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Tips for Mac App Store Devs: No Trials or Betas, File System and Custom Control Usage
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What's really odd...
...is how limited people are viewing the new app store. Remember how the iOS app store opened commercial app development to so many new entrepreneurs? People who didn't already have an e-commerce site?
Sure, if people go to developers sites to download free demos, they could also buy the full version there -- but only if those developers have an e-commerce site or using some other service.
Big developers will certainly sell from their own site and leave Apple out of their cut, but for the smaller ones, it will likely be much easier to use Apple for what they are offering and pay Apple for it.
Also remember how Apple has linked from the iTunes preview site into iTunes to actually buy iOS apps. I'm sure the Mac App Store will work the same way, so it will be easy for developer sites to redirect users back into the app store from their own sites.
Conversely, don't forget that app descriptions in the app store can have external URLs, so popping out of the app store to the demo on the developer's site will be a very simply user experience. While the policy will help to keep down the clutter in the app stores. I'm sure Apple will still allow for Free -> Full via in-app purchases, however, like many iOS apps do today.
Apple won the battle for content quantity with the iOS App Store, now, for the Mac App Store, they want to return to quality, and I think that is a great move.
Finally, really? "Lock down" Mac OS X? NOBODY is saying that you can only install apps from the Mac App Store. And Apple would be incredibly foolish to ever go such a route with their computers. Apple hasn't been incredibly foolish so far, so I trust this won't happen... Just unfounded fear mongering.
...is how limited people are viewing the new app store. Remember how the iOS app store opened commercial app development to so many new entrepreneurs? People who didn't already have an e-commerce site?
Sure, if people go to developers sites to download free demos, they could also buy the full version there -- but only if those developers have an e-commerce site or using some other service.
Big developers will certainly sell from their own site and leave Apple out of their cut, but for the smaller ones, it will likely be much easier to use Apple for what they are offering and pay Apple for it.
Also remember how Apple has linked from the iTunes preview site into iTunes to actually buy iOS apps. I'm sure the Mac App Store will work the same way, so it will be easy for developer sites to redirect users back into the app store from their own sites.
Conversely, don't forget that app descriptions in the app store can have external URLs, so popping out of the app store to the demo on the developer's site will be a very simply user experience. While the policy will help to keep down the clutter in the app stores. I'm sure Apple will still allow for Free -> Full via in-app purchases, however, like many iOS apps do today.
Apple won the battle for content quantity with the iOS App Store, now, for the Mac App Store, they want to return to quality, and I think that is a great move.
Finally, really? "Lock down" Mac OS X? NOBODY is saying that you can only install apps from the Mac App Store. And Apple would be incredibly foolish to ever go such a route with their computers. Apple hasn't been incredibly foolish so far, so I trust this won't happen... Just unfounded fear mongering.
yep this really is the issue that is of concern.
Updates and Upgrades.
Updates on the ground of how piecemeal they can be?
Sure with iOS Apps and small apps if not such an issue to download a complete new version of the app. With Bigger Apps like most Mac Apps then pulling a new version down the line to fix a minor issue is going to be an issue.
Being Able to pull small updates of just effected parts is going to be important. Which is also important for associated content. Most larger apps have a help manual, or content like clip art and object libraries. Sure they can have them live in the right place inside the app bundle but they still need to update-able.
Which then brings us to Upgrades.
How are they going to handle them?
I could see a few models they have as options for developers.
If they allow in App purchase and subscriptions then developers might offer service subscriptions like a lot are moving to, offering a program that is always up to date even if "features" are only added once a year. Or Simply sell the Upgrade each year as an in app purchase.
If these work in practice we are yet to see.
Updates work just fine in the iOS App store and Apple store currently. Apps are generally cheaper. Minor updates are free. Major upgrades are a new app at full price (as in iLife '11) or higher (as in HD versions), but the full price wasn't that high to begin with. This combo probably works out to be in the same total cost range in the long run.
Yes that fine for small stuff and to start.
And not really expecting much news till lion detailed preview.
As it stands deploying and maintaining a couple of big software packages and system is a royal pain but the AppStore as it is for iOS doesn't look like it would scale and offer any help with that.
Ok maybe not the AppStore itself but it would be really the updates systems of the os with server backing were useful across the board.
Ridiculous post, just ridiculous. Why don't you just get rid of your iMac because you're definitely not the kind of customer Apple or the Mac community needs. How would you like it if someone said they hope you fail in life?
I dont think Apple care who buys their products so long as they get the money.
this is a ploy to make tons of money
Just like the iOS App Store, the Mac App Store will be full of useless crap that no one needs, just because everyone will be able to see it. In the same vein, it will hurt the quality of Mac applications, due to a forced price point. Most people are not going to have the bandwidth to download applications like Creative Suite, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Media Composer, AutoCAD, Maya, or any number of other professional applications that have dominated the Mac software community for years. Therefore, the store will be full of small little utility apps and games that no one ever really needs. Shareware and freeware will fill the front pages of the store, but you'll never be able to find professional applications that might generate revenue in your business. Steam is similar, while they do offer pricier games with larger downloads, most of the store is full of small cheap stuff, or older games with lower value.
Just like the iOS App Store, the Mac App Store will be full of useless crap that no one needs, just because everyone will be able to see it. In the same vein, it will hurt the quality of Mac applications, due to a forced price point. Most people are not going to have the bandwidth to download applications like Creative Suite, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Media Composer, AutoCAD, Maya, or any number of other professional applications that have dominated the Mac software community for years. Therefore, the store will be full of small little utility apps and games that no one ever really needs. Shareware and freeware will fill the front pages of the store, but you'll never be able to find professional applications that might generate revenue in your business. Steam is similar, while they do offer pricier games with larger downloads, most of the store is full of small cheap stuff, or older games with lower value.
I hope that the existence of the Mac App store (and the desire of developers to be admitted to it) eventually results in programs really honestly only installing a single 'file' (*) in the Applications folder.
(* i.e. a package, of course, but that's beside the point)
A complaint about Mac OS X that I've come across a few times is that it's hard to 'uninstall' programs. While some can be dragged to the Trash from the Applications folder, there are often bits left behind in all sorts of other places.
Cheers, A.
(* i.e. a package, of course, but that's beside the point)
A complaint about Mac OS X that I've come across a few times is that it's hard to 'uninstall' programs. While some can be dragged to the Trash from the Applications folder, there are often bits left behind in all sorts of other places.
Cheers, A.
One interesting concept to look out for is the notion of competitive upgrades. Some vendors have traditionally offered an incentive discount to "cross over" to their product if you had previously purchased recent versions of a competitor's equivalent product. I suspect it would be difficult for the Mac App Store to directly deal with something like that.
(On the other hand, I suppose it might be possible to handle something like that post-purchase, using a main-in rebate system... Provided your older Mac App Store purchases, which would have qualified you for the rebate, included some form of individually verifiable proof of purchase.)
Developers are not forced to go to a particular price point.
For instance, my competitor's iPad apps are priced a lot lower than mine and are in the top paid apps downloads listings. My app's download counts are far to small in comparison to make these lists.
But...
Instead my apps appear in the Top Revenue listings... higher than those same competitor's apps. Why? My apps compete on features, not any "forced" low price point. Thus my higher prices make more money.
Forced? Hah!
And in the Mac App store, I'm sure there will be opportunities for even higher prices (given sufficient features and quality to warrant such).
It will be interesting to see if developers will be able to issue codes for "FREE" copies of their apps for existing users (single use codes). The way I see it, the Mac App Store version of any Mac application, will be NEW, and in order to be inducted into the new upgrade system, people will need to download the latest version from the Mac App Store first (they can "upgrade" from the non-Mac App Store version). Afterwards, developers should be able to plant a price on future upgrades. Strangely, I usually see devs on iOS just start a NEW application instead of charging for an upgrade (like Sketches). I'm not sure how that'll go for Mac apps.
~ CB