And so after a long wait the Mac app store has arrived.
On Day 1 over a million apps have been downloaded and it looks, as expected, that the store will be an unqualified success. The store will certainly make it easy to find and install Mac applications and having purchased an app the licensing model allows you to install and use the apps on ALL of your Macs, apparently without limitation.
There have even been some tremendous pricing benefits, particularly from Apple themselves who have offered Aperture (high end Photo editing software) at $80 (in the US) which is well under 50% of the normal price.
There have been a few unwelcome developments however. If you have purchased an app independently of the App store then you are unable to take advantage of the future upgrades functionality that the app store offers. This MAY mean that you will need to re-buy the app again through the app store if you want to take advantage of the licensing and upgrade benefits that the store offers. This is certainly the case with the app Pixelmator although fortunately the developers are offering the app at a discount price at present partly to encourage people to re-buy.
I was personally disappointed that the 2011 version of iWork (Apples office suite) wasn't available through the store at release so I guess we'll have to wait for that in the near future.
All in all I think the Mac App Store is going to be a positive enhancement for Mac users going forward and I for one can't wait to see how the store develops.
It is...as it is!
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