Maybe they could do rebates? Like you purchase an app via the app-store and if they have a record of you owning it they can refund some of the money?
Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases
61–70 of 73 posts
Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don't have to wait for Mavericks, it has already happened. Apps that are sold through the App Store can not make use of the the media keys on Apple keyboards, which is why VLC can use them and other apps can't. Edit: other than iTunes
Yep, it's a double-edged sword. The App Store may offer things like the iCloud SDK but will restrict apps from using features that compete with Apples own apps, as well as any cool hacks which apps outside the App Store are free to make use of. My take is that Apple is herding developers into the App Store, enticing them with SDK features and the promise of riches, and at some point they will change the default gatek…
Big fat warning is already the default, isn't it?
Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases
#63Boo hoo. The people paying $80 for todo list management don't need upgrade pricing. If they do, maybe charging a less insane price would make the App Store issue moot. Building stuff for Apple products is like dating and being madly in love with someone who doesn't love you. Everything is great until they don't need you anymore. Remember the independent resellers of Apple products, who operated actual physical stores…
> The people paying $80 for todo list management don't need upgrade pricing.
Omni makes good products that are (IMHO) worth $80, and paying full price for an upgrade is unfair whether that's an $80 app or a $3.99 app.
The problem isn't that software costs $80, it's that giving up freedom to use AppStore ends up hurting users and developers.
Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases
#64Boo hoo. The people paying $80 for todo list management don't need upgrade pricing. If they do, maybe charging a less insane price would make the App Store issue moot. Building stuff for Apple products is like dating and being madly in love with someone who doesn't love you. Everything is great until they don't need you anymore. Remember the independent resellers of Apple products, who operated actual physical stores…
> The people paying $80 for todo list management don't need upgrade pricing. Omni makes good products that are (IMHO) worth $80, and paying full price for an upgrade is unfair whether that's an $80 app or a $3.99 app. The problem isn't that software costs $80, it's that giving up freedom to use AppStore ends up hurting users and developers.
I'm not sure this is the kind of thing that can be categorized as fair or unfair. The upgrade-pricing model follows the rationale that users pay a higher up-front cost for software, then each upgrade is a maintenance fee to support continued improvement of the software. The flat-cost model spreads the cost of continued software development equally over all users.
The feeling of whether or not this is "fair" depends upon whether you're a new user or an existing user. With the upgrade-pricing model, new users are confronted with a much lower price point, which is unavailable to them. This can be a significant psychological barrier to purchase execution. However, existing users are more likely to feel appreciated and stick with the product because they receive favorable pricing.
With the flat-cost model, you have the inverse. New users no longer feel marginalized, but existing users may consider alternatives at each time-of-purchase for upgrades.
Apple's vision of flat-cost pricing dictates that the price point should be held as low as possible, increasing accessibility from a broader market. With software, there are no incremental costs, so your price point is a matter of supply/demand tuning. There are countless blog articles on this subject.
While there isn't consensus on which model (flat-cost vs upgrade-pricing) is the most successful, each has its pros and cons for consumers. I don't think either could be characterized as fair or unfair.
Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases
#65"We are not allowed to distribute updates through other channels to apps which were purchased from the App Store." The solution is simple. All Mac developers should stop selling through the App Store, regain control of the distribution channel, and leave the Mac App Store barren of quality applications. Until Mac developers have leverage, Apple will continue taking their 30% cut and enforcing rules which suit them an…
... or switch back to Linux, and just download everything you need, without encumbrances like this. I recently switched back on all of my OSX and Windows machine, and it feels great. Only through years of contributions to open source projects, and hanging my head in shame can I ever be redeemed. Oh, and Steam is only going to get better!
I have no problem with using Linux instead of Mac OS X. I would love to in fact, but I have a laptop. One of the greatest features of my laptop is that I can close it up and take it with me. I can then open it up and continue work.
The problem I run into with Linux is that sleep, suspend, and hibernate do not seem to work or work reliably. This is what is holding me back from jumping to Linux for the most part.
Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases
#66The Mac App Store does provide something of value: app hosting, oh-so-easy purchasing (just enter a password, as Apple has your credit card details on file), app delivery, license management. But the downsides. Boy, the downsides. And they take a 30% cut of the gross price. It would be really nice if there was an alternative App store, which offered the similar benefits, was cheaper for developers, was curated, but w…
There is http://appbodega.com/ but, yeah, nobody buys there anything.
Which underscores the single greatest value of the App Store: the market.
Apple has built a population of dedicated users who are willing to spend money. They did this by building a product that asks consumers to spend a little more to get a little more. Now they've created a channel through which developers can access those consumers directly through the host operating system, and they charge a fee for that.
When you look at alternative marketplaces, it becomes clear that the value of the App Store is more than just "app hosting, oh-so-easy purchasing (just enter a password, as Apple has your credit card details on file), app delivery, license management".
Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
... or switch back to Linux, and just download everything you need, without encumbrances like this. I recently switched back on all of my OSX and Windows machine, and it feels great. Only through years of contributions to open source projects, and hanging my head in shame can I ever be redeemed. Oh, and Steam is only going to get better!
I used Linux as my main OS for 7 years before switching to a mac. I just got fed up with all the hardware compatibility problems and stuff that didn't work without spending hours messing around with library dependencies etc. I'm not going back in a hurry.
How long ago did you switch back, because recently this seems to happen less and less. If you're smart and pick a laptop which has proven linux compatibility it really doesn't happen anymore.
I remember 5 years ago getting speakers to mute on my laptop when I plugged headphones in was impossible but I haven't seen a similar problem in my last few laptops.
Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases
#68The problem is Apple doesn't currently care about paid upgrades. They don't sell software that way (witness the new Logic). Developers need to do things to ensure the loyalty of old customers while pricing their software so they can make a living. So the starting price + upgrade pricing model works great. Customer feel like they got a bargain for being loyal and the developer gets to eat. Apple doesn't need to do tha…
> The problem is Apple doesn't currently care about paid upgrades Given that they would make 30% of the upgrade price, I'm surprised they're not actively encouraging this.
They would prefer to make 30% of the full price and not deal with the ongoing costs to support upgrades.
Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The only goofy thing was that my left monitor showed up on the right side, giving me a choice between physically moving the monitors or changing the default positions in the GUI You could have switched the cables. Just saying :)
Depends on if both cables were the same type. Possible the monitor ports were different?
Different cable types. One analog, one DVI.
Re: Update – We’re unable to offer upgrade pricing for Mac App Store purchases
#70Boo hoo. The people paying $80 for todo list management don't need upgrade pricing. If they do, maybe charging a less insane price would make the App Store issue moot. Building stuff for Apple products is like dating and being madly in love with someone who doesn't love you. Everything is great until they don't need you anymore. Remember the independent resellers of Apple products, who operated actual physical stores…
> The people paying $80 for todo list management don't need upgrade pricing. Omni makes good products that are (IMHO) worth $80, and paying full price for an upgrade is unfair whether that's an $80 app or a $3.99 app. The problem isn't that software costs $80, it's that giving up freedom to use AppStore ends up hurting users and developers.
I don't necessarily disagree.
That said, developing for Apple limits the scope of your freedom as a developer, just as leasing an apartment limits the scope of what you can do in your home.
In other words, your becoming more like a tenant in the Apple ecosystem vs. owning some piece of it. The problem with being a tenant is that you can only trust your landlord to the extent that your contact allows. No less, no more.