than the sea-change Microsoft is saying. The company has a history of letting its leads get away from it. The challenge now will be attracting more cable operators -- the biggest thing missing from the update -- to its technology. At the very least Microsoft is stoking further competition with Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) over domination of America's living rooms.