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Comment by mkramlich | Hacker News Reader

the big question is whether the App Store will become the only allowed way to get software onto a Mac. Anybody heard anything? If they disallow all the historical ways I suspect there will be an exodus of disgrunted developers, many going to Linux.

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Hmm... how about Python scripts? Would they disable running Python scripts? How about building programs using GCC? Or Java? Or Ruby? I'm sure they could restrict such things to registered paying developers, but that really seems phenomenally stupid. If we assume they wouldn't restrict things like this, I'd be surprised if they would try to restrict any other current method of installing / running applications.

"Won't be the only place, but we think it'll be the best place." -- Steve Jobs

Not sure they would do that, I think this Mac App store is purely a tool to create a vertical revenue stream to sell to the vast existing iMac user base. I also think this will increase the amount of business applications 20 fold and possibly propel the MacBook into many businesses as IT dept's could use the App Store to add software to these Mac's and restrict any other content from workers. Far Less IT support required plus Apps would cost less than Microsoft software etc.

No intelligent disgruntled developer is going to ditch OS X for Linux. OS X has 10-20x more userbase than all Linux distros combined.

I'm not hating on Linux here, so don't downvote me for that. I'm just being realistic.

In the role of dev workstation, I'd personally be willing to switch to Linux, at least as a protest vote. As a target OS to sell software on, a pragmatic vendor would be less likely to abandon it, agreed. However, if in order to ship a Mac app, you not only had to only distribute through the App Store and also could only develop with XCode, Objective-C, that whole inane overly complicated bureaucratic software development rat's nest, then I for one would abandon it, definitely. I currently sell downloadable Python-based software, written in vi, with no insanely overly complicated build, approval or distribution process, and it works just fine, thanks. If they forced me to jump through many more hoops, and over-complexify my software, they'd lose me in a heartbeat. That's a line I will not cross.

After their experience with the watchdogs in Europe on iOS, I think Apple's learned their lesson on attempting to shut down alternative development platforms.

I hope you are correct.

Can't see Matlab or AutoCad or Adobe CS5 being sold through the App Store, and I'm sure Apple knows that. There's also lots of research apps and such.

Jobs mentioned that the store would be one way of getting apps.

I'm pretty sure that apple will be offering big players a better revshare deal on account of their volume. I'm sure their respective legal departments will have their hands full in the coming months. I think what is more interesting is what will happen to new apps built on the app store which subsequently become big; apple will have no incentive to split the revenue more favourably when they already have lock-in.

Regardless, I'm a fan.

The big players have their own licensing systems, and have their own licensing deals with big customers. I don't see why they'd go through Apple. They don't need help with collecting payments, or file distribution, or bandwidth.

No one really says they have to. As Jobs said it won't be the only way to get Apps. But smaller devs benefit greatly. You can go from 0 to collecting payments worldwide, having distribution, updates, a 'store' to display your product, etc. with very little work (in comparison to doing it all yourself).

All the mac users can only hope not.. The fact that they have an app store is that we can see that Jobs is trying to pitch the Mac to the rest of the users as well... normal users wont be able to find apps online, they need a central location to do so. The thing that struck me was that, why is he doing that? Isnt the "iPad" meant to do all that, and leave the Mac as trucks?

I'd say that everything that was announced about Lion was targeted at happy iPhone/iPad users who have perhaps been on the fence about buying a Mac.

"The new OS X? It works just like that iOS thing you know and love!"

"Back to the Mac" should have been "Come to the Mac".

I don't see a reason why they would disallow it at all, especially since they're launching it on 10.6.

And through their website Apple has long featured their own and independent OS X apps, this seems like a logical evolution. But not one that excludes regular power users, and savvy users, from using the PC the way they have for years.

Lots of people drive trucks, even who only really need a truck once a year.

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