Tips for Mac App Store Devs: No Trials or Betas, File System and Custom Control Usage

[kas23]

If you only have 7 or 8 apps on your MBP, I almost have to ask why you have it at all. I have something over 150 different applications on my iMac which, if I were to really count the ones I use even infrequently would still be something over 100. I will acknowledge that many of these are tiny, utilitarian 'applings' such as "BootChamp" which lets me quickly switch from OS X to Windows 7 without having to use any key-press 'shortcuts.'

Sorry, I just don't clutter my MBP with crap if I'm not going to use it at least a couple times per week. I have the few applications I need for work (about 4-5), MS Office, iLife, some eReader applications, some utility apps (which, btw, won't be allowed in App Store), and a handful of applications that Apple wouldn't even let sniff the App Store. Other than that, I can't even name 100 Mac applications and I certainly have no reason to rapidly change from OS X to Windows.

 

[kresh]

The real problem with the Mac App Store.

I don't think the trial versions of applications is the real issue.

I really don't like the way an app store has to be implemented. To make the apps pirate resistant they have to run in a sandbox. We already know that this sandbox is going to change how OSX works now.

Expose: Apple is having to change expose to shoehorn this sandbox onto the desktop.

Multitasking: Will each app minimize to the dock simultaneously or will the whole sandbox minimize to the dock meaning effectively only one app at a time.

I just don't like how it all works. The sad part is that it will be popular, developers will flock to it, and by 10.7 the Mac I know and love will be a memory.

 

[Žalgiris]

I don't think the trial versions of applications is the real issue.

I really don't like the way an app store has to be implemented. To make the apps pirate resistant they have to run in a sandbox. We already know that this sandbox is going to change how OSX works now.

Expose: Apple is having to change expose to shoehorn this sandbox onto the desktop.

Multitasking: Will each app minimize to the dock simultaneously or will the whole sandbox minimize to the dock meaning effectively only one app at a time.

I just don't like how it all works. The sad part is that it will be popular, developers will flock to it, and by 10.7 the Mac I know and love will be a memory.

I think you smoke too much. Why can't we have a positive look for once always with this.

 

[tatonka]

I just don't like how it all works. The sad part is that it will be popular, developers will flock to it, and by 10.7 the Mac I know and love will be a memory.

amen. I think your pretty dead on there .. well that new Ubuntu doesn't look to bad at all.

 

[parapup]

And more restrictions imposed by Apple. But especially this one is funny: "[custom controls] that comply with Apple's interface guidelines". Well, not even Apple's own software complies with Apple's own interface guidelines. Requiring Third Parties to comply with those guidelines is almost cynical.

I can only support exerting control on custom controls if it happens in a rap song or if Microsoft changes Windows license such that the controls iTunes uses on Windows are made illegal and punishable to lashes and monetary fines.

 

[MACWhite]

this question has been asked before but...

how is the Mac App Store going to "lock down" Mac OSX?

as long as you have Safari/Firefox/Chrome/etc...you dont even have to use the Mac App Store....why complain??

i'm sure those developers will (most likely) post links to their betas within the MAS to direct them to their website.

stop complaining.

 

[kresh]

how is the Mac App Store going to "lock down" Mac OSX?

as long as you have Safari/Firefox/Chrome/etc...you dont even have to use the Mac App Store....why complain??

I have Safari on my iPod touch now and it is locked down. We don't have to use the Mac App store now, but when almost every developer moves to the Mac App Store it will force users to migrate to it.

How is this not a lock down?

 

[MACWhite]

I have Safari on my iPod touch now and it is locked down. We don't have to use the Mac App store now, but when almost every developer moves to the Mac App Store it will force users to migrate to it.

How is this not a lock down?

ever consider the fact that not everybody is going to use the MAS. Dev's could still host the files on their own sites too (like they are doing right now)

 

[4look4rd]

I like the concept of having an App store (steam is the best way to buy games IMO). But I really wish apple would use the Android Market's policy of getting your full money back if returned within 24 hours.

 

[KALLT]

If Apple wants this to succeed then they need to reduce the amount of work needed to try-and-buy and app, not increase it.

I agree with this. Trials are a great way for developers to let potential customers get comfortable with their software. If you consider that Mac applications are usually much more expansive than iOS applications, one could argue that customers make a reasoned choice instead of a shot out of the blue. Forcing developers to forward potential customers to their website in order to download a trial version seems to be at odds with the convenience of the Mac App Store will offer. People are still required to browse the web and to rely on external sources to get more information. In my opinion, Apple should include either an easy way to download a trial version, if available, or a very generous money-back policy.

 

[Žalgiris]

I have Safari on my iPod touch now and it is locked down. We don't have to use the Mac App store now, but when almost every developer moves to the Mac App Store it will force users to migrate to it.

How is this not a lock down?

Jobs said it more than once that App Store is just another place to buy apps. No one is going to remove mpkg/pkg support, no one is going to block you from dragging app from a dmg to the applications folder. Can you understand this simple FACT?

 

[kresh]

ever consider the fact that not everybody is going to use the MAS. Dev's could still host the files on their own sites too (like they are doing right now)

Jobs said it more than once that App Store is just another place to buy apps. No one is going to remove mpkg/pkg support, no one is going to block you from dragging app from a dmg to the applications folder. Can you understand this simple FACT?

But that is not the trend (Remember FreeVerse). Developers will flock to this model, it is inevitable. It is too good of a deal for developers not to move to it, and if they move to it why maintain a separate distribution channel on their own websites?

Where the developers go, users are forced to follow. If they stay with the platform that is.

 

[MACWhite]

jobs said it more than once that app store is just another place to buy apps. No one is going to remove mpkg/pkg support, no one is going to block you from dragging app from a dmg to the applications folder. Can you understand this simple fact?

thank you!!!!!

 

[Žalgiris]

But that is not the trend (Remember FreeVerse). Developers will flock to this model, it is inevitable. It is too good of a deal for developers not to move to it, and if they move to it why maintain a separate distribution channel on their own websites?

Where the developers go, users are forced to follow. If they stay with the platform that is.

For Christ sake do you not read before you whine? App store will be accepting just self-contained apps. No apps with installers, no apps with kernel extensions, no apps that download stuff after you install them (like visualhub) and much more. So it's just part of all apps. Mainly it's a blessing for very small devs. And buying an app from app store won't kill you i guarantee.

I for one was waiting for something like this. Now i will be able at least to update all free apps i use without going to sites of the apps and downloading new dmg or zip.

 

[pmoeser]

amen. I think your pretty dead on there .. well that new Ubuntu doesn't look to bad at all.

If you even know the word Ubunto then the Mac App Store is clearly not for you and I could have told you that the day it was announced.

Same to all the other nay-sayers.

This is not to make your life difficult, it is to make it easier for all the lemmings who have blindly just used windows because it's cheap and "what they give me at work."

This is all about Apple selling hardware to millions more people. Along the way they are making computing easier for the great unwashed. I think that is a great thing.

Wait until you see the look on your 70 year old father's face the first time he watches his self-created DVD menu on his TV that he be made by dragging and dropping few photos and selecting the movie from the media browser.

 

[08380728]

Quote Apple "Apple's interface guidelines and to make sure that they are properly utilizing the Mac OS X file system to store files related to their applications in appropriate locations on users' computers."

Well Apple lead by example and stop dumping the contents of your ****** apps like Safari, iTunes, Mail etc in ~/Library and place them where they are supposed to be like other apps in ~/Library/Application Support. Oh and stop being *******s and making a mess of the iTunes UI every time you release a new version and let us manually manage pictures.

 

[CFreymarc]

Just what I though. The Mac App Store is turning into a "second tier" method of distributing Mac Apps. I find it ironic that some of the major titles on Mac OS X such as Photoshop, AutoCAD and even Maya break a lot of these submission rules. Then there are games. Wonder if you can give out an "app store" version of the app for the publicity and then sell a full / pro version of it directly off your own web site?

 

[Matthew Yohe]

and this is why the mac app store is a stupid, ridiculous, asinine idea.
i really hope it fails.

Look, it's not for you, but it is for many people. The Mac App store will be a success, and many of the "Restrictions" will actually have a positive effect on the quality of applications.

 

[Vulpinemac]

Sorry, I just don't clutter my MBP with crap if I'm not going to use it at least a couple times per week. I have the few applications I need for work (about 4-5), MS Office, iLife, some eReader applications, some utility apps (which, btw, won't be allowed in App Store), and a handful of applications that Apple wouldn't even let sniff the App Store. Other than that, I can't even name 100 Mac applications and I certainly have no reason to rapidly change from OS X to Windows.

That's still more than a mere 7 or 8. As for my Windows use, simply put, many games don't yet have a Mac version. Things are improving, but until all MMOs are both Windows and OS X native, I'll be bouncing back and forth--much as I hate to do so. For that matter, all you have to do is open the finder, click on the Applications folder, open the Utilities folder (by clicking the arrowhead, not the folder itself) and maybe whatever other sub-folder you might have created for your games and whatever, then read the total at the bottom of the window. You might just be surprised at how many apps you really have on your machine.

 

[goobot]

It is cool. I never said there was anything wrong with it.



Developers are still going to maintain their own web sites even with a Mac App Store. Thus the extra 30% will help. So being ignorant is not agreeing with you? How very open minded of you...

did you not understand what i said? the dev is already not making that 30%

 

[firewood]

This whole AppStore concept stinks. I hope that it fails, because if it succeeds, they will take it as an opportunity to completely lock down Mac OS X, too. Nobody should purchase software from the Mac AppStore.

Apple can't lock down OS X as long as they are both competing with Windows PCs for hardware profits and Microsoft doesn't lock down Windows first. And if they both try to DRM both OS platforms, it may finally become the year of Linux on the desktop goes above 2%.

The majority of Mac consumers couldn't care less about your opinion on lockdowns (well over 90% in the U.S. have zero interest in jailbreaking their iOS devices), and most small Mac developers will probably at least quadruple their sales if they move their apps to the Mac AppStore. How many developers do you think won't follow the money?

 

[firewood]

It's too odd, if users have to go to the developers' site for trial, they might just as well download the full version from the developers' end as well. Why bother to let Apple get the 30% cut?

Because the vast majority of customers won't bother to go to the developer's site. Do you know how few iTunes customers click the link to see the developer's web page? It's really a small percentage. Most customer don't want to do that, and will move on to another app with a better marketing message right in the iTunes app description and screenshots.

So if, in their app's iTunes description, a developer makes is seem like a potential customer should go to their web site before buying, they may actually lose more customers and iTunes sales than they would get back from their own site. Potential net loss to the developers who bother.

 

[Fukui]

We don't have to use the Mac App store now, but when almost every developer moves to the Mac App Store it will force users to migrate to it.

How is this not a lock down?

Well, then, by that definition Android is "locked down..."

 

[angelneo]

Small developers don't want to run their own payment system with all the fees, dealing with billing mistakes, chargebacks, etc. that come with it.

But if you do run your own payment system, then by all means, do so.

Your own payment system is not that difficult, I don't mind handling it over to third party but not at that cost. I have dealt with payment system that demands >30% cut, but usually it's those countries that users does not have much online payment penetration and they rely on store value cards or other modes of payment.

Oh, is that all we have to do? Just advertise it. That's so simple! Why didn't all us small developers think of that before?!? I'm glad you came along with the revolutionary new idea!

Seriously, advertising is expensive. Especially if you have a niche, vertical market app. It's hard to target the right customer without spending a lot of money. Small developers often spend far more on 30% per copy to advertise.

The App Store brings eyes to your product. It's like being in a retail store. People come and browse and find your app. Nobody is going to come across your web site by browsing.

I think you are a bit naïve about this "30% cut". If a developer sells an application for $19.99 on his website, there will be no $19.99 in his pocket if I buy it. At the very least there is the cost of credit card handling including some major cost from contested purchases (do you have any idea what it costs the developer when some idiot changes their mind, calls their credit card company and says "I never bought this")? Most small developers go through some company that handles all of this anyway, and good luck trying to get 70% of what the end user pays.

You do realize most publisher contract includes a commitment on the publisher end to market your product. If I am going to rev share 30% or more, I expect some sort of effort going on to justify the rev share. If all Apple does is just to list your App for a couple of days on the new apps category and that's it, it's hardly worth 30%. Even Paypal offers promotions partnership with their merchants.

The only thing Apple brings to the table for developers is the exposure, but if the developers are not going to get a good enough time for that, they are basically ripping you off.

Fraud management only becomes a serious issue when your product grows really big, by that time, you could well afford a few customer svc personnel to help you deal with them.


On the side note:
I can see the possibility of developers offering their product for $60 on the app store (to get the eyeballs) and $50 on their own website.

 

[fretdevil]

Trial Software in a store?

Come on think about it! With the exception of development, Apple has to payout all costs related to distributing a developers product.
Storage, Payment processing, Order tracking and basic customer service combined will cost Apple a ton of money. They would see no return on their investment if they were to allow "Trial Software" or "Demos" to be distributed through the App Store.

We as a community should not expect them to make our life easier by providing this content. Remember, they are doing this to make money.

BTW, have any in this forum visited a retail store and were able to pick up a "Demo" or a "Trial Version" of the software you were considering purchasing?
I think the predominant answer will be a resounding NO.