iTunes hört mit [Update_3]

Wer den aufdringlichen MiniStore von iTunes 6.0.2 nicht sowieso sofort verbannt hat (Apfel+Shift+M), der sollte sich wenigstens bewusst sein, dass beim Aufruf einer Datei aus der eigenen Library ohne jedweden Hinweis Daten (offenbar unter anderem Interpret und Liedtitel) in Richtung Apple gesendet werden. Sehr unschön und äußerst unnötig. Zugehöriger Artikel bei Boing Boing.
Update: "iTunes sends data about the song selected in your library to the iTunes Music Store to provide relevant recommendations. When the MiniStore is hidden, this data is not sent to the iTunes Music Store", so Apple in der Knowledge Base.
Update_2: «I have just received confirmation from Apple directly (from a confirmed source I trust implicitly) that absolutely no information is being collected from the MiniStore (though clearly data is sent to make the feature work)», ergänzt Rob Griffiths seinen Artikel über den MiniStore. Man lese auch den angenehm unaufgeregten Artikel dazu im Spreeblick. Boing Boing widmet der Angelegenheit ebenfalls ein weiteres Posting: "The problem is that Apple doesn't inform you when you update your iTunes that you're also turning on a system that transmits your private information to Apple and third-party partners. There's no indication (apart from the recommendations) that this is going on, nor is there any information about what Apple will do with that information."
Update_3: «So, after Apple claimed that they were not "collecting" information, it now turns out that the information they send is directly linked to a user's account identifier, if, of course, the user has an Apple ID. If you have never logged into your iTunes Music Store account, you won't have this ID, and Apple can't track you. But if you have, even once, this ID is stored in a preference file on your computer, and sent with each iTunes MiniStore request.» Mehr bei Kirkville.