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Apple posts guidelines for Mac App Store (and we have highlights)
Apple has posted the Review Guidelines for what will soon be the omnipresent Mac App Store, and many developers aren't happy with what they're seeing. Like the iOS App Store, Apple will control the gates and review each application before it's posted. Of profits made, 70 percent will go to the developers, and 30 percent will presumably pay for chairs in which Steve Jobs and the rest of his executive team will sit to watch the iOS App Store money roll in. We took the liberty of rounding up some of the most intriguing lines from the document so that those of you who don't have access to the developer portal can get the highlights. According to Apple, your Mac app will be rejected if: It is a "beta," "demo," "trial," or "test" version It duplicates apps already in the App Store, particularly if there are many of them The developer is "spamming" the App Store with many versions of similar apps. You will also be removed from the Developer Program if this occurs. It is not packaged and submitted using Apple's packaging technologies included in Xcode - No third party installers are allowed. It requires license keys or implements its own copy protection It spawns processes that continue to run after a user has quit the app without user consent It has metadata that mentions the name of any other computer platform It uses location-based APIs to control vehicles, aircraft, or other devices (Saying goodbye to my Macbook Air tank project. Sigh.) It uses location-based APIs for dispatch, fleet management, or emergency services It has misspelled Apple product names in its name (i.e., GPS for Imac, iTunz) It looks similar to Apple Products or apps bundled on the Mac, including the Finder, iChat, iTunes, and Dashboard Your user interface is "complex or less than very good" It changes the native user interface elements or behaviors of Mac OS X (Well, that just wiped out 90 percent of the best Mac apps in a single, flaming fist punch.) It creates a store inside itself for selling or distributing other software (i.e., an audio plug-in store in an audio app) Your game portrays realistic images of people or animals being killed or maimed, shot, stabbed, tortured, or injured. (Such as Counter Strike, Halo, and pretty much every other good video game ever produced.) "Enemies" within the context of your game solely target a specific race, culture, a real government or corporation, or any other real entity. (I wonder if this applies to zombies...) It contains user generated content that is frequently pornographic (like "Chat Roulette" apps) Even with that daunting list of red tape, Apple managed to round off the Review Guidelines with a really nice message to those who are creating the apps that sounds like it could be the words of Steve Jobs himself: "Show them their world in innovative ways, and let them interact with it like never before. In our experience, users really respond to polish, both in functionality and user interface. Go the extra mile. Give them more than they expect. And take them places where they have never been before." Now that is a philosophy I can get behind.
Why the Mac App Store rocks for developers
No matter how good your application is, no matter how novel, how brilliant, how special -- none of it matters if you don't have anyone to use it. The iOS App Store changed the way developers work by providing a streamlined channel between software developers and potential customers. Consider my APIkit scanner application. After opening the app to public beta a few months ago, I may have gotten about 200-300 users. Total. (And a grand total of zero feedback, but that's a completely different gripe about public betas.) Contrast with App Store. As far as I can calculate, I have now shipped well over a million apps on App Store -- that's extrapolating from the 600+ thousand copies that iTunes Connect tells me I've pushed out in the last six months, not including updates and such -- just individual purchases. And no, I haven't earned much from those purchases because nearly everything I've put on App Store to date has been free. That's not the point. Being able to touch that many people's lives, and offer them a few nice utilities is the point. Even as a primarily free developer, it's brilliant to know that I can create apps that matter, that entertain, and that help. I love when people write me and say: "This app is fun" or "helpful" or "silly" or "delightful." And I wouldn't have been able to do that without App Store. I've got a ton of lonely little Mac apps sitting on my back burner that I think can help a lot of people. And now there's a chance that I can share them in a meaningful way. Now, step back and consider this from a business point of view. If App Store has done this much to help me reach people as a free dev, consider what it can do for a Mac developer's bottom line. App Store sells apps. It connects customers to content and developers to an audience. And that's why it matters.
Mac App Store announced
Apple today has announced a Mac App Store based upon the popular iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad App Stores. The Mac App Store will offer one-click download of Mac apps, auto-installation, auto-updates, a 70/30 split for developers, and all the apps you buy are licensed for use on all your personal Macs. A Mac App Store is something that has been suggested in the past by press and readers alike, but few thought one would ever materialize. It will be interesting to see how Mac developers respond to this and if any major developers (like Adobe, Microsoft, etc.) join in. The Mac App Store will be a stand alone app available for Snow Leopard and Lion. Application submissions start in November and the store opens 90 days from today.
OS X 10.7 "Lion" Announced
Steve Jobs has just announced the eighth iteration of OS X, dubbed Lion, complete with a monumental new feature, the Mac App Store. Other changes are still pouring in, such as improvements to syncing, full screen app displays, auto-updates, Mission Control (a combination of Spaces and Expose), gestures and more. Read more about OS X Lion on Apple's site here. Updates: Lion will be available summer 2011. The Mac App Store will be available in 90 days.
Mac App Store for OS X 10.6 and 10.7 unveiled, coming 'within 90 days'
Given its success with the iPhone / iPod touch's App Store, we can't say an OS X version is entirely crazy -- and neither can Apple, who just announced such an App Store for its 10.7 release, Lion. Here's what we know so far: multi-touch gestures, app home screens, full screen apps. "Every app on the iPad is a full screen app," says Steve. Auto save, apps resume when launched. Don't expect on-screen multitouch, as Jobs is very much against vertical touching. "Touch surfaces want to be horizontal" -- you can all but kiss those touchscreen iMac rumors goodbye. Just like iPad, there's automatic installation, auto-updates, a 70 / 30 revenue split for developers, one-click downloads, and the license works for all personal Macs. The App Store itself is a standalone app that looks a lot like iTunes. Apps are automatically dropped into the dock after download. Expect it to hit OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard users "within 90 days" from today. And developers? Apple's accepting app submissions starting in November. Update: Apple's main site and developer site have been updated with App Store information pages, although there isn't much new to see beyond what was announced at the event. Update 2: From the looks of that image above, individual iLife and iWork apps will be unbundled in the future for separate purchase. We're also wondering if this is the end of Apple Family Packs -- volume licensing that lets you install one copy of Apple software on up to five Apple-labeled computers -- after hearing Steve say that Mac App Store apps are "licensed for use on all your personal Macs?" Check out our liveblog of Apple's Back to the Mac event right here. %Gallery-105529%
Jobs: No Mac app store coming
Whether you love or hate the closed nature of Apple's iPad and iPhone app stores, you can't deny that they've helped Apple's touch devices become the hits they are. From time to time, Mac OS X app developers have expressed fears that Apple may implement a Mac app store and only allow Mac apps built to run on OS X to be sold through it. The benefits of this would be a universal store front and QA assurance though Apple. However the draw back (and it's a doozie) would be end of the Mac's open development platform. Well fear not, developers. Steve Jobs has officially put an end to these rumors before they spiral out of control. Fernando Valente, developer at Chiaro Software emailed Steve Jobs and asked it the rumors of a Mac app store and no software running on OS X without authorization from Apple were true. Jobs' answer: "Nope." Apple knows that what works well for one OS platform wouldn't work well for another, so everyone can breathe easier.
