Eight hours after announcing iTunes 10, Apple has released the latest version of its digital media management software for free download from Apple.com and iTunes.com. As discussed more fully in our earlier iTunes 10 story, the software adds a new Ping social networking feature, a Hybrid View of songs with album art, and a collection of small refinements to the user interface, as well as promising performance improvements. Grab it from iTunes.com now, or wait for either the iTunes 9 software (PC/Mac) or Mac OS X to let you know that the new version is available.
Update: iLounge’s Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Horwitz welcomes iLounge readers to follow him on Ping as he tests the service.
Update 2: Note that Ping-related e-mail follow requests from Apple contain a web link that is currently not working. Using the Ping > People screen from within the iTunes Store will let you acknowledge and add followers.