Ping

Buzz Out Loud Ep. 1301: Apple waves the phishing flag (podcast)

Turns out, when you announce to the world that you've got 160 million users, all of whom are tied to a credit card, you kind of call the phishers your way like a horde of hungry zombies. Hence: Ping comment spam. Also, HP is going to actually produce memristors, 4chan is throwing birthday parties for sweet old men, and Boxee CEO Avner Ronen joins us to talk about why Apple TV doesn't scare him one bit. --Molly

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Get a closer look at iTunes 10

Version 10 of iTunes brings a handful of enhancements to Apple's ubiquitous media software, though notably absent is a much-anticipated cloud music service follow-up to LaLa. One of the biggest changes to the jukebox is the addition of a social functionality called Ping. Get a closer look at this and other new features in our review and gallery.

Read the iTunes 10 review.

Apple's Ping dinged by spam

Apple's new social media service, Ping, is already getting hit by a barrage of comment spam.

The Ping network integrates with iTunes 10 to let you follow your favorite artists and swap comments with other fans. But it took less than 24 hours for the comments sections to be swamped by phony offers for free iPhones and other hot gadgets, according to a Thursday blog from security vendor Sophos.

Sophos expressed bemusement that although it's no secret that blogs and forums have become the new playing ground for spammers and scammers, Apple apparently has set up no spam … Read more

Apple's Ping seems half-baked at launch

commentary I downloaded iTunes 10 this morning to test Ping with a fellow Directions analyst and I'm completely underwhelmed. What was Apple thinking? The company made its name designing delightful user interfaces that just work, and while iTunes has always seemed like a bit of an afterthought--especially on Windows--compared with Apple hardware, Ping seems particularly rushed and half-finished. Especially in comparison with the last major music-related feature addition, Genius in iTunes 8, which had a pretty strong "wow" factor at launch.

When you sign up for Ping, it asks you to create a profile and by default … Read more

All Apple news

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded: Apple's new iPods iOS updates included in Apple's Fall lineup Streaming AppleTV Windows Phone 7 goes to OEMs Another blow to net neutrality New Sony e-readers

The mystery of the disappearing Facebook-Ping integration

After Apple introduced its social music discovery service, Ping, on Wednesday, some people reported they were able to use Facebook Connect to find people to follow. But a day later, that feature doesn't appear to be supported by Facebook. And a lot of people are wondering why.

"Last night before going to sleep, I downloaded iTunes 10 and set up my Ping account (more on that later). As part of the setup, I signed up with Facebook Connect so I could find my social graph, ready to recommend songs," Om Malik, founder of GigaOm, wrote Thursday. "… Read more

Steve Jobs on why no Facebook for Ping

On Wednesday at the Apple music event in San Francisco, I had a short chat with Apple CEO Steve Jobs, as he strolled through the demo room for the media, just after he had announced various updates for the iPod, Apple TV, and iTunes onstage.

One of the those was the introduction of a new social network for music called Ping that Apple has integrated within iTunes 10 and which looks an awful lot like the experience you get on Facebook.

Essentially, it is a vertical version--in this case for music--of the powerful social networking site.

Facebook has noodled for … Read more

How Apple's Ping dings Twitter, Facebook

People who describe themselves as friendly often aren't. What they actually mean is that they're friendly to people with whom they can find something in common.

When it comes to encountering a public that is a touch more general, they're as indifferent as the next man. Who is, of course, indifferent to them. Unless they can establish some commonality, that is. If they manage that, the conversation can suddenly turn from one of utter emptiness, to one of radically emotional charge.

Remember those times when you sit at a bar and happen upon someone who supports the … Read more

Which Apple announcement was best? (poll)

On Monday I asked you to vote for the item you most wanted to see during Apple's special event today. Nearly 30 percent of you chose "an updated iPod Touch"--and your wish was granted.

Others beat the drum (and clicked the mouse) for a new Apple TV and iOS 4 for iPad--both of which Apple also announced. In fact, the rumor mill got just about everything right; the only poll item that didn't become reality was a smaller iPad.

All this begs the question: which of today's announcements did you like best? Are … Read more