Mac OS Xperience going downhill...
 

I needed to download Trillian today so I follow my normal steps when obtaining new software:

- Go to Developer's site
- Look for Download link
- Look for Mac version of app
- Click DOWNLOAD

...at this point the file should download. Instead I'm told to look at the program in the Apple App Store.

- Open Apple App Store
- Click the "Free" button to download Trillian
- Enter Apple ID

...forgot my password (I know, my fault)...so now I have to wait 8-hours before I download Trillian? This is BS. I should not need an Apple ID to download 3rd party software.


Oh well...with each step Apple takes to lock down their users I just take another step closer to Linux.

sheesh...CNet's download.com was actually easier to use. This is not a good sign.

You can call it going downhill if you want. I'd call it change.

Go to App Store first
Type trill
Select Trillian from suggestions
Click on Free

There are a lot of people out there who install apps on their iPhones all the time but they don't do so on their Mac. From their point of view the App Store will be a big improvement.

I did go to the App Store...but I timed out going down my list of passwords. I don't often login to the Apple site.

Now I have to wait 8-hours to download Trillian. I'm wondering if Trillian's developers did this to save bandwidth...or because of some Apple App Store rule.

The App Store should be a compliment to the system, not a requirement. Sorta like apt-get.

You don't keep your passwords in the OS X keychain?

Probably to save bandwidth and all the other costs and hassles of maintaining a public-facing server.

It's completely up to the developers (not Apple).

LOL, I stopped using the keychain because I became too dependent on it. This is a perfect example of my plan backfiring.

Almost all of my passwords are synced up and I change them all when I have to change my Active Directory password. I know it's my fault for forgetting my password...but that's something that happens often.

I can fully understand wanting to save bandwidth, good to know it's up to the devs.

In the end I got the software from "the site formerly known as VersionTracker"...

MacUpdate.com
 

... or just type the name of the software into Google—adding the word Mac—and download right from the developer. The new Mac App Store is cute—we needed cute?

You can make up a watch list on MacUpdate.

And spring for a copy of 1Password. Really, it smooths things out.

You can completely ignore the Mac App Store if you want. Maybe the key (no pun intended) to enjoying using OS X is the extent to which you can customize every little thing.

This was my original point. I was upset that I *had* to use the App Store.

The developer's site just redirected to the App Store...there was no way to download from the dev directly. It turns out it's a choice made by the developers, as opposed to being mandated by The Jobs.

My reaction was perhaps just a knee-jerk from the overbearing restrictions Apple has been trying to feed us lately.


Mark me down in the "Will not use App Store if at all possible" column.

If you are already good at downloading and installing Mac apps, you don't need the App Store.

Imaging trying to help someone over the phone, someone who has never installed anything on their Mac before. You want to help them install three apps. Would you rather talk them through three App Store installs or three separate installs? It's no fun explaining disk images and .zip files to people who have never used them before.

True, the App Store can spoon feed those with e-palsy. Now that I realize there isn't a "distribute via the App Store only" mandate I'm not as opposed to it.

Apple has a long history of making the convoluted simple.

I'm all for simple. One button is great. Just make sure it's not the only button.

More MAS anger. :)

I'm all for saying that requiring an ID for a free download that Apple doesn't really have to care about, is a little long.

The same is happening with my dad's iPhone. He can't download Google Translate because he forgot his Apple ID, although Translate is free.

Maybe we need an iOS experiences forum too. Maybe.

total BS I dont care how sweet the koolaid is, some of us dont want any.

While I don't disagree, I suspect they want to keep the statistics straight. If Soccer Mom hadn't used an Apple ID for the kiddies free apps she wouldn't now have that $10,000 gift card.

@512k: If you don't like it, don't use it. But don't whine about it either.

I guess you're right. Still, it's very annoying for my dad who can't remember his Apple ID (hasn't used it in years).

I'm sure the Apple Store support people will be happy to handle that - send them an email or give them a call.

There are reasons why a password should be required for all app downloads, even free ones.

• Some apps may be downloaded when temporarily free, perhaps as part of an introductory-price offer.
• Similarly, if a person has used jailbreaking methods for illegally installing apps, they would then be able to easily acquire free app updates.
• The password connects a download to your account, thus enabling the App Store system to help in events like the user re-downloading apps after a lost device has been replaced.
• The App Store also needs the connection to your account in order to feed the built-in app-recommendation system.

There's also a user-education component to requiring the password. Whether downloading a free app or installing a free update to an app the user has bought, the password requirement helps ingrain in users a security procedure: No software can be installed without a password.

Can I mark you down in the "Will not use App Store because I can't remember my own password" column instead.

I can see that one backfiring very badly - if users develop a Pavlovian habit of entering their password all the time, then the more traditional delivery methods will be much more accessable to malware. Download free program, install, enter password as usual -> Trojan gets inserted into system space.

I understand the issue you're bringing up, acme.mail.order, but let's remember the password requirement is when installing via the App Store. In a sense, then, password entry is a user agreeing to the Apple vetting process.

But it's the same process when you download an installer package that needs admin rights. Most end users I know aren't capable of making that distinction.

Agreed. Just like the prompt most folks ignore asking if a user is certain s/he wants to open some application that was downloaded. Really, I don't mean to imply that I disagree with your point about the Pavlovian threat, but I'm inclined to think it's better than the alternative of not requiring user permission (via password).