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Ping, Apple’s new social network for music, has already seen a lot of rave reviews. The service is part of the latest version of iTunes and lets users connect with friends and artists to share and follow music tastes.

The social networking service already has a lot of music artists signing up to connect with their followers.

However, Ping in its current form could turn out to be a haven for impostors and spammers. TechCrunch points out that the new music social networking service already has fake accounts in the name of Mark Zuckerberg and The Beatles. Considering the lucrative opportunity involved in selling music to followers, TechCrunch notes that Ping is likely to invite spammers to create fake accounts of popular music bands to sell their music. The issue could be sorted out through proper referencing methods using third party services like Facebook Connect that could help validate iTunes accounts. 

Users who have accessed Ping recently may have noticed a minor change in the ‘Find People‘ functionality. The feature originally allowed people to find friends by signing into their Facebook account. However, this functionality has since then been removed.

According to a report on All Things Digital, the move follows Facebook’s reluctance to open their API up for a service that they doubt could significantly impact their infrastructure. According to sources, Facebook has been insisting on an agreement with Apple that will help the company protect its user data and minimize infrastructure impact. Though such agreements are normally not required for websites making use of the Facebook API, the networking service is noted to have required these agreements considering the massive 160 million installed user base of iTunes.

All Things Digital further reveals that the two companies were unable to reach an agreement over Ping. Consequently, Facebook is reported to have blocked access to iTunes due to Apple’s violation of its terms of service, which has forced Apple to remove the functionality from Ping. It is however believed that the Facebook Connect feature could soon be reinstated as the two companies are still discussing the matter. In a media statement released yesterday, Facebook said:

“Facebook believes in connecting people with their interests and we’ve partnered with innovative developers around the world who share this vision. Facebook and Apple have cooperated successfully in the past to offer people great social experiences and we look forward to doing so in the future.”

We are keen to see the functionality brought back. Have you checked out Ping? What are your impressions on the new service? Tell us in the comments.

[via TechCrunch, All Things Digital]

Source: Facebook Friend Search Functionality On Ping Removed After Facebook Blocks API Access

angry tapir writes “Facebook users will soon have a new way of knocking spammers out of legitimate accounts. The social-networking company is rolling out a new security feature that lets users see which computers and devices are logged into their Facebook accounts, and then removing the ones that they don’t want to have access.”

Source: Facebook To Add Remote Logout

eldavojohn writes “A Michigan judge removed a juror after a Facebook comment and also fined her $250 and required her to write a five-page paper about the constitutional right to a fair trial. The juror was ‘very sorry’ and the judge chastised her, saying, ‘You violated your oath. You had decided she was already guilty without hearing the other side.’”

Source: Facebook Post Juror Gets Fined, Removed, Assigned Homework

eldavojohn writes “A Michigan judge removed a juror after a Facebook comment and also fined her $250 and required her to write a five page paper about the constitutional right to a fair trial. The juror was ‘very sorry’ and the judge chastised her saying, ‘You violated your oath. You had decided she was already guilty without hearing the other side.’”

Source: Facebook Posting Juror Gets Fined, Removed, Homework

rsmiller510 writes “Could Apple’s announcement about Ping, a music-based social network be Apple’s social networking trojan horse? Facebook might want to be concerned.” Of course it is.

Source: Ping Could Be Apple’s Social Networking Backdoor?

Julie188 writes “Target will begin selling Facebook’s virtual currency as gift cards on September 5, becoming the first brick-and-mortar retailer to do so. Facebook Credit gift cards will be available in $15, $25 and $50 denominations at the retailer’s 1,750 stores. That’s right, you can now spend real dollars to get fake ones so you can buy imaginary items for games like FarmVille, Bejeweled and 150 other FB games or apps. If that interests you, please contact me. I have some swamp land in Florida I’d like to show you.”

Source: Target To Sell Facebook “Credits” As Gift Cards

Over the past few days, we have been audience to a number of rumors and speculations about Apple's upcoming product announcements.

With the Apple media event set to get underway at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts in San Francisco in less than a few hours from now, here is a recap of all the possible announcements that may be in store for us.

iPod Touch

• The next generation iPod Touch could come with a microphone and a front facing camera that supports FaceTime video calling. A 5MP or 3.2MP rear-facing camera that supports HD video recording too is not ruled out.
• A new high resolution display is on the cards. Apple is expected to bring the new iPhone's popular 960×640 pixel resolution retina display to the upcoming version of iPod Touch.
• The back casing could be flatter and similar to what we see on MacBook Pro.
• Apple could introduce a new 3G-capable iPod Touch model.

Apple TV

• Apple may rebrand Apple TV as iTV that is expected to launch at a $99 price point.
• The new iTV is expected to be based on the iOS platform and will be integrated with the Apple App Store.
• The hardware is likely to see major changes with an iPhone-like form factor that runs on Apple's native A4 processor.
• Full HD video streaming may not be enabled. Instead, Apple TV could render video at 720p resolution.
• The new Apple TV may offer streaming of movies and TV shows via Netflix.

iTunes

• Apple could launch a new $0.99 TV show subscription service. Speculations are rife that this monthly subscription could give users unlimited access to any particular TV show. Update: We are hearing a last minute rumor that Apple will introduce Debut $0.99 iTunes TV Show Rentals from Fox and ABC. 
• The rumored cloud-based iTunes system may not be unveiled. However, Apple is likely to enhance the web-based iTunes service with new social features that will make it easy for users to share their music tastes with their friends on Facebook and Twitter.
• The duration of iTunes music preview could be extended from 30 seconds to 60 seconds.

iPod nano

• The form factor of iPod nano could be modified significantly to include a more squared design measuring 3 cm x 3 cm with touch screen display and could do away with the familiar clickwheel.
• The upcoming version could be touch-enabled and run a version of iOS.

Others

• Apple may announce a new version of iPhone 4 that will address the highly publicized antenna issue (though we think it very unlikely).
• Apple is very likely to unveil their social gaming network, Game Center, with a brand new look.
• Apple might release or announce the release date of iOS 4.1. It might include the fix for the proximity sensor and Bluetooth problems reported by iPhone 4 users and also fix for the performance issue observed by iPhone 3G after upgrading to iOS 4.

The media event shall commence at 10 AM Pacific Time. You can watch the live streaming of the event on your iDevice as well as follow the coverage here on iPhone Hacks.

Source: Apple’s September 1 Media Event – News & Rumors Roundup

An anonymous reader writes “The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Facebook has sued a tiny start-up called Teachbook.com over the use of ‘book’ in its name. The start-up, which has two employees, aims to provide tools for teachers to manage their classrooms and share lesson plans and other resources. ‘Effectively they’re bombing a mosquito here, and we’re not sure why they want to do that,’ Teachbook.com co-director Greg Shrader told the Tribune. Facebook said its use of ‘book’ in its name is ‘highly distinctive in the context of online communities and networking websites.’ Facebook apparently is alleging that no other online ‘network of people’ can use the word ‘book’ in its name without violating its trademark.”

Source: Facebook Says It Owns “Book”

A pair of enterprising Swedish schoolgirls ended up in court after they were caught bugging their teachers break room. The duo hoped they would hear discussions about upcoming tests and school work, allowing them to get better grades. It worked until one of them decided to brag about it on Facebook, and the authorities were called in. The girls were charged with trespassing and fined 2,000 kronor ($270) each in Stockholm District Court.

Source: Girls Bugged Teachers’ Staff Room

When Facebook released Facebook App for iPhone 3.2 last week to incorporate the new Places feature, quite a few users who had jailbroken their iPhone reported issues with the new version.

Last Friday, Facebook had acknowledged that they were aware of the problem and working on a fix.

Facebook has just released an update for their iPhone app, which should fix the problems.

Some jailbroken iPhone users had reported the following issues with Facebook 3.2 (and 3.2.1):

• You get the “Unable to Load This Page” error message anywhere you launch the application.

• You get the “Error – sorry there was an error” message while trying to load Places.

• You get the “Login Failed – Unable to Connect to Facebook” error if you’re trying to log in to the application.

Facebook 3.2 (and 3.2.1) seemed to have some compatibility issue with jailbreak app – BiteSMS as uninstalling it fixed the issue for me.

According to what’s new section, Facebook has fixed the login issues in the new version.

I reinstalled biteSMS after installing the update (iTunes link) and haven’t hit the “Unable to Load This Page” issue when I launch the iPhone app.

If you were facing any of the issues mentioned above, please let us know if the update fixes it.

Source: Facebook 3.2.2 Fixes Login Problems For Jailbroken iPhone Users?