Mac App Store is Live

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Mac OS is a desktop operating system, it's not a phone.

Thanks for clearing that up for me....

Originally Posted by FanIn80

There's no way to even discuss this without wading 100% into conjecture and speculation, so why even bother?

I don't know... because this is a discussion forum. Isn't speculation and conjecture part of the point of a forum? There are posts here predicting positive things coming from it, why not tell one of those posters to quit their speculation and conjecture?

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by BlackEleven

Thanks for clearing that up for me....


I don't know... because this is a discussion forum. Isn't speculation and conjecture part of the point of a forum? There are posts here predicting positive things coming from it, why not tell one of those posters to quit their speculation and conjecture?

It's not discussing, it's fear-mongering. There's no way to prove or disprove, so it just winds up being another argument about a bunch of other things.

In hindsight, I suppose I should have just ignored the whole thing. I feel like I just grabbed a steak off the table and now a net is about to fall on my shoulders.

[kermitology]

I totally understand this from Apple's point of view, and this is only going to drive the price of their stock up, but man do I ever think this is an evil thing to do.

Apple will now get billions upon billions of dollars without writing a single line of code. It's kind of disgusting. They should be taking waaay less of a cut of the sale of this software.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by kermitology

I totally understand this from Apple's point of view, and this is only going to drive the price of their stock up, but man do I ever think this is an evil thing to do.

Apple will now get billions upon billions of dollars without writing a single line of code. It's kind of disgusting. They should be taking waaay less of a cut of the sale of this software.

I'd always kind of thought that the massive increase in visibility was well worth the 30% (or whatever it is) that developers lose from each sale?

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

I'd always kind of thought that the massive increase in visibility was well worth the 30% (or whatever it is) that developers lose from each sale?

Yes and no.. it can be pretty hard to get traction in the app store given how much crap there is out there.

A lot of developers would build an iOS app to compliment a desktop version that they would sell on their website. Make the iOS app free and subsidize it's development with the paid sales of the desktop version (1Password was an example for me, I got the app for free and paid for the desktop license).

Apple is now trying cornering that market and making profits from it by making the de-facto place to find OS X applications the Mac App Store.

This is evil, evil genius, but still evil.

[simmonjam1]

Does this work with Snow Leopard? I thought we had to wait for Lion to come out for this functionality.

[KTrain]

Also, right now it is fairly easy to navigate the software that is available. Wait until there are 100,000 or 200,000 or more programs in the app store and your app will get lost in the mix.

That being said, I love this delivery method. As others have mentioned, I like that I can get certain programs from iLife and iWork without having to buy the entire package.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by MickMcGeough

I'd always kind of thought that the massive increase in visibility was well worth the 30% (or whatever it is) that developers lose from each sale?

No kidding. It costs a lot more than 30% to go to market on your own. When you throw in the kind of overnight exposure you get... paying thirty cents on the dollar is a no-brainer.

I dunno. I think it's really just an easy place to find trusted software. It's still not the only place to get stuff from, but it sure beats going to Future Shop or sifting through the pile of crap on shareware sites.

The only question I have is whether or not they will allow the really useful stuff. Video converters, audio utilities, transfer clients, etc etc.

Edit: They have iFlicks and Unison up there. One is for importing ripped or downloaded movies into iTunes, and the other is a newsreader for usenet. That's somewhat promising.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by simmonjam1

Does this work with Snow Leopard? I thought we had to wait for Lion to come out for this functionality.

It works right now. You just need to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.6.

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

It's not discussing, it's fear-mongering. There's no way to prove or disprove, so it just winds up being another argument about a bunch of other things.

In hindsight, I suppose I should have just ignored the whole thing. I feel like I just grabbed a steak off the table and now a net is about to fall on my shoulders.

Calling it fear-mongering is just a way to dismiss it without giving any counter-arguments. I could tell you that you were burrying your head in the sand and we could continue on like that ad naseum, but that's what's really pointless here, not the speculation.

I don't see why it's such a stretch to speculate that once Apple copies the idea of an app store from one of their products to another, that they'd want to copy the philosophy behind it. It's a way for them to control both the content on their system and take a cut from everything sold on their system at the same time.

[FanIn80]

You know what would be cool? Student pricing!

[KTrain]

Aperture is $80. Usually $200 in the store.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by kermitology

I totally understand this from Apple's point of view, and this is only going to drive the price of their stock up, but man do I ever think this is an evil thing to do.

Apple will now get billions upon billions of dollars without writing a single line of code. It's kind of disgusting. They should be taking waaay less of a cut of the sale of this software.

I don't know how great of an idea it really is, actually. 3 out of 4 startups in tech are Android Apps, and in the USA, Droid X is outselling iPhone4.

Now you can say that its due to the antenna fear, or because iPhone isn't on Verizon yet, but you got to wonder how long a fad can dominate a market. Especially when startups give you an idea what is "hip" and 3 out of 4 startups are Android Apps.

Then again, hard to argue with a $300B company as well too.

[LChoy]

Apparently it's been cracked according to Gizmodo

The Mac App Store's security has been cracked. This means that, by installing a software called Kickback, you will be able to pirate any applications in the store. However, the crack will not be available until February 2011

http://gizmodo.com/5727080/mac-app-s...ked-for-piracy

[corporatejay]

I think the majority of people just want software that "works" without worrying about spyware etc...

Keep in mind Apple still makes up only about 9% of the home computing market, they are still pretty niche and out of many people's price range.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by kermitology

I totally understand this from Apple's point of view, and this is only going to drive the price of their stock up, but man do I ever think this is an evil thing to do.

Apple will now get billions upon billions of dollars without writing a single line of code. It's kind of disgusting. They should be taking waaay less of a cut of the sale of this software.

I know I'm going to knock your socks off here, but I'm going to disagree.

I really don't see how it's evil exactly. Evil in my eyes would be closing down the platform so apps can only be sold via this method. As of right now nothing has really changed ... developers are more than welcome to continue on with whatever they've been doing. If they want to have their app in the app store and generate more sales by doing essentially nothing that's up to them. I do suppose you could make the argument that if you have an app on your website and you have the same app on the app store, I as a consumer am going to go the route that screws you 30% for my convenience. On the other side of that coin though, if you only have your app on your site, I may be inclined to just overlook your app completely in favor of an app store alternative.

It isn't like apple has done absolutely nothing here. Developing the store and managing it would take resources. Of course they'll make metric sh*t-tons of money, but it's not exactly like they are providing no service whatsoever and just taking 30%.

The developers I've heard speak on the subject by and large think it's a good thing. There are obvious complaints, but for the most part everybody wants in. The most interesting opinion I heard was that one guy was concerned his presence in the app store would generate too many sales and he wouldn't be able to effectively manage his client load (he claimed 90% of his workload was helping people with issues and he rightfully felt that was imperative to his business model).

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

I don't know how great of an idea it really is, actually. 3 out of 4 startups in tech are Android Apps, and in the USA, Droid X is outselling iPhone4.

Now you can say that its due to the antenna fear, or because iPhone isn't on Verizon yet, but you got to wonder how long a fad can dominate a market. Especially when startups give you an idea what is "hip" and 3 out of 4 startups are Android Apps.

Then again, hard to argue with a $300B company as well too.

Not that I understand why you're bringing up android phones in a Mac desktop application thread, but here's the latest numbers:

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Russic

I know I'm going to knock your socks off here, but I'm going to disagree.

I really don't see how it's evil exactly. Evil in my eyes would be closing down the platform so apps can only be sold via this method. As of right now nothing has really changed ... developers are more than welcome to continue on with whatever they've been doing. If they want to have their app in the app store and generate more sales by doing essentially nothing that's up to them. I do suppose you could make the argument that if you have an app on your website and you have the same app on the app store, I as a consumer am going to go the route that screws you 30% for my convenience. On the other side of that coin though, if you only have your app on your site, I may be inclined to just overlook your app completely in favor of an app store alternative.

It isn't like apple has done absolutely nothing here. Developing the store and managing it would take resources. Of course they'll make metric sh*t-tons of money, but it's not exactly like they are providing no service whatsoever and just taking 30%.

The developers I've heard speak on the subject by and large think it's a good thing. There are obvious complaints, but for the most part everybody wants in. The most interesting opinion I heard was that one guy was concerned his presence in the app store would generate too many sales and he wouldn't be able to effectively manage his client load (he claimed 90% of his workload was helping people with issues and he rightfully felt that was imperative to his business model).

The thing I'm excited about is how this is going to stimulate the Mac app market overall. We all saw how the App Store literally changed the entire mobile space almost overnight... I'm seriously stoked about how the Mac app landscape is going to look in 6 months to a year from now.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it's like I'm found wanting right now when it comes to applications on my Mac, but there's no denying we're all going to be in for a treat in just a few months.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Russic

The developers I've heard speak on the subject by and large think it's a good thing. There are obvious complaints, but for the most part everybody wants in. The most interesting opinion I heard was that one guy was concerned his presence in the app store would generate too many sales and he wouldn't be able to effectively manage his client load (he claimed 90% of his workload was helping people with issues and he rightfully felt that was imperative to his business model).

Was this the author of SuperDuper?

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Not that I understand why you're bringing up android phones in a Mac desktop application thread, but here's the latest numbers:

Because the way Apple runs its business, like the exclusiveness here, does affect their future. Working in the Valley, and that I know a lot of entrepreneurs and I'm on the mailing list for recruiting/funding for startups, I get to see a trend a lot of people don't. As I said, 3 out of 4 startups are Android Apps, probably a large part due to the exclusiveness to design iPhone apps.

Mac Apps for iPhone/iPad are leading right now, but there are certain factors other than the colour of iPhones or other fad things like that. Working in semiconductors (both my projects, and ones for companies like Broadcom, Maxim, Analog Devices, TI, National, Fairchild, et al) we work on a lot of projects that encompass pretty much all of the smart phones and tablet computers... and I know what the customer is looking for in the next generation or 2 generations ahead, because of the time it takes to go through chip level design, then board level, then packaging etc.

Be it Android vs iPhone, or HTML5 or whatever... smart phones are replacing laptops as the go-to, and it shows in the projects being bid... Over 50% of each semiconductors company is technical marketing. Don't think for a second that technical marketing doesn't look at the number of startups for Android Apps (which is dominating over all other possible startups - WiFi, WiMax, electric cars, all the websites like Groupon and so on)... to figure out what sales and each guy's cut is going to be in 2 generations ahead.