The Mac App Store will sell Windows software

There has been more talk on the web about Apple's App Store for the Mac and how it may/may not be a game changer. Will it completely change the way that software is distributed? Will it blow apart the current software sales channels? Will it make millions for those developers that get into the store early as they did with the iPhone//iPad/iPod Touch app store? Not until it sells Windows software.

When you look at the incredible sales and download numbers of the iTunes iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch app store, what you have got to remember is that the majority of iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users are Windows users. Lots of people have iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches, and they own and use Windows PCs. The phones, tablets and music players work great with Windows PCs.

Without all those Windows users buying and downloading apps from the iTunes store, would it be as successful? If you look back at the history of the iPod, it didn't really take off until it was made compatible with Windows PCs. When you could plug it into a Windows PC and download and install iTunes people got really interested in the device and sales rocketed. Without those Windows users Apple wouldn't dominate the music and music player market as it does now.

The Mac App Store is by definition only for Apple Macs and they have a world-wide market share of less than 10%. There are millions of Mac users of course, and no doubt many will find a Mac App Store very useful for finding and buying software over the internet. However, the Mac market is small in comparison to the Windows market, and therefore it follows that Mac App Store sales will also be small too. We're not going to see the huge sales figures and massive profits that iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch developers have earned.

The Mac App Store will only be a minor success in a minor market and the one way to make it a game-changer that will revolutionise the software industry is to sell Windows software. Is that idea so bizarre? No. iTunes already runs on Windows PCs and Windows users can download and buy software right now. Of course, they have to install it on their iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, but couldn't they install it in Windows instead? It's hard to see a reason why not.

We'll soon see the Mac App Store and get to explore it for real rather than simply speculate about it. I doubt whether it will sell Windows software on day one and it is almost certainly going to be Mac only, but surely Apple must be thinking of selling Windows software at some point in the future. For 90% of computer users the launch of the Mac App Store is a non-event. It's just something for the Apple fanboys. People will only sit up and take notice when Apple starts selling Windows software.

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Apple's app store will be a minor success

It is rumored that Apple will be launching an app store for the Mac in a few days and the big question is will it be a success? I think it will be successful in a small way, but nowhere near the extent of the iTunes app store for iPhones and iPod Touches. A Mac app store offers some advantages to some people, but no matter how hard Apple tries to convince people that it is the best thing ever, it really won't be. It will be useful in some circumstances, but sometimes you'll want to look elsewhere for you apps and there will be several pros and cons of using an Apple Mac app store.

iPhone and iPod Touch owners are forced to buy from the iTunes app store and there is no alternative source of software. The store has a 100% market share and everyone else is locked out. This is why it is so successful and why so many people use it. When it comes to buying Mac software though, you can buy from high street stores, you can buy from online stores and you can buy direct from the software publisher. An Apple-run Mac app store will just be one more supplier among a large number of suppliers and this is one reason why it won't be as successful as the iTunes app store.

There are thousands of applications for the Mac and searches at Google and dedicated software sites will enable you to find them very easily. A big problem is trust though. You might see a great app on a website that you would like, but you've never heard of the company or person selling it and you are nervous about handing over your credit card details to them. Can they be trusted or is it a scam? This is where an Apple Mac app store will score. It will be an online store that you can trust. It will be brilliant for small developers and little known companies because they'll be able to sell through the app store to people that wouldn't normally buy from them or even find them on the web. Consumers will feel at ease handing over credit card details to Apple and sales will boom.

It will be less of an advantage to a big company and no-one has any issues about buying Photoshop direct from Adobe. It's the little companies and back-bedroom programmers that will benefit the most.

The app store apparently won't allow betas, demos or trials and this is a clear disadvantage. Without a trial you won't know whether the software is suitable for you or whether you'll like it and therefore buying it will be a bit of a gamble. Software developers may offer trials on their websites though, so it may be possible to track down one and try it. You could later then buy it through the app store if you do decide that it's a great app and is useful to you.

One advantage of buying direct from the developer though is that you can often get big discounts. You download some software, try it and when the trial period runs out you can get big discount offers in your email inbox. This isn't going to happen with the app store. Software from the app store may cost more than you would otherwise pay, so shop around for the best deal.

The app store will be good for people that don't know much about computers because it will be easy to access and it'll be easy to download and install software. This is another reason why it will be a success.


So there are pros and cons with an Apple Mac app store. I for one will only buy from it if I can't find the application cheaper elsewhere and then only after I have run a free trial though.

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Should you upgrade?

With Christmas and the New Year rapidly approaching, it is the season for spending and thoughts of treating yourself may have crossed your mind. Should you upgrade your software to the latest version? Perhaps there is a new release of some application that you use and it looks very tempting. Maybe the software you are currently using is now getting quite old and needs a refresh. The same is true of hardware too and there are lots of shiny new computers and gadgets sporting the latest technology to choose from, so is it time to upgrade? My philosophy has always been to skip a version, so for some people the answer is yes, upgrade now, but the advice is to wait for the next version whenever that may be,

Take Windows for example. Windows 98 was a great operating system and it was very popular. Then along came Windows ME (Millenium Edition), which wasn't so popular. You should have skipped it and waited for the next version, which was Windows XP - another great operating system. Vista, which came after it wasn't so hot (although it was unfairly criticised), and you should have skipped it and then upgraded to Windows 7. This is another first class operating system.

The same is true of other software products too and with new Linux distros appearing twice a year in some cases, you should skip a version and not accept every update as soon as it is released. Ubuntu 10.04 is fine if you've applied all the updates and 10.10 doesn't bring that many benefits. You should wait for 11.04 at least before upgrading.

OS X is slightly different either and Tiger to Leopard was a useful upgrade, but Leopard to Snow Leopard was more of a service pack. However, it was dirt cheap so there wasn't actually any reason to avoid it in this case, but if it had been full priced, then it would have been best to skip it and wait for the next version, Lion, which is under development.

Applications are similar and upgrading from v3 to v4 of some program may not always bring many benefits and sometimes you just get a few tweaks and a few new features. Skipping a version and waiting for v5 brings many more benefits.

You can upgrade the hardware every year if you want to constantly be at the cutting edge of technology, but you see a huge difference in performance unless there is a new generation of processor, such as Intel Core 2 Duo to Core i7/i5/i3. Don't be in too much of a hurry to upgrade, wait until there is a significant benefit, and then go for it.

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