Facebook and Apple CEOs seen talking

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg was reportedly invited to the home of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs two weeks ago to discuss the impasse on Ping. A spotter said the two were walking in conversation together in Palo Alto. The discussion details weren't intercepted by the LA Times observer but likely centered around restoring Facebook integration with Ping.

The social network's CTO Bret Taylor was already optimistic of a resolution to the dispute at about same time Jobs and Zuckerberg were seen in conversation, but the exact solution if any is still unknown. Neither company has agreed to comment.

Apple had pressed for as long as 18 months to get a deal and even had the component left in at the time Ping launched, but it was quickly blocked. Facebook's exact objections weren't known, but it requires a formal agreement for any use of Facebook Connect that could significantly impact its quality of service. Ping hit one million users in two days and is likely to have expanded since.

The two have little in the form of direct competition, as Facebook doesn't have a full music service of its own and Ping is intended solely for music activity on iTunes. Apart from iTunes' ability to share through Facebook, neither has significant Facebook integration where mobile platforms like webOS and Windows Phone 7 have Facebook built into their foundations.

By Electronista Staff