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macOS App Store for MAC OSX Applications?

As a developer with a small company, I think it would be a great idea. Obviously, as long as it's an option and not the sole method of OSX app delivery.

The convenience of the centralised store, allied to the buzz it would generate in Mac software sales, would be massive boons for both user & developer, IMO.
 
GorillaPaws said:
I strongly disagree that Apple thinks this would be in their best interest. The loss in hardware sales from disgruntled users, the decrease in available 3rd party software from disgruntled developers and the all-around bad press/vibe this would generate in the computing world would be an unmitigated disaster. The stock price would plummet.
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I agree with this assessment.

Users might not be so much of a problem - we all know by now that we do things the way Apple tell us to :p

But it could be a deal breaker for likes of Adobe, and I'm sure Apple are well aware that they've annoyed them enough already and can't afford to lose them.
 
The problem is it doesn't give you any freedom. I like being able to make a build, put it up on my server, and send people the URL without any kind of delay. You can't do that with the app store concept.
 
kainjow said:
The problem is it doesn't give you any freedom. I like being able to make a build, put it up on my server, and send people the URL without any kind of delay. You can't do that with the app store concept.
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Only if the App Store is your sole distribution model. If Apple offered the App Store as an option, you'd still be free to offer your software for download through your site as well.
 
Cloudane said:
I agree with this assessment.

Users might not be so much of a problem - we all know by now that we do things the way Apple tell us to :p

But it could be a deal breaker for likes of Adobe, and I'm sure Apple are well aware that they've annoyed them enough already and can't afford to lose them.
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All consumer devices will be closed platform through the App Store. The XServer management tools will be expanded to include an Enterprise Level App management toolset just like it exists today for Corporate iPhones.

Let's face it, Apple will lose some power users and open platform purists through this strategy but the vast majority of Mac owners are ordinary iTunes users. They would welcome an App Store for mac completely oblivious to the implications for developers. Developers as well may say they'll leave the platform, but as the iPhone proves, other developers will flood in filling the gap and hoping the game the system.
 
I think they would *maybe* do that for the lower end Macs - things like the cheapest of the MacBook. But I doubt it really, too much of an outcry - IMHO anyway :)
 
mongrol said:
All consumer devices will be closed platform through the App Store. The XServer management tools will be expanded to include an Enterprise Level App management toolset just like it exists today for Corporate iPhones.

Let's face it, Apple will lose some power users and open platform purists through this strategy but the vast majority of Mac owners are ordinary iTunes users. They would welcome an App Store for mac completely oblivious to the implications for developers. Developers as well may say they'll leave the platform, but as the iPhone proves, other developers will flood in filling the gap and hoping the game the system.
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It will Spar development. Digital Distrubtion is the Future.
 
forcesteeler said:
It will Spar development. Digital Distrubtion is the Future.
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Digital Distribution is the Present.

You can already submit your app for listing on Apple's Downloads web page.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/

The link for submitting apps is near the bottom of the page, labeled "Submit Downloads".

This area of the Apple site has been around for years. Much longer than the App Store, in fact. If it hasn't spurred development, or been a fabulous way to get your app "discovered", you should ask yourself why not.
 
Partially opposed to a mac app store. I like the idea that it offers cheap/free advertising for the beginner app developers. But I think Apple already does that on their website, allowing posting of Apps based on their catagories. What I really don't want to see is Apple having to approve every application you install on your mac, like they do with the iPhone. I severely dislike that thought, but I also don't see it as being likely, given the very open nature of the Unix base that OSX is built on.

kainjow said:
The problem is it doesn't give you any freedom. I like being able to make a build, put it up on my server, and send people the URL without any kind of delay. You can't do that with the app store concept.
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That's very good kainjow, but not everyone has a server to put it up on. That's why having an OPTIONAL app store would help the small/new developers to make some business and thus allow them to grow into an operation that can afford a server.
 
BadWolf13 said:
That's very good kainjow, but not everyone has a server to put it up on. That's why having an OPTIONAL app store would help the small/new developers to make some business and thus allow them to grow into an operation that can afford a server.
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The problem is that although it may start out as optional customers may well decide to only buy from the app store which forces developers hands somewhat.

Frankly though the cost of a dedicated server nowadays is pretty low starting at about £35 a month for a self managed one with non-premium bandwidth and a shared commit. Any serious developer and especially one selling their work better have a server to host their apps for security and flexibilty more than anything else.
 
Cromulent said:
Frankly though the cost of a dedicated server nowadays is pretty low starting at about £35 a month for a self managed one with non-premium bandwidth and a shared commit. Any serious developer and especially one selling their work better have a server to host their apps for security and flexibilty more than anything else.
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But that's just the server itself, doesn't include the cost of hiring someone to create and maintain the site. Most app developers are programmers, not graphic designers. I've seen some of the websites that small developers keep, and they are really unprofessional, and that just drives customers away.
 
BadWolf13 said:
But that's just the server itself, doesn't include the cost of hiring someone to create and maintain the site. Most app developers are programmers, not graphic designers. I've seen some of the websites that small developers keep, and they are really unprofessional, and that just drives customers away.
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It's not that expensive. You can just do some custom modding of Wordpress to add a few extra features and then pay a designer to make it look pretty. If you shop around you'd probably be able to find someone to do it for you for a very reasonable price.
 
BadWolf13 said:
But that's just the server itself, doesn't include the cost of hiring someone to create and maintain the site. Most app developers are programmers, not graphic designers. I've seen some of the websites that small developers keep, and they are really unprofessional, and that just drives customers away.
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Even if you're selling exclusively on the hypothetical mac app store, you're still going to need a professional looking website. The real boon in my mind is not having to setup and manage the payment-processing infrastructure, deal with international variations in tax rules (VAT for example), and all of the other headaches that go along with that. Also there have been issues with some of the existing payment processors freezing accounts which can become a real nightmare for an indie developer.

I would also hope that Apple would offer some type of serial license scheme as an option. I can see a lot of good things about this, but I realize that Apple could also make some decisions that could be pretty devastating.

As I've said earlier in the thread, as long as it's not the ONLY means of distribution, I'm all for it.
 
forcesteeler said:
my wish has come true
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Well, I'll be interested to see how it pans out. I'll be especially interested to see what (if any) restrictions are in place on the Mac app store. It would be somewhat stupid to limit apps to just Objective-C, C and C++ on the Mac app store when Mac OS X comes with Java, Python and Ruby built in and it is fairly easy to integrate any number of other languages into your programs.
 
Looks like App Store is continuing Apple's new theme started with iTunes 10 of putting the close/etc widgets in a weird new location. Notice the window doesn't even have a title bar?

http://www.apple.com/mac/app-store/

Will be interesting to see if this becomes a new window style, similar to the metal style.

One thing I think I'd like is not having to bundle Sparkle in every app I distribute. Auto-updates built-in to the system will be nice.
 
Cromulent said:
Well, I'll be interested to see how it pans out. I'll be especially interested to see what (if any) restrictions are in place on the Mac app store. It would be somewhat stupid to limit apps to just Objective-C, C and C++ on the Mac app store when Mac OS X comes with Java, Python and Ruby built in and it is fairly easy to integrate any number of other languages into your programs.
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As already stated on developer.apple.com Your app will be rejected if it uses optional software including JAVA or Rosetta.
 
As an indie game developer, I like the idea. Actually I was wishing for this to happen just like how Steam games are distributed.

Although I can host the binaries on a web server, there is very little amount of chance of getting discovered in the oceans of the internet. So I have to advertise as best as I can submitting links to download sites which barely makes sales unlike the AppStore model where your software goes to the user directly.
 
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