Mac App Store to Launch As Early as December 13th?

[Winni]

Not really. I use my Mac for Adobe CS5, Final Cut, Cinema 4D, you know, high end production apps you maybe have never heard of.



Of course you may ask, and thanks for doing it in a civilized manner.

For one, yes I don't really believe there will be much worth for me in it. The productivity apps (except Apples own Final Cut of course, but I think one will still be able to buy it in a box) I mentioned will most certainly not appear in the AppStore, as Adobe or Maxon will not give 30% of their revenue to Apple. The people buying these things know what they want for their needs. And no regular consumer will spontaneously buy the Adobe Suite for 2000 bucks.

As for indie apps, it might be a better choice, but I don't like to fill my Mac with too much stuff I won't use anyway. I know what I need, like Cyberduck, and where to find it.

But all of this is not the reason I'm against it. The main reason is that, with Apple, you never know. If the AppStore is a huge success, which it most certainly will be, there may come the day where it will become the only real source for Mac programms, with Apple as the censor above them all. And imo this is a really bad thing, because who is Apple to know what everybody wants on ones own computer, bought with ones own money?
This completely closed platform thing works great for mobile phones, but not for much more complex computers.

Apart from that, Apple will collect the data from everyone who ones a Mac and uses the AppStore. Profiles of what people like, what they don't like, what they download and what they use for how long. There will be buyers for that, be it other corporations or the government. And the way it works with deals between big corporations and governments, you won't even know about your data being sold to the highest bidder.

So, you can call me paranoid, which many of you will, but anybody can inform himself about some really bad things going on on the internet censorship/surveillance front. So if I see something that provides infrastructure for this, and I don't really see any actual benefit for me, it's an easy choice not to use it.

While I absolutely like my Mac Pro, my MacBook Pro and Mac OS 10.6., I don't have to like every single one of Apples offerings. I don't have an iTunes account either, as I'm oldfashioned and prefer to buy CDs.

I agree with your assessment, and I also do not trust Apple in this regard. They're the most proprietary player in the industry, and they put much effort into keeping their Walled Garden closed. This Mac AppStore thing in Snow Leopard is a test run. If it succeeds, they eventually -will- turn Mac OS X into another closed platform -- and, of course, they will claim that it is all about the customer experience, to make things easy for them.

I never liked the "it's our way or the highway" attitude behind the iOS AppStore, and I will certainly not support them when they bring the same attitude to the Mac AppStore.

But I also don't have any illusions. The Mac AppStore will become a massive success on the Mac platform. It would never work on Windows or Linux, but the traditional Mac customers are a different crowd of people, and most of the reasons why they will heavily support Apple's next Walled Garden will defy logic and... well, reason. It will be about something closer to faith into Apple's supposedly superior designs.

The Mac AppStore won't make it easier for you to download, install and update your software. It's already as simple as it gets with drag & drop and built-in auto-updates. So all that this AppStore does is make it easier for you to spend more money on an already expensive platform. But then again, this spending-money-thing is one aspect of the Mac experience...

 

[mroddjob]

@chaosbunny
That's actually a fairly good reason and well thought out response, but I can see a situation where you and most people may be forced to keep it. I haven't read much about the mac app store so don't know exactly how it works but I do remember apple saying that the apps selling in the store would have to be kept up to date through the store, so if some useful current utility apps that you already use, (such as Cyberduck) decide to use the app store to sell, so as to reach a wider audience. You would have to keep the app store to keep them up to date.

Not really. I use my Mac for Adobe CS5, Final Cut, Cinema 4D, you know, high end production apps you maybe have never heard of.



Of course you may ask, and thanks for doing it in a civilized manner.

For one, yes I don't really believe there will be much worth for me in it. The productivity apps (except Apples own Final Cut of course, but I think one will still be able to buy it in a box) I mentioned will most certainly not appear in the AppStore, as Adobe or Maxon will not give 30% of their revenue to Apple. The people buying these things know what they want for their needs. And no regular consumer will spontaneously buy the Adobe Suite for 2000 bucks.

As for indie apps, it might be a better choice, but I don't like to fill my Mac with too much stuff I won't use anyway. I know what I need, like Cyberduck, and where to find it.

But all of this is not the reason I'm against it. The main reason is that, with Apple, you never know. If the AppStore is a huge success, which it most certainly will be, there may come the day where it will become the only real source for Mac programms, with Apple as the censor above them all. And imo this is a really bad thing, because who is Apple to know what everybody wants on ones own computer, bought with ones own money?
This completely closed platform thing works great for mobile phones, but not for much more complex computers.

Apart from that, Apple will collect the data from everyone who ones a Mac and uses the AppStore. Profiles of what people like, what they don't like, what they download and what they use for how long. There will be buyers for that, be it other corporations or the government. And the way it works with deals between big corporations and governments, you won't even know about your data being sold to the highest bidder.

So, you can call me paranoid, which many of you will, but anybody can inform himself about some really bad things going on on the internet censorship/surveillance front. So if I see something that provides infrastructure for this, and I don't really see any actual benefit for me, it's an easy choice not to use it.

While I absolutely like my Mac Pro, my MacBook Pro and Mac OS 10.6., I don't have to like every single one of Apples offerings. I don't have an iTunes account either, as I'm oldfashioned and prefer to buy CDs.

 

[Michael CM1]

I like the idea, but I recently read that no trials will be allowed. Considering some of this stuff could cost hundreds of dollars (hello, Photoshop), I don't understand that. Now if there's a free version that basically is a trial, OK. But it would be nice to reduce clutter by having "Photoshop" as an application and then offering "full" and "trial" under it. That's how online software has worked for as long as I can recall.

Some of these devs need to get aggressive on prices as well. I owned Sim City 4 for my PC and would love it for Mac, but it still costs $40 for something that's at least 5 years old.

I think this has a lot of promise, but I also think it'll have plenty of bugs to work out. If updates work as well as they do in iOS instead of having to continuously check through the Apple menu, that will be a huge bonus. I'm hoping existing apps like iWork '11 can be tracked through it even though I bought them via disc.

 

[japanime]

I'm interested in seeing how this new store will work. I find the current iTunes Music Store and the App Store difficult to navigate and find what I need. It's also not very friendly for those times when I just want to "window shop."

But I'm willing to give it a chance. And I can't wait to purchase the new iWork apps! My Pages/Numbers/Keynote '08 applications are really showing their age.

 

[smiddlehurst]

I'm sure the Mac App Store is going to attract some new customers but "hundreds of millions", get serious.

Heh, actually I'd kinda like to see that if only for the reaction of those in Apple's supply chain management to a ten fold jump in orders

Oddly though... and looking VERY long term here... it might not be so silly as it first sounds. Apple are playing a very different game here to the rest of the industry and seem to be the only big player focusing primarily on the consumer space. That might not be such a bad idea as consumer devices are likely to be the next big growth area and Apple may end up uniquely positioned to meet that demand. Heck look at the current lineup from Apple... £190 gets you an iPod Touch, move up to the £400 mark and you find the iPad, £500 for the iPhone and £800 for the Macbook / Macbook Air with the Macbook Pro at the high end. It's tough to find another company with such a wide range of products so if the demand for those consumer devices continues to grow (and there's no reason to suspect otherwise) and if Apple continue to refine OS X into a consumer-friendly OS (ditto) they look to be in a very strong position going forwards.

Anyway, sorry, tanget.

 

[smiddlehurst]

I like the idea, but I recently read that no trials will be allowed. Considering some of this stuff could cost hundreds of dollars (hello, Photoshop), I don't understand that. Now if there's a free version that basically is a trial, OK. But it would be nice to reduce clutter by having "Photoshop" as an application and then offering "full" and "trial" under it. That's how online software has worked for as long as I can recall.

Some of these devs need to get aggressive on prices as well. I owned Sim City 4 for my PC and would love it for Mac, but it still costs $40 for something that's at least 5 years old.

I think this has a lot of promise, but I also think it'll have plenty of bugs to work out. If updates work as well as they do in iOS instead of having to continuously check through the Apple menu, that will be a huge bonus. I'm hoping existing apps like iWork '11 can be tracked through it even though I bought them via disc.

On the trial thing Apple don't want them in the store and I can understand why. They'd need to host them and pay the bandwidth cost for apps they don't see a single penny on unless the user decides to buy. Instead they're saying to developers that trials, betas etc must be hosted externally. I don't see a problem with that at all, especially as devs could just put a 'for a trial click here' link in the software description. Yeah, it'd be nice to have it through the app store but considering the size of a lot of desktop apps (games especially can be multiple gigs) it's not really practical for Apple to do so.

 

[Hellhammer]

Apart from that, Apple will collect the data from everyone who ones a Mac and uses the AppStore. Profiles of what people like, what they don't like, what they download and what they use for how long. There will be buyers for that, be it other corporations or the government. And the way it works with deals between big corporations and governments, you won't even know about your data being sold to the highest bidder.

I bet Apple does that already, Mac App Store won't change anything. Maybe they can collect data from your MAS purchases, downloads, searches etc but I'm sure they can already track your browsing habits and thus see what you buy and download.

All companies do this. Adobe tracks what you do, Google saves every search you do... Thus I find this to be a quite moot point. You can't really avoid it so MAS would only be one more "data collector" among the others.

Only way to avoid this is to disconnect from the Internet.

 

[Deflorator]

Angry Birds

I can clearly see myself playing Angry Birds on the big screen of my MBP, using trackpad. Price: 1,99 when you own this already on iPhone, iPod. 2,99 standard price.

 

[Blue Fox]

Even though I use my Mac for professional purposes (CS5, Final Cut Studio, etc.), I think the Mac App Store is going to be an amazing addition to an already amazing computing experience. It allows for a good place for more developers to start designing apps for the Mac, a good place to discover/rediscover good Mac applications, as well as gives iPhone/iPod/iPad developers a good reason to port over games and useful apps over to the Mac platform. (either as widgets or useful standalone apps).

Either way, I think it's a huge move that no one else has taken yet. I'm surprised it's taken as long as it has for Apple to do this, but even more surprised that no other platforms (Windows) made their own first after seeing the success of the App Store on iOS. I guess the industry will just wait for Apple to produce the ideas, and then follow suit with their own flawed, crappier versions once Apple dominates........again.

As for the future of the App Store, I really do see this exploding and pushing software for the Mac to insane new levels. It's going to be "okay" at first, but once Apple gets it going, more apps being developed, qualifications amended, etc., I really do see this being the "go-to" place for all major programs. Optical media is dying, and digital downloads of everything will take over. Music has already just about moved over to digital downloads, and it's slowly happening with the television/movie industry. Big companies are already piloting this with major programs as well.

 

[domness]

I think the App Store is going to have both advantages and disadvantages to the Mac Developer Community really. Firstly, it makes making apps for the Mac so much easier as people won't have to worry about making a payment system, or working with serial keys when they have made a pretty simple app they just want to get out there. Plus, it will hopefully mean that more people will be looking at the Mac for development and making the number of apps for it increase tenfold making the Mac look a nicer platform. However, I'm just not looking forward to a huge amount of pointless, broken, boring and stupid apps that will appear and just slow down my Mac. We'll see I guess! I'm not saying much until it really kicks in.

 

[whathesaid]

looking forward to this, the only thing for me at the moment would be to purchase iPhoto11' due to the fact I don't use the other apps in iLife.

 

[hobo.hopkins]

This Mac AppStore thing in Snow Leopard is a test run. If it succeeds, they eventually -will- turn Mac OS X into another closed platform -- and, of course, they will claim that it is all about the customer experience, to make things easy for them.

I never liked the "it's our way or the highway" attitude behind the iOS AppStore, and I will certainly not support them when they bring the same attitude to the Mac AppStore.

You said "will" and "when" as though what you were saying was factual. It was not. You are speculating that Apple will completely close their computers, based on absolutely no evidence.

But I also don't have any illusions. The Mac AppStore will become a massive success on the Mac platform. It would never work on Windows or Linux, but the traditional Mac customers are a different crowd of people, and most of the reasons why they will heavily support Apple's next Walled Garden will defy logic and... well, reason. It will be about something closer to faith into Apple's supposedly superior designs.

None of this paragraph is particularly relevant, mainly because you are assuming that most mac users fit into your stereotypes. For instance, my grandmother owns a MacBook Pro and doesn't care at all about Apple.

The Mac AppStore won't make it easier for you to download, install and update your software. It's already as simple as it gets with drag & drop and built-in auto-updates. So all that this AppStore does is make it easier for you to spend more money on an already expensive platform. But then again, this spending-money-thing is one aspect of the Mac experience...

It will make it easier for the overwhelming majority of users. Not all applications have built-in auto-updates. And most users do not care enough to peruse a developer's website to check for an update. If the Mac App Store notifies you of an update to an application, and one click will install that update, is that not easier?

 

[bigchrisfgb]

I like the idea of the App store for the Mac, why you ask?
As we all know Mac at this moment in time can't get a virus, however Mac's are getting more popualr not just for for people using it as a PC, but for bussiness users aswell. This in turn will eventually lead to virus's being created for the Mac. So I see the App store being a safe haven in futures, where you can download pretty much everything and not gain a virus. If Windows follow a similar idea then I'm sure if people use that and it is controlled like Apple will control their app store, then virus's for Windows should fall aswell.

 

[talkingfuture]

One of the things that I think this store will be great for is discovering apps that may be of use that I would never have even bothered looking for. At the moment I only really use Firefox, iLife, iWork and Front Row on my iMac. Yet on my phone and iPad I have tons of games and utilities that serve small but very useful roles.

I know there are probably plenty of apps out there already that may be of use to me but finding them and then finding someone who sells it is the hard part. The Mac App Store will do the hard part for you, you can browse them all in one place, see recommendations and then purchase from a secure vendor.

 

[toxer]

Welcome to Micro$oft

Who cares? It is only good for Apple. I don't see how I will benefit as a consumer. Moreover, every single step we will do in the future on our Macs will require Ping, iTunes account etc. I prefer freedom of choice and stop spying on my buying pattern to sell me more crap.

PS: Better fix this buggy MacMail please.
__________________
Sincerely,

Toxer

 

[jb1280]

I agree with your assessment, and I also do not trust Apple in this regard. They're the most proprietary player in the industry, and they put much effort into keeping their Walled Garden closed. This Mac AppStore thing in Snow Leopard is a test run. If it succeeds, they eventually -will- turn Mac OS X into another closed platform -- and, of course, they will claim that it is all about the customer experience, to make things easy for them.

I never liked the "it's our way or the highway" attitude behind the iOS AppStore, and I will certainly not support them when they bring the same attitude to the Mac AppStore.

But I also don't have any illusions. The Mac AppStore will become a massive success on the Mac platform. It would never work on Windows or Linux, but the traditional Mac customers are a different crowd of people, and most of the reasons why they will heavily support Apple's next Walled Garden will defy logic and... well, reason. It will be about something closer to faith into Apple's supposedly superior designs.

The Mac AppStore won't make it easier for you to download, install and update your software. It's already as simple as it gets with drag & drop and built-in auto-updates. So all that this AppStore does is make it easier for you to spend more money on an already expensive platform. But then again, this spending-money-thing is one aspect of the Mac experience...

I don't even know why I am wasting my time on this post, but what proof do you have that the Mac App Store will lead to an inevitable shift towards locking the Mac platform down to an iOS sort of environment?

There is nothing in the recent history of the Mac platform that suggests this to be the case. I have a hard time believing that companies like Adobe or Microsoft are going to be willing to have their software on the App store, and given that in the most recent event, an Apple executive explicitly mentioned how great the new Office for Mac happens to be. If Apple was truly intent on locking down the platform, would they even acknowledge this to be the case?

What about Boot Camp? Users who want to put Windows on their Macs don't have to hack or jailbreak their Macs. Apple provides the drivers for users to accomplish this task. In 2008, Apple stated that being able to put Windows on Mac hardware was a major reason for Mac adoption. For what reason would Apple reverse this decision?

Spare us the argument that downloading a disc image or an installation package, dragging icons, inserting serial numbers, and being responsible for said disc images and serial numbers is as easy as purchasing it via the App store and being authorized to run on all of your macs in a household. One may not be extremely challenging, but one is also demonstrably more streamlined.

If anyone is trying to defy logic in arguments about the App store it is those who have a paranoid and truly ideological position on this rather than on pragmatic realities.

It is true that Apple has a certain governing philosophy about how they design hardware, software, and the intended uses of said hardware and software. At the same time, there is a pragmatic side to things. Have there been changes in App store policies over time that have benefited developers? I think there have been. Has Apple made hardware changes to assuage complaints from users? From time to time, yes.

Ultimately consumers have a choice about what platform they want to use, Steve Jobs has explicitly accepted that this is a fundamental truth about the world we live in. As long as Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite are relevant to end users, and as long as end users find value in putting Windows on their Apple computers, I think we are a long way off from an era of doom and gloom and having a totally walled garden on the Mac platform.

 

[CFreymarc]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Makes sense. Just in time for Xmas!

 

[Compile 'em all]

Hopefully the app store have the ability to update most of the apps I own now even though not purchased from the app store.

That's not going to happen.

 

[0007776]

Who cares? It is only good for Apple. I don't see how I will benefit as a consumer. Moreover, every single step we will do in the future on our Macs will require Ping, iTunes account etc. I prefer freedom of choice and stop spying on my buying pattern to sell me more crap.

PS: Better fix this buggy MacMail please.

You could benefit by being able to find more useful apps than you could have otherwise. and if you don't like that then you don't have to use it, Apple isn't forcing anyone to use the app store, it's just one more choice.

 

[chaosbunny]

I bet Apple does that already, Mac App Store won't change anything. Maybe they can collect data from your MAS purchases, downloads, searches etc but I'm sure they can already track your browsing habits and thus see what you buy and download.

All companies do this. Adobe tracks what you do, Google saves every search you do... Thus I find this to be a quite moot point. You can't really avoid it so MAS would only be one more "data collector" among the others.

Only way to avoid this is to disconnect from the Internet.

Good point, and one that I'm well aware of. But I need/want to use the internet, mainly for news and information stuff I won't find elsewhere. I also need the Adobe suite to earn my money as a graphic designer/illustrator. I don't need the AppStore for anything right now though - that may change if I won't be able to find updates for specific software anywhere else sometime in the future.

One can argue if one data collector/seller more or less matters or not. Personally I try to avoid it as much as possible while sacrificing as little as possible. One more may not matter, 2, 3, 5+ may be a start.

The time may come where it's impossible to stay relatively up to date without some form of AppStore, be it within Mac OS or Windows. Until then I'll prefer to buy my stuff seperately, preferably physically.

 

[litchie]

Wow, if this is true, Apple is really fast!

 

[Takeo]

The Mac AppStore won't make it easier for you to download, install and update your software. It's already as simple as it gets with drag & drop and built-in auto-updates.

Spoken like someone who's never met my mom... or you know... any normal non-geek.

 

[Jamie0003]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8C148a)

I wonder if you'll be able to register apps you already own so that you don't have to keep software cd's lying round...though how would you register apps like iLife that (I think) doesn't have licence keys?

Anyone know?

 

[guzhogi]

Okay I'm sorry but... why on earth would you do that? Or do you subscribe to the 'Apple is going to force you to buy software through the app store and nowhere else' theory?

I really genuinely see nothing wrong with the app store at all. It's just another delivery mechanism for the platform that will (in no particular order):

* Vastly increase the potential consumer base for software on the OS X platform
* Make it far easier to install and manage software
* Bring increased flexibility to end users in terms of licencing (software working on any device authorised with that account)
* Potentially lower the cost of software as competition takes hold.
* Provide more choice for the end user, not just in terms of variety of software but in breaking up what may previously have only been available as a suite (iWorks for instance).
* Provide competition for the established 800 pound gorrilas of the software world
* Make it far easier for consumers to find software they'd otherwise never even know existed
* Provide developers with a new and potentially very profitable delivery and marketing channel.

Like it or not this is something that will be incredibly useful in the consumer space and Apple are just the first to get it to market. Windows 8 is already strongly hinted to have something similar and I'd be amazed if it didn't have it in the final build (whenever that may be). Nothing is being taken away from anybody, you can still install software the same way you always have and Apple won't be removing that functionality any time soon.

For one, yes I don't really believe there will be much worth for me in it. The productivity apps (except Apples own Final Cut of course, but I think one will still be able to buy it in a box) I mentioned will most certainly not appear in the AppStore, as Adobe or Maxon will not give 30% of their revenue to Apple. The people buying these things know what they want for their needs. And no regular consumer will spontaneously buy the Adobe Suite for 2000 bucks.

As for indie apps, it might be a better choice, but I don't like to fill my Mac with too much stuff I won't use anyway. I know what I need, like Cyberduck, and where to find it.

But all of this is not the reason I'm against it. The main reason is that, with Apple, you never know. If the AppStore is a huge success, which it most certainly will be, there may come the day where it will become the only real source for Mac programms, with Apple as the censor above them all. And imo this is a really bad thing, because who is Apple to know what everybody wants on ones own computer, bought with ones own money?
This completely closed platform thing works great for mobile phones, but not for much more complex computers.

Apart from that, Apple will collect the data from everyone who ones a Mac and uses the AppStore. Profiles of what people like, what they don't like, what they download and what they use for how long. There will be buyers for that, be it other corporations or the government. And the way it works with deals between big corporations and governments, you won't even know about your data being sold to the highest bidder.

So, you can call me paranoid, which many of you will, but anybody can inform himself about some really bad things going on on the internet censorship/surveillance front. So if I see something that provides infrastructure for this, and I don't really see any actual benefit for me, it's an easy choice not to use it.

While I absolutely like my Mac Pro, my MacBook Pro and Mac OS 10.6., I don't have to like every single one of Apples offerings. I don't have an iTunes account either, as I'm oldfashioned and prefer to buy CDs.

I feel both of you have excellent points. On the one hand, the App Store will be a good place for the average computer who just wants/needs a basic word processor, accounting software, game, etc. Provides a lot of apps in one place, you don't need to give your credit card info to a bunch of different people, it'll keep your software updated, etc.

However, on the other hand, this will probably be a big success and I could see Apple saying it's so successful that it'll make the App Store the sole source of Mac apps. Notice how I say could.

Also, as chaosbunny said, there are a lot of Pro apps out there that probably won't be in the store. If the App Store is successful enough, I fear developers will start dumbing down their apps just because selling on the App Store is easier. I don't know 100% if this'll happen, but it wouldn't surprise me if it did.

 

[Aeolius]

So I give Apple another week to update iWeb in the app store, before jumping ship to RapidWeaver?