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App store for the Mac?
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When will SJ announce an app store for the Mac. Maybe tomorrow
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It’s been debated from time to time. May not necessarily be a bad thing, but the key is reducing developer and user confusion. I can see an App Store finding its way to the Mac by 10.7 or 10.8. It’s like Steam (Valve Software’s software distribution model) for apps.
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Thanks, Steve. -
The sooner that the Mac can share iOS apps, the sooner the door will shut on the competitors in the smartphone, tablet and computer space. This would truly be nails in the coffin. I can’t imagine how signifigant this would be for Apple, but it will substantially boost sales of all 3 products. I think they should be spending their $50 billion on accomplishing this and converting iTunes to the cloud.
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When will SJ announce an app store for the Mac. Maybe tomorrow
I thought that Apple would announce a Mac store in April 2009. The App store was such an obvious success that I thought it was a no-brainer to extend it to the Mac. Turned out that I was the one with no brain.
I think what I was missing was developer resistance. The Mac market is not new like the iPhone market was. There are huge entrenched interests that would be uprooted by a Mac store. And a lot of developers are genuinely afraid that a Mac store would give Apple far too much say in who could develop for the Mac.
I don’t know. I don’t live in that world. From my selfish point of view, a Mac store would a) lower prices, b) make it easier for me to locate pertinent Mac programs, c) make it easier for me to read reviews of Mac programs and d) make it easier or me to purchase Mac programs. I also think that a Mac store would relieve developers of much of their distribution, administration and marketing costs, thus igniting an explosion in Mac applications. Likewise, I believe the ease with which consumers could find, review and purchase applications would lead to a renaissance for developers, consumers and the Mac, in general.
But wadda I know.
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Funny how perception change. Went to log in to Halo Reach today and Microsoft told me the software would work best If I downloaded the disk to my hard drive. funny when I bought the system they sold a 20GB drive and now to run a disk(game) I need to run from the hard drive that doesn’t have the space for 70% of their installed base. Apple could provide a genius function which would meet 90% of the need. When I want software, I have a few requirements which must be met and a few which would be nice, let me give you my requirements and you tell me what probably will work best. The software doesn’t need to be hosted on Apple approved servers, but just like critics review movies, it would be nice if a smart assistant could help me select software, which I know I need but don’t know which software can deliver.
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Johnsonwax
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The only way that a Mac app store would work to the degree that the iOS app store does is to take away a lot of the independence Mac users and developers have over the platform. You can’t shove that genie back into the bottle.
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DawnTreader
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While the idea might be alluring, we are looking at vastly different scales in terms of download size and installation. Of course it would work for simple applications and utilities (for which developers and/or distributors already offer download versions), it would be challenging for Apple to insist on exclusive distribution for high priced, pro level software and I don’t see downloading as practical (for new).
I think we’re more apt to see cloud-based solutions emerge than we are to see a mass move of pro-level software products to an iTunes-style sales scenario.
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I suspect we may see IOS apps show up as widget type apps on Mac first and then expand from there.
Greatly expands the installed base for iOS developers vs. android.
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Johnsonwax
- [ Ignore ]
I suspect we may see IOS apps show up as widget type apps on Mac first and then expand from there.
Greatly expands the installed base for iOS developers vs. android.
Well, greatly might be overstating it. Apple sold roughly as many Macs this year than they did iPhones this quarter. Realistically they’d only have about 2 years worth of users to reach. But yeah, it would help.
I’m not sure it would be worth it, what with problems with the Mac lacking the kinds of inputs that iOS does - the accelerometer, etc. I don’t know - I’m of mixed mind on this one.
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I’m not sure it would be worth it, what with problems with the Mac lacking the kinds of inputs that iOS does - the accelerometer, etc. I don’t know - I’m of mixed mind on this one.
When the nano was introduced this year and there was all this talk about it running iOS and running applications, I initially dismissed the idea. The Nano was an entirely different animal from any of the other iOS devices. The screen size, processing speed, well, pretty much everything would be different. There would be tremendous fragmentation.
But now I’m beginning to warm to the idea. So what if the Nano, the Mac and the TV are different? There are 250,000 app for the iPhone. But if there are a mere 10,000 apps specifically designed to run on the Nano, the Mac, the TV, that’s more than plenty. Developers could choose to develop for those programs or not as they saw fit.
And from a competitive point of view, there are many advantages. It’s a marketing differentiator. It can’t be duplicated by competitors. It provides another revenue stream to developers. It encourages cross-polination of Apple products by developers and cross-purchaing of Apple products by customers. Expanding the OS into Nanos, Macs and TVs is Apple’s core competency and perfectly aligned with their corporate goals and philosophy.
Not saying it will happen. Just liking the idea more and more.
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capablanca
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Apple is a software platform company. Steve told said so yesterday, for those who did not already know. Further integration of Mac to the platform is coming, whether it takes the form of a Mac App Store I do not hazard a guess.
Mac and OSX, while not themselves not all that mobile, are a huge competitive advantage in the mobile market and nobody else can match it. Only Microsoft and Google have any semblance of an answer.
Mac is still a the black sheep in the computer market. Many, many big websites cannot display properly in Safari; numerous company conference calls still require Windows Media Player; Brokers (Schwab for example) treat Mac customers like 2nd class citizens. Many specialty apps (ham radio, chess, photography, etc.) are still windows only. But in the mobile space this weakness disappears.
Perhaps the Mac App Store is so long in coming, because it will be another round of disintermediation that goes beyond what any of us are currently envisioning.
I think Steve, Tim, and Peter are telling us that Apple is far from done when it comes to innovation.
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Possibly but not today.
I like the idea. I’ve not bought packaged software in some time. Snow Leopard was the last, and I don’t remember the one before that. All my games and utilities are downloaded. It’s how I got OpenOffice and other larger apps. I much prefer downloading as I get to test out something before paying for it.However other than bloggers speculating, and how much sense it would make there hasn’t been much else. I believe we’d have heard more rumours from developers. I don’t think it will be today.
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I suspect we may see IOS apps show up as widget type apps on Mac first and then expand from there.
Greatly expands the installed base for iOS developers vs. android.
An interesting theory and discussion of this “dashboard” idea here
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FlipFriddle
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Hmm. Sounds cool, but I’m not sure I’d look forward to downloading Adobe CS6. :)
But sure. Why can’t I play DoodleJump on my MacPro?
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Less is More (more or less).
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Possibly but not today.
I like the idea. I’ve not bought packaged software in some time. Snow Leopard was the last, and I don’t remember the one before that. All my games and utilities are downloaded. It’s how I got OpenOffice and other larger apps. I much prefer downloading as I get to test out something before paying for it.However other than bloggers speculating, and how much sense it would make there hasn’t been much else. I believe we’d have heard more rumours from developers. I don’t think it will be today.
I haven’t bought a program for my Mac in forever. To be fair, I’ve switched most of my focus to my phone and helping my mom with her iPad. But if were as easy to download applications on my computer as it were to buy apps on my phone, don’t you think I’d own 20 or 30 apps, especially those that I already owned on my phone or iPad?
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Possibly but not today.
Wow
I was completely wrong on that one.Signature
Millions if not billions of people use computers and the Internet.
I build computers and fix the internet.
I Win.
