On November 1st 2008 Microsoft shut down Windows Marketplace and “transitioned” it to a referral site. Windows Vista shipped with an app store for both Microsoft and third-party apps built-in. So has Microsoft, which has run various varieties of Windows Marketplace over the years, for mobile and desktop applications. Linux has delivered free software like this for years, and some distributions have also featured paid app installers integrated into the OS. Lest you think it is clever of Apple to invent an app store for the desktop, it is worth noting that the concept is an old one.

Of course, like the iPhone App Store, apps are subject to Apple’s approval. Good for customers but worrying for independent software vendors who want to make a living.ĭevelopers pay $99.00 per year to join the Mac Developer Program and then 30% commission to Apple on every sale. The prices for Pages and Keynote makes the price Microsoft charges for Office look impossibly expensive. That is less than typical Apple Store shrink-wrap prices. In the UK, Angry Birds is £2.99, Pinball HD £1.79, and Apple Pages or Keynote £11.99 each. Most important, there is an attractive range of apps at good prices. There is some link between the app and your Apple ID, because if you copy the application to another Mac it will ask for your sign-in details when you first run it, but I am not clear whether this is checked on every run to deter piracy. I am not sure what happens if you install your app on your friend’s Mac, then sign out of the App Store. Users will also like the common-sense licensing, which lets you download and install a purchased app on any Mac you use, controlled by your App Store log-in.

What counts is what I did not have to do – reboot, select from setup options, or deal with perplexing error messages. The TextWrangler icon appeared in the Dock so I could start the app easily. The UI showed Installing, then Installed, and I was done. I picked a free app, TextWrangler, and signed in with my Apple ID. Maybe it is coming round to opinion that iTunes has become bloated it is only for historic reasons that a music player has become an all-purpose app installer. It is interesting that Apple has not used iTunes for the App Store, but has developed new client software. It is only available to users of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, where it comes with the latest system update. Apple launched the Mac App Store yesterday and I had a look this morning.

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