FUNDAMENTAL CONTRADICTION 根本矛盾

自彙

fundamental contradiction
lofty rhetoric 
undocumented
compromised experienced
set aside...
to profile
a native app
to fall short
deliberately


文句

GMail, the messaging platform that hates your mail clients

There's always been a fundamental contradiction at the core of Gmail. Despite Google's lofty rhetoric about open standards, the Gmail protocols are undocumented and not available for licensing. Apps can perform a limited set of interactions with Gmail via its API, but if you want to build a communications app that connects directly to Gmail, you have to use either IMAP or (shudder) POP. Either way, you get a severely compromised experience. And neither configuration gives you access to calendars and contacts.

Set aside the problems with Gmail's increasingly dated, cluttered, and confusing user experience and ignore the many issues of privacy associated with a company that profiles you based on the contents of your email. For me, the fundamental requirement of a modern email service is that it allows you to access all of your data from any device, using either a web browser or a native app. That latter requirement is where Gmail is continually falling short—apparently deliberately.

--Ed Bott

解釋

fundamental contradiction  基本、根本的矛盾

lofty rhetoric  唱高調；冠冕堂皇的詞藻。指 Google 宣稱自身遵從 "開放、標準化" 的精神。

undocumented  無參考文件。指協議程序（protocol）並無公開的文件參考。

compromised experienced  得妥協、受控、聽從對方、的使用經驗

set aside the problem... and ignore the many issues...   
把...使用者經驗的問題放置一旁，以及（暫時）忽略許多有關隱私性問題...不談。

to profile  寫某人、某事的簡介。指 Google 根據信件的內容，定義、歸類使用者。

a native app  原生應用程式。基本上指不需經過瀏覽器，便可以在某裝置上使用，如 iOS 或 Android 系統上的應用程式。但對於不同的平台，轉換困難，大部分無法跨平台使用。相對的還有 Web App 和 Hybrid App。

to fall short  提供不足

deliberately  刻意；故意