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Leaving the Mac App Store

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Re: Leaving the Mac App Store

#291

Post by vacri »

vitd wrote: post #212
heartbreak wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where would you say that Steam currently falls short as a desktop app store? Didn't they roll out general purpose apps for Windows a while back?

1) It's buggy. Literally 50% of the time when I launch it, it says it can't reach the network. Meanwhile my browser and email are chugging along just fine. Another launch of Steam and suddenly it sees the network. No other app I run has any problem reaching the network ever. 2) Steam "updates" itself every time I launch. I see others saying it only happens once a month, but I literally cannot launch it and have it no…

I always liked how when you buy a game, the app freezes, and you get the "thanks for purchasing" email before the app unfreezes.

I don't think it's a terrible app given everything it's trying to do (and primarily that it's a retail outlet, not a social network), but it can definitely do with a bit more polish.

Re: Leaving the Mac App Store

#292

Post by rmc »

VeryVito wrote: post #46

I'm glad to see successful apps exiting The Mac App Store, and I hope others will follow. Unlike its iOS counterpart, which is great in many ways (new app discovery not being one of them), the MAS has unfortunately done more harm than good to the once-thriving indy Mac app-development scene. It offers a low cost of entry, but also encourages "pump-and-dump" development, in which developers are actively (though surely…

> Unlike its iOS counterpart, which is great in many ways

I think the fact that it's mandatory has something to do with why people don't leave the iOS App Store.

Re: Leaving the Mac App Store

#293

Post by TazeTSchnitzel »

janfoeh wrote: post #245
dangero wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The actual MAS store app itself is a horrible piece of garbage wrapping a bunch of web views. Just make it a real native app and rewrite it." Native app is not really a black and white concept when you're talking about an app that mainly just interprets and displays live data it receives. If it's not html, then it's going to be xml/json/some other markup with a custom presentation layer on top. Why would that be bet…

You're probably right. I would still agree with the parent in that they feel like a badly done webview wrapper, because the symptoms are so similar. iTunes Store, App Store, MAS, Apple Music — there is definitely a pattern there, at least on the desktop. I find them all similarly clunky, slow, ugly and unpleasant to use. Apple almost seems to be inherently incapable of creating a decent store front, and I am curious…

The pattern is because they're the exact same app. All of those are just the iTunes Store, which is a web page on every platform. The iTunes Store is a little clunky but it works fine.

Apple also have the Apple Store, which is a separate thing that's a website - I believe it's a WebObjects app and the iTunes Store is as well.

Re: Leaving the Mac App Store

#294

Post by ThomPete »

joeblau wrote: post #286
ThomPete wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you on almost everything beside the web view part. In my understanding web view is used because it's a very advanced layout engine and way easier and more flexible to deal with than to set all this up using the native layout engine. Edit: For clarity.

The layout in iTunes and the Mac App store app is something that you can implement with a native constraints based layout.

Yes but is it as easy to do? For all it's shortcomings very few things are as flexible and powerfull as being able to use web technologies to layout.

Re: Leaving the Mac App Store

#295

Post by rmc »

tomphoolery wrote: post #79
song wrote: post #3

I avoid buying from the mac app store as much as possible. If Apple ever decided to change mac os x to no longer allow external applications, I would switch to Linux right away. I don't want to do that because I do like the os X better a GUI... But there's no way I'd stay on a system that wouldn't allow me to do what I want with it.

> If Apple ever decided to change mac os x to no longer allow external applications, I would switch to Linux right away. Even if that did happen, which it wouldn't, what would stop you from compiling the application yourself, theoretically? If Apple computers allow for compilation of their own software, which they probably always will given that a Mac is the only way you can make OS X or iOS apps at this time, then O…

> what would stop you from compiling the application yourself, theoretically?

What do you do about third party closed source Mac software?

Re: Leaving the Mac App Store

#296

Post by ThomPete »

s73v3r wrote: post #249
ThomPete wrote: post #52

I used to have an app in the MAS but recently removed it and is using Paddle instead. There are so many things wrong with the MAS. Sandbox is the biggest complaint I have. I can understand it with the iOS to some degree. At least there they are constantly providing new features and hardware changes to help apps keep being innovative. To give an example of the Sandbox issue. We are using AppleScript for some of our lo…

"You would think that at least people would be able to turn off such a thing with apps they knew were ok. But no." If you allow that, then "Amazing Super Awesome Free Desktop Calendars" is going to ask for it as well.

It already can. You don't need to go through the MAS to download and install an app on your Mac.

What I am talking about is if I am downloading something from the MAS. If I am using an app and it pops up first time with the spinning gear I should be able to hide the spinning gear for that specific app.

I find it absurdly ironic that such a powerful system doesn't give me that simple ability.

Re: Leaving the Mac App Store

#297

Post by hapless »

api wrote: post #274
z1mm32m4n wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I keep wondering if Apple wants to kill OSX and take everything toward iOS, totally jailed everything, and the cloud. While the Surface and iPad Pro continue to improve, I have a really hard time seeing tablets "killing" laptops like, for example flash drives and cloud storage "killed" CDs. I'm not quite sure this is a winning strategy for them. There has been hype for a while that tablets will replace laptops. But…

It feels a little bit like it's being pushed. The reality I think is that it's being pushed a little and pulled a lot by the mainstream of the market. By mainstream I mean non-tech-savvy users, non-hackers. That's most people. I can completely understand how wonderful a "managed platform" like iOS is to a non-technical user. No malware! (Or at least greatly reduced risk of it.) No OS rot! No IT! No complicated system…

Emacs provides really a very nice UI for working with email.

Re: Leaving the Mac App Store

#298

Post by teen »

dreen wrote: post #133
cmdkeen wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is ridiculous when Steam is there as a shining example of what a store could be. Not having to worry about keys and updates is fantastic for me, plus good discovery and upselling opportunities for developers. Someone is going to crack desktop app stores one day and do very well. The cost of entry is high (not necessarily in cash, more in reputation) but there are plenty of players who could do it. There's even…

Steam is terrible. It requires the whole app to be running and fully up to date before you can launch a game. It has a slow load time. Even on a decent machine, if you haven't played a steam game in a while and you want to run one, you might be looking at a good few minutes before the game even starts to load. In the name of what, stopping piracy? AFAIK most pirated games come from steam anyway. I realise this is sti…

this isn't true- you don't have to update games. it's up to each individual game to decide.

Re: Leaving the Mac App Store

#299

Post by zdw »

janfoeh wrote: post #284
ethbro wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple almost seems to be inherently incapable of creating a decent store front, and I am curious as to why they have that organizational blindspot. Because when you have a captured userbase, there's no incentive to improve / innovate?

Even if you believe that Apple as a whole doesn't have the drive to make stuff as good as they can (fair, although I believe otherwise), and even if you believe they have a captured audience (how?) — do you indeed believe that Apple is happy with 15% (US) market share for desktops and laptops? Even accepting everything else, that seems like a huge incentive to me not to get complacent.

> do you indeed believe that Apple is happy with 15% (US) market share for desktops and laptops?

Seeing as in 2009 they had >90% of the market of PC's above $1000 (see here: http://betanews.com/2009/07/22/apple-has-91-of-market-for-1-... ) which is the profitable part of the market, probably they are.

Re: Leaving the Mac App Store

#300

Post by huac »

outworlder wrote: post #224
robotresearcher wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a parent of young kids, and fire up steam maybe once a month. Guess what happens to my precious game time nearly every single time.

Yeah, exactly the same thing happens every time. There isn't much of a way around it though, it should really do automatic updates.

it does...

if you don't want steam to be a distraction but still install updates, run it and put yourself in offline mode. the footprint is pretty small, except when it's actually installing.

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