Reasons not to like the Mac App Store

[capitalj]

Quote: Originally Posted by ThreeBKK Well, according to that article, developers can implement from 0 to 5 different levels of copy protection, DRM, or receipt verification, whichever term you want to use. If you were able to copy Angry Birds over, and run it, on your second Mac, then the developer has chosen not to implement some, most, or all of those five levels. As I see it, this will cause all sorts of confusion among end users, especially those who were previously incapable of installing apps (like mnewman's mother, and mine too). This is even going to trip up folks who do Mac support for a living.

Quote: Originally Posted by renaultssoftware No, but I have the same App Store ID on both computers.

Quote: Originally Posted by ThreeBKK Doesn't sound like Apple has managed to bump up the convenience factor to me.

Developers already implement a wide range of restrictions. I have paid apps that range from one registration per user account to one registration applying to unlimited copies on unlimited computers. I don't feel inconvenienced by having to authorize an app for use on another computer if it was bought with a different Apple ID - it's not a procedure that feels unfamiliar.

As for being inconvenienced by not being able to authorize the app without an internet connection, again, that's normal. It's not surprising that users are expected to have access to the internet on a regular basis. Most people do.

But I definitely sympathize with the frustrations of dealing with technologically-challenged moms. I've got one, too.

The App Store absolutely needs improvement. (The MacWorld list is spot-on.) I don't see any insurmountable problems, but I'm not entirely comfortable yet. Then again, it's new. Change is disrupting. I'll continue to reserve judgement.

[renaultssoftware]

Quote: But I definitely sympathize with the frustrations of dealing with technologically-challenged moms. I've got one, too.

Same here. I think my grandpa would appreciate it immensely.

[Hal Itosis]

Boy, Apple sure knows how to invigorate the masses.
[methinks this topic is a bit hyperactive at this stage]

[Jasen]

Quote: Originally Posted by ThreeBKK Well, myself, together with a few others, have laid out at least ten major problems and / or future concerns with the Mac App Store. If none of these ten items are problematic for you, then count yourself lucky! Several of them are problematic for me, and I see no benefits given to me in return.

If you have problems with the App Store, or even problems with its concept, then don't use it.
No one, even Apple, is forcing you to use it.

And until someone *does* attempt to force you to use it, what do you really have to complain about?

[chabig]

By "future problems" he means "irrationally imagined future problems".

[ThreeBKK]

Quote: Originally Posted by mnewman Ever since the Mac came out Jobs' vision has been the computer as an appliance. At the Mac introduction in 1984: "The Mac is a desk appliance, the first since the telephone." Like it or not (and I don't much), that's the direction Apple is heading with all of it's platforms. In Jobs' view, the less the user has to get under the hood the better. He's betting that's what consumers want. I think he's right.

I'm hoping that SJ was not the progenitor of the Mac App Store. One possibility is that the decision was made by the majority shareholders, and then forced upon SJ to execute, after they saw how much money the iOS App Store was raking in. Maybe he realized that leaving well enough alone was the better road to take, or maybe it was his brainchild. Who knows?

[renaultssoftware]

Quote: Originally Posted by chabig By "future problems" he means "irrationally imagined future problems".

Good point. All of these fears are unjustified.

[GavinBKK]

Quote: Originally Posted by renaultssoftware False. I installed Angry Birds on one computer and copied it over to the other. No problem.

Quite.

I bought Pixelmator and am allowed to add it to as many computers as I own - nice.

Credit cards:

If someone doesn't want to hand over card details - and I agree entirely with what aehurst said, i.e. that IS what they are designed for - one can always buy gift vouchers and fund one's account that way.

[ThreeBKK]

Quote: Originally Posted by GavinBKK Quite. I bought Pixelmator and am allowed to add it to as many computers as I own - nice.

I've owned it ever since I picked it up for next to nothing during one of those bundle promos. I keep the .dmg on hand, and I can install it wherever I want to… without being required to have an active internet connection. If a new version is released, but turns out to be problematic, I can revert to the older version which resides on my hard drive. I fail to see how the Mac App Store has given you any sort of advantage here.

[ThreeBKK]

Quote: Originally Posted by GavinBKK …one can always buy gift vouchers and fund one's account that way.

This raises the question: If you reside outside of the USA, and you buy a gift voucher from a third-party reseller (assuming they sell them in the first place), can the gift voucher be used in the US store?

[ThreeBKK]

Quote: Originally Posted by GavinBKK Credit cards: If someone doesn't want to hand over card details - and I agree entirely with what aehurst said, i.e. that IS what they are designed for - one can always buy gift vouchers and fund one's account that way.

If the Mac App Store is being set up anything like the iTunes Store, then there will be huge differences in the availability of apps depending on what country you live in. The US store will always be the best / have the most variety. Anyone is free to buy from the US store… provided they have a US bank account with associated credit card. That's quite a step back from developers selling their own apps and being flexible with international customers' payment methods.

I don't know, maybe Apple will not choose to follow the iTunes Store model. Maybe those regional restrictions won't come into play for software like they do for music.

[GavinBKK]

Quote: Originally Posted by ThreeBKK Anyone is free to buy from the US store… provided they have a US bank account with associated credit card.

That is absolutely not the case. I have an account on the US iTunes store funded entirely by gift vouchers. No credit card involved.

The same account funds purchases from iTunes and/or the Mac App Store. Quite convenient.

[GavinBKK]

Quote: Originally Posted by ThreeBKK This raises the question: If you reside outside of the USA, and you buy a gift voucher from a third-party reseller (assuming they sell them in the first place), can the gift voucher be used in the US store?

It needs to be a US iTunes gift voucher. Most sellers on eBay actually point out which store their cards can be used with.

[ThreeBKK]

Okay, so where are you sourcing the gift vouchers?

[GavinBKK]

Quote from then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher replying to an inane question from the then Leader of the Opposition, circa 1983:

"I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier."

[ThreeBKK]

Quote: Originally Posted by GavinBKK … and I agree entirely with what aehurst said, i.e. that IS what they are designed for…

Sorry, I think you've fallen for the marketing facade. Credit cards make the credit companies rich by charging transaction fees, late payment fees, and interest on overdue payments. That is what they were designed for.

[benwiggy]

Quote: Originally Posted by ThreeBKK Sorry, I think you've fallen for the marketing facade. Credit cards make the credit companies rich by charging transaction fees, late payment fees, and interest on overdue payments. That is what they were designed for.

I use my VISA debit card with my iTunes/Mac App account. I pay no fees or charges for using it. I pay the price for the app/song, and no other.
Even if I used my credit card, I would incur no fees if I paid the balance off when payment falls due, which can be just under two months later.

Credit cards were designed to avoid the necessity of having separate credit agreements with every shop you go to.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_Inc.

[ThreeBKK]

Quote: Originally Posted by GavinBKK It needs to be a US iTunes gift voucher. Most sellers on eBay actually point out which store their cards can be used with.

So, let me get this straight, the only way that you are able to purchase items from off of the US iTunes Store is by relying on Ebayers to post grey-market (or is it black-market?) gift vouchers. Am I following correctly?

I'd imagine that there is some sort of fee, or markup, associated with this transaction. I'd also imagine that, in the future, Apple may decide to send a C&D to Ebay asking them to delist / disallow these types of sales as they facilitate (insert legal jargon here).

Where's the convenience? Was it the one-click app installation that sold you?

[tlarkin]

Quote: But I definitely sympathize with the frustrations of dealing with technologically-challenged moms. I've got one, too.

Web based remote desktop clients are a god-send. I don't have to leave my home anymore to fix most problems of my parent's computer.

[benwiggy]

Quote: Originally Posted by ThreeBKK I'd imagine that there is some sort of fee, or markup, associated with this transaction. I'd also imagine that, in the future, Apple may decide to send a C&D to Ebay asking them to delist / disallow these types of sales as they facilitate (insert legal jargon here).

Pay no attention. It's just your imagination.

It seems fair enough that if you are able or want to use the US Store, that you would want to use US Store gift vouchers.

There are some websites set up to facilitate the buying and selling of all sorts of gift vouchers, from people who have acquired them but cannot use them, to people who want them at less than the printed price.
The sellers are glad to get something for their otherwise useless vouchers; the buyers get a bargain.
The whole point of a gift voucher is that it is transferable.

http://voucher-exchange.com/