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Apple to Eliminate Retail Box Software Inventory

Just when I think the threads here cannot get any dumber...

Apple Stores will no longer be selling physical media. That's it. Do you think Adobe is going to only use the Apple Store? No. How about Microsoft? I think not.

This isn't the end of physical media on Macs. This isn't the end of physical media. It's the end of Apple Stores selling it retail. That's it. About the ONLY caveat I would add (and it was implied by the article) is that it'd be nice to use their broadband for downloads if you needed to.

I'm so hoping the next MBPs FINALLY do away with the stupid optical drive which I use for installing OSes and my copy of Photoshop. That's it. When Lion comes on a USB stick and I upgrade to a new version of Photoshop that will be that.

And for all you people that want "tangible goods" when buying software: do you print out all your emails and documents just so you have a hard copy? What about your picture collection? Do you burn all your digital music to CD audio? Welcome to 2011. Most of the expensive software out there requires activation anyway so the idea that having the physical media means anything is a total joke.

Think you have to "strip down" software if it's digitally distributed? Apparently you've never downloaded the ENTIRE ADOBE MASTER COLLECTION TRIAL from Adobe which is available right there on their website.

When I started really using Steam for gaming a few years ago, I was hooked. Through moves and other things I have lost my physical media and registration keys. With Steam I don't lose any of it. Note that Steam is available side by side with the Mac store. So much for Apple total domination.

Digital distribution is the future. Hell, it's even more environmentally friendly than the alternative.
 
Good luck downloading Pro Apps and other real software

Anyone who can't see that this will eventually degrade any software of considerable size is clueless.

Apple is over the cliff.

:apple:
 
Blue Fox said:
I'm all for it. It's cheaper, more efficient, and regardless of how many people complain about it, it's the way everything is going to be.
Click to expand...

How is it cheaper? Do you really think software companies are going to lower prices just because they aren't having to pay for packaging/shipping anymore? I bet the prices are exactly the same. Except now you'll have to pay for the internet service to get it (and not all of us have unlimited transfer connections). Then, if you want to have the installer backed up in case you have a hard drive crash you'll have to provide the backup media -- once again an additional expense to the consumer.

Cheaper? What are you smokin'?
 
xbjllb said:
Anyone who can't see that this will eventually degrade any software of considerable size is clueless.

Apple is over the cliff.

:apple:
Click to expand...

So order them on-line. Sheesh.

Plus, apple will probably continue to stock THEIR software. It's the third parties that will get kicked out of the store.
 
i don't think majority of the users download gazillion bytes of installer files from MAS . instead they will be downloading apps that measures around < 50MB in size
and yes of course , ditch the optical drive .
we don't want the optical drive to hog the precious space inside an MBP where we use it occasionally , like once a month for software installation

heck , if you can afford $2000 adobe products , sure can get another external drive to read the DVD right?
 
All about elimination of the second hand market. Purchases on the App Store are tied to your account and you can never sell the software to another party. The move to digital media distribution in every industry, IMO, is all about the destruction of the second hand market. And we're not putting up a fight in the LEAST.

(To be fair even physical media can be equally destructive to the used market, as with Starcraft II, which ties the serial number to a single account that must be online to play the game, and likewise cannot be easily transferred to another party without handing over the credentials of the entire account.)
 
Yes and No

Yes, we all know the Apple Stores are going to stop selling them, but I don't think all the software will be removed from the store.

Remember, not everything is on the Mac App Store just yet. Not all of iLife is even on there yet. They still need iDVD and iWeb, and they aren't going to just remove these from iLife. Most adobe programs alo aren't in the App store, and many mac users have Macs just for Adobe programs. This means that they will still have to sell this, and MS office, if it doesn't come to the Mac App Store.
 
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drvelocity said:
All about elimination of the second hand market. Purchases on the App Store are tied to your account and you can never sell the software to another party. The move to digital media distribution in every industry, IMO, is all about the destruction of the second hand market. And we're not putting up a fight in the LEAST.

(To be fair even physical media can be equally destructive to the used market, as with Starcraft II, which ties the serial number to a single account that must be online to play the game, and likewise cannot be easily transferred to another party without handing over the credentials of the entire account.)
Click to expand...

But even then not all software is resellable - Adobe Education for example prohibits the reselling of Teacher and Student licensed products for example. Many vendors place restrictions but in the end I think people are better off donating the software to a charity than trying to claw back money they had spent in the past.
 
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pdjudd said:
I still say you are - AppleInsider labeled this exact story as a rumor and you can still buy Apple software outside of the App Store.

This article only covers 2 things:
1) Their own retail store.
2) Their own software.

Of course we need to point out that Apple still only sells less than half of their software items on the App store, and software discs are still available as of this date at Apple retail and on other websites.

Apple is not downing digital only. There is no proof whatsoever that this is the case.
Click to expand...

It's just the beginning. Apple has been slowly transitioning away from physical data.

Digital music -> iOS Apps - > digital movies/TV shows -> OS X App Store. Companies cutting costs on package design, manufacturing, shipping - let Apple do the work and pay the 30% fee - your software will get more exposure instead of lying on a shelf. Cutting packaging and manufacturing costs, increased exposure = win/win. Adobe is considering splitting their CS5 Suite into individual apps and Apple has been steadily streamlining OS X since Tiger for a smaller (downloadable) footprint. If people can stream a few GB's of movies for Netflix, what's a program or two? I save all my App's on an internal SATA bay on my Mac Pro, Time Machine it too, and most companies allow redownloading app's. So why drive to a brick and mortar store, deal with an unqualified high school minimum wage kid when you can get the app right from your system, esp with the App Store can recommend App's for unknown file types.

Like it or not, in a few years time DVD's will go the way of the CD dodo.
 
So let me get this straight, pretty soon:

* You can no longer sell or buy used software since there is nothing physical to transfer to another person.

* You can no longer buy software anonymously with cash, since it's all done through your Apple account.

* You can no longer backup the software installers to DVD or Hard Drive for the future convenience of installing anytime versus having to re-download for hours and days.

* Software like Logic Studio 9 with its 50GB size can only be downloaded, which means paying extra on top to your ISP if they have a data cap.

* If you don't have broadband and have to go to an Apple Store to purchase and download, you have to drive hundreds of miles if one's not near you.

* You can't install software without a connection to the net, which is a security risk for some who have their dedicated "off-grid" computers.

* 5-8 years from now, when your Mac becomes an old secondary computer running old software, will you still be able to download the software you bought 8 years earlier from the Mac App Store?

* You sell your Mac with its installed software suite as an added bonus. Will the buyer be able to re-install that software?​

If Apple gives you a DMG or ISO to download as an option, that can be activated with a key, then the above issues are non-issues. Is that already the case with the Mac App store? I haven't used it so I don't know.

Right now this move to digital-only is like going from gold-coins in your safe to fiat paper money or digital IOUs that can become inaccessible or valueless in a heartbeat. The difference between this move, and vynil -> cassette -> DVD is that the latter were physical media you OWNED and could access instantly at any moment without dependence on a third party. Here, Apple has you on a leash.
 
"All of your base are belong to iTunes." The new apple moto.

Seriously can apple have anymore control over their products with this move? No doubt I will not be purchasing a computer from apple, EVER.

People complained about Microsoft all those years with their antitrust case, apple is certainly looking to take Microsoft's spot.
 
SeaFox said:
How is it cheaper? Do you really think software companies are going to lower prices just because they aren't having to pay for packaging/shipping anymore? I bet the prices are exactly the same. Except now you'll have to pay for the internet service to get it (and not all of us have unlimited transfer connections). Then, if you want to have the installer backed up in case you have a hard drive crash you'll have to provide the backup media -- once again an additional expense to the consumer.

Cheaper? What are you smokin'?
Click to expand...

Digital distribution is obviously going to be more expensive long-term. If you look at Steam, other than sale items, a bit of shopping around for a boxed copy will save you £10-15. Look at DD for console games - Old stuff you can pick up for about £5 in the bargain bins going for £19.99. Mass Effect 2 just launched as a download for the PS3 - £47.99! The absolute maximum you'll have to pay for a boxed copy is £39.99 here in the UK, and can almost certainly save on that by looking around.

It stops the need for undercutting as the sources of sale become more and more limited. Less costs for the manufacturer, more of a monopoly and (far) more profit. Same goes for albums via iTunes and its peers. You should really be paying no more than £4.99 - £5.99 for a brand new, lossless release when you consider the relative ease of release and smaller overheads, but the record companies and the digital retailers are laughing all the way to the bank.
 
B. Hunter said:
The way things have been going, I cringe at the thought of the new FCS. I would not be surprised to see FCE go away and FCS dumbed down for the iphone generation to get a grasp of. Oh, after they buy a Mac laptop or something. Who knows, maybe FCS will get so stripped down it could be used on the iPad. Yipeeeeeeee!

Come on folks! Unless FCS and other pro apps are still box sold, how in the heck could they be on the app store unless they were stripped down? There are more people in the know than me around here. But the lack of attention by Apple over its desktop software is apparent that something is going on. The mobile toys have a lot to do with it.
Click to expand...
I guess, the days of us Apple creative pros are numbered...
 
They can get rid of whatever from the Apple Store but I'll only continue buying MacBook Pros as long as optical drives are included.

As much as I love USB (replaced my car's stereo deck with one that includes USB port for flash drives and my iTouch) I still make good use of my DVD drive. A CD comes with my class's textbook that's not downloadable, physical movies rentals are cheaper for me are cheaper than digital, and about to order a tutorial DVD that's not available to stream online or downloadable(Though I hate the shipping cost). Some software already takes long enough just to install, I'd rather not have to spend even more time downloading. I have DSL, I'd only be somewhat ok with downloading if only I had fiber-optic cable.

I love using Steam too, which unlike the App Store, works on Windows computers too.

CDs and DVDs had major advantages over music cassette tapes, VHS's, and floppy disks. Digital downloads do not have as much of an advantage over optical disks.

Getting rid of optical drives is like getting rid of mailboxes since we have e-mail.
 
Radeax said:
They can get rid of whatever from the Apple Store but I'll only continue buying MacBook Pros as long as optical drives are included.

As much as I love USB (replaced my car's stereo deck with one that includes USB port for flash drives and my iTouch) I still make good use of my DVD drive. A CD comes with my class's textbook that's not downloadable, physical movies rentals are cheaper for me are cheaper than digital, and about to order a tutorial DVD that's not available to stream online or downloadable(Though I hate the shipping cost). Some software already takes long enough just to install, I'd rather not have to spend even more time downloading. I have DSL, I'd only be somewhat ok with downloading if only I had fiber-optic cable.

I love using Steam too, which unlike the App Store, works on Windows computers too.

CDs and DVDs had major advantages over music cassette tapes, VHS's, and floppy disks. Digital downloads do not have as much of an advantage over optical disks.

Getting rid of optical drives is like getting rid of mailboxes since we have e-mail.
Click to expand...

Don't think optical drives are going away in mainstream computers anytime soon. But it is a dying technology. We are quickly approaching the day when, as Cisco likes to say, "The network is the computer."

I think about the time around 1999, when I got my first cable modem connection running at ~1.2Mbps, and was in awe at the ability to download the 18MB Netscape install file from FTP in less than three minutes. Now I can instantly stream a >2GB movie from the internet to my TV, or any one of several internet connected devices in my house. I get aggravated when my streaming movie on my smartphone gets interrupted on by train tunnels.

Yeah, optical media is not going away tomorrow, but it is going away.
 
To those who are concerned about FCS, Logic and Adobe CS software: Forget it. Such space hungry apps won't fit on the upcoming Macbook "Pro"s SSD's anyway. Well, at least not on the models without the optional $500 upgrade...

Expect Jobs soon to be declaring pro applications as obsolete. Pro apps are bloated and complicated. People prefer the convenience of iOS apps.
Besides, why making movies, when you got iTunes and YouTube?

Haven't you read the writing on the wall?
Apple is no longer about creation - Apple is about consumption!
 
bedifferent said:
It's just the beginning. Apple has been slowly transitioning away from physical data.

Digital music -> iOS Apps - > digital movies/TV shows -> OS X App Store. Companies cutting costs on package design, manufacturing, shipping - let Apple do the work and pay the 30% fee - your software will get more exposure instead of lying on a shelf. Cutting packaging and manufacturing costs, increased exposure = win/win. Adobe is considering splitting their CS5 Suite into individual apps and Apple has been steadily streamlining OS X since Tiger for a smaller (downloadable) footprint. If people can stream a few GB's of movies for Netflix, what's a program or two? I save all my App's on an internal SATA bay on my Mac Pro, Time Machine it too, and most companies allow redownloading app's. So why drive to a brick and mortar store, deal with an unqualified high school minimum wage kid when you can get the app right from your system, esp with the App Store can recommend App's for unknown file types.

Like it or not, in a few years time DVD's will go the way of the CD dodo.
Click to expand...

That's all fine and dandy, but media-less programs will cost the same as the physical media so the only person that suffers is the consumer..so instead of getting media on a physical piece of media we the consumer have to go to the trouble of "backing up" all software that we might have to reinstall later.

Furthermore, cloud computing puts corporations in charge of what you can and can't use on their servers, you own nothing and the companies own everything.
 
JGowan said:
With the software tied to you account, you can always re-download and install even if you've lost your computer. No serials, no hassle... just download and install -- free and easy.
Click to expand...

Umm no..can you freely redownload your iTunes content that you purchased? Not likely. They may allow it in certain situations but you can't just download it to your hearts desire if it works anything like the music/video sections of iTunes.

The only reason apple is doing this is so they can control another aspect of their products..what software you can or can't use on their macs.

Edit: Only the naive would view this as a GOOD thing.
 
I don't post here very often anymore, but... This is a stupid idea. I don't have a credit card (by choice) and have a usage capped internet connection that I'd rather use for Hulu or Netflix vs. downloading software. I'd rather just go and pick up a physical copy at a store.

This may work for some, but.. Not me.
 
iEvolution said:
Umm no..can you freely redownload your iTunes content that you purchased? Not likely. They may allow it in certain situations but you can't just download it to your hearts desire if it works anything like the music/video sections of iTunes.
Click to expand...
Good thing it doesn't work that way. Mac App Store works the exact same was as the iPhone app store - you get to re-download purchased apps. Apple implements this requirement for App store submission.

Heck, the Mac App store highlights this as a feature!

iTunes content is much different - Apple did not negotiate licensing terms for music and movies - not much they could do with that content since they were merely a reseller or a distributor. In the case of the Mac App Store and the other App store, Apple sets up a licensing agreement with the developer as part of the submission process. It's much different than content licensing.
 
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