Tag: mac app store

Categories
Software

Another App Leaves the Mac App Store Due to Sandboxing

MPlayerX is the latest app to leave due to the sandboxing restrictions:

> MPlayerX will lose so many features if it adopted Sandboxing, it could not load the subtitle automatically, it could not play the next episode for you automatically, it could not save the snapshots to the place where you want to, etc. Without those features, MPlayerX were just another lame Quicktime X, which I could not accept.

I initially took a wait and see approach about the sandboxing restrictions, but I am having a hard time not taking a wholly negative view of them the more time goes on.

(via [Michael Tsai](http://mjtsai.com/blog/2012/08/18/mplayerx-leaving-the-mac-app-store/))

Categories
Programming

Theories on How to Make Money in the Mac App Store

> I think the answers are becoming clear that if you want to make reasonable money through the MAS you have to offer some sort of subscription. Barring something that will make the non-MAS more prominent I think you also have to split your application in two, have some sort of sync service and add your non-MAS functionality to the external application. That’s going to be hard to navigate. It’ll be interesting to see if folks manage it.

The theory makes sense, though I hope that is not what the App Store becomes[^ff].

[^ff]: The article also recommends listening to [this episode of the Edge Cases podcast](http://www.edgecasesshow.com/011-pop-software.html). I’ve pumped up it in my listening queue as a result.

Categories
Software

Ben Brooks’ Response To Marco Arment’s Piece on the Mac App Store

Ben Brooks makes a great point that I had not considered:

> As for the worry of ‘low-traffic’, well Apple addressed that yesterday — ensuring that the Mac App Store will forever have high traffic: they made the Mac App Store the only place to get your OS updates for OS X, putting a notice in the Notification Center when you need to check for updates. Every Mac user will have to go into the Mac App Store from time to time, and I am certain many will click over to see what apps are featured. I can’t think of a better way to assure an app store of continued traffic.

Categories
Internet Technology

Marco Arment on the Mac App Store’s Future Irrelevance

Though I’ve seen posts that touch on the problems with Apple’s Mac App Store, this is the first one that tackles the issue head on:

> Apple’s stance seems to be pretty typical of them: comply with the new rules or leave. This usually works for them, but this time, they’ve made a critical strategic error: leaving is often a better option, or the only option, for the affected developers. Many of them have already left, and many more will.

His also addresses how this might harm iCloud’s adoption rate by developers:

> This even may reduce the long-term success of iCloud and the platform lock-in it could bring for Apple. Only App Store apps can use iCloud, but many Mac developers can’t or won’t use it because of the App Store’s political instability.

Really solid piece. Highly recommended.