万花筒 2009-03-17&03-18 Facebook 大整容

"How many of you have a Facebook account? "

Facebook, it seems like almost everyone is on it and its users are about to get a makeover.

"Uh, they had a little link at the top of the page, say, hey, check out the new homepage, so I looked at it . It’s a little bit better designed just in terms of usability. "

The centerpiece of Facebook is the News Feed which tells you about your friends’ activities, their photos and videos. And right now it updates about every ten to fifteen minutes. The new Facebook homepage will have a different layout and update in real time, meaning you’ll get even more information on your friends even faster.

"I applaud² Facebook for trying to make everything up to the minute, everything in this world seems to be ‘we want it now up to the minute’ format¹ . So I think Facebook is really just going along with what its users want."

The change comes at the time when another social network known as Twitter is quickly becoming competition to Facebook .Twitter offers an update of what you’re doing and thinking in real time but in a more bare-bones(1) design.

"I'm realizing that Twitter actually has a lot practical uses both in terms of following news and following issues that you care about in real time."

No matter which side is preferred, the appetite for sharing information is on the rise. More than one third of adults have at least one profile on a social networking website.

"No, we’re in it, we’re in it for the long run. This is not gonna change .These technologies are gonna continue to develop and they’re gonna continue to be used by, especially younger generations."

Facebook has made changes before, everything from privacy³ policies to the page itself. But despite criticism, it keeps getting more popular, and for some users, maybe too popular.

"So many people, so many of my friends’ parents are on Facebook. I even know teachers that are on Facebook, you know people that I work with are on Facebook; like it seems like a core idea at first and now it's like creepy(2) almost for people that are on it ."

"What actually bothers me is the amount of messages I get per day. I don't need to be invited to your Zombie Club or your Pirate⁴ Bashing Game."

Facebook and its 175 million members can expect to see changes on Wednesday.

Lila Ibraahim,the Associated Press.

 

1 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

2 applaud   

vt.鼓掌欢迎，赞同；vi.鼓掌欢迎，欢呼

参考例句：

• The pupils that had been watching started to applaud.一直在一旁观看的小学生们开始鼓起掌来。
• Please don't applaud until everyone has performed.请在每个人表演完毕后再鼓掌。

3 privacy   

n.私人权利，个人自由，隐私权

参考例句：

• In such matters,privacy is impossible.在这类事情中，保密是不可能的。
• She wept in the privacy of her own room.她在自己房内暗暗落泪。

4 pirate   

n.海盗，每盗船

参考例句：

• The pirate chief commanded that the prisoners should be shot.海盗头子下令枪毙俘虏。
• The shore batteries fired at the pirate boat.海岸炮兵向海盗船开火。