Ping and iTunes 10 is a Bit Pongy

Following the announcement by the keeper of unicorn tears at Apple (Steve Jobs of course) , of the ‘new’ iTunes 10 and especially Ping! all seemed good.  Perhaps this would be a shot across the bow to facebook, perhaps a complete (and needed) re-write of iTunes that would finally play well with Windows.

Unfortunately, on digging a bit below the surface, old and new flaws appear, and nothing  good. iTunes 10 and Windows still do not play well together, and this shows up especially if you have lots of content (iPhone, iPad) with lots of  none purchased  iTunes music, podcasts, apps etc. Some say this is because QuickTime for windows is 3 generations behind (doesn’t help), others say it is just that Apple and Microsoft hate each other. Well with iTunes 10 being launched last week this was a great opportunity for all things to be fixed. It did not happen.

Ping Me, Ping This

The other problem especially with Ping, is that it only works (barely so far), is if your music collection exists only in iTunes purchases. Being outside the US, and between late launches, and publishing issues and the fact a lot of my music collection pre-dates iTunes.  I never, ever got in the habit  of purchasing music on iTunes.  Even if I changed that today. Some of my favorite music is still not in iTunes, including  many some folks do not have period or would want (Beatles live in Melbourne Australia 1964 is a good example). I cannot be alone with that surely.

The Ping Email from Apple

Welcome to Ping. As you get started, here are some tips on how to get the most out of Ping:
Finding People to Follow
Ping makes it easy to find and follow your favorite artists and friends. In iTunes on your Mac or PC, select Ping and click Featured Artists or Featured People to find new or noteworthy Ping members. If you know someone already on Ping, you can search for them by name from the Ping home page. You can even check to see which of your Facebook friends also use Ping by connecting Ping to Facebook when editing your profile.
Your Recent Activity
The Ping home page makes it easy to see recent activity and popular songs from the people you follow. To see what a specific person has been up to, just click on their name. If you find something you like in iTunes, you can tell everyone that follows you by clicking “Like.” You can also recommend a song, album, or a person’s activity – and add your own comment – by pressing Post. And remember, you can always remove any activity you create by clicking Remove from your Profile page.
Purchases and Reviews
Ping automatically tells anyone that follows you whenever you purchase new music or write a review for an album. You’ll also see which of your friends have purchased a song or written a review right from the album page on the iTunes Store.
Going to Concerts
Whenever you follow an artist, Ping will automatically recommend upcoming concerts from that artist and even tell you which of your friends are also going. To see upcoming concerts for a given artist, click Concerts from their artist page in the iTunes Store.
These are just a few of the great new features of Ping. We’re excited to have you participate in a worldwide conversation with the world’s most passionate music fans.
Regards,
The iTunes Store Team
iTunes Store
http://www.itunes.com