

Apple Didn't Invent the App Store - peter123
http://www.michaelrobertson.com/archive.php?minute_id=340

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Anechoic
> _And like the term "Windows", "App Store" is a generic computing term that
> was in use prior to Apple's product._

Is there an example of the usage of the term "App Store" before Apple
popularized it? The date search via Google hasn't turned up anything.

edit: I did find this blog post from 2006:
[http://nerddawg.blogspot.com/2006/08/debugging-windows-
prese...](http://nerddawg.blogspot.com/2006/08/debugging-windows-
presentation_16.html)

~~~
ryanhuff
Is that a reference to a store, as in a place that sells things, or a store as
in storage? I am not familiar with the topic discussed on the page, but to me,
the term "app store" is referring to app caching/storage mechanism.

~~~
Anechoic
I'm not sure, I suspect it refers to storage, but that was the only example of
the term 'app store' that I could find prior to Apple's app store
announcement.

~~~
Anechoic
beej71 your comment is dead, but I presume this is the usenet post you were
referring to:
[http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.video.sony/browse_t...](http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.video.sony/browse_thread/thread/c982f7ba9bfbab72/94bc2f0e6160b8cd?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22basically+a+PC+app+store%22)

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mukyu
> Apple says, "...nothing like the App Store has ever been attempted before."

What Apple actually says is """As a columnist for The New York Times remarked
soon after the launch of the service, "[nlothing like the App Store has ever
been attempted before.""""

Yes, Apple is trying to push that idea, but it is not them that said it (in
that instance). Apple even notes that similar mobile phone download
marketplaces existed before their version of one (though they do not mention
the Wii store or Xbox live marketplace which also predate it).

~~~
sroussey
Yes, I noticed Apple carefully quoted someone else as saying they invented an
app store. There is also the context of mobile here, where there is less prior
art (because of the mobile telcoms hold on such things). If Apple attempted to
be super broad here, then I might turn and sue them for 30% of all app store
(and Mac store!) purchases, since I built and pitched Apple the concept in the
mid and late 1990s. Even met Gil Amelio. Right before the purchase of NeXT.
Lawyers can always add my name to any discovery requests from Apple. :)

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coob
List of things Apple didn't 'invent':

* WIMP GUI * All-in-one PCs * Laser Printers * USB * Hard drive audio players * Online media/software marketplaces

List of things Apple made wildly popular with the general populace:

* WIMP GUI * All-in-one PCs * Laser Printers * USB * Hard drive audio players * Online media/software marketplaces

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Pewpewarrows
While not the same thing, show me one person who's touched Linux that didn't
immediately scream "Repositories!" when they first heard about the iOS App
Store...

It's a Storefront for Applications. There's only so many variations of the
name you can come up with before they start stepping on each others' toes.

~~~
wtallis
The App Store bears far more resemblance to Steam than to Linux distro
repositories, which are primarily about resolving dependencies and being able
to upgrade things without breaking dependencies. iOS and OS X Apps don't even
_have_ external dependencies other than OS-provided libraries, and most Linux
package management systems don't have a standard GUI, let alone one at all
like iTunes or the Mac App Store.

~~~
nickbp
I disagree with your claim of their primary use. They're _for_ installing
software; the convenient upgrades and dependency management are merely a side
effect of handling that task correctly.

Also, from TFA, see <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNR_(software)>

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cmsj
In which a minor freetard business celebrity fails to distinguish trademarks
from patents.

~~~
defroost
"Freetard"? What are you twelve? A corporate troll or a Windows user? I will
be so happy when this "*-tard" meme goes away, it is truly irksome.

~~~
stuhacking
Freetard, iFag, luser, Microdroid, B1ff, Pointy haired, Marketroid.

The 'us and them' mentality exists across many boundaries and I don't think
it's going away any time soon. Most just learn to ignore it because whatever
you decide is good, someone, somewhere, disagrees with you.

~~~
cmsj
I am a long term FOSS user and contributor, so I am 'us' here :)

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muhfuhkuh
So, is it "app" or "store" that Apple objects to? Or is it simply the
combination of those terms and, in all actuality, Amazon could simply call it
the "Android App Mart/Market/Superstore/Supermarket" and Apple would just go
away?

~~~
allwein
It's the combination "App Store" that they object to. So yes, Amazon App
Market would be fine, as is the "Windows Phone App Marketplace".

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freerobby
Broadness in itself is not a reason to deny a trademark. "Christmas Tree
Shops" is hardly distinctive. "McDonalds" is a last name. These trademarks are
recognized because brands were successfully and identifiably built around
them. I think the same can be said about the app store - ask any "normal" who
he thinks of when he hears the phrase "App Store." Hint: it's not Google or
Amazon.

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pedalpete
I thought there was an Palm download store back in the late 90's, for the Palm
V and such, but I can't seem to find anything about it.

Am I completely mistaken?? Couldn't you download apps for the old Palms?

~~~
Lazlo_Nibble
Yes you could. There may have been a centralized "store" at some point, but I
don't remember it. Palm OS let you install arbitrary executables, so you
didn't need one.

