[Macworld]

Post your comments for How to be a savvy Mac software shopper here

[BoxOfSnoo]

I don't find the App Store any better or easier. I don't get notified of upgrades unless I go to the store, whereas with Sparkle I'm always informed when I use the app. Plus with the App Store I *always* have to enter my password instead of just clicking "Upgrade and Relaunch".

I will most likely only ever get Apple software from the App Store.

[Macnutjohn]

"and then use them on any Mac linked to your personal iTunes account."

Actually, that's not technically true. As I understand it, those other Macs must be also running Snow Leopard. So no, not just "any" Mac linked to your iTunes account.......

[Inkling]

BoxOfSnoo is right. The App Store is not as handy as apps that upgrade with Sparkle. The latter upgrades to the latest version only when you're using the app again and doesn't trouble you with demands for a password. It also comes direct from the developer, bypassing any delay or weirdness Apple might interject. I don't not want my iMac to be subject to the same sorts of limitations that Apple imposes on my iPhone.

That's why, when I can, I still by direct from the developer except, as you note, when that developer is Apple and is offering a substantial discount.

[mschmitt]

One problem with App Store apps is it becomes the user's job to backup the application. There isn't even a single install package hidden somewhere -- the user needs to back up the actual .app folder.

Why backup if you can just re-download you ask?

I've learned from painful experience that you should not assume that an application you can download today will be there tomorrow:

- The developer may stop offering particular versions of the application. For example, you may need an older version to run on Tiger, but the developer now only offers the Leopard download

- The developer may stop offering the application at all

- The developer's web site may no longer exist

- An application that was previously free may now be commercial

Even if you had CDs of the original install, you can hit the same problem with updates. An update that exists today may not exist tomorrow.

We are already seeing this problem on iPhone apps. The developer may update the app to a version that requires a newer version of iOS. If you allow it to update, you can end up with a version that can't run on the iPhone. And the old, working version is gone -- and you can't download it anymore from the app store.

Therefore, given a choice between a CD and a download, I will always pick the CD. And I backup every download several different ways, and save all the updaters.

[philostein]

Also don't buy apps that duplicate the functionality of OS X.

SepiaPhoto, AdjustPhoto and BWPhoto anyone ($1 each)?
http://bit.ly/elGngL
By Impact Financials, Inc. (The name might give you an idea of their priority.)

Or Preview (free and installed already)?

[NOSFERATU]

Macnutjohn, on 25 February 2011 - 11:31 AM, said:

"and then use them on any Mac linked to your personal iTunes account."

Actually, that's not technically true. As I understand it, those other Macs must be also running Snow Leopard. So no, not just "any" Mac linked to your iTunes account.......

Well no crap genius, you need Snow Leopard to have the App store that that would go without saying.

[elroth]

NOSFERATU, on 26 February 2011 - 01:28 PM, said:

Macnutjohn, on 25 February 2011 - 11:31 AM, said:

"and then use them on any Mac linked to your personal iTunes account."

Actually, that's not technically true. As I understand it, those other Macs must be also running Snow Leopard. So no, not just "any" Mac linked to your iTunes account.......

Well no crap genius, you need Snow Leopard to have the App store that that would go without saying.

No need to get snippy. One would think that an app purchased from the app store could be transferred from one computer to another without necessarily going through the app store or needing Snow Leopard on the second computer. It's worth pointing out that that apparently won't work.

[elroth]

A very important part of all this is not covered in the article - trial versions of the software. If you know you want to buy something, that's fine. But with no trial versions available through the app store, the developer's site is still important. I hope developers don't move everything to the app store and stop offering trial versions. Without a trial version, I wouldn't have known that Photoshop Elements 8 adds nothing I need to PE6, and doesn't fix the things that drive me crazy.

I also agree with previous posters that having back-ups of the software (either on CDs or Disk Images) can be important - for software that's no longer offered or has changed for the worse (like iMovie HD or Microsoft Office).

[Biallystock]

The App Stores are a classic example of what Bill Bryson says is the propensity for Americans to undergo the most extreme inconvenience in the persuit of convenience.

For non-USA users it is all of that plus a massive great slug by Apple as well, for identical software or content, even if it comes from our own countries.

MacUpdate is my preferred source for software, but as developers switch to the Mac App Store and price match elsewhere, I can see that being slowly choked away until it is Apple's solution or nothing.

That is assuming that Apple doesn't progressively put the squeeze on anyway and make it harder if not impossible for the "Freedom Loving" Mac User to just submit.

[Biallystock]

"…pursuit" sorry about the typo.

[kamx3]

The Mac App store s causing me to quintuple my Internet usage for app updates and purchases. When I could just download the .dmg file once, I could then distribute it to each of my 5 Macs as needed regardless of the OS (most non-Apple apps still run on10.5.8). I also have the .dmg file as a backup for that version of the app. Mac Ap store is not my friend.