Peter Haworth wrote:
> On Tue, May 29, 2012 at 2:01 PM, Richard Gaskin wrote:
>> That's not Bodega's choice, that's an Apple restriction.
...
>> I've seen a few developers offer a "light" version in the Mac app
>> store, with a "Pro" version at their web site.
>
> Hi Richard,
> Yes I realise it's Apple's doing that, not Bodega. I've emailed
> Bodega about the issue but it doesn't seem true to me.
>
> For example, Coda 2 is available on the Mac App Store. It's also
> available on the Panic web site, either through the Mac App Store
> or directly from Panic, with the comment that direct purchase is
> "For volume licensing, and Mac App Store haters.". The only
> difference listed is no iCloud availability. I guess it's possible
> that Panic are expected to remit 30% of their web site sales to
> Apple but doesn't seem likley somehow.
My apologies for repeating Bodega's apparently false claim about Mac app
store exclusivity.
I've since reviewed the Mac app store license terms, and while the NDA
Apple requires developers to sign prevents us from having a candid
discussion about its terms, I hope I'm not risking jail to note that I
was unable to find anything requiring the sort of exclusivity Bodega
wrote about.
Interestingly, though, I do see a number of developers who offer
different versions of their products in the app store and on their web
sites, as you noted with Coda.
For demos, developers have no choice but to post them at their web site,
since Apple has made it clear that they don't want customers to be able
to try out a software before paying for it.
But for the full app, I don't know why so many developers like Coda
offer different versions depending on purchase venue.
I guess Bodega's claim sounded plausible because it makes business
sense, even if it doesn't make social sense - yet:
Monetarily, it doesn't serve Apple's interests to allow developers to
use the Mac app store as an advertising venue for products which are
also available on the dev's web site, perhaps even at a lower cost.
This just inflates Apple's expenses without ensuring any return.
But socially, it's important that this migration toward bypassing the
Web be done in stages, weening the Mac audience in carefully measured
steps over time.
First, the MAS was purely an option. Slightly more convenient, but no
penalty for choosing to get software from any other source.
Then Apple added dire warnings with Gatekeeper to all users who choose
to get their software from independent publishers about how it "may
damage your computer":
<http://livecodejournal.com/blog.irv?pid=1329426585.725072>
Stigmatizing independent publishing by describing it in the most
frightening terms possible (never mind that it's how the Mac ecosystem
has lived well for decades) may be all that's needed to make the MAS the
only place to get software in the minds of a majority of users.
Will Apple explicitly require exclusivity?
It doesn't make business sense not to, so I would be very surprised if
we don't see that clause in a new version of the MAS dev agreement
within a couple years.
The only thing which may prevent that might be antitrust laws, but since
those don't seem to apply to mobile OSes it'll be very difficult to
apply it one category without affecting the other. After all, as form
factors continue to diversify, what is the difference from a legal
standpoint?
Attempting such distinction becomes especially difficult in a world
where Apple is the only major OS vendor that currently provides two
different OSes for different types of devices, while Microsoft and
Ubuntu use a unified approach across all form factors. And more than a
few believe iOS and OS X will eventually become integrated into a single OS.
So it seems reasonable to suggest one of two outcomes: either the Mac
app store will become exclusive for developers who use it, or if
antitrust laws prevent that then iOS will be pried open by those same
laws to allow multiple app stores.
If those laws aren't applicable, don't be surprised if continued malware
activity "forces" Apple to require that the Mac app store become the
only way anyone can get software for their computers.
Only a few ol' timers will mind. The current generation is already used
to this sort of thing.
--
Richard Gaskin
Fourth World
LiveCode training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com
Webzine for LiveCode developers: http://www.LiveCodeJournal.com
LiveCode Journal blog: http://LiveCodejournal.com/blog.irv
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