中國山寨版魔方攻勢兇猛

中國山寨版魔方攻勢兇猛 2011年 12月 26日 07:36 世 界魔方錦標賽冠軍邁克爾•布萊斯科維茲(Michal Pleskowicz)讓魯比克魔方(Rubik's Cube)的生產商困惑不已。 James Hookway / The Wall Street Journal 魯比克魔方比賽現場 這位十九歲的波蘭選手最近在泰國摘得這一桂冠﹐完成魔方六面全色的平均用時僅為8.65秒。魯比克魔方經銷商Seven Towns Ltd.公司副總裁克里希•特魯塞爾(Chrisi Trussell)驚嘆道﹐"這個成績無人能敵。" 眾所周知﹐魯比克魔方的難度很高﹐而布萊斯科維茲和新一代魯比克魔方愛好者能夠屢創佳績的原因之一是：他們根本不用魯比克魔方﹐而是用增強型的中國仿製品來練習手速。 山寨版魔方的擴散給Seven Towns這家倫敦公司帶來一個兩難選擇：是堅決打擊非授權產品﹐還是順勢而為﹐借著魔方的競技熱潮來擴大產品的影響力？ 魔方是匈牙利發明家厄爾諾•魯比克(Erno Rubik)發明的﹐近年來又掀起一股熱潮。美國硅谷(Silicon Valley)的企業家將魔方作為"書呆子酷哥"(geek chic)的象徵符號﹐賈斯汀•比伯(Justin Bieber)和威爾•史密斯(Will Smith)等一眾明星則公開炫耀他們玩魔方的技術。 不過﹐新一輪魔方熱潮的最亮點是在盡可能短的時間內讓魔方六面全色。為挑戰終極速度﹐玩家們通過互聯網從中國的山寨魔方設計者那裡購買仿製品。 Seven Towns不希望這些仿製品進入主流市場﹐這家私人企業每年賣出約1000萬個魯比克魔方。 不過﹐公司也看到玩魔方的速度競賽有助於產品推廣。自1980年面世以來﹐魯比克魔方已售出約3.5億個。 山寨版魔方玩起來幾乎沒什麼摩擦力﹐而且與原裝的魯比克魔方非常相似﹐就像納斯卡賽車錦標賽(Nascar)上的改裝車與家用轎車相差無幾一樣。山寨版魔方的方塊經過拋光﹐或稍微觸碰就能轉動﹐因此能避免魔方在比賽中卡殼──魔方愛好者將這種悲慘的情況稱為"鎖死"。 許多頂尖的魔方選手選擇中國魔方設計者包大慶的產品。網上熱賣的型號有"展翅"和"孤鴻"等﹐魔方愛好者在網上論壇熱烈討論各種型號的優缺點。包大慶本人不願對此發表評論。 Seven Towns公司正在和來自中國的競爭者展開一場複雜的"貓捉老鼠"法律大戰﹐每年的律師費用高達50萬美元﹐以捍衛其全球註冊商標﹐禁止山寨版魔方進入實體店銷售。 公司業務發展主管戴維•瓊斯(David Hedley Jones)是某中歐知識產權保護組織的成員﹐他試圖減緩山寨品進入歐洲市場的步伐。瓊斯說﹐"在這方面﹐我們真的下了大功夫。" Seven Towns是世界魔方錦標賽的讚助商﹐目的是增強產品知名度﹐但這個比賽正成為山寨版魔方的展示平台。Seven Towns董事總經理麥克•穆迪(Mike Moody)說﹐"這裡頭需要掌握一個平衡﹐但我認為比賽對公司是有益的。" 很多選手平時會在手裡不停地擺弄魔方﹐一方面是為了提高手指的靈活性﹐另一方面是為了讓魔方用起來更平順﹐以提高速度。23歲的澳大利亞選手提姆•麥克馬洪(Tim McMahon)說﹐"磨合一個嶄新的魯比克魔方要花一個月左右的時間。"魔方老手將一種因為玩標準魔方而引起的經常性肌肉勞損症稱為"魯比克拇指"(Rubik's thumb)。 在魔方競技的早期──20世紀80年代──選手們第一次把魔方打開﹐打磨方塊的邊緣﹐用凡士林給節點上油﹐從而讓魔方玩起來更順滑。現在﹐互聯網為魔方市場打開了一扇新的窗戶。 帶著魔方環遊世界的前世界冠軍、蘇格蘭人布里恩丹•萬倫斯(Breandan Vallance)說﹐"網上買來的魔方配備彈簧和螺絲﹐因此可以進行調節。這種魔方的摩擦力更小﹐因為表面的接觸區域更少﹐甚至有時候方塊會掉下來。" 顯然﹐為速度付出的代價是可靠性降低。在曼谷的錦標賽上﹐一名選手的魔方"大爆"﹐變成一堆方形碎片四散飛濺。 選手們像專業運動員一樣備戰曼谷的世界魔方錦標賽決賽。在賽場上﹐很多人避免與對手目光接觸﹐手上不停擺弄著魔方﹐重復自己記住的50多種動作序列﹐力圖找到固定的節奏和速度。數學家稱﹐魔方共有4300億億個可能的排列組合。 有些選手頭戴耳機﹐聽著快節奏的音樂。世界冠軍布萊斯科維茲喜歡重金屬音樂﹐他說﹐"它能幫我提高速度。" 此外還有一些另類的魔方比賽﹐如5X5和8X8魔方等﹐有些比賽是蒙眼進行的﹐有些是單手的﹐ 有些比的是誰用最少的步數完成。谷歌公司(Google Inc.)的研究人員去年用電腦計算出最少的步數是20。 2010年﹐匈牙利選手伊斯特萬•科克扎(Istvan Kocza)在捷克共和國舉辦的一次比賽上用了22步完成魔方六面全色。科克扎說﹐"這是因為我很走運﹐魔方打散後的起始狀態前所未有得好。" 與此同時﹐在匈牙利布達佩斯﹐過著隱居生活的67歲高齡的厄爾諾•魯比克正在研究針對山寨版魔方的一項新的解決方案──他自己來設計提速魔方──以此與中國的設計者展開競爭。 Seven Towns旗下設計公司Rubik Studio的首席執行長傑諾斯•科瓦克斯(Janos Kovacs)說﹐在這方面﹐我們並不著急﹐"開發工作已經持續五年時間了。" James Hookway Contestants Set Rubik's Speed Records, Using Chinese Copies 2011年 12月 26日 07:36 World champion Michal Pleskowicz presents a puzzle to makers of the Rubik's Cube. The Polish teenager recently won his title in Thailand, lining up all six colors on all six sides of the cube-shaped toy in an average time of 8.65 seconds. 'We can't compete with that,' griped Chrisi Trussell, vice president of Rubik's Cube's distributor, Seven Towns Ltd. One reason Mr. Pleskowicz and a new generation of Rubik's fanatics can solve the notoriously difficult puzzle in record time: They don't use Rubik's Cubes at all, instead substituting souped-up Chinese knockoffs engineered for speed. The spread of these black-market cubes challenges the London-based company with a marketing brain teaser. Should Seven Towns crack down on the pirated toys? Or piggyback on the phenomenon of competitive speed-cubing? Hungarian inventor Erno Rubik's famous mechanical puzzle has gained a second wind in recent years. Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have adopted it as a symbol of geek chic. Celebrities including Justin Bieber and Will Smith show off their cube-solving skills. The cr口me de la cr口me of the new wave, though, compete to solve the three-dimensional puzzle in the fastest time possible. They rely on high-performance copies bought online from underground Chinese designers. Seven Towns doesn't want these ersatz cubes elbowing into the broader market; the closely held company sells about 10 million Rubik's Cubes annually. But the firm also sees how the spread of the turbocharged competition is boosting the popularity of the toy, which has sold an estimated 350 million units since it was introduced to the world in 1980. The pirated cubes are almost frictionless and bear as much resemblance to genuine Rubik's Cubes as Nascar hot-rods to family sedans. The blocks are sanded or configured to barely touch. This avoids cubes getting stuck during competitions, a dreaded hitch known by cubers as getting 'locked.' Many top competitors use cubes from Chinese designer Bao Daqinq. Online favorites carry such names as the Zhanchi, or 'spread wings,' and the Guhong, 'Lone Goose.' Aficionados eagerly review and debate attributes of the models online in sites devoted to the practice. Mr. Bao declined to comment. The company is waging a complex cat-and-mouse legal battle with its Chinese competitors, spending $500,000 a year in legal fees to defend its global trademark and stop unauthorized cubes from reaching brick-and-mortar stores. David Hedley Jones, the company's business development director, belongs to a European Union-China group on copyright infringement, trying to slow the spread of contraband cubes in Europe. 'We really spend a lot of time on this,' he said. Seven Towns sponsors the speed-cubing world championships─an evolving showcase for knockoffs─to generate publicity for the real deal. 'There's a balance to be struck, but I think it's working,' said Mike Moody, Seven Towns' managing director. Many competitors fiddle constantly to build up dexterity and wear down stock cubes so they turn faster. 'It takes about a month to break in a brand-new Rubik's Cube,' said 23-year-old Australian Tim McMahon. Veterans describe a repetitive strain condition as 'Rubik's thumb,' developed from trying to speed-solve standard-issue cubes. In the early days of speed-cubing─the 1980s─pioneers first pried open cubes, sanded corners and greased joints with globs of petroleum jelly to allow faster, smoother moves. The Internet opened new possibilities. 'The ones you buy online come with springs and screws so you can adjust them,' said former world champion Breandan Vallance from Scotland, who took up cubing to travel the world. 'There's less friction because there is less contact area between the surfaces, even if they do sometimes fall apart.' One price of speed, apparently, is reliability. A competitor at the Bangkok championships suffered a major breakdown when his cube 'popped' in one heat, scattering dozens of pieces across the stage. Competitors prepared for the Bangkok finals like professional athletes. During the contest, many avoided eye contact with rivals and fidgeted with their speed cubes, building up rhythm and speed as they rattled through 50 or more memorized sequences of moves. There are, say mathematicians, 43 quintillion possible combinations. Some wore headphones and listened to techno music. Mr. Pleskowicz, the 19-year-old world champion, prefers Metallica. 'It helps build up the speed,' he said. There are deviant competitions, including five-by-five and eight-by-eight cubes. Some compete blindfolded, one-handed or try to see who requires the fewest possible moves. Researchers using computers at Google Inc. last year calculated the absolute minimum was 20 moves. Istvan Kocza from Hungary employed 22 moves at a contest in the Czech Republic last year. 'That was due to a very fortunate scramble that nobody had ever seen before,' he said. In Budapest, meanwhile, the reclusive Mr. Rubik, 67 years old, is working on a new solution to the marketing problem─his own version of the speed cubes to compete with the Chinese. No rush, though. 'We've been working on it for five years,' said Janos Kovacs, chief executive at the puzzle-master's Rubik Studio design firm. James Hookway