Facebook executive expects to reach Ping deal with Apple

Bret Taylor said at a dinner with media in New York this week that he is "very confident" his company will find a way to work with Apple for Ping, according to Silicon Alley Insider. Previous reports had suggested that tensions were high between the two companies, which led some to conclude that talks may have stalled entirely.

Taylor's optimistic comments would imply that a deal will be reached, however the Facebook CTO did not provide a timeframe for a deal to be struck.

Earlier this month, it was alleged that Facebook and Apple were in talks for 18 months before the launch of Ping, but deals fell apart at the last minute. Industry insiders characterized Facebook as "abrasive" in its negotiations with other companies.

When Ping was launched with the debut of iTunes 10, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs revealed that the iTunes-based service is not tied in to Facebook because, he said, the website demanded "onerous terms." He said that Apple and Facebook talked about a variety of partnership opportunities, but could not come to a deal.

After the talks apparently fell apart, Apple included a "Facebook Connect" login interface without a deal in place. Facebook then allegedly responded by blocking API access to Ping.

Apple has boasted that it registered more than a million users for Ping in its first 48 hours. The opt-in service is built in to the new iTunes 10, and can also be accessed from the iTunes application on the iPhone.

Earlier this week, the release of iTunes 10.0.1 brought about even greater integration with Ping, allowing users to access the new Ping sidebar, and "Like" or "Post" about music right from their library.