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Mac App Store: Open for Business

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Re: Mac App Store: Open for Business

#211

Post by akadien »

philwelch wrote: post #201
etherealG wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

distribution already exists! it's called the internet. fire up a website, have a downloadable app, and you're done. I don't understand why people keep saying the same for "app stores" like iphone and android, and now osx too. why can't I just search for an app on a search engine, goto that apps website, download it and run/install it? how does this system benefit me as a user at all?

It doesn't, because you're clever and knowledgable about computers. Unfortunately, not all users are like you. Tell an ordinary user to search for an app on a search engine ("what's that? oh, you mean google!"), goto that apps website, download it, and run/install it, and before you know it he'll have a dozen Bonzi Buddies stealing his credit card numbers.

Most users need a web browser (email, FB, gossip sites), maybe a word processor, and maybe an occasional game. They need something more like Chrome OS, not an app store. Sophisticated users (gamers, programmers, tinkerers) don't need an app store either.

Re: Mac App Store: Open for Business

#212

Post by tftfmacedo »

moopark wrote: post #177
tftfmacedo wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also a security nightmare.

No. It is not. I'm really tired of this argument. It assumes other platforms are the same as Linux, and that's incorrect. Here's why you're wrong: Unlike Linux, Mac OS X ships with a standard, stable, and exceptionally complete set of libraries. Apple goes to great lengths to maintain binary and API compatibility, and this means a few things: - Most applications will only require Apple-supplied libraries, as there's…

I agree with you and I think all your points are valid but the GP specifically mentioned statically compiling dependencies, not using only what is already provided.

Something else that helps with Apple's way of doing things is their reasonably slow release cycle (when compared to most Linux distributions).

Re: Mac App Store: Open for Business

#213

Post by calloc »

rbritton wrote: post #128
generalk wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't see a lot of that on the Mac, mostly because of the culture. A lot of the big players in the Mac development world have been developing software since the 90s or earlier, so have a tangible sense of quality about their work. Newer developers are usually attracted to developing Mac software for that reason, and they don't want to disrupt it.

It's becoming increasingly more popular for developers to release a free, ad-laden version in addition to the paid version though. NetNewsWire is one example and Kiwi is another.

NetNewsWire does its small ad in a very tasteful non-intrusive way. I have yet had the urge to throw the software away for the small ad.

Whereas on the iPhone the iAds and other ads are annoying, intrusive and flashy.

Re: Mac App Store: Open for Business

#215

Post by riobard »

axomhacker wrote: post #141
rudd wrote: post #43

I will say this: Apple is not afraid to leave old technology behind. While website XYZ aims to support multiple versions of every browser, including those released a decade ago (IE6), Apple won't even support Leopard with its new store, which was the version that came with the Mac I got just over a year ago.

Supporting old browsers by XYZ: you have to, to profit. Supporting old OS by Apple: of course they want you to upgrade, to profit. I would not say that's because Apple is brave, it makes business sense.

By the very same logic Microsoft should push as strong as Apple because it makes even more business sense for them. They don't sell hardware. Their profit comes entirely in software. Do we see the same behavior? Hell no.

Re: Mac App Store: Open for Business

#216

Post by calloc »

dgroves wrote: post #179

My x-wife purchased a substantially number of songs from iTunes - we are talking a 5 digit investment. When I moved over seas to England; I was no longer able to partake in my music due to the DRM placed on it by Apple and my new "jurisdiction." I am very deeply suspicious about the 'app-store' what if I purchase an application while I am here in the UK? Is it going to work when I get back to the USA - or will they f…

You can actually thank the music industry and labels for that, they want to artificially keep music in only certain areas. There have been a lot of times that I have wanted to purchase music that is not available in the US iTunes store, and have not been able to do so.

Re: Mac App Store: Open for Business

#217

Post by jdminhbg »

dgroves wrote: post #179

My x-wife purchased a substantially number of songs from iTunes - we are talking a 5 digit investment. When I moved over seas to England; I was no longer able to partake in my music due to the DRM placed on it by Apple and my new "jurisdiction." I am very deeply suspicious about the 'app-store' what if I purchase an application while I am here in the UK? Is it going to work when I get back to the USA - or will they f…

The DRM/territorial restrictions on music in iTunes were a sop to the record companies that Apple tried and eventually succeeding in ridding themselves of. I don't think they have any interest in adding it to the App Store.

Re: Mac App Store: Open for Business

#218

Post by aheilbut »

powrtoch wrote: post #139

Disappointed to see Twitter among the most popular apps. For mobile devices the native-app-front-end-for-existing-websites was arguably necessary and beneficial, but for desktop clients it really feels like a big step back to start moving back out of the browser.

I can see the value in native apps, but I fail to understand why I would want to use a powerful computer with a giant screen to run a poor imitation of a product designed for a phone.

Re: Mac App Store: Open for Business

#219

Post by neovive »

cubicle67 wrote: post #63
neovive wrote: post #20

Does anyone else feel that the word "app" is already branded to mean fast and cheap? Perhaps, it's just a perception that will diminish over time. I guess it sounds better than the "Mac Desktop Application Store".

at the risk of telling you what you already know... programmes on the mac have the extension .app; it's roughly equivalent to .exe in Windows (except it's not a binary, more like a .jar). When the iPhone started, I guess 'App' was the natural name for them, and thus App Store came naturally as well. Now it's come to the mac, it's makes even more sense, because it's back where it (Apps) started

Good point. Although, if everyone moves to the Mac App Store, I wonder if you'll ever get to see the .app extension anymore. I'm assuming apps will all be maintained in a proprietary db.

Re: Mac App Store: Open for Business

#220

Post by RodgerTheGreat »

generalk wrote: post #77
cubicle67 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

at the risk of telling you what you already know... programmes on the mac have the extension .app; it's roughly equivalent to .exe in Windows (except it's not a binary, more like a .jar). When the iPhone started, I guess 'App' was the natural name for them, and thus App Store came naturally as well. Now it's come to the mac, it's makes even more sense, because it's back where it (Apps) started

Minor historical note: the .app extension for application bundles is a holdover from NeXTSTEP. I don't think that has anything to do with the usage of "app" on the iPhone, and I think the Mac App Store is branded that way for similarity with the iPhone store.

Macintosh programs have always been called "Applications", and "App" is a natural slang contraction of "Application". I'd say we're overthinking this, folks.
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