37 ms·

Give it a release or two and app store will be the only way to get software on your locked down appliance owned by Apple.

marquis 15y ago
If this happens they will effectively kill off a huge number of professional services, especially in the media industry. I'm not looking forward to a future where I have to look to Windows or Unix as my main development platform.
- super_mario 15y ago
  Sad thing is Mac OS X is a certified UNIX.
- statictype 15y ago
  they will effectively kill off a huge number of professional services, especially in the media industry. Apple has already demonstrated several times over that the professional market isn't really of much interest to them anymore. Witness the disaster of Final Cut Pro X and the gradual phasing out of the Mac Pro hardware line. Apple's focus is squarely on the consumer market. Though it may seem unlikely today that they will permanently ban non AppStore apps, I wouldn't cite the professional market as a reason for it to not happen.
  - glassx 15y ago
    "Witness the disaster of Final Cut Pro X" But they responded to that by putting Final Cut Pro 7 back on the market. Sounds like they care a lot... Hanlon Razor makes sense here.
  - guygurari 15y ago
    > Apple has already demonstrated several times over that the professional market isn't really of much interest to them anymore. There is one group of professionals Apple cannot do without: developers. One of the main appeals of both iOS and the Mac is the availability of exclusive, high-quality apps. I expect that limiting all app distribution to the Mac App Store will send developers running to other platforms. A platform without developers is an empty shell, and Apple knows this.
    - dpark 15y ago
      >I expect that limiting all app distribution to the Mac App Store will send developers running to other platforms. Just like it did for iOS?
      - recoiledsnake 15y ago
        There wasn't a wide variety and large number of native software titles written for iOS before the App Store.
        dpark 15y ago
        There won't be a wide variety and large number of native software titles written for OSX, either, if Apple requires App Store distribution.
      - guygurari 15y ago
        I have different expectations from my iOS device and from my Mac. My main work machine must give me the freedom to install whatever I want, since limiting this freedom would be crippling. But I don't require this of my phone, since I don't see the added benefit. This is a practical point of view, and I bet it is common among developers. Perhaps in the future most development will take place in SSH sessions on a remote machine, and then closing down the Mac will not longer be a problem, but I don't see how that would work today.
  - LaGrange 15y ago
    I wouldn't expect Apple to care about any single specific professional niche (maybe except application developers), so keeping any sort of professional software in-house might be even a distraction. But Apple still depends on professionals-as-a-whole — once you add up graphic designers, architects, movie professionals and all others you get quite a lot of people who probably have enough money to buy fancy computers, tablets and phones. As an added benefit, I would sorta-expect the professional market to have significant impact on consumer market — e.g. people's influence on family purchases, brand perception, recommendations.
    - anjc 15y ago
      Exactly. Anecdotally, probably everybody i know, who adopted Apple products, at some point mentioned audio engineering or graphic design or something similar as being a driving force to the adoption, as if they were going to be the next Vangelis/head of Pixar. People go where the cool people go, i can't imagine Apple giving that up too readily...
    - Daishiman 15y ago
      Except that the very top of the professional high end is not really that populated by macs. Most pro 3D designers use 3DStudio MAX (Windows) or Maya (multiplatform with no advantage for Macs). Most architects use AutoCAD (Windows only). Most professional studios use a mix of all three, with a predominance of Linux and Windows at the highest end. Even with audio there isn't much of an advantage to using a Mac unless you depend on Logic Pro.
      - LaGrange 15y ago
        Actually, AutoCAD has a Mac version, though that doesn't change that much. But the point still stands — it makes sense for Apple to want professional applications, it doesn't really make sense to try and write own Maya, and distribution dynamics are for large packages are different enough to make using Mac App Store for them less attractive.
      - marquis 15y ago
        While a lot of people moved to Windows due to Avid Media Composer issues with Macs in the mid-2000s they've been moving back since hardware support renewed. In the audio post industry it's at least 80% Mac-based in the US.
guywithabike 15y ago
You're basing this information off what? Just your wild preconceived notions?
- fennecfoxen 15y ago
  I don't think the notion that the iPhone/iPad model represents the future of Apple is a particularly wild one.

marquis 15y ago

If this happens they will effectively kill off a huge number of professional services, especially in the media industry. I'm not looking forward to a future where I have to look to Windows or Unix as my main development platform.

super_mario 15y ago
Sad thing is Mac OS X is a certified UNIX.
statictype 15y ago
they will effectively kill off a huge number of professional services, especially in the media industry. Apple has already demonstrated several times over that the professional market isn't really of much interest to them anymore. Witness the disaster of Final Cut Pro X and the gradual phasing out of the Mac Pro hardware line. Apple's focus is squarely on the consumer market. Though it may seem unlikely today that they will permanently ban non AppStore apps, I wouldn't cite the professional market as a reason for it to not happen.
- glassx 15y ago
  "Witness the disaster of Final Cut Pro X" But they responded to that by putting Final Cut Pro 7 back on the market. Sounds like they care a lot... Hanlon Razor makes sense here.
- guygurari 15y ago
  > Apple has already demonstrated several times over that the professional market isn't really of much interest to them anymore. There is one group of professionals Apple cannot do without: developers. One of the main appeals of both iOS and the Mac is the availability of exclusive, high-quality apps. I expect that limiting all app distribution to the Mac App Store will send developers running to other platforms. A platform without developers is an empty shell, and Apple knows this.
  - dpark 15y ago
    >I expect that limiting all app distribution to the Mac App Store will send developers running to other platforms. Just like it did for iOS?
    - recoiledsnake 15y ago
      There wasn't a wide variety and large number of native software titles written for iOS before the App Store.
      - dpark 15y ago
        There won't be a wide variety and large number of native software titles written for OSX, either, if Apple requires App Store distribution.
    - guygurari 15y ago
      I have different expectations from my iOS device and from my Mac. My main work machine must give me the freedom to install whatever I want, since limiting this freedom would be crippling. But I don't require this of my phone, since I don't see the added benefit. This is a practical point of view, and I bet it is common among developers. Perhaps in the future most development will take place in SSH sessions on a remote machine, and then closing down the Mac will not longer be a problem, but I don't see how that would work today.
- LaGrange 15y ago
  I wouldn't expect Apple to care about any single specific professional niche (maybe except application developers), so keeping any sort of professional software in-house might be even a distraction. But Apple still depends on professionals-as-a-whole — once you add up graphic designers, architects, movie professionals and all others you get quite a lot of people who probably have enough money to buy fancy computers, tablets and phones. As an added benefit, I would sorta-expect the professional market to have significant impact on consumer market — e.g. people's influence on family purchases, brand perception, recommendations.
  - anjc 15y ago
    Exactly. Anecdotally, probably everybody i know, who adopted Apple products, at some point mentioned audio engineering or graphic design or something similar as being a driving force to the adoption, as if they were going to be the next Vangelis/head of Pixar. People go where the cool people go, i can't imagine Apple giving that up too readily...
  - Daishiman 15y ago
    Except that the very top of the professional high end is not really that populated by macs. Most pro 3D designers use 3DStudio MAX (Windows) or Maya (multiplatform with no advantage for Macs). Most architects use AutoCAD (Windows only). Most professional studios use a mix of all three, with a predominance of Linux and Windows at the highest end. Even with audio there isn't much of an advantage to using a Mac unless you depend on Logic Pro.
    - LaGrange 15y ago
      Actually, AutoCAD has a Mac version, though that doesn't change that much. But the point still stands — it makes sense for Apple to want professional applications, it doesn't really make sense to try and write own Maya, and distribution dynamics are for large packages are different enough to make using Mac App Store for them less attractive.
    - marquis 15y ago
      While a lot of people moved to Windows due to Avid Media Composer issues with Macs in the mid-2000s they've been moving back since hardware support renewed. In the audio post industry it's at least 80% Mac-based in the US.

guywithabike 15y ago

You're basing this information off what? Just your wild preconceived notions?

fennecfoxen 15y ago
I don't think the notion that the iPhone/iPad model represents the future of Apple is a particularly wild one.