Amazon has been delivering digital media for a while now: MP3 music, videos, podcasts, and even short works of literature are all available for electronic delivery. But the retail giant recently added one more line for immediate delivery, with no fanfare: software downloads.
So far, the stock of software products available is limited: this year’s TurboTax line for Windows, and that’s all. But reading through the associated FAQ, it seems clear that this is just the start of a larger program, and that more titles and the addition of Mac software are both in the cards.
The process is simple. First, you need to download a copy of Amazon’s software download installer and install it on your Windows PC. Then, when you find a downloadable file, click the “Buy and Download” button. This will deliver a file that the download installer can understand, which unpacks it to give you your actual purchased software on your hard drive. Amazon keeps a backup copy of the software that you’ve purchased in your media library online.
Experienced web workers are unlikely to find any downloadable software here in the short term that they can’t already get elsewhere (though Amazon’s mass-market clout may make for attractive pricing even on software you can already download). The more interesting possibility for web workers is going to be in using Amazon as a distribution service, if they open this program up to small vendors. Right now, it’s tough to get software noticed if you’re not one of the established big names in the business; if Amazon were to make their electronic distribution network available to small publishers under reasonable terms, it could open an instant mass market for many lesser-known applications.
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