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Apple brings App Store to Mac OS X

engadget.com

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Re: Apple brings App Store to Mac OS X

#31

Post by Poiesis »

gcv wrote: post #12

1. I hope I can still build my own custom Emacs.app from source and install it. 2. I hope App Store apps will be sandboxed and prevented from polluting the system. 3. I hope Adobe switches to the App Store model, and that it will mean that the behavior of the horrific Creative Suite installer will finally be reigned in (take a look in /Applications/.AdobePatchFiles and check how large it is).

During the keynote, it was mentioned that this was an additional way to distribute apps, not the only way.

Re: Apple brings App Store to Mac OS X

#32

Post by danudey »

Aqua_Geek wrote: post #9
protomyth wrote: post #4

Here is my big question: "How do I move existing customers to the app store version of the software without making them purchase it at full price?"

How many customers do you have? I imagine most of the backend powering this will be the same as for iOS, so you can do a couple of things: 1. Give out promo codes. IIRC, you get 100 codes per app version, so if you've got a lot of customers this isn't really feasible. 2. Discount the product for a given time period (ie the first 24 hours you're live) and blast out an email to existing customers. In the backend, you c…

> This brings up another question. In iOS, there is no good way to charge for an update - user buys once and gets free updates for life. Will they change that with the OS X App Store?

The solution for this on iOS is the same as on Mac or Windows - release a new version. From 2.0 to 3.0, a lot of companies will charge for the update. Do the same thing on iOS by releasing a new app entirely. This also lets you fix bugs in the old version for users that don't want to update.

The only thing missing in that plan is an upgrade price. Apple really needs to consider adding something along those lines.

Re: Apple brings App Store to Mac OS X

#33

Post by jcromartie »

bconway wrote: post #7
protomyth wrote: post #4

Here is my big question: "How do I move existing customers to the app store version of the software without making them purchase it at full price?"

The bigger question I have is: why would you/anyone move them at all? If you're already selling for OS X and have an avenue for updating your app, are you really going to give up 30% of your revenue to Apple for the same-old? This only works on the iPhone because it's the only way to get software on the device. Unless that's the next step...

You would probably be able to reach a lot more people and give them a better purchase/install/update experience that could easily compensate for that lost %30.

Re: Apple brings App Store to Mac OS X

#34

Post by JofArnold »

danilocampos wrote: post #21

This is very exciting. The problem of distribution and monetization for desktop software is significant and largely unsolved. Steam is already proof that a digital store can make desktop users really happy, but it addresses gamers, who are cheerful early adopters. Most other people who don't game only know this model through their mobile device, but now they're ready for more. As for developers? For more than half of…

I wonder if this means something for Steam? The UX for the Mac App Store is almost certainly going to be better than Steam's clunky app... And then I wonder about Game Centre too? It's not that great at the moment, but with Jobs meeting Zuckerberg the other day....

But yes - definitely excited!

/me stops speculating and gets back to work

Re: Apple brings App Store to Mac OS X

#35

Post by tlrobinson »

danilocampos wrote: post #21

This is very exciting. The problem of distribution and monetization for desktop software is significant and largely unsolved. Steam is already proof that a digital store can make desktop users really happy, but it addresses gamers, who are cheerful early adopters. Most other people who don't game only know this model through their mobile device, but now they're ready for more. As for developers? For more than half of…

I'm not so excited about this. Am I the only one who thinks this is Apple's first step in exerting more control over developers and users on the OS X platform like they do on iOS?

EDIT: to all the replies about how you still have a choice of distribution on OS X: yes, you do right now, but who knows how long that will last? As I said, this might be the first step in locking down the platform. I don't believe this will happen in 1 or 2 or 3 years, but maybe 5 years.

Re: Apple brings App Store to Mac OS X

#36

Post by ceejayoz »

jaaron wrote: post #24
gcv wrote: post #12

1. I hope I can still build my own custom Emacs.app from source and install it. 2. I hope App Store apps will be sandboxed and prevented from polluting the system. 3. I hope Adobe switches to the App Store model, and that it will mean that the behavior of the horrific Creative Suite installer will finally be reigned in (take a look in /Applications/.AdobePatchFiles and check how large it is).

Oh, please, please tell me Adobe will work with the OS X app store. Adobe's updater needs terminated with prejudice.

I doubt it.

Adobe's installers are just a non-accessible custom UI on top of a normal (and perfectly accessible) OSX package installer. They're convoluted for the sake of being convoluted.

Re: Apple brings App Store to Mac OS X

#37

Post by mdemare »

I've found myself designing apps for iOS that should really be Mac apps, simply because of the commercial convenience of the app store.

My hope is that this will lead to a renaissance of development for the desktop.

Re: Apple brings App Store to Mac OS X

#38

Post by goatforce5 »

jcromartie wrote: post #28

There has been something like this for indie devs for a while. http://appbodega.com/

The big difference being that the App Store will be preinstalled, and probably have a default place on the Dock and a permanent home under the Apple menu in the top left of the screen.

Re: Apple brings App Store to Mac OS X

#39

Post by tertius »

Poiesis wrote: post #31
gcv wrote: post #12

1. I hope I can still build my own custom Emacs.app from source and install it. 2. I hope App Store apps will be sandboxed and prevented from polluting the system. 3. I hope Adobe switches to the App Store model, and that it will mean that the behavior of the horrific Creative Suite installer will finally be reigned in (take a look in /Applications/.AdobePatchFiles and check how large it is).

During the keynote, it was mentioned that this was an additional way to distribute apps, not the only way.

It's like boiling a toad.

Lets hope it doesn't go that way.

Re: Apple brings App Store to Mac OS X

#40

Post by malandrew »

mkramlich wrote: post #10

the big question is whether the App Store will become the only allowed way to get software onto a Mac. Anybody heard anything? If they disallow all the historical ways I suspect there will be an exodus of disgrunted developers, many going to Linux.

No intelligent disgruntled developer is going to ditch OS X for Linux. OS X has 10-20x more userbase than all Linux distros combined.

I'm not hating on Linux here, so don't downvote me for that. I'm just being realistic.

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