The new "constant stream of updates" does not work as well as the previous Live Feed feature. I personally find the new design not just less "addictive" but also quite repulsive. Seeing a stream of fifteen "Jane Doe just gave Joey Someshit a Green Beer! Click here to give a Green Beer to someone!" notifications makes me avoid a site, not hammer on the Reload button.
Facebook has always told users to learn how to filter stories. Filter out people you don't want to hear from and especially filter out applications.
Perhaps that's why I don't get a lot of these complaints. I block apps as a matter of reflex, so the only app stories I get are from Digg or Last.FM or Google Reader - those I can appreciate.
