There’s been a lot of chatter about the Mac App Store, some of it negative, and most of it coming from people who don’t have much authority on the matter. The Omni Group has put together an opinion piece on the Mac App Store, and they’ve published it on their blog. It’s an interesting read.
I’m not really surprised that the Omni Group is looking forward to the Mac App Store. They clearly get it, and they’ve gotten it for years. They get that it will be a better buying experience for consumers, and they get that it’ll be a more secure billing system. They get that most people don’t want to figure out how to install their apps, and they get that people want quality.
Overall, they get it.
Ken Case, the author of the article on the Omni Group blog, titled Looking forward to the Mac App Store, outlines a lot of very interesting thoughts about the Mac App Store.
Here’s the best point in the article, amidst a bunch of excellent points:
I think the real benefit is that our software is far more likely to reach consumers who otherwise simply wouldn’t see it.
This point being made by Case really illustrates my opinion about the Mac App Store. A lot of people seem to forget that there’s an entire market out there that has no idea where to begin finding applications. A store front for OS X applicatins is going to result in some pretty huge exposure for developers. But, much like the iOS App Store, there’s potential for disaster, as crap starts creeping in and people try to make a quick buck.
Apple’s going to have a difficult time curating the Mac App Store, and we will surely hear a lot of complaining from people who get denied access to the party. As a consumer, I don’t mind that. I want the best of the best being put up on my screen. But, as someone with a vested interested in this, it has me a little concerned.
Applications that I need or prefer might not make it into an App Store, like LittleSnitch. Do we really think something like that will make it onto the store? It’s a really useful application for some people, but the utility of the app will be limited to a small niche group. We don’t know if these applications will find their way into the Mac App Store, and only time will reveal Apple’s plan.
Thank goodness the Mac App Store isn’t going to be the only avenue for installing applications, but the Mac App Store is going to be the best option.
Article Via The Omni Group
