The newest of Apple’s online ventures, the App Store for Mac has opened, perhaps fated to be the ultimate purveyor of software for Macs, once some of the teething problems of the new service are solved.
The doors opened with not all the merchandise that will eventually be there and you had to upgrade OS X in order to access it, but there it is, in all its radiant glory. It is almost certainly a good idea, a way to spread the iOS4 App Store warm and fuzzies to the developers of Mac applications. That model has certainly been successful with the iPhone and iPad crowds, so it could be seen as simply a way to spread the wealth with the developers that write for Apple’s OS X platforms. That does not mean that the format and formula will be perfect right out of the gate.
For one thing, you need to upgrade to OS X version 10.6.6 to even get to the new store. For another users and developers alike are worried that the Mac App Store could increase the likelihood of piracy. A commonly used Digital Rights Management (DRM) system is being put into use by the new store, and copies of a hack were bing passed around the internet yesterday, allowing users to circumvent the copy protection scheme. According to a CNET story, this is more of a problem with the way developers are using the system to check ownership than it is with the app store or DRM algorithms themselves.
There is also some concern about synching applications purchased from a company’s web site and/or from the Apple store. This problem may be a little thornier than the DRM issues, at least for a while, while Apple and developers work out the kinks. It seemingly is not a problem for Apple, who is using its new Mac app store to sell many of its own applications, including iPhone, iMovie, GarageBand, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and Aperture 3. Although not perfect yet, the Mac App Store sounds promising.
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