As the title says, I'm wondering if apps like VMWare Fusion or Parallels will ever appear on the Mac App Store?
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Perhaps a dumb Q, but: Will VMWare Fusion/Parallels be allowed on the App Store?
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That's the only problem with Apple's 30-70 cut. Something on the lines of 5-95 and I'd have called that a fair deal and I think we would have a hell of a lot more Apps in the App Store.
I think them Apps may appear in the future, but as with everything, it will take time.
I think them Apps may appear in the future, but as with everything, it will take time.
When you ask whether they will be allowed in, I assume that you are wondering whether they will be allowed by Apple.
Seeing as both packages are available in the physical and online shops, it suggests that Apple are happy with the software. I understand that there are issues with the way that packages are installed which may be a problem (way beyond my expertise level).
As for whether they would want to, I'm sure both products lose a fair percentage of their sales price on marketing and distribution fees anyway, and they probably wouldn't get a lot less per copy than they do now. However, they are very much packages that are sought out, rather than impulse purchased, so I doubt whether many people would buy it just because they are available in the App Store.
Having said that, the one that got on first would possibly get a bump in sales until the other caught up. The fact that people have to buy a copy of windows may lessen the App store effect but I bought Parallels recently, but would have got Fusion instead if that had been the only one in the App store.
Basically, there are far too many unknown for the casual observer to be able to say what they will do (unless the installation issues are obviously a block).
Seeing as both packages are available in the physical and online shops, it suggests that Apple are happy with the software. I understand that there are issues with the way that packages are installed which may be a problem (way beyond my expertise level).
As for whether they would want to, I'm sure both products lose a fair percentage of their sales price on marketing and distribution fees anyway, and they probably wouldn't get a lot less per copy than they do now. However, they are very much packages that are sought out, rather than impulse purchased, so I doubt whether many people would buy it just because they are available in the App Store.
Having said that, the one that got on first would possibly get a bump in sales until the other caught up. The fact that people have to buy a copy of windows may lessen the App store effect but I bought Parallels recently, but would have got Fusion instead if that had been the only one in the App store.
Basically, there are far too many unknown for the casual observer to be able to say what they will do (unless the installation issues are obviously a block).
You do realize that products sold in retail stores also give a decent cut to the store right?
Subsidised by a higher price tag. Why buy from the App store when downloading off their website will be cheaper? Why bother putting it in the App store if no-one is going to buy it there?
I don't think the 30% cut is out of line for physical distribution on CD. I think this is quite clear by the discount prices you can often get at places like Costco, NewEgg and Amazon. (e.g. Photoshop Elements for $70-80 instead of the $99 MSRP).
Do you have any evidence that net revenues from retail software sales are significantly greater than 70% of gross sales?
I think the main reason you won't see many apps in the App Store, is that they are unwilling to adopt the "pick your license" model mandated by MAS and would thus lose out on sales to multi-Mac households.
B
Easier installation.
Easier handling of updates (in some cases).
Easy to install on multiple machines.
Easier to restore your Apps if you get a new machine or have to restore your existing one.
No concerns about credit card transactions.
No need to keep copies of the original file.
Also, many people won't find the non App Store version.
Personally, I'd pay a small premium for an App store version rather than downloading from a developers website.
Parallels and Fusion can't be sold in the app store, because they violate several of the guidelines published by Apple. The one that sticks out the most states that your Mac app will be rejected if:
At least not unless the store matures and Apple's guidelines change.
I'm sure that there are several more disqualifying features required to run any virtual machine, but that one alone tells me not to look for Parallels or Fusion in the App Store.
At least not unless the store matures and Apple's guidelines change.
Short answer - no.
Applications that make use of Kernel Extensions are prohibited in the App Store.
Applications that make use of Kernel Extensions are prohibited in the App Store.
Thanks, that's the sort of practical issue that I was suggesting may be a problem. It makes sense that this sort of software is likely to fall foul of something.