Gruber is so predictable<p><i>RyanMcGreal 4 days ago</i><p><pre><code> Next week on Daring Fireball: *Why Ping is much smarter than you think and will prove the naysayers wrong.*
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<a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1659802" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1659802</a>
My baseless suspicion is that Ping, like iTunes LP, is just something Apple did to keep the record industry happy. Someone important probably had a revelation, 5 years too late, that they need to get in on that social thing the kids like so much and Apple was more than happy to placate them. I agree with Gruber that it could turn into something more down the road but at this point Apple's heart obviously isn't in it. Maybe because all the pieces aren't in place yet. I could imagine Ping looking a lot more like Lala 6 months from now when all the right deals are signed.
<i>But, clearly, Apple created Ping to drive the sale of additional music — and I think that’s why Ping isn’t a standalone app — if it were, then clicking a “Buy” link in Ping would take you from the (hypothetical) Ping app to the iTunes app. Then you’d have to remember to switch back to Ping to get back to where you were.</i><p>I don't know how iPhone users live without a back button.<p>edit: really folks?