Amaya Toman Today, it may seem like the Mac App Store has been a part of our lives forever. But it wasn't always like that - in fact, it wasn't that long ago when there was no online Mac app store. Do you remember when the Mac App Store was officially launched? It was January 6, 2011. In today's article, we will recall what preceded its launch and how Apple prepared for the launch of its application store.
Apple was convinced that the place where users can buy verified and checked applications is worth it already in July 2008, when the virtual gates of the iOS App Store opened with great fanfare. It was understandable that a similar platform for the Mac would not wait so long. The iOS App Store has become a gold mine for Apple (and developers), and it would be a shame not to use this potential on the Mac as well.
Apple first introduced its Mac App Store to the general public in October 2010 as part of the Back to the Mac event, where attendees could witness the first demonstrations of how a Mac app store could work. But for its official launch, users had to wait a few more months – in the meantime, app developers had enough time to get their software approved for placement on the App Store. At the same time, Apple gave application creators the opportunity to beta test the operating system OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.6, which later also appeared in the Mac App Store.
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The first problems also appeared in connection with approving applications. Although demo versions of software for computers are fairly commonplace, Apple didn't want to have space for them in its Mac App Store — much like the iOS App Store. The developers argued that given the relatively high prices of Mac applications, their demo versions were essential - few would dare to buy a rabbit in a bag. This did not convince Apple to introduce demo versions, the principle of in-app purchases turned out to be a satisfactory compromise.
Unlike the iOS App Store, in whose history we can find a number of contemporary hits, such as Flappy Bird or Pokémon Go, the Mac App Store has not seen anything similar (yet). Nevertheless, the arrival of the Mac App Store is an important and significant milestone in the history of computer software. It has become a significant source of income for many application creators - for example, Pixelmator earned one million dollars in the first twenty days in this online application store, other developers began to sell hundreds to thousands of copies of their applications per day thanks to the Mac App Store instead of the original few pieces.
The Mac App Store also contributed to the slow end of sales of "boxed" software on traditional media, and conversely to the rise of digital application sales. Also related to this progress is the way Apple gradually began to design its computers - many of them gradually eliminated CD and DVD drives.
Do you download from the Mac App Store, or do you get apps for your Mac from other sources? Do you remember the first app you downloaded from the Mac App Store?
Source: Cult of Mac
