Apple targeting Dec. 13 launch of Mac App Store - rumor

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
A new rumor claims Apple plans to launch its upcoming Mac App Store for Snow Leopard ahead of schedule and in time for Christmas, on Monday, Dec. 13.



According to AppleTell, Apple told developers to have their applications ready for a launch as soon as today. A source told the site that Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs wanted to launch even sooner than today.



"That obviously didn't happen, but Apple appears to be way ahead of schedule on the Mac App Store nonetheless, and looks to take advantage of the Christmas rush," author Kirk Hiner wrote.



Last week, Apple issued its second beta of Mac OS X 10.6.6 with support for the forthcoming Mac App Store. Developers with the early build were reportedly told that the latest update to Snow Leopard "contains developer support for fetching and renewing App Store receipts."



The Mac App Store was announced in October, and Jobs said it would launch within 90 days. To meet that launch window, Apple has until late January.



Apple is rumored to hold a media event in the coming days to announce the ability to subscribe to publications on the iPad through an iTunes account. It's possible that Apple could also launch the Mac App Store at the apparent event.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 58
    gctwnlgctwnl Posts: 278member
    Are they rushing something out of the door just to be in time for X-mas?
  • Reply 2 of 58
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gctwnl View Post


    Are they rushing something out of the door just to be in time for X-mas?



    Probably not. They probably just got more app submissions faster than they anticipated. The 90 day window was probably an estimate of how long till there were enough apps to not make the store seem empty. The actual infrastructure was already pretty much in place.
  • Reply 3 of 58
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gctwnl View Post


    Are they rushing something out of the door just to be in time for X-mas?



    When has Apple ever rushed anything, hmm? Come on.
  • Reply 4 of 58
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    I think this is all about reliability. Removal of the optical drive = better hardware reliability. App curating = better software reliability. The Mac will become "the computer that never crashes" and get even more converts from Windows.
  • Reply 5 of 58
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post


    Probably not. They probably just got more app submissions faster than they anticipated. The 90 day window was probably an estimate of how long till there were enough apps to not make the store seem empty. The actual infrastructure was already pretty much in place.



    I think that sounds likely. From the presentation, I got the feeling that 90 days was a ?worst case scenario? time frame and that releasing before the end of the year was a priority for them.



    The pushing of 10.6.6 beta 1 before 10.6.5 was finalized seems to indicate that much.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    When has Apple ever rushed anything, hmm? Come on.



    Oh no! You?re bound to get posters who correlate a product hanging even a single issue as proof that it was rushed out with zero quality control.
  • Reply 6 of 58
    sandausandau Posts: 1,230member
    great, then we all get to beta test the new app store. yay.
  • Reply 7 of 58
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    I think this is all about reliability. Removal of the optical drive = better hardware reliability. App curating = better software reliability. The Mac will become "the computer that never crashes" and get even more converts from Windows.



    Nice to see someone gets it.



    All it takes is a little forward thinking, and the possibilities become apparent. This distribution by channel will mean a computer that has never been more usable and easier to understand. It's a very big deal.
  • Reply 8 of 58
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gctwnl View Post


    Are they rushing something out of the door just to be in time for X-mas?



    Why not? Rush doesn't mean any downside in the quality of the service simply means it got a high priority to be completed and perhaps less products at first (although I doubt that!). Makes sense to me to be up and running ASAP. You know MS will already 'suddenly' have thought of this too
  • Reply 9 of 58
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post


    Nice to see someone gets it.



    All it takes is a little forward thinking, and the possibilities become apparent. This distribution by channel will mean a computer that has never been more usable and easier to understand. It's a very big deal.



    I agree, but I feel it goes beyond being resistant to crashing and usability. It ushers in trusted computing on the Mac platform.



    I can see Apple marketing saying, "If you don't want a virus, only download Apple Store applications." I could actually see this being a requirement for school and government environments where people don't want people downloading and installing malicious software. Also, this is the perfect "parental control" that some people want/need.



    I am 100% for the App Store, as long as I can continue to download non-App Store apps IF I WISH.
  • Reply 10 of 58
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mitchell_pgh View Post


    I agree, but I feel it goes beyond being resistant to crashing and usability. It ushers in trusted computing on the Mac platform.



    I can see Apple marketing saying, "If you don't want a virus, only download Apple Store applications." I could actually see this being a requirement for school and government environments where people don't want people downloading and installing malicious software. Also, this is the perfect "parental control" that some people want/need.



    I am 100% for the App Store, as long as I can continue to download non-App Store apps IF I WISH.



    I also completely agree. The App Store will be absolutely massive. Not only for the above mentioned reasons. But also because of the ease of installing software. For the average user, this is nearly a sole argument for switching to the Mac platform. - And developers will love it too! In principle, this is the perfect system for not having pirate copies!
  • Reply 11 of 58
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacApfel View Post


    I also completely agree. The App Store will be absolutely massive. Not only for the above mentioned reasons. But also because of the ease of installing software. For the average user, this is nearly a sole argument for switching to the Mac platform. - And developers will love it too! In principle, this is the perfect system for not having pirate copies!



    If I never again have to explain what a mounted disc is I?ll be happy. This has always been an issue with Mac OS X. Too many people are opening their DMG file to run an app without actually copying it from the disc image to the Applications folder. That is not a user friendly or ?it just works? setup.
  • Reply 12 of 58
    benicebenice Posts: 382member
    At the apparent event, I'd also like streaming iTunes to be announced please Apple.



    Having just moved all of my music off a local mac to a network drive and found it no longer shows a single piece of album art I'm in a world of hurt as I can't even recognize my music collection. (Ideas anyone?)
  • Reply 13 of 58
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by benice View Post


    At the apparent event, I'd also like streaming iTunes to be announced please Apple.



    Having just moved all of my music off a local mac to a network drive and found it no longer shows a single piece of album art I'm in a world of hurt as I can't even recognize my music collection. (Ideas anyone?)



    January.. Probably..
  • Reply 14 of 58
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by benice View Post


    At the apparent event, I'd also like streaming iTunes to be announced please Apple.



    Having just moved all of my music off a local mac to a network drive and found it no longer shows a single piece of album art I'm in a world of hurt as I can't even recognize my music collection. (Ideas anyone?)



    Speaking of, the one product I think it missing from Apple?s lineup is an Apple Home Server. Something like Drobo and HP Media Smarts with Windows Home Server, but running off an ARM CPU and iOS, akin to the new AppleTV. This would have to support multiple, user-replaceable 3.5? HDDs with a hardware RAID. The TIme Capsule simply doesn?t cut it for many power users or families who want a centralized repository of their media files.
  • Reply 15 of 58
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Speaking of, the one product I think it missing from Apple?s lineup is an Apple Home Server. Something like Drobo and HP Media Smarts with Windows Home Server, but running off an ARM CPU and iOS, akin to the new AppleTV. This would have to support multiple, user-replaceable 3.5? HDDs with a hardware RAID. The TIme Capsule simply doesn?t cut it for many power users or families who want a centralized repository of their media files.



    Yes, the problem with the time capsule as a media hub is that it has no backup of the media. A real home server needs >2 HDs to keep backups in case one crashes. It is something that is missing, definitely. I sometimes wonder whether Apple is working on a 'different' solution on this. I would buy one the day this thing hits the shelves (and is affordable). And I do NOT want a cloud solution. Not for all my media and data.
  • Reply 16 of 58
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacApfel View Post


    Yes, the problem with the time capsule as a media hub is that it has no backup of the media. A real home server needs >2 HDs to keep backups in case one crashes. It is something that is missing, definitely. I sometimes wonder whether Apple is working on a 'different' solution on this. I would buy one the day this thing hits the shelves (and is affordable). And I do NOT want a cloud solution. Not for all my media and data.



    As much as ?the cloud? get talks up and as much as we use it without even realizing it, storing all your media on the cloud, and only on the cloud is very far from being a feasible consumer reality.



    I think people would pay Drobo prices for an Apple Home Server that gave them the interaction Windows Home Server. I?d think the Cortex-A8 and iOS would be sufficient for this task considering Drobo used the same ARMv5 in the Time Capsule, and HP used an Atom for their Windows-based solution (which is pretty good for a Windows OS product).
  • Reply 17 of 58
    benicebenice Posts: 382member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacApfel View Post


    Yes, the problem with the time capsule as a media hub is that it has no backup of the media. A real home server needs >2 HDs to keep backups in case one crashes. It is something that is missing, definitely. I sometimes wonder whether Apple is working on a 'different' solution on this. I would buy one the day this thing hits the shelves (and is affordable). And I do NOT want a cloud solution. Not for all my media and data.



    I agree. Some of the Window/HP media stack and the QNAP NAS options are promising (QNAP might be ARM based already) but would be nice if it compared with an Apple designed 2, 4, 6 drive solution depending on the type of home and budget you have. As much as cloud hosting looks like the future, I just can't see it as realistic with current connection speeds, remote storage pricing and the fact that non-incremental backups are likely to take days. In home storage isn't finished yet and it's got a brighter future if they gave it the iOS treatment.
  • Reply 18 of 58
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    As much as ?the cloud? get talks up and as much as we use it without even realizing it, storing all your media on the cloud, and only on the cloud is very far from being a feasible consumer reality.



    The cloud, for the average consumer, is a smokescreen. Personal clouds are what people should be clamoring for. The whole point (well, at least one original very big point) of personal computers is to be in control of your own computing experience, particularly your data. Giving up that control to someone else -- which is what the cloud is all about -- is stepping back in time about 35 years.
  • Reply 19 of 58
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    I think this is all about reliability. Removal of the optical drive = better hardware reliability. App curating = better software reliability. The Mac will become "the computer that never crashes" and get even more converts from Windows.



    I'm saying this as somebody that spent the weekend trying to overcome a issue with a third party kext that just isn't doing what it should! Given that any non trivial app will have capabilities outside the walled garden this will always be a problem. In my case a driver is doing things it should 'never do' which means Dave will have to spend a lot of time researching what the hell is happening. Is it Apple, the driver supplier or me?



    Sadly this is one of those failures that requires a reboot to clear. This is not cool at all. Further it may mean going out and buying new hardware, in this case a relatively cheap USB to serial converter. It is a big problem though when something simple like that is not a reliable implementation. Even more frustrating is the failure cropping up after days of working correctly.
  • Reply 20 of 58
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gctwnl View Post


    Are they rushing something out of the door just to be in time for X-mas?



    Meh, I don't think the App Store infrastructure is too complex. I'm happy it's coming soon. My copy of Pages ('08) is looking a bit long in the tooth, and I'm happy that I'll be able to buy the new version without having to shell out for a complete copy of iWork.



    I think that the App Store will mean a lot of nifty, lower-cost software, much like on iOS. This is a great opportunity for MacRuby, which is a great alternative to Objective-C for rapid application development.

    http://www.rubyinside.com/macruby-an...tore-3922.html

    http://www.macruby.org/

    http://twitter.com/MACRUBY



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    I think this is all about reliability. Removal of the optical drive = better hardware reliability. App curating = better software reliability. The Mac will become "the computer that never crashes" and get even more converts from Windows.



    Yep. Apple = simplicity, reliability, quality.
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