TONT 36543 Windows PowerToys 的故事

原文链接：https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20050202-00/?p=36543

During the development of Windows 95, as with the development of any project, the people working on the project write side programs to test the features they are adding or to prototype a feature. After Windows 95 shipped, some of those programs were collected into the first edition of the Windows 95 Power Toys.

在 Windows 95 的开发过程中，与其他的项目一样，开发人员总会编写一些小工具，用来测试讲要加入的功能，或者为某个功能打造原型。Windows 95 发布之后，其中一些小工具被收录进了第一版的 Windows 95 PowerToys。

As I recall, the first edition contained the following toys:

根据我的回忆，第一版 PowerToys 里有以下这些玩具：

CabView

This was a handy internal tool which also served as a test of the shell folder design.

一个很有帮助的内部工具，同时也是对系统外壳文件夹设计的测试。

CDAutoPlay, DeskMenu, FlexiCD, QuickRes

These were side toys originally written by shell developers for their own personal use.

这些是系统外壳开发人员写来自用的小工具。

Command Prompt Here, Explore From Here（从此处打开命令提示符、从此处打开资源管理器）

These were proof-of-concept toys which tested the shell command extension design.

这些是对系统外壳命令扩展设计的概念论证。

Round Clock（圆形钟）

This was a program to test regional windows.

这是用来测试区域化窗口的程序。

Shortcut Target Menu

This was a feature idea that didn’t quite make it.

这是一个新功能的点子，不过没能实现。

I wasn’t around when the decision was made to package these toys up and ship them, so I don’t know what the rule was for deciding what was PowerToy-worthy and what wasn’t. Nor do I know where the name PowerToy came from. (Probably somebody just made it up because it sounded neat.)

以上这些工具打包发布的时候我并没有参与，所以我也不知道入选或不入选 PowerToy 的标准是什么，也不知道 PowerToy 这个名字是怎么来的（可能有人觉得这样念起来感觉不错，所以就这么愉快的决定了）。

Upon the enormous success of the PowerToys, a second edition was developed. This time, people knew that they were writing a PowerToy, as opposed to the first edition of the PowerToys which was merely cobbled together from stuff lying around. The second edition of the Windows 95 PowerToys added FindX, Send To X, the Telephony Locator Selector, XMouse, and Tweak UI.
Later, the kernel team released their own set of toys, known as the Windows 95 Kernel Toys. Alas, the original blurb text is not on the Microsoft downloads site, but here’s an archived copy. (In reality, it was I who wrote all of the Kernel Toys, except for the Time Zone Editor, which came from the Windows NT Resource Kit. I also wrote the somewhat whimsical original blurb.)

鉴于 PowerToys 的良好反响，这套工具又有了第二版。这一次，开发者们知道自己是在专门开发 PowerToy，而不是像第一版的 PowerToys 那样仅仅是将散落在各处的东西拼凑在一起。Windows 95 PowerToys 第二版增加了 FindX、Send To X（发送到X）、the Telephony Locator Selector（电话位置选择器，用于修改 Windows 95 模拟电话拨号的『所在位置』设置——译注）、XMouse，以及 Tweak UI。后来，内核开发组发布了他们自己的套件，并起名为 Windows 95 Kernel Toys。不巧的是，原始的那些絮絮叨叨的介绍文字已经不在微软的下载站上了，不过这里有一份备份。（实际上，除了时区编辑器之外，是我撰写了所有的 Kernel Toys，而时区编辑器是从 Windows NT Resource Kit 中拿来的。那个冗长而古怪的介绍文字也是我的作品。）

This was all back in the day when it was easy to put up something for download. No digital signatures, no virus checking, no paperwork. Just throw it up there and watch what happens. Today, things are very different. Putting something up for download is a complicated process with forms to fill out in triplicate and dark rooms with card readers. I wouldn’t be surprised if an abandoned salt mine in Montana were somehow involved.

那是个将什么东西发布出来供人下载十分简单易行的年代。没有什么数字签名，没有什么病毒检测，也没有什么文件要签署，只要把它传上去，就可以观察会发生什么化学反应了。现如今，事情已经变得完全不同，要把什么东西发出来供人下载变成了一个复杂的过程，要填一大堆一式三份的表格，还得在带着门禁卡的小黑屋之类的地方。这个过程中就算包含了蒙大拿废弃的盐矿我也不会觉得奇怪。（译注：这句没看懂，如有知道的读者请帮忙解释一下。）

Nowadays, every team at Microsoft seems to have their own PowerToys, trading on the good name of the Windows shell team who invented the whole PowerToys idea. (As far as I can tell, we don’t get any royalties from other divisions calling their toys “PowerToys”.) A quick check reveals the following PowerToys available for download from Microsoft; I may have missed some.

现在，每个微软的团队似乎都有自己的 PowerToys 套件了，这些套件也利用了发明了 PowerToys  这个主意的 Windows 系统外壳团队的名声。（据我所知，其他团队把他们的套件叫做 PowerToys 的时候，我们可一分钱版税都没收到。）快速地浏览一遍让我列出了可以从微软网站上下载到的 PowerToys，或许也有些遗漏了。

• Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP Tablet PC Edition [link fixed 11am]
• PowerToys for the Pocket PC
• PowerToys Fun Pack
• PowerToys for Microsoft Office OneNote 2003
• Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004
• PowerToys for Windows Media Player for Windows XP
• Windows XP Creativity Fun Pack PowerToys Wallpaper Changer

（译注：以上原文链接已全部失效，故未再做链接，有兴趣可以去看原文）

(Plus, of course, the Windows XP PowerToys, which does come from the shell team. The Internet Explorer team originally called their stuff PowerToys, but they later changed the name to Web Accessories, perhaps to avoid the very confusion I’m discussing here.)

（另外，当然还应该算上 Windows XP PowerToys，也的确是由（Windows）系统外壳团队开发的。Internet Explorer 团队原本也把他们的套件叫做 PowerToys，不过后来改名叫 Web Accessories（网络附件）了，可能就是为了避免这里所说的混乱局面。）

What’s frustrating is that since they are all called “PowerToys”, questions about them tend to go to the shell team, since we are the ones who invented PowerToys. We frequently have to reply, “Oh, no, you’re having a problem with the XYZ PowerToys, not the classic Windows PowerToys. We’re the folks who do the classic Windows PowerToys.”

令人沮丧的是，因为这些套件都叫 PowerToys，有关各种（不同团队的）套件的问题常常会跑到系统外壳团队那里去，毕竟我们是发明了 PowerToys 的人。我们常常需要回复说，『哦，不是的，你的问题与 XYZ PowerToys 有关，而不是传统的 Windows PowerToys，我们是制作传统的 Windows PowerToys 的那批人。』

Even the blog name “PowerToys” has been co-opted by the Visual Studio team to promote their Powertoys for Visual Studio 2003.

甚至连『PowerToys』这个博客名称都被 Visual Studio 团队指派用来宣传 Visual Studio 2003 的 PowerToys 了。

Some people claim that Tweak UI was written because Microsoft got tired of responding to customer complaints. I don’t know where they got that from. Tweak UI was written because I felt like writing it.

有些人声称开发 Tweak UI 的原因是微软已经受够了回复客户的抱怨，我是不知道他们是从哪听来这种说法的。我写 Tweak UI 只是因为我想这么做而已。

That page also says that sometimes PowerToys vanish without warning. That’s true. A few years ago, all the Windows XP PowerToys were taken down so they could be given a security review. Some of them didn’t survive and didn’t come back. Other times, a PowerToy will be pulled because a serious bug was found. Since PowerToys are spare-time projects, it can take a very long time for a bug to get fixed, tested, and re-published. For example, the HTML Slide Show Wizard was pulled after a (somewhat obscure) data-loss bug was found. Fixing the bug itself took just a few days, but testing and filling out all the associated paperwork took six months.

同一篇文章里（译注：即上文中提到 Tweak UI 是微软懒得再回复客户问题的那篇博文，因原文链接已失效，未予链接）还提到有些 PowerToys 套件在未予告知的情况下就消失了，的确有这么回事。几年前，整个 Windows XP PowerToys 都下线了，以便接受安全评估，后来套件中的一些通过了评估，另一些则再也没能回来。其它场合下，某个 PowerToys 套件被撤下是因为发现了严重的 bug。由于 PowerToys 都是在空余时间制作的作品，可能需要很长的时间才能修复 bug、通过测试，然后重新上线。例如，一个叫 HTML 幻灯片向导的组件曾被撤了下来，因为其中发现了一个（隐藏得比较深的）数据丢失漏洞。修好 bug只花了几天时间，但跑测试和填写相关的文书则花了六个月。

There’s no moral to this story. Just a quick history lesson.

上面的故事没有什么寓意，只是讲点小历史而已。