Apple Aperture-big price drop

[Mike]

It will be interesting to see what happens. It's certainly more in line with prices for iPod and iPad software so could this be a new model for s/w pricing - cheaper initial purchase but more pay-for upgrades?

Anyway, I now have a copy of Apperture. Just need some time to try it out.

[Steve Rindsberg]

APerture from the APPle APPstore APP. Praise the lord and pass the plosives!

[Benwiggy]

Originally Posted by Steve Rindsberg

Once the app is installed, do you have e.g. a DMG file or something you can use to install it again later in the event of disksaster?

Originally Posted by Steve Rindsberg

It makes me very suspicious of online-only purchases that can't easily be backed up.

Err.... once you've downloaded the app, you can back it up as part of your usual backup strategy, i.e. with Time Machine, or whatever else you use. Most OS X apps are self-contained bundles that shouldn't need an installer to write files all over the place.

Also, if it's anything like the iPhone Store, then updates to apps are free, once purchased. Perhaps a major new version would mean a second purchase -- but I would hope some discount for owners would be considered.

The online store does seem to be taking a lot of flak -- mostly from power-users who think that Apple is trying to take over their computer or turn it into a less featured iToy.

For instance, the free app TextWrangler: the version on the Store doesn't let you open and modify files that you don't own (with authorisation, of course), which is one of its great features. So you can modify system files and save them without having to muck about with permissions in Terminal.

I've downloaded the version from BareBones' website, so that I can continue to use the full-featured version. Some people see this as Apple being a tyrannical oppressor interfering with their rights.

[Steve Rindsberg]

>> Most OS X apps are self-contained bundles that shouldn't need an installer to write files all over the place.

Good point; as a Windows user, I keep forgetting that. When you see a "standalone" app on the Redmond side of the fence it invokes that "Hit's a miracle, Doris, a miracle!" reaction.

>> For instance, the free app TextWrangler: the version on the Store doesn't let you open and modify files that you don't own (with authorisation, of course), which is one of its great features. So you can modify system files and save them without having to muck about with permissions in Terminal.

Oh my ... thanks for that. I'll definitely hold on to the copy I've got and not turn to the App Store for updates.

As long as the limitation's made clear and Apple doesn't prevent BareBones from continuing to distribute "the real thing" I can't see getting up a head of steam over it. But I can see worrying that Apple might try to rein in BareBones in the future.

[Gerry Kowarsky]

Originally Posted by Steve Rindsberg

APerture from the APPle APPstore APP. Praise the lord and pass the plosives!

Much APPreciated!

[John Spragens]

Originally Posted by Steve Rindsberg

As long as the limitation's made clear and Apple doesn't prevent BareBones from continuing to distribute "the real thing" I can't see getting up a head of steam over it. But I can see worrying that Apple might try to rein in BareBones in the future.

A related question is whether developers will want to maintain two different versions of a given app. Unless the developers have structured things so they can easily compile two versions, one with the advanced features turned on, from the same code base, they may decide to offer only the features that pass the gatekeepers at the App Store.

Overall, the concerns I have about the app store parallel those I have about the whole "cloud computing" trend, which is pulling control back toward centralized management. To my mind, this cloudy business undermines what makes personal computers interesting in the first place.

All in the name of convenience, of course.

[Steve Rindsberg]

>> To my mind, this cloudy business undermines what makes personal computers interesting in the first place.

>> All in the name of convenience, of course.

Lull and control. Feh!

I have yet to see/use a cloud-based app that doesn't out-and-out suck in comparison to a desktop version. And that's on the good days, when you've got a link to the cloud, something that's by no means universal and/or 24x7 for a lot of people.

Some of these developers must be really skillied contortionists. It's not easy to have your head in the clouds and up your nethers at the same time.

[terrie]

steve: Some of these developers must be really skillied contortionists. It's not easy to have your head in the clouds and up your nethers at the same time.

LOL!!! So well said...'-}}

Terrie