内容千篇一律的情景喜剧，荒唐的真人秀，永远不断变化的频道顺序、无休无止的广告时段……今天的商业电视观看体验有多差，从一件事上就可以看出来：近日有传言称，苹果公司（Apple）将推出自己的电视机来解决这些问题。尽管传言极不靠谱，但众多科技媒体居然深信不疑。

    比如上周有篇报道写道，鸿海集团（Hon Hai）董事长郭台铭在上海的一次记者会上宣布，鸿海旗下的富士康公司（Foxconn）正在“为iTV做准备。”

    到了上周五，这个消息已经演绎出了好几十个头条新闻，诸如：

    • Gizmodo：《富士康老板确认将生产苹果电视》

    • The Mac Observer：《鸿海高管表示苹果电视即将面试》

    • 福布斯：《富士康准备迎接苹果iTV》

    • MacNewsWorld：《iTV：不是“如果”，而是“什么”》

    不过这些报道的作者都没有提到一点（也许是根本懒得去想），那就是郭台铭本人是科技界最守口如瓶的高管之一。全球有40%的电子设备都是由郭台铭的企业组装的，郭台铭本人自然也知晓多数知名品牌未来的产品发展计划，这其中不仅有苹果，还包括索尼（Sony）、微软（Microsoft）、惠普（Hewlett-Packard）等等。他之所以深受商业伙伴们的信赖，就是因为他从不轻易泄露秘密。

    It is perhaps a measure of how badly broken today's commercial TV viewing experience is -- the cookie-cutter sitcoms, the ridiculous reality shows, the ever-shifting channel line-ups, the relentless, merciless commercial breaks -- that the tech press is so desperate to believe even the slimmest rumor that Apple (AAPL) is getting ready to solve all that by building its own television set.

    Take, for example, last week's report that Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou announced at a press conference in Shanghai that his Foxconn subsidiary was "making preparations for iTV."

    By Friday the report had spawned dozens of headlines. A sample:

    • Gizmodo: Apple television set confirmed by Foxconn boss

    • The Mac Observer: Hon Hai exec says Apple television coming

    • Forbes: Foxconn gears up for Apple's iTV

    • MacNewsWorld: iTV: Not if but what

    What none of these reporters mentioned (or apparently bothered to consider) is that Gou -- whose factories assemble 40% of the world's electronic devices -- is one of the industry's most secretive executives. He is privy to the future product plans of the most valuable electronics brands -- not just Apple, but also Sony (SNE), Microsoft (MSFT), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and the rest. He is trusted by his business partners because he never leaks their secrets.