For me VLC on the iPad has been a real pleasure because it enables me to put XviD encoded videos on my iPad and view them whenever. It eliminates the time-consuming transcoding task necessitated by iTunes limited repertoire.

I wish I'd had some warning so I could get VLC.

What's stopping you? http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html

[if you wanted warning about the iOS version, then you should hang out at MacRumors. They issued that warning over 3 months ago.]

Wait a second, wasn't he referring to VLC on iOS? You linked him to the Mac OS X downloads page. Here is the iOS version.

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately I can't figure out what to do next :confused:

Good point. I was browsing the App store yesterday and ran across an application (My Tracks) that does many things with GPS tracks, including cataloging them, geotagging photos, displaying tracks on a variety of maps, etc. But, I wasn't sure if it was something that I really wanted.

I followed the link to the developer's web site where you can download a 30 day trial version. I tried and liked it. I will probably buy direct from the developer rather than from the App store, even though I probably never would have found it without the App store.

After downloading it you probably need to jailbreak your device, or buy an iOS Developer Account.

Given that he hasn't mentioned iOS or iPad once in this entire thread (which is entitled Mac App Store btw), and given that his last utterance was to complain about the about the icon of all things (again Mac OS), and given that the iOS situation was highly publicized back in Nov:

Ars Technica
Engadget <--note carefully the date & title of that article--
MacRumors <--note carefully the date & title of that thread--

and perhaps much earlier even:
FSF

(all of which would have served as sufficient "warning") -- so,
perhaps my assumption/confusion was not too unreasonable.

:p

Until just now, I was not aware that you must be 13 years of age, or older, to use the Mac App Store.

An interesting statement given the quantity and quality of Mac OS X applications. Do you have any numbers to back up this wild statement?

Seconded. I've been following this for a while now, and I've sort of got the feeling that Mac OS X development has been growing in popularity and momentum since the PowerPC to Intel switch.

Then again, mclbruce did say "compared to iOS development". Comparatively, maybe you have a point, but I'd say that iOS apps tend to be focused on being "first to market" instead of delivering a quality experience, whereas Mac apps generally tend to be just the opposite. You rarely find a Mac application that looks as if it has been thrown together in a couple of hours. iOS developers, a few of them, openly brag about how little time they spent on development.

Another way to look at it would be: "get rich quick" vs. "take your time and do it right".

I have not yet been into the store because I do not want to upgrade to 10.6.6 just to gain access to it. It makes perfect sense that Apple would include those external links while the MAS is still in its infancy. Apple knows that all eyes are on them now, and they have to live up to the high standards that MacUpdate and VersionTracker set. I think it also makes perfect sense that those links will disappear after the Mac App Store has gained popularity, and its competitors are no longer a threat.

The iOS App Store has been around for quite some time and the links to developer sites are still there.

Close one! I turned 14 just before the Mac App Store opened.

And for VLC, I didn't see anything on Macworld. There was (under-publicized) warning, that I missed.

Many of your objections seem to be based on your own predictions of things that you know Apple "will" do in the future. I'm not convinced by the certainty of what you claim will happen. The one thing you can predict is that predictions are rarely accurate.

As I said before, the MAS is perhaps analogous to a supermarket. Yes, there may be less choice in where you do your shopping and lack individuality, but there are many conveniences and benefits for the end user. If you have more "niche" needs, then you may well prefer to do your business direct with smaller individual outfits.

It may be the end of an era in the way that most people get their software -- with Windows set to introduce their own store; and there may even be a Linux equivalent of a "store" from where apps are centrally downloaded and updates notified. ("I remember the days when you had to go to individual websites to get apps...)

It's hardly the end of democracy as we know it. It's a shop. :D:D

I'm very late to the party here (perhaps a relief to you all?), but while I agree that predictions of Apple's future behavior with respect to the store are iffy at best, I agree with the "tone" of BKK's objections: that a free market in Mac Apps is about to become less free; that Apple will exert more control of what we can buy for our machines.

Wikipedia is a good place to start for iOS info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/App_store#Milestones

One source, often repeated in web searches, says that there are 43,000 iOS developers.

http://www.edibleapple.com/number-of...id-developers/

Has OS X ever had 100,000 new apps published in 1 year? I don't have numbers on that, but I doubt it. Have there been 43,000 new OS X developers since the iOS app store started? I don't have numbers for that either.

While I disagree with the dire warnings this thread has spawned, it should be no surprise that Apple wants to exert more control over the entire experience.

The best way to give a consumer the best experience is to control it from beginning to end (a la Disneyworld, iOS, etc). The only question remains is, are you willing to give up that control? If not, and you believe you will NOT agree with Apple's Way, then it may time to investigate another platform.

Just remember, the grass is not always greener.....

My first Mac was a 512Ke purchased in 1986 that I later sold and upgraded to a Mac SE/30 in 1989. I still have that SE/30 in working order running Sys 7.5.5. A few weeks ago, I discovered that if I put an equally antique dumb Asanté 10base-T Ethernet hub between my Leopard machine and the SE/30, I could still file share with it. Can you imagine that I'll be "investigating another platform"? I'll just be less happy, not ready to switch.

Let's imagine a world where Apple's latest Mac has no Terminal app along with other restrictions.
1. Download the necessary Terminal apps, etc from the internet. (assuming that non-Apple websites still exist, also the ability to download files.)
Bingo. Control restored.

2. Restore whatever functions have been restricted by using Xcode. to roll your own.
Bingo. Control restored.

3. Unless Xcode has been crippled in some way to prevent this. Then use GNU tools.
Bingo. Control restored.

4. If all else fails, modify the disk from a Linux computer.
Bingo. Control restored.

I cannot see how Apple could "lock down" the Mac. It's a general purpose Unix computer. (iOs is Unix-based, but Not Unix.)

You can jailbreak the iPhone and iPad. Explain how it's going to be more difficult on a Mac.....?