Mac App Store: First Impressions

Look familiar?Apple has opened the doors on the Mac App Store, bringing the iPod/iPad app buying experience to the desktop. We've given it a quick run-through, and here are some quick observations.

How do you get it?

You will need to install the 10.6.6 update, and agree to updated terms in iTunes.

Where is it?

After you install the update, an App Store icon is loaded in your dock. Unlike certain apps on the iPhone, you can remove the App Store icon from the dock.

Where do apps go?

By default, an icon to launch each purchased app is placed in the dock, and the app goes into the applications folder. This could lead to some housekeeping if you like a tidy dock. This probably lends itself to the dock functionality becoming more iPhone/iPad screen-like in the future, and 10.7 previews tend to confirm this.

What does it look like?

It looks a lot like iTunes. In fact, when the store was announced, some people said they hoped it wouldn't be part of iTunes. Well frankly, the layout is so similar, it would make a lot of sense to combine them. Then again, this is the "App Store" and within the iTunes store, you also have the "App Store" tab which is where you currently access iPhone and iPad apps. It would make sense to add a third button for Mac apps here. Don't be surprised if these are combined in the future.

What kind of apps are there?

There are titles that you'll be familiar with from the iOS store, like Angry Birds. These titles are mostly priced at $4.99. Then there are free apps like Twitter, that seem more like something you would've found in the widget gallery in years gone by. In fact, a large swath of the store are apps with this kind of single function purpose. Of course you also have Apple's iLife and iWork apps, but no heavy duty software like Final Cut, Word, or PhotoShop. There are a thousand apps out of the gate, with surely thousands more just around the corner.

Thumbs up or thumbs down?

We'll say thumbs up, with the assumption that more and (hopefully) bigger titles will be in the store soon.

The App Store is thoughtfully laid out, but Apple may have made a miscalculation in not allowing demo versions of software through the store. Buying a no-name Office suite replacement for the iPhone for $2.99 is different than paying $49 for something similar on the Mac: You want to have a better idea of what you're getting as the price rises. Maybe there are practical reasons to separate the App Store from iTunes, but for a company who prides itself on elegant design, it doesn't seem like an extra icon/app just to access what is essentially a separate branch of the existing iOS store ecosystem. The buying experience is seamless and effortless. Whether Adobe, Microsoft, et al bring their software to the store remains to be seen.

Five questions about the Mac App Store

There are some lingering questions from Steve Jobs' State of the Mac presentation, specifically the announcement of the Mac App Store coming in the next 90 days. A few things to ponder with the new store:

1. Is the future of mac software going to be all through the app store? In the short term, there's no indication that the Mac App Store will become the sole means to purchase software. Still, it's possible to imagine a world five years down the road, where that's the case. 

2. How many computers can legally share activated software in a home? Steve Jobs mentioned the apps from the store would be licensed for use on all of your personal Macs. In practice, what does this mean? Does it mean businesses can't legally buy software from the store? Does it mean if I am buying Final Cut Studio, I can then install it on five machines in my office, if the first purchase is for my office? Will there be a maximum number enforced, or a limitation on apps running on multiple computers simultaneously?

3. What about people who image machines? Many IT people spend their days "imaging" machines: creating carbon copy deployments of apps/hard drives for an entire organization. What if one of the apps the business uses is purchased from the App Store? Can that app be shared throughout the organization? (see #2) Will there be a way to image apps without going through an activation process? If so, it seems piracy would be a very real concern. If not, this could become a headache in specific IT situations.

4. Can you buy things like plug-ins for software not bought in the app store? There are thriving markets for PhotoShop and Final Cut plug-ins. One of the annoying things right now is the fragmented and confusing nature of buying plug-ins. The App Store holds the promise of making it simple to buy plug-ins, but will the infrastructure be there to seamlessly install a plug-in into an app that wasn't purchased through the App Store?

5. Will Apple rule with the same iron fist as they do with the iOS app store? For better, and sometimes for worse, Apple has the last word on what can and cannot be sold in today's iOS App Store. Will the same watchful policies apply to a Mac App Store? Could Apple decide on a whim to deny something like say, Oh I don't know... Adobe Flash? If anything, for now (see #1) Apple could more easily reject apps since unlike an iPhone/iPod/iPad, there are plenty of other ways to buy software. They could treat it more like the physical Apple Store, allowing only best-of-class software into the store, or it could become more like the large, unruly world of the existing App Store: Would any of us benefit from 400 fart apps for the Mac?

Some of these questions will be answered in the next 90 days, others may take much longer to iron out, but from home users to IT professionals, these are questions that will need to be answered.