Genius Recommendations Return in Renamed 'iTunes Sidebar'

With the release of iTunes 10.0.1 in late September, Apple unveiled the Ping Sidebar, offering users the ability to experience deeper integration between their music libraries and Apple's music-focused social network launched in iTunes 10. The new functionality did, however, do away with the earlier "Genius Sidebar" that had offered users song recommendations based on items in their own libraries.

As noted by MacStories, Apple late last week quietly tweaked the sidebar yet again in an attempt to offer the best of both worlds, offering both Ping and Genius functionalities in a renamed "iTunes Sidebar".

The new iTunes Sidebar does not requires a revised version of iTunes 10 delivered via software update, as the sidebar's contents are loaded entirely from Apple's servers.