

Will the Mac App Store make the sky fall? - hamey
http://bonobolabs.com/will-the-mac-app-store-make-the-sky-fall/

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Legion
Sky falling? No.

I do expect that there will be some short-term pain. iOS device owners are
pretty well conditioned to expect low app prices from the App Store.

Eventually, though, users will adjust. The App Store will have the software
they need. Desktop software isn't dominated by impulse buys the way phone apps
are.

~~~
ggchappell
> Desktop software isn't dominated by impulse buys the way phone apps are.

Ah, but perhaps that is true _because_ there has been no desktop App Store.
But now there is. Things may very well change.

~~~
neworbit
There is a pretty good desktop app store which drives a lot of impulse
purchases: Steam. Sure, it's game specific, but they've done a very good job
with it.

~~~
twymer
Stuff like these recent holiday daily deal days have spurred plenty of impulse
buying for me.

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pedrokost
This may be a bit out of topic, but I wonder why doesn't Ubuntu (and other
Linux distros) improve their App Centre quicker. They have it since so long,
but it still looks crappy IMO. From the screenshots I've seen of the Mac App
Store, it looks really nice and a giant step in front of Linux.

~~~
aurora72
Ubuntu 10.10 is good, suprisingly good compared to its previous versions.
Making it boot from any USB memory stick with persistent storage feature was
so easy that I suddenly found myself using Ubuntu 10.10 right from the 4GB USB
stick on my Laptop.

The overall experience feels different from the others (MAC OS X & Windows) so
much so that you almost forget the existence of any App Centre, at least
initially.

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brudgers
The implicit assumption is that prices of existing applications will be forced
lower. Considering that the app store gives new comers a leg up over
traditional channels and puts them on equal footing with established products,
there is reason to be pessimistic about the prospects of some pre-appstore
products. Particularly when existing products may not conform to the technical
restrictions required for appstore approval.

~~~
akadien
History with iOS suggests a level playing field will be very short-lived. Once
a couple of indie developers hit it big with MacFart desktop apps (don't hate
- a friend who bought an iPad for Christmas is proudest of a fart app), the
big developers will rush in, crowd the store with marginally higher quality
apps compared to the indie developers with fewer features than before, and
dominate.

~~~
brudgers
I don't believe the iOS model is necessarily the appropriate analog. There
were no established iOS applications when the Appstore started. That's not the
case with the Mac platform where there are many established products which
because of implementation will not be eligible for the MacAppStore due to the
implementation restrictions on applications.

In addition, many dual platform [Win/OSX] applications might take a 30% margin
hit because of Apple's cut. Such companies face the prospect of either raising
their price on all their products and thus loosing any cost advantage;
forgoing the appstore altogether and missing a distribution channel; or
providing different pricing depending on platform and potentially alienating
Mac customers. Companies which have long supported the Mac such as Adobe and
Nemetschek AG in particular face these issues.

