What happened to Facebook's Timeline?

Last September “Timeline” was announced at the Facebook F8 Developer Conference. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said [this is] "the story of your life". Hailed to be beautifully designed, chronologically ordered and just overall cool, I was anxious to try this out for myself and our clients. Facebook promised it would be available to the public a few weeks after the conference. 

It is now December and I have clicked on my profile every day as if I were opening a Christmas present, only to see the same old “pair of socks”. So what happened?

Well, there is of course, no official Facebook explanation, so I had to take my question to the masses on the web.  Some say it’s “Just not ready yet” while others say it is because Facebook is embroiled in a wild legal battle with a website called timelines.com.

Timelines.com is a website that is trying to build a record of historical events using video, photos, Wikipedia entries and input from its users. 

On September 29, one week after F8, a trademark infringement suit was filed by Timelines, Inc. against facebook. Timelines, Inc. believes that Facebook's use of the term "Timeline" will confuse users and threaten the smaller company's business.

Timelines, Inc. contends in court documents that if Facebook is allowed to use the term Timeline in its new profile layout, the social network "will essentially eliminate Timelines Inc. and leave the public with the confusing impression that Timelines, Inc and Facebook are somehow affiliated." Timelines filed for a temporary restraining order against Facebook's use of "Timeline" in September, but the request was denied. The parties are due back in court this month.
 
So will I get my Christmas present of “the story of my life,” or will I get socks?  We’ll have to wait and see.  Until then, I will keep clicking.