Jon Gotow on Apple’s Replacing the Mac OS X Software Directory With the Mac App Store

You know Apple’s Mac OS X Software directory: it’s where you go when you choose “Mac OS X Software…” from the Apple menu in Mac OS X. It’s a huge driver of traffic for indie Mac developers — a prominent listing in this directory is a big deal, sales-wise. Unsurprisingly, this directory is going away when the Mac App Store launches in January. The problem for some developers is that not all software currently listed in the directory can be submitted to the new Mac App Store — the App Store’s policies are far more restrictive.

Here’s St. Clair Software’s Jon Gotow’s take:

In your letter, you say “the Mac App Store will be the best destination for users to discover, purchase, and download your apps,” but that doesn’t apply to my two best-selling applications, nor to those of many other developers. The guidelines put in place for the Mac App Store disqualify Default Folder X and App Tamer from inclusion in the App Store, despite their popularity and utility. I’m left to reinvent my products and company (again) as they don’t fit Apple’s vision of what a Mac application should be. There are numerous developers in my position. We make useful — some would say essential — products that users will now have a more difficult time finding as Apple drives customers and market focus to the Mac App Store.

For better or worse, the Mac App Store is going to change the entire ecosystem for Mac software. (Via Glenn Fleishman.)

★ Tuesday, 21 December 2010