Journalist Michael Kinsley famously defined a political gaffe as when a politician tells the truth -- some obvious truth he isnt supposed to say. Satya Nadella, Microsofts (MSFT) neophyte CEO, might just be giving truth-telling by public figures a good name by turning Kinsleys dictum on its head. Nadella is developing a specialty in the highly unusual practice of answering questions directly and truthfully.记者迈克尔·金斯利曾有一句知名的论点，他说道，政客的失态就是“说道了实话——而且是一些不应说道的大实话。”这句话现在可以套在微软公司（Microsoft）新任CEO萨蒂亚o纳德纳的头上了。

如今的人们绝佳从公众人物口中听见一句大实话，但纳德纳在问问题时“不回头寻常路”地坦率和诚恳甚有些特立独行。A case in point: Asked at an industry conference Tuesday night why Microsoft has issued a touch-enabled version of Microsoft Office for the iPad but not yet for Microsofts own Surface tablet, Nadella chose candor. We wanted to make sure we have full-touch Office on the platform with the most market share, he said.比如在上周二晚上的一次行业会议上，当被问及微软公司为什么自由选择在iPad上公布仅有触屏版的微软公司Office软件而不是自由选择自家的Surface平板时，纳德纳坦率地否认：“我们想要保证把全触屏版的Office软件公布在市场份额仅次于的平台上。”That statement is startling only because of the departure it represents from Microsofts past. Of course Microsoft needs to be on the iPad, far and away the tablet market leader. In fact, it raises the question of what took Microsoft so long. Amazon (AMZN), for instance, understands the importance of its Kindle app on the iPad. Years ago, Apple figured out how critical it was to produce a version of iTunes for Microsofts Windows operating software. iTunes may have been created for the Macintosh, but the Macs share was tiny compared to Windows-enabled PCs. So Apple (AAPL) went where the users were.这句话之所以让人吃惊，只是因为它代表微软公司再一仍然沉醉于过去的巅峰。

微软公司当然必须把自家软件放到iPad上，却是iPad在平板电脑市场上的领军地位无人可及。实质上，令人费解的是，微软公司为什么花上了这么多时间才想要明白这个问题。亚马逊（Amazon）早已明白了把Kindle应用于放到iPad上的重要性。

另外早于在几年以前，苹果（Apple）就明白了公布一款相容微软公司Windows系统的iTunes有多最重要。虽然iTunes是专门为Mac系统研发的，但Mac电脑的份额还是相比之下比不上加装Windows系统的电脑，因此苹果自由选择了“回来用户回头”的战略。Nadella isnt for abandoning Microsofts devices. He said Microsofts software needs to work on all devices, including its own. But, he said, we want to get usage.纳德纳并不是要退出微软公司的自家设备。

他回应，微软公司的软件必须在所有设备上都能工作，当然也还包括他们自己的设备。不过他也说道：“我们期望的是我们的软件有人用。”Nadella spoke some truth in other areas as well. Grilled by veteran journalists Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher at the new version of their old industry event in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Nadella said Microsoft builds devices to help create demand -- not because it wants to be a device manufacturer. Software is the most malleable resource, he said, an interesting word choice. In order to be in the hunt you need to build devices. You need to be all in. He also didnt mince words on the failures of Microsoft and its partners compared with Apple. The PC ecosystem needs new innovation, he said. In fact, he thinks Microsoft needs to build the next new thing. Thats a tall order, but a good aspiration.纳德纳在其它一些领域的问题上也说道过一些实话。在这场于加州为首洛斯福德庄举行的行业会议上，经验丰富的记者沃特o莫斯伯格和卡拉o斯威舍上百提问，从纳德纳口中煮过了不少“干货”。

纳德纳回应，微软公司之所以生产硬件设备是为了创建市场需求，而不是因为它想要当一个设备制造商。他的用词也十分有意思：“软件是最有可塑性的资源，为了参予到‘狩猎’中，你就必须生产硬件。必须全力参予进来。

”他也丝毫没掩盖微软公司及其合作厂商相对于苹果的告终。他认为：“PC生态系统必须新的创意。”他指出微软公司必须建构出有“下一个新产品。

”这是个很高的拒绝，不过却是一个很好的目标。The Microsoft CEO revealed no new strategic initiatives. He defended Microsofts commitment to search and to its recently completed acquisition of Nokia, calling the first core technology and the latter a means to an end, namely a toehold in mobile software through ownership of a big device maker. He unveiled a nifty product called Skype Translate that enables callers on the Microsoft-owned Skype service to speak to each other in their native language and have their dialogue translated by a computer and spoken out loud. (The demo was conducted in English and German.)不过纳德纳没透漏微软公司下一步有哪些战略措施。

但他为微软公司在搜寻方面所做到的希望以及最近已完成的并购诺基亚（Nokia）的案子做到了反驳。他把搜寻称作一项“核心技术”，把并购诺基亚称作“超过目的的一种手段”，也就是通过并购一个大型设备厂商，在移动软件领域创建一个立足点。

另外他还发布了一款叫作“Skype翻译成”的产品。两个有所不同国家的用户通过Skype服务相互用母语打电话时，他们的对话会自动经过电脑翻译成向对方大声读出来。（现场展出用的是英语和德语。）The CEO, whose demeanor is the polar opposite of his predecessor, Steve Ballmer, spent some time telling his personal story. Two of his three children have special needs, he said, one being a quadriplegic. He said he struggles all the time with work-life balance. An only child, Nadella credited his economist father and literature-professor mother with not pressuring him to succeed academically and professionally, an unusual posture for middle-class Indian parents of his time, he said.纳德纳的个人风格可以说道与他的前任史蒂夫o鲍尔默相反忽略。

纳德纳在会上也描写了自己的人生经历。他的三个孩子有两个患上残疾，其中一个患上四肢瘫痪。纳德纳回应，他仍然都在希望找寻工作和家庭的均衡。

纳德纳小时候是家里唯一的孩子，父亲是位经济学家，母亲是文学教授，但是他们并没强制纳德纳必需取得什么学业上或职业上的成就，这一点也和同时代的许多印裔中产阶级家庭的父母截然不同。A truth-teller though he may be, Nadella isnt above the occasional chief-executive-level platitude -- or outright whopper. Asked to assess the latest Surface tablet, he called it promising, acknowledging that thats what you call a product that hasnt succeeded yet. On the subject of assessing Google, Nadella sounded like his peers in CEO-land. I dont know what Googles strengths and weaknesses are because I dont think about that, he said. That one is tough to believe, and one almost hopes hes fibbing in this case. Nobodys perfect.虽然纳德拉爱说实话，但有时也不免讲出一些企业高管惯用的陈词滥调，甚至是违心的话。比如当问及如何看来微软公司最新版的Surface平板时，他称之为其为一款“有期望”的产品，一般人们都用这个词来叙述一款还没取得成功的产品。

当被问及如何看来谷歌的优势和劣势时，纳德纳也像其他CEO一样碰了官腔：“我不理解谷歌的优势和劣势，因为我不去考虑到这个问题。”这一点很难让人坚信，甚至让人感觉他是在骗子。

不过，却是人无完人。Google co-founder Sergey Brin didnt add much to the conversation about Googles strengths and weaknesses in his onstage interview. Brin explained his curious status as board member, pal of CEO Larry Page and head of Google X, the companys moonshot arm. In effect, he runs the relatively small research group -- responsible for such initiatives as Google Glass, self-driving cars and high-altitude balloons for delivering Internet access -- and not much else. He said, quite credibly, that hes happy to leave all the headaches of running a giant company to Page.谷歌（Google）联合创始人谢尔盖o布林上台拒绝接受专访时，对谷歌的优势和劣势也没谈过于多。

布林说明了自己在谷歌公司的角色——既是董事会成员，又是CEO拉里o佩奇的哥们儿，同时也是谷歌最谜样的部门——Google X实验室的负责人。Google X是一个比较较小的研发团体，主要负责管理研发像谷歌眼镜、无人驾驶汽车和能为地面覆盖面积无线网络信号的高空气球等“矮小上”的前沿项目。

他衷心说道，自己很高兴能把管理这样一家大公司的所有麻烦事都扔给拉里o佩奇。Brin let loose quite a handful of interesting nuggets during a rambling and often unfocused interview dominated by a discussion of self-driving cars. Google X has precisely eight projects, four of which Brin discussed, and he wont allow new ones until a current member of the class graduates. He said the company has a group that is approaching 1,000 people working on Internet security. He said the company plans to build 100 to 200 self-driving cars and is working with automotive suppliers in the Detroit area, Germany and California. He quite candidly said business questions about driverless cars would be left for another day, a rather Googley and altogether believable assertion.对布林的专访虽然主要环绕着自动驾驶汽车，不过也有一些闲谈的意味，布林在漫谈中不时抛一些有意思的猛料。比如谷歌X清楚地说道有8个正在展开的项目，布林辩论了其中的四个项目。

不过他回应，在现有的某个项目“毕业”之前，继续会上马新项目了。他还回应，谷歌目前有一支“相似1000人”的团队专门在做网络安全问题。另外他还说道，谷歌计划生产100到200辆无人驾驶汽车，而且目前谷歌正在与底特律、加州和德国的一些厂商进行合作。

他坦率地说道，关于无人驾驶汽车的“商业问题”还是拔到将来的某一天再行来辩论为好，这是一种“谷歌式”的官腔，但总体上还是可以坚信的。Brin wore a version of Google Glass for a portion of the interview, and he pooh-poohed the controversy over the product, namely the meme in the media that only an obnoxious techie would wear the computerized spectacles in public. At the same time, Google knows it has a potentially contentious product on its hands. A member of the audience asked if Google glass could use facial recognition to help a user identify someone they are talking to -- a particularly alluring feature at an industry conference. Weve asked glass wear manufacturers not to put facial recognition in Glass, Brin said. Society is still formulating its opinion on that.布林在专访中还戴着了一会儿谷歌眼镜。

对于这款产品的争议，也就是有媒体称之为只有那些“技术宅”才不会在公共场合戴着这样一款电脑眼镜的众说纷纭，布林回应很不以为然。不过谷歌似乎告诉这款眼镜是一款有争议的产品。

比如有一名观众就发问道，谷歌眼镜否能重新加入面部辨识功能，协助用户证实眼前的人的身份——这个功能对于这样一次很多人参与的大会来说，的确是一个十分有吸引力的功能。布林说道：“我们拒绝眼镜加工厂商不要在眼镜中重新加入面部辨识功能。现在社会就这个问题还没有构成统一的意见。”Thus ended an evening with yet more truth-telling. Could it be a trend?这个晚上就这样以更好的实话完结了。

它否不会沦为一种趋势呢？。

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