Celebrity File Japan by Lint


英文		重要語句
■ When people hear the word "TRON," probably most think of the disastrous 1982 movie of the same name that was Disney's first foray into modern science fiction. It featured some cutting edge special effects but a confusing story of men trapped inside a computer system. Of course, now it's a bit of a cult hit due to the fact it was made over 20 years ago.		disastrous　破滅的な foray into ...　…に足を突っ込むこと cutting edge　最先端
■■ TRON (The Real-Time Operating System Nucleus), though, in reality, has turned into a highly successful computer operating system. Why the system itself and its inventor are nowhere near as famous as someone like Bill Gates is a bit of a mystery. TRON is used in all sorts of everyday gadgets like digital cameras, car engines, cell phones, fax machines, etc. The man behind TRON is Tokyo University engineering professor Ken Sakamura.		turn into ...　 …になる inventor　発明者；考案者 nowhere near ...　 …から程遠い gadget　機械装置；便利な小道具
■■■ This modest academic says TRON is used in between three to four billion appliances worldwide. Compare that to Bill Gates' Windows, which runs in "just" 150 million computers across the globe, and you'd think Sakamura would be the richest man on the planet. He isn't, as he remains just a simple engineer at heart. As he explains, he is quite happy to be an engineer first, and a businessman a distant second.		modest　控えめな academic　学者 appliance　機器 across the globe　全世界で on the planet　地球上で at heart　本当は；心底は
■■■■ When Sakamura came up with TRON in 1984 it was thought it might be a breakthrough computer operating system as it's fast, reliable and its source code is free (unlike Windows). It proved to be a superior operating system and given the billions of users mentioned it has been well accepted. As far as personal computers go, it really never got a chance to become the standard for the industry. The reason is more political than anything else. The U.S. government threatened trade sanctions against Japan when it was learned TRON might be used in Japan's school system's computers. The typical weak-kneed Japanese government buckled and abandoned the idea of using TRON, as other industries could not survive if trade access to the U.S. market was blocked or hindered in any way.		come up with ...　 …を作り出す breakthrough　画期的な political　政治的な than anything else　何よりも threaten　…の恐れがある trade sanction　貿易制裁 weak-kneed　弱腰の buckle　屈服する hinder　…を妨げる
■■■■■ So, as disappointed as Sakamura was to hear that, he soldiered on and today, at least, our digital cameras, cell phones and car engines don't freeze all the time like some PCs do. For this, we have Ken Sakamura to thank but who is this giant of computer engineering? Well, he remains pretty much a man of mystery beyond his work with TRON. What we do know is he is 51 and obtained his Ph.D. from Keio University in 1979. He is a member of various engineering and computer societies and has won numerous awards.		soldier on　困難に負けずに頑張る freeze　動かなくなる PC　パソコン（personal computerの略）
■■■■■■ He is, of course, head of the TRON project and is now working on a new computer system called Ubiquitous. This fantastic new idea will hopefully speed up Internet access in new and creative ways. Basically, the Ubiquitous system will, in Sakamura's words, "connect computers directly to products and other devices to allow for constant, direct communications" rather than having to go through the slower connection to the Internet, then having to connect a specific Web site, database, etc. or even wasting more time searching the Web for the right information.		work on ...　 …に取り組む ubiquitous　遍在する allow for ...　 …を可能にさせる go through ...　 …を経由する
■■■■■■■ So, you see, once again the man himself is a mystery yet his ideas are quite open, practical and very cutting edge. Maybe that is why TRON became such a global success as, unlike Gates, Sakamura shuns the spotlight and lets his accomplishments speak for themselves.		practical　実用的な shun　…を避ける accomplishment　偉業 speak for oneself　自己主張をする

－written by Brian Maitland

Go back to Celebrity File Japan frontpage