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Ask HN: Who is signing up for the Mac App Store?

8 points by togasystems ↗ HN
Mr. Jobs just let the world know that he is bringing the successful app store model to the Mac.

I know a number of members already have applications for the Mac. Will you be bringing your apps to the new store?

Are you going to create a new app for the store?

9 comments

[ 6.1 ms ] story [ 34.0 ms ] thread
acgourley
Here's my question: Who is going to make money packaging liberally licensed OS projects into the store.
goatforce5
First person to ship a 99c fart app makes a million bucks.
goatforce5
If you consider their 30% cut as a marketing expense, it's probably a pretty good deal. For that 30% cut you're going to have your product in front of a whole lotta eyeballs.

It'll also be interesting to see if the app store agreement allows you to sell the same app outside of the store and, if so, if you're allowed to have different pricing.

togasystems
Another good question is what are going to be the limitations on the API?
djacobs
I for one am not interested in having a constrained application environment on my computer. I'm glad Steve's giving us a choice with this release, but as soon as the App Store becomes the way to buy and run OS X applications, my dual boot MBP is going to turn into a full-time Linux machine.

I think the rise of Ubuntu, the tightening of the OS X ecosystem, and the rising popularity of geekery are going to converge nicely into a solid market share for open source operating systems.

Just a thought.

d_r
You're underestimating how much this store will help an indie developer like myself.
djacobs
I don't think this will be a boon to developers at all, because people like me won't be buying "apps" for a desktop environment. I want to use the full power of my computer and not have limited options.

Do you think people will be using iOS iWork on their desktops, for example?

raquo
I will definitely try Mac AppStore. Out of these 30%, you will spend at least 10% on billing, hosting, etc. if you distribute yourself, and you will also spend some time doing that (or posting PayPal horror stories to HN). I think the AppStore's wider audience reach will more than offset these mere 20%.

Also, we should expect significant price drops for desktop software (competition), and ignoring that will make your app less competitive, whether you're on AppStore or not.

drdo
I regret immensely having bought a macbook (the only Apple product i own), i didn't know they were this nazi, this only reinforces my regret, i'm never buying an Apple product again.