Mac App Store – Only Final Versions Of Software –

[sheem]

Mac App Store – Only Final Versions Of Software – No Trials Or Betas Allowed



When Apple unveiled Mac OS X 10.7 Lion at the ‘Back to the Mac’ event held in October, probably the biggest features that Apple announced Lion would boast of was the Mac App Store. A centralized hub managed by Apple, where developers could host their apps, and users could purchase them, with the same revenue model as the iOS App Store that has been running successfully for years now.

Recently, Apple released some tips (which turned out to be bad news in disguise) for developers who were hoping to publish their apps on the Mac App Store: Apple has prohibited developers from publishing demo, trial or beta testing versions of their software on the Mac App Store. Apple has requested developers that they distribute these apps via their own websites or distribution channels, and keep only the fully-functional versions on the Mac App Store.



A few other important updates relating to developers aspiring to get their applications published on the Mac App Store:

• File System Usage Requirements for Mac Apps – Apple requires that developers design their applications in a such a way that the all the files relating to an application (preferences etc) must be stored in one location to avoid confusion and maintain consistency.
• Creating Custom Controls for Mac Apps – If a developer wants to use an element or behavior in their application that is not supported or included in the Mac OS X Aqua interface, then they may include their own controls, but these controls must conform to the user interface guidelines set by Apple.

Even though the Mac App Store was announced as a feature to be introduced in Mac OS X Lion, it seems a preview of it will be available in the next Mac OS X 10.6.6 update.

[DexteR]

Now thats a stupid step. It will only discourage the developers