

IPhone software sustainability and the death of Mac software - jsatok
http://www.taptaptap.com/blog/iphone-software-sustainability-and-the-death-of-mac-software/

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makecheck
Couldn't it work in reverse? There must be people who learned
Cocoa/Objective-C only to get on the iPhone bandwagon, and are therefore
closer to Mac software development than they would ever have been without the
iPhone.

The article doesn't seem to think that a Mac app store would work, but I know
I'd like one (speaking both as a maker and user of Mac software). I know I'd
buy more, too; it would be easier to know what's actually available, and I'd
discover apps for unexpected things.

~~~
cubicle67
Have you seen <http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/> ?

You're free to submit your software here as far as I can tell, and I don't
think there's any requirements (no annual fee etc). I guess the problem is
most Mac users don't know it exists

~~~
stcredzero
Such directories don't do _enough_ for users, which is why they do not get as
much attention as the iPhone App Store.

From the article:

 _What if Apple did an App Store for Mac software? I doubt they’d actually do
it. Apple loves control and there’s no way that they can have total control
over Mac software sales since the current distribution and sales methods are
in place and well established._

Apple could release new SDKs for other kinds of machines, which require
software distribution through an App Store. This would give them control over
such a market.

I think this may well happen. The "Apple Tablet" would be a great platform to
get this started. Having such a walled garden would seem great from the non
computer-savvy end user's point of view. The user pays an "Apple Tax" and the
government polices everything and keeps things clean and safe. As it was and
still is (not as much) in the freewheeling "wild west" of the online world, if
one doesn't have certain skills, one is a second-class citizen at the mercy of
the more skilled individuals. In such a walled garden world, the "law abiding
taxpayer" would be the one catered to, and those special skilled individuals
become the outlaws. (Or become civil servants and use their skills at the
behest of the government.)

For better or for worse, I think that this is actually what a lot of the less
sophisticated computer users want! (Witness Linux distros like Xandros.) It's
also in Apple's DNA -- getting people to pony up for a well-tended, smoother
experience.

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alextgordon
This is an incredibly one-sided view. Clearly if you're a Mac developer, you
switch to iPhone development and you start receiving truckloads of cash,
you're going to think Mac developers would be stupid not to do the same.
However:

1\. Most iPhone apps are _not_ incredibly successful.

2\. Taptaptap has the full weight of the MacHeist marketing machine behind it.

Even if a swathe of Mac developers did move to iPhone, it wouldn't be long
before the majority moved back to the Mac when the _iPhone Dream_ didn't
materialise. Indeed, if Mac development was going to die, it would have done
already.

~~~
llimllib
neither of your points matters if you believe his assertion that (roughly) the
1000th most popular iPhone app generates 5x the revenue of the 100th most
popular Mac shareware app.

~~~
boucher
Not entirely a fair comparison. It's comparing shareware apps to the entire
iPhone market. I'd venture to guess that nobody would call anything put out by
Microsoft, Adobe, EA, or hundreds of other companies shareware, but those same
companies are all in the same iPhone market.

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bdittmer
App Bodega (<http://www.appbodega.com>) is a somewhat successful Mac app store
that I find useful for finding new apps and keeping track of app updates. It's
also really well done in terms of UI / usability. It's a shame they failed to
even mention it - they're not helping the situation.

Oh, and from what I understand Apple _is_ working on a Mac app store. As
someone getting ready to launch a Mac shareware app I found this quote
especially hilarious:

"Mac software sales since the current distribution and sales methods are in
place and well established."

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jsz0
Apple _would_ have complete control over the software they wanted to offer on
a theoretical Mac App Store. Not so different from the retail boxed software
they sell at Apple Stores. I don't think it's on the top of their priority
list but I bet it happens eventually. If you look at Steam on Windows you see
there is a proven model for success with desktop app stores.

~~~
blasdel
But Steam's DRM system actually provides some value to the customer: it makes
for a very effective anti-cheating system.

If you are detected cheating, you get banned at a random point within a few
days (to kill your testing cycle), and you lose your purchase. The only time
you ever see cheating is during free-pass weekends. I normally pirate
everything, but this is worth paying for.

~~~
stcredzero
A well tended walled garden in the form of an App Store for Apple Tablet
computers and newer consumer-oriented computers _would_ provide a lot of
value.

To most users, a general purpose computer is a _power tool_ that they'll never
make full use of. What most people really want in a personal computer is a
backplane for various _appliances_. They just want to buy those things,
install them, and have them just work. If an App Store ecosystem could mean
Apple could completely shepherd users and take care of their every need, then
this would add value in much the same way. And Apple would be able to figure
out how to market this and get paid handsomely. This is the exactly the
direction that Apple is going with their retail stores. (Especially with the
revamp to increase the social interactivity.)

~~~
jsz0
I think so too. We've enjoyed some good times with security-through-obsecurity
on OSX but it's not going to last forever. I'm leaning towards wanting most of
my apps being vetted and distributed through a trusted source. Of course I
would want to keep the option to install anything I wanted. Given the choice I
would choose to install via a Mac App Store whenever possible. I feel like
anti-virus, anti-malware, etc are like missile defense. Yeah it might work
most of the time, in theory, but if one slips past and hits your city it
doesn't really matter. I find when I use Windows these days I am irrationally
paranoid about installing _any_ third party software. If/When OSX increases in
popularity and becomes a bigger target I fear the same thing will happen.

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wmeredith
This reminds of the "Desktops are dead" articles that have been written for
years. With the growth of people in the world using more and more computers
everyday, there is plenty of room for new distribution channels, stores (Slate
Store?), platforms and such. Even this developer who authored an article about
the death of Mac software said they would continue writing and supporting it.

And it may also just be semantics, but since when is writing for the App store
not Mac software?

~~~
gabrielroth
> And it may also just be semantics, but since when is writing for the App
> store not Mac software?

Since the App Store launched. Mac is Apple's line of computers. The App Store
sells applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch, neither of which is a Mac.

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bad_user
I'd be interested to know how the shareware market is doing on Windows ... no
really, selling shareware is still viable? If it is, I've got a cool idea I'd
like to implement.

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z8000
Why am I being presented with raw fish?

