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Earlier today, we reported on confusion surrounding the brief appearance of Facebook Connect functionality in iTunes 10's "Ping" social networking feature that initially appeared to allow users to find friends by checking their Facebook contacts. The feature quickly disappeared from Ping without explanation from Apple.

All Things Digital now follows up with a report claiming that the disappearance is due to Apple's unauthorized usage of the Facebook Connect application programming interfaces (APIs) after the two companies failed to reach a deal regarding access. Quote: According to sources familiar with Facebook's platform, the social networking giant essentially denied Apple's Ping access to application programming interfaces that would allow it to search for an iTunes user's friends on Facebook who also had signed up for Ping.

Normally, this API access is open and does not require permission.

That is, unless some entity wants to access it a lot. In that case, Facebook requires an agreement for reasons primarily centered on protection of Facebook user data and, of course, infrastructure impact.

With 160 million iTunes users, that could mean a possibility of a lot of impact. With the two companies were unable to reach a deal over Ping's access to the APIs, Apple apparently deployed the functionality anyway, but it was quickly blocked by Facebook for violation of its terms of service. Apple then removed the non-functioning feature entirely.

According to the report, Facebook and Apple remain in discussions about bringing Facebook Connect connectivity to Ping, so it may make a reappearance at some point in the future.

Article Link: Apple-Facebook Controversy Over Ping Rooted in API Usage, Feature May Return

Included in a nice overview of Apple's new iPods and Apple TV from Ars Technica is confirmation that users of Apple's earlier Apple TV models will not be receiving a software upgrade to enable Netflix streaming and other software features of the revamped model. Users of the older models will, however, continue to be able to purchase content, as opposed to the rental-only model for the new version, which lacks significant onboard storage. Quote: Additionally, there will be no software update to bring the new features to older Apple TVs. Older Apple TVs will continue to work as they have been working up to this point, and they will continue to be able to purchase movies and TV shows even though the new Apple TV is rental-only. Apple first offered a sneak peak of the Apple TV, then known by its code-name of "iTV", in September 2006. The device was officially announced at Macworld San Francisco in January 2007, and began shipping as a 40 GB model in March 2007 with a 160 GB model following just two months later. The hardware had remained unchanged since that time aside from the discontinuation of the 40 GB model in September 2009, although Apple has offered several software updates over the years to increase the functionality of the device.

Article Link: Apple Confirms No Software Update for Original Apple TV

Apple continues its trend of weekly releases of Mac OS X 10.6.5 developer builds today by pushing Build 10H535 to registered developers. The release marks an increment of four builds since last week's release.

According to those familiar with the new build, Apple continues to ask developers to focus their testing on the same six areas as in the previous build: 3D Graphics, iCal, Mail, QuickTime, Time Machine, and USB Devices.

The one documented known issue from the previous build, involving issues with USB devices operating after waking from sleep on machines with VMware installed is still present, but has been expanded to also include machines running Parallels.

A date for the public release of Mac OS X 10.6.5 is unknown, as Apple's development cycle can be highly variable. Mac OS X 10.6.4 was released in mid-June, soon after Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.

Article Link: Apple Seeds Mac OS X 10.6.5 Build 10H535 to Developers

It's been less than 24 hours since Apple released iTunes 10 and its integrated social networking functionality, Ping, but spammers and scammers are already starting to spread their messages via the service. The first major instance appears to be a "free iPhone" scam that has seen multiple accounts posting replies to entries from a number of the most popular music artists currently using Ping.

While it shouldn't be a surprise that spammers would seize upon any opportunity to get their links in front of a large number of people, Ping's linkage to the iTunes Store would at first glance appear to make things more difficult for spammers, who would need to create verified iTunes accounts before spamming.

But while Apple has touted over 160 million iTunes Store accounts with credit cards associated with them, a credit card is not required to open an account, as Apple allows users to create accounts to download free iTunes Store content without the need for confirmed payment details that might otherwise discourage spammers.




It remains to be seen how well prepared Apple is to deal with this influx of spam, although the company has built in the ability to report postings containing offensive, inappropriate, or spam content. The multiple spam accounts for the first "free iPhone" spam wave remained active for up to four hours before being disabled just minutes ago, although their posts still remain visible in Ping.






Article Link: Spammers Already Taking Aim at Apple's Ping

Engadget notes that Apple's new iPod touch introduced yesterday has appeared on the website of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Along with other standard information on radiation emissions required by the FCC for approval, the documents contain a series of internal and external photos of the device, which will not be making its way into the hands of consumers until next week. Quote: Here, the FCC got its greasy paws on the new Retina Display-packing iPod touch, aka "Apple A1367," and in the gallery below you can see exactly where Cupertino keeps that A4 processor, 3.44 watt-hour battery, internal antenna, and 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz WiFi. Engadget's gallery of images from the FCC's site shows how Apple has been able to pack the iPod touch's internals into an increasingly thin form factor now checking in at just 0.28 inches thick. Also included are shots at various stages of disassembly, as well as several individual parts.




We'll likely have to wait until next week for teardown experts like those at iFixit to get their hands on the device and rip it apart to perform complete analyses of the components found inside, but the FCC's photos provide an interesting first look inside the new iPod touch.




Engadget also notes that the FCC has posted documents relating to the new Apple TV, but that photos of the device are not included. According to a letter included with the documentation, Apple has requested confidentiality on such photos for a period of 180 days.

Article Link: Fourth-Generation iPod Touch Teardown Photos Posted by FCC

Screenshot from Follow Music and People with Ping video tutorial

With yesterday's release of iTunes 10, Apple also deployed a new music-focused social network feature known as Ping. When it initially launched yesterday, users creating their profiles were presented with an option to use Facebook Connect to find friends who had already created their own Ping profiles. It is unclear, however, whether the feature was functioning properly, as a number of users reported that searches yielded no results.



Screenshot from Ping overview page

The Facebook Connect feature now seems to have disappeared from Ping, with many users not even realizing it was ever there. The flurry of activity has generated some confusion in the Apple media, especially after All Things Digital chatted with Steve Jobs about the lack of Facebook integration before people realized that the functionality was in fact partially present. Quote: And Facebook is nowhere on Ping too. Currently, there is no linking, sharing or participation of any kind with Facebook - or Twitter or MySpace either - on Ping, which will work only on the iTunes software on computers, iPhones and iPods.

When I asked Jobs about that, he said Apple had indeed held talks with Facebook about a variety of unspecified partnerships related to Ping, but the discussions had gone nowhere.

The reason, according to Jobs: Facebook wanted "onerous terms that we could not agree to." Despite Jobs' claim that discussions with Facebook regarding Ping were unproductive, ample evidence of the integration is present in the form of the earlier Facebook Connect option in the service itself, as well as mentions and screenshots of it in Apple's promotional materials for Ping. Consequently, Apple observers are left scratching their heads until (or unless) Apple makes a statement about the incident.

Article Link: Confusion Over Facebook's Brief Appearance in Ping for iTunes

Apple has posted the full stream for today's Media event. While the stream had been available for Mac OS X 10.6 and iOS users immediately after the broadcast, it is now provided in multiple formats that can be viewed cross platform on both Windows and Mac.

Apple introduced a number of new products which we covered earlier today:

- Apple Announces All New iPod Models: Shuffle, Nano, and Touch
- Apple Introduces Updated Apple TV
- Apple Releases iTunes 10 With 'Ping' Social Networking
- Apple Announces Pending Release of 4.1 and 4.2 Preview


Article Link: Apple Posts September Media Event Video Stream in Multiple Formats