微软将给我们惯用的email“改头换面”

    微软尚未正式推出这款新的通讯应用。尽管上周其官网突然出现了一份标注着“微软机密”的声明，虽然后来迅速撤下，但还是被一名Twitter用户发现了。微软发言人拒绝对此应用置评。

    声明中介绍了一款名为“Flow”的新移动应用，设计理念是实现“迅速、流畅又自然的对话”。用户通过这款应用可以让Outlook邮件以“全新方式”呈现，这很容易让人联想到即时通讯窗口。

    声明中称，“只有用Flow发起的对话和回复才会在该应用中显示”，不过相关讨论也会归档存入用户的Outlook账户，将来大量简洁的对话信息有可能替代零散的电子邮件。

    新应用将带领微软杀入竞争十分激烈的即时通讯服务领域，商业通讯应用开发商Slack和微软旗下社交网络平台Yammer也都在争抢这块蛋糕。看起来Flow没打算用即时通讯“消灭”电邮，而是将两种通讯形式结合起来。这也正是微软希望达到的目标。如今人们更热衷闲聊式交流，如果微软想确保Outlook跟上热潮不落伍，就必须做到这一点。（财富中文网）

    译者：Pessy

    审校：夏林

    Microsoft has not formally introduced the new messaging app, though an announcement labeled “Microsoft Confidential” did briefly crop up on its public website, which was spotted by Twitter user @h0x0d on Tuesday. A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment on app.

    The announcement described a new mobile app called “Flow,” which was designed “for fast, fluid, natural conversations.” The app enables the user to draw Outlook emails into a new display, reminiscent of an instant messaging window.

    “Only conversations started in Flow and their replies show up in Flow,” reads the announcement, but the thread will also be stored in the user’s Outlook account, potentially replacing scattered email chains with a tidy stack of messages.

    The app would give Microsoft a unique entry point into a fiercely competitive market for instant messaging services, such as Slack and Microsoft’s own Yammer. Rather than “kill” email with instant messages, Flow appears to marry the two forms of communication. And that’s a match Microsoft is eager to make if it wants to ensure Outlook doesn’t get left behind in the craze for chattier communications.