????10月14日,，在參加艾倫?狄珍妮主持的脫口秀節(jié)目時，因主演CBS（哥倫比亞廣播公司）情景喜劇《破產(chǎn)女孩》(2 Broke Girls)而大紅大紫的凱特?丹寧絲和貝絲?貝爾斯聊起了一種許多人或許都深有體會的感情：她們非常愛自己的寵物,。此外,，丹寧絲和貝爾斯還為這次談話添加了一絲技術(shù)色彩。她們交口稱贊一款相對較新的應(yīng)用,，它不僅可以幫助用戶分享照片,，還可以讓寵物“開口說話”。

????《會說話的寵物》(My Talking Pet )是一個再簡單不過的創(chuàng)意,。用戶先拍攝一張他們寵愛的狗或貓（或任何類似面孔的東西）照片,，同時向這款應(yīng)用輸入動物面部特征的參數(shù)，然后錄制一段音頻,。這款應(yīng)用隨即就會開始對照片進(jìn)行動畫處理,，從而讓寵物的眼睛、鼻子,、嘴巴都動起來,，并同步播放錄制的音頻,。最終效果就是，你的寵物仿佛在說話,。

????獲得艾倫脫口秀節(jié)目的主動宣傳之后,，《會說話的寵物》立刻火了起來，成為整個10月份蘋果iTunes商店下載次數(shù)最多的付費(fèi)應(yīng)用,。直至12月初,，它始終是排名前20的付費(fèi)娛樂應(yīng)用。

????這款應(yīng)用的開發(fā)者是伊恩?貝爾德和彼得?沃斯,。這兩位居住在倫敦的老同學(xué)各有專長,，一位擅長商業(yè)開發(fā)，一位精通移動應(yīng)用開發(fā),。與其他的優(yōu)秀創(chuàng)意一樣,，開發(fā)這款應(yīng)用的想法源自貝爾德和幾位朋友的一次酒吧聚會。那天晚上,，他和朋友聊起了寵物（貝爾德和他的太太養(yǎng)了一只拉布拉多獵犬）,，一段“狗狗說話”的YouTube視頻讓他們捧腹大笑。他們希望開發(fā)一種操作簡單的應(yīng)用,，讓自己的寵物“開口說話”,。

????“所有的想法開始融合在一起，”貝爾德說,。不久,，他把這個應(yīng)用創(chuàng)意告訴了沃斯。兩人相約在一家咖喱菜餐廳,，一起討論如何把這個有趣的想法轉(zhuǎn)化為一款真正的應(yīng)用,。它的確可行?！稌f話的寵物》開發(fā)過程歷時數(shù)月,。2013年初，這款應(yīng)用首次在iTunes商店上架,，當(dāng)時的售價為0.99美元或69便士,，每天能為這兩位居住在倫敦的好友帶來大約50美元的收益。

????自10月中旬以來,，得益于兩位美劇明星的宣傳效應(yīng),，《會說話的寵物》已經(jīng)斬獲10萬多美元的收入。貝爾德說：“我過去幾個星期通過這款應(yīng)用賺的錢比半年的工資還要多,?！彼f，這款應(yīng)用的成功完全是拜那期艾倫脫口秀所賜?！八齻兊募映謴氐赘淖兞宋业纳?，”貝爾德說?！拔掖蛩戕o去我的工作,，全身心地開發(fā)這款應(yīng)用?！?/p>

????沃斯和貝爾德成立了一家名為WOBA Media的公司——公司名稱是由兩人姓氏的前兩個字母組合而成,。他們計劃招募更多員工，進(jìn)軍安卓(Android)應(yīng)用市場,，同時為《會說話的寵物》增加更多應(yīng)用模式,。目前的想法包括“魔鬼模式”（它將為寵物照片增加一雙紅彤彤的眼睛）、“天使模式”（它將為寵物添加翅膀和光暈）,，以及許多討人喜愛的生日功能,，比如派對帽。此外,，《會說話的寵物》正在開發(fā)一種能夠切實捕捉人類面部表情的圖像擴(kuò)展功能,。雖然這款應(yīng)用最廣大的用戶群集中在美國和英國，但在澳大利亞,、加拿大和日本等國,，它也成功地俘獲了一批全球用戶。

????“許多人對它非常癡迷,，”貝爾德說?！拔艺J(rèn)為,，這款應(yīng)用充分彰顯了人與寵物的親密關(guān)系，確實引發(fā)了不少人的共鳴,?！保ㄘ敻恢形木W(wǎng)）

????譯者：葉寒?????

????On Oct. 14, Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs, stars of the CBS sitcom "2 Broke Girls," joined Ellen Degeneres on her talk show to discuss an affection that many people can relate to: a love for their pets. Dennings and Behrs added a technological twist when they praised a relatively new app that not only helps users share photos, but also allows their owners to put words in their pets' mouths.

????My Talking Pet is a simple enough idea. A user snaps a picture of their beloved dog or cat (or anything resembling a face), tells the app where the parameters of the animal's facial features are, and then records an audio message. The app animates the picture, moving the pet's eyebrows, nose, and mouth, and plays the recorded message. The end result makes it seem like the animal is talking.

????After the unsolicited endorsement on "Ellen," My Talking Pet exploded, becoming the most downloaded paid app in the Apple iTunes store through October, and remaining in the top 20 paid apps in the entertainment genre through the beginning of December.

????The masterminds behind My Talking Pet are Iain Baird and Peter Worth, London-based former classmates with expertise in business development and mobile app development, respectively. The concept for the app began, like a few other brilliant ideas, while Baird met some friends at a local pub. That night, he and his friends had discussed pets in general (Baird and his wife have a chocolate lab) and laughed about a viral YouTube video featuring a "talking dog." They wished there was an easy way for them to make their pets look like they were talking.

????"All of the ideas were starting to merge together," said Baird. He brought the idea for the app to Worth a little while later. The two met for curry and talked about transforming a pint-infused funny concept into a real app. It worked. My Talking Pet took several months to develop, and when the London-based duo first put the app on the iTunes market in early 2013 at $0.99/69p, it made around $50 a day.

????Thanks in part to the celebrity endorsement, My Talking Pet has raked in over $100,000 since mid-October. "I've earned more from the last few weeks of the app then I have in six months at my day job," said Baird. He said that the app's success all comes down to its feature on "Ellen." "[The endorsement] absolutely has changed my life," said Baird. "I'm going to call it a day and go in on this full time."

????WOBA Media -- the name is a portmanteau of Worth and Baird's last names -- plans to expand by hiring more employees, breaking into the Android app market, and incorporating more modes into the My Talking Pet app. Current ideas include "devil mode" (which will add glowing red eyes to the photo), "angel mode" (which will add wings and a halo), and a number of cutesy birthday features like party hats. My Talking Pet is also developing an add-on for images of people that will realistically capture human facial expressions. While the app has had the most traction in the U.S. and the U.K., it has had global success with users in Australia, Canada, and Japan as well.

????"People are obsessed with it," said Baird. "I think it's really struck a chord with how close people are with their pets."??