Comments on: Theories On a Mac App Store

By: Why no Mac app store? « mike watch

Why no Mac app store? « mike watch — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:26:13 +0000

[...] This is not a new idea and many have written about it. Dan Knight made a good case for it on Low End Mac. Chris Ryan wrote a good piece on theAppleBlog. [...]

By: Apple News » Interview: Steve Gehrman of Path Finder/CocoaTech

Apple News » Interview: Steve Gehrman of Path Finder/CocoaTech — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:40:43 +0000

[...] Apple has revolutionized mobile application development with the App Store. I read suggestions here and there on the blogosphere that Apple should create a Mac App Store, utilizing the same model. Do you think [...]

By: Interview: Steve Gehrman of Path Finder/CocoaTech

Interview: Steve Gehrman of Path Finder/CocoaTech — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:01:26 +0000

By: Jewel

Jewel — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 02:36:57 +0000

It’s nice to know that there are many additional benefits that we can see for Mac however, it’s just not advisable to download it all because you need to pay a price for every application that you need to download.

By: Will

Will — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 21:18:04 +0000

I like the idea, however I’d hate to see a ‘race to the bottom’ on price, with quality applications lost in a crowd of $0.99 junk. This seems to be what’s been happening on the App Store and it would be a shame if it happened to OS X applications as well.

By: JMFR

JMFR — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 01:48:19 +0000

Valve Corporation has implemented a system for downloading Video Games for PC. It is called Steam. I think it is a great way to Purchase new software. I think Apple could take this model and make it work for Mac software.

By: Ernie Oporto

Ernie Oporto — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 15:55:56 +0000

This would really not work unless Apple tightened installation security such that one could only install from their store. And we really don’t need that.

I only see this being useful as a software directory, of which there are already many out there.

By: Daniel Kvasnička jr.

Daniel Kvasnička jr. — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 07:42:26 +0000

@Chad: “Sparkle works for apps you use frequently, not for others.” — well, yeah, that’s the point of it. Why should I want to download updates for apps I’m not using?

By: Daniel Kvasnička jr.

Daniel Kvasnička jr. — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 07:40:20 +0000

I like the idea — but only if it really wasn’t the only way. And if it didn’t use iTunes. Even now iTunes is a whale… putting another feature in it, this time completely unrelated to the other things it does (well, yeah, it’s an App Store like the one for the iPhone, but that’s all), would be sad IMHO.

This thing should _definetly_ have it’s own app. Maybe merged with the Software Update.

By: Chris Ryan

Chris Ryan — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:34:08 +0000

@Chris
I was with you when I purchased CS4 (desiring a retail box), however since it had just come out, it was going to be 2-3 weeks lead time to ship it to me (perhaps because it was the educational version). I tried to convert this to a download option, but Adobe wasn’t able to offer much help. I suppose the argument is similar to those who prefer standard DVDs over digital downloads, yet more and more people are, out of convenience, going for digital downloads (even though DVDs contain special features, etc. etc.). The whole dynamic of how we do business and what we look for is changing. With Apple offering so many getting started videos on their website, if Adobe were to do the same (and to an extent, they do with Adobe TV), it’s great to have those resources there at my fingertips, and not cluttering up my office shelves. But that’s just personal preference. :-)

The beauty of this from a developers standpoint is it could easily push more impulse buying. Of course, Apple would need to work out how to offer demos or other information (though that could simply be a link to a .dmg file hosted at the developer’s site) but I think there’s a lot of exposure for developers in a situation like this. There are so many great apps out there, like Coda and Pixelmator, but we don’t hear about them unless it’s word of mouth or they make some “Top 10″ list somewhere, or they’re apart of a MacHeist bundle.

Ultimately, I think we’ll see Apple exploring this path. They’re already laying the groundwork.

@NickSavage I don’t think Apple would tell you if an app isn’t on their App Store, you wouldn’t be able to install it. Just like you can put any music you own into iTunes, whether you purchased it from iTunes or not. I think there is a lot more benefit to customers by offering them a central place to see the best of what’s available.

@DanielGrace Sorry about not mentioning the billing aspect. Completely slipped my mind, but another excellent point. Apple has built so much simplicity into the purchase process of iTunes and they handle returns/redownloads when things get messed up. This is a great boon for developers who want to go this route and I completely agree with you here.

@tej116 I also agree with your thoughts on Apple “approving” the apps for inclusion in the App Store. It does put more responsibility on Apple’s part, but I actually don’t think that’s something they’d shy away from. The developer community is already so “in love” with Apple and make such great quality apps anyway. Developers already follow Apple’s human interface guidelines to create “lickable” apps that are functionally similar, despite who develops them. (How many apps do you use that has an “Inspector”?) Ultimately, a solution such is this would provide a better experience for customers and that’s one of Apple’s core competencies anyway.

I’m glad you guys are having fun with this discussion! Thanks for the feedback and follow up!