blue-sky 新颖但未(必)可行的——blue-sky thinking 开放的心态
The term "big tech" is often used as shorthand to describe the small group of digital firms that tower over(高过、超过) the 21st-century economy. … As business lines have become monopolised, it has become commonplace(司空见惯的) to complain that tech firms are offering consumers a toxic(有毒的) deal.
shorthand 速记法、(不准确的)简称
monopolize v. 垄断——monopoly n. 垄断
Video-streaming(视频流媒体) is a fight for supremacy between half a dozen firms. … Its experience is a reminder of the benign power of competition--and of how governments should be surgical about taming(tame v.驯服、驯化) tech. 这个经历提醒我们市场竞争的良性作用，以及政府应该如何精准地控制科技。
in the form of 以…的形式≈such as
supremacy n. 至高无上，这里翻译成“霸主”——supreme a. 至高无上的
benign a. 良好的、良性的——bene-好，benefit；mal-不好，malnutrition营养不良
surgical a. 外科手术的、精准的
Cloud computing took offabout15 years ago, as businesses began to outsource (their web-hosting(网页寄存), data centres, core computer systems and many applications)to(a few big providers, particularly the pioneer AWS, run by Amazon). … Perhaps $40bn is being ploughed this year into data centres and other physical gear(设备) by AWS and others.
take off起飞、腾飞——economic takeoff经济腾飞
outsource sth. to sb. 外包——out+source；【反义】in-house a. 公司内部的、家养的
plough sth. into sth. 大量投资于
The firms using it replace (lumpy(笨重的) capital expenditure) on rickety bespoke IT with(a variable payment) for a service that can easily expand its capacity as needed.
rickety a. 不稳的
bespoke a. 量身定制的——【近义】tailor-made/custom-made
The cloud has also been seen as an example of the internet's fragmentation(分裂、破裂). Alibaba's and Tencent's cloud arms(arm 部门、业务) dominate in China and are making some inroads elsewhere in Asia.
make inroads 占领
state-backed a. 国家支持的=state-sponsored
AWS remains the cloud's biggest firm, but Microsoft (, the original antitrust(反垄断的) bad boy, )is putting up a fierce fight with its own service(, Azure,)and hopes to get more of its Office and Windows customers to use it for the cloud, too.最早的反垄断恶龙，现在反倒成了奋起反抗的反垄断屠龙勇士。
put up with 显示、表现
Alphabet is also putting its cloud forward. On October 8th IBM said it would spin off part of its services business to focus on the "hybrid-cloud(混合云)", which marries old-fashioned on-site(现场的)work with the cloud. Likewise Oracle's proposed bid for TikTok, asocial-media firm, is in part an effort to secure an anchor-customer(大客户、核心客户)for its nascent(新生的、初期的) cloud operation. Regulators need to be vigilant(警醒的) to ensure that cloud firms are not abusing other companies' data, erecting unfair barriers to entry or misusing their dominance in other businesses to get ahead. But broadly, the boom means more choice and keener prices(keen形容价格a. 有竞争力的).
put sth. forward 推出
spin off 分离业务——spinoff n. 分离组成的新公司
Treating big tech as a monopolistic monolith(原意“巨石”，衍生为“尾大不掉的组织”)does not make sense when some markets are competitive. … If the main source of competition for big tech firms ends up being other big tech firms, so be it.
take hold of sth. 把持
so be it (表示完全接受)就这样吧
技术有关：cloud computing, web-hosting, data center, video-streaming, e-commerce, hybrid cloud