My brainer about the The Mac App Store

Last Thursday January the 6th, Apple activated the Mac App Store.This twin spin-off of the iOS App Store – which makes buying and installing apps for the iPhone, iPod and iPad a breeze – made software installation a whole new deal. Just like the iOS device advantages were put into the Macbook by introducing the latest Macbook Air back in 2010 Apple has put through the concept of integrating learned lessons from their iOS devices into the Mac platform.

Is the concept a totally innovative and a whole new deal in the computing industry then? you might ask. I think not. Think about all the Linux distro’s that have been out there  for years accompanied by package-managers that make installation of applications and other goodies a no-brainer (and arguably made the acceptance level of Linux distro’s for non-technical endusers a lot higher).

Then whats the fuzz about the Mac App Store? Apple took an existing idea and put the bar higher once more. They put all their knowledge and experience with paid cloud software distribution and made the same low-effort high-consolidation model available on Macs. Making the interaction as simple as we all have got to know from the iPhone App Store, and setting out a centralized virtual shopping mall will make this one a big bang in the Mac universe.

What’s in the mix? Cloud computing with an easy interface and a (sometimes, too!) easy paying mechanism will make this a no brainer for Mac users around the world.

The bads:

• This one is also put into the goods section, but the no-brainer paying mechanism is a tricky one to remember when sniffing inside the AppStore. It is soo tempting to buy some goods from there.
• I am looking with a crossed eye towards the updating of major versions for Apps. I’m not shure what the developer’s possibilities are for that yet, but an already purchased App not being available anymore because it has leveled up a major version is not something i like. I have CDROM’s of old software proggies that i install even after 2 years. Now that is what i call the gem software 🙂

The goods:

• The easy-to-walk paying system mounted to millions of creditcards is something even big banks are envious of.
• The automatic installation that happens right after the puchase click is amazingly easy and swift. This will get iOS folks going for the Macbooks and desktop devices more then ever.
• Syncing your purchased software is now fully cloud-based: download your apps to multiple machines with the Mac AppStore available on them and you will have the software throughout your home or small office in notime.

Conclusion: I myself, think it is a big step toward cloud storage & distribution, and later, cloud computing. So this won’t be a step back. Also i love the one click installation without a fuzz. It will make installing stuff a breeze and gives me time to do more important stuff while the app downloads. Gone with ye olde carriable memory devices!! Welcome to the cloud services!!