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The "store" was really great for small/solo developers to release an application. It's really expensive to setup your own server to distribute an application. I
by jbob2000 11y ago
The "store" was really great for small/solo developers to release an application. It's really expensive to setup your own server to distribute an application. It's also really annoying to have to patch your apps without a store.
What's changed is that there are lots of open source options for distribution and patching, so developers need a "store" less and less.
- SyneRyder 11y ago> It's really expensive to setup your own server to distribute an application. I haven't found it expensive at all. I've been selling apps outside App Stores for over a decade and never needed more than my $9/mth shared web hosting. Accepting credit cards is even easier & cheaper through someone like Fastspring or Kagi, who only take 8 - 9% instead of Apple's 30%. > It's also really annoying to have to patch your apps without a store. On the Mac, Sparkle is your friend for auto-updates, it's been around since 2006 (long before the Mac App Store existed): http://sparkle-project.org http://sparkle-project.org On Windows, there's WinSparkle, though it isn't quite as elegant: http://winsparkle.org http://winsparkle.org
- jbob2000 11y agoI don't disagree, there were always solutions. The app store just made it easier than the alternatives. But now the alternatives are easier than the store.