Facebook members get to drop ‘is’ from status

Facebook members get
to drop ‘is’ from status

SEATTLE — To be, or not to be: Now Facebook users can decide.

For years, members of the popular online hangout Facebook have been able to compose one-liners called “status updates” to tell friends what’s going on with them, as in, “Jessica is craving egg and cheese on an English muffin.”

Each update started with the member’s name and “is,” followed by a blank box. This led to tongue-in-cheek workarounds (say, “Jessica is egg and cheesed”). Others ignored “to be” completely and followed “is” with a second active verb.

To the delight of several hundred thousand Facebook users who joined protest groups online, the “is” quietly disappeared recently, making “Jessica is wants an egg and cheese muffin” a thing of the past. Users now supply all their own verb.

Facebook claims 58 million active members. In comparison, the largest anti-“is” group, “Petition to Get Rid of ’is’ from Facebook Status Update!” was 182,015 strong when its founder, Ahmed Shama, pronounced the “is” dead.

Toyota, professor to make
cars to help seniors drive

TOKYO — For those feeling nervous behind the wheel as old age kicks in, savvy cars may be the answer.

Prof. Ryuta Kawashima, who helped develop Nintendo’s “Brain Age” games, is teaming with Toyota to develop cars that help seniors drive safely, the researcher said.

“We envision future cars will be able to monitor brain and emotional activity to back up elderly drivers,” said Kawashima, a Tohoku University scientist who worked on Nintendo Co.’s best-selling “Brain Age” games — and whose smiling image is the guide in the series.

Among technologies on the table is a that can determine a driver’s driving patterns and curb any dangerous activity, Kawashima said. It could, for example, slow the car if it senses the driver is hitting the gas pedal for no reason.

Future developments could involve a navigation system and temperature controls that help drivers stay alert, he said.

Consumers spend $4.5B
buying electronics

NEW YORK — Retail slowdown aside, people are still shopping for consumer electronics this holiday season, and growth in the field could be double the growth in retail overall.

Among the best-selling categories are global positioning systems, laptops and video games.

Market researcher NPD Group said Tuesday Americans spent $4.5 billion on electronic gadgets between Nov. 18 and Dec. 9. This is half a percent lower than last year’s figure, but NPD analyst Stephen Baker said everything is “pretty much on track to what we expected it to be.”

Global positioning systems were the fastest-growing category, followed by digital picture frames. People also bought more laptop computers and digital SLR cameras, but they spent less on point-and-shoot digicams and MP3 players. And while sales of LCD TVs grew, people bought fewer plasma TV sets — which are generally available in bigger sizes.

“There is clearly a lot of interest in electronics,” Baker said. “And people are willing to spend on what they want.”

Instead of spending less on electronics, people are cutting back on extras like travel and some household purchases such as decorations, said Tim Herbert, senior director of market research at Consumer Electronics Association.

But while electronics sales overall are solid, they are growing slower than in past years. In October, the CEA forecast 7 percent growth in factory-to-retail sales of consumer electronics in the fourth quarter, and so far this seems to be holding up, said Tim Herbert, senior director of market research at Consumer Electronics Association. This is still better than the 4 percent overall retail growth forecast by the National Retail Federation. But it’s slower than last year’s 16 percent growth rate.

Associated Press