Will "everyone else" ever hop on board the Mac App Store??

[Mad Mac Maniac]

The Mac App store has obviously been doing great, becoming the number 1 software store (probably because that includes free apps though...).

There are over 5,000 apps in the Mac App store, but I still can't help but notice that after half a year there are still a lot of very notable exceptions.

The entire suite of adobe CS5 (which is like 15 or so apps)
Microsoft Office
the big web browsers (firefox, chrome)
All the other Apple apps (safari, itunes, iCal, etc). Yes I know they come with all macs, but what if you delete them? Also it would be easy to keep all those software updates in the Mac App Store
1Password

I know there are a lot more apps, but those are just the first ones that jumped to mind. As a non developer, are some of these apps (like possibly 1Password) never going to be on the Mac App Store because the way they function prevents them from ever being able to follow its strict guidelines?

Lastly, IF the big players like Microsoft and Adobe turn to the Mac app store do you think a) they will stop selling in store and b) will they lower the price by eliminating distribution costs?

 

[maflynn]

I doubt it. This question has been raised a number of times.

There are technical reasons why we'll not see photoshop and office (they fail to adhere to the guidelines that apple enforces) and there's business reasons, they don't want to give apple 30% of their profits.

As for firefox what advantage is there for going to the MAS? The product is free, its easily available and there's no incentive for it to be host on MAS.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

I doubt it. This question has been raised a number of times.

There are technical reasons why we'll not see photoshop and office (they fail to adhere to the guidelines that apple enforces) and there's business reasons, they don't want to give apple 30% of their profits.

Yeah the guidelines things makes sense. It's too bad because it almost defeats the purpose of the MAS when there is only partial support. Don't get me wrong, I still think it's good, but obviously it's less than ideal. On the profit note, obviously I can see Microsoft cringe to give money directly to apple, but isn't that 30% comprable to what they pay to package it, ship it, and sell it in retail outlets?

As for firefox what advantage is there for going to the MAS? The product is free, its easily available and there's no incentive for it to be host on MAS.

I've never heard a company complain about too much exposure. Sure most people have already heard of firefox, but I imagine having it in one more location can only help. There is no 30% of free, so no downsides there. Plus the MAS would easily manage all the updates.

Sure if firefox doesn't follow a lot of the MAS guidelines then there may not be enough incentive to invest into the MAS, but I wouldn't imagine there are too many of those issues (and many of them probably would help firefox anyway)

sidenote: Obviously if FF decided to go on the MAS they could still allow installation directly from their website. Would updates still be channeled through the MAS if the app is DLed from the internet??

 

[iDisk]

The Mac App store has obviously been doing great, becoming the number 1 software store (probably because that includes free apps though...).

There are over 5,000 apps in the Mac App store, but I still can't help but notice that after half a year there are still a lot of very notable exceptions.

The entire suite of adobe CS5 (which is like 15 or so apps)
Microsoft Office
the big web browsers (firefox, chrome)
All the other Apple apps (safari, itunes, iCal, etc). Yes I know they come with all macs, but what if you delete them? Also it would be easy to keep all those software updates in the Mac App Store
1Password

I know there are a lot more apps, but those are just the first ones that jumped to mind. As a non developer, are some of these apps (like possibly 1Password) never going to be on the Mac App Store because the way they function prevents them from ever being able to follow its strict guidelines?

Lastly, IF the big players like Microsoft and Adobe turn to the Mac app store do you think a) they will stop selling in store and b) will they lower the price by eliminating distribution costs?

I doubt it. This question has been raised a number of times.

There are technical reasons why we'll not see photoshop and office (they fail to adhere to the guidelines that apple enforces) and there's business reasons, they don't want to give apple 30% of their profits.

As for firefox what advantage is there for going to the MAS? The product is free, its easily available and there's no incentive for it to be host on MAS.

Who cares about Office?? When you have iWork??

Who cares about PS or those other creative suite overpriced software?? When you have hungry and well capable developers like Pixelmator?

The Mac App Store is the Store where developers can deliver just as good tools like Pixelmator for half the price as PS..

Nobody at Apple Inc really cares if they "Hop" on... If the bring their crazy prices to the App Store, I would prefer they "Hop" out instead.

 

[ftaok]

Yeah the guidelines things makes sense. It's too bad because it almost defeats the purpose of the MAS when there is only partial support. Don't get me wrong, I still think it's good, but obviously it's less than ideal. On the profit note, obviously I can see Microsoft cringe to give money directly to apple, but isn't that 30% comprable to what they pay to package it, ship it, and sell it in retail outlets?

My guess with respect to Microsoft Office is that they would object more to the licensing/limits than to the 30%. Current MAS rules allow you to install purchased apps on an unlimited number of Macs. The most liberal version of Office allows for only 3 installs.

I don't think Microsoft is adverse to sharing revenue with retailers. Office is available for the Amazon Mac Download store. I'm guessing Amazon gets a cut of the sales price ... not sure what the %age is, though.

 

[Young Spade]

I think that as time goes on and the App Store gets bigger, more and more applications that are made by smaller groups of people will jump on board.

There is a tradeoff when using it; you're giving Apple a percentage of the money BUT you have the opportunity to get your name out there. I have countless applications that serve specific purposes on my Mac that I found through word of mouth on forums. You jsut won't get that many people if you host your application on some site somewhere.

The App store gives you the ability to be seen by everyone with a mac, have screenshots, and user reviews. Of course you can have that and more on your own site but it just doesn't "feel" the same as when you're looking around on the store.