iTunes MiniStore now asks for your permission

So, no TUAW response to the outrageous claims made by their contributor?
I suppose since this has fallen off the front page they hope it will just fade away and die.

I was thinking about this Ministore and I guess it could be an Indication that we might soon have this on Front row and we should be able to buy it using the remote. May be, when we get the Wireless iPod, the ministore could feature on the iPod and one should be able to download songs right into the iPod... Just my guess!

You have already been able to turn off the Mini-store window from the Edit Menu.

Can't help but echo LD and Brock - Apple never collected listening data, so they couldn't have been storing it. The only data profile that could possibly have been assembled was 'titles that you've clicked on', and you are not going to conveniently click on a representative sample of what you're listening to.

Considering you could rename any old mp3 to look like a commercial track, the data would also not be of any help to RIAA and their ilk.

Crying 'wolf' will inevitably reduce the effectiveness of any outrage against genuine privacy invasions.

No TUAW response to these bold claims?

I must concur with LD there is no evidence that Apple was tracking any listening habits before (and privacy advocates would have found it in a heartbeat). The Just For You program within iTMS works by analyzing your past purchases or albums you had marked "Already Own It" or "Don't Like It".

You can't simply throw around claims of privacy violations as significant as you just did if you wish to retain any sort of credibility as a news source.

Who really cares if they see what music i have in my library. If you have something to hide than dont use itunes.

Apple wasn't tracking your listening habbits. The most they could have been tracking is which songs in your library you clicked on. The mini-store only updates when you click on a song, not when you listen to a song, it's a very important difference.

Please give us this proof you seem to have that Apple was collecting data before, or even with the mini-store. You've made a bold claim now back it up.

As long as I can turn it off I don't care.