On Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 5:22 PM, Arno Hautala <[email protected]> wrote:

> > does the Mac App Store contains DRM?
>
> Probably.  I haven't seen anything official on this, but the wording
> in the presentation seemed to indicate that it'd be very similar to
> how the iOS Store functions.
>

If one admits that DRM is here to stay (and let's be honest... for the
foreseeable future, aside from music, it is), I'll take Apple's
implementation ANY day. It's the ONLY one that offers a BENEFIT to the end
user as well as some negatives. Items from the App Store, and the iTunes
Music store, and for that matter, books from iBooks and in a non-Apple store
- books from Kindle may have DRM, but I can install them (legally) on any
number of devices. I have apps installed on my iPhone, my iPod Touch and my
iPad, plus my wife's iPhone, and in some cases my original first gen iPhone
that my 4 year old uses. Not bad for a buck.

I even authorize my Mac to my father's account and his to mine, and we have
shared apps in this fashion as well, although you do need to know the other
user's password to download/install from an iOS device.

I'm not saying I'm a fan of DRM per-say, but if it's here to stay (and in
the case of desktop apps an OPTIONAL distribution method like it will be),
at least this one gives me the chance to install apps legally on multiple
Macs. Most store bought items either prohibit through DRM, or at least
prohibit through EULA this same idea. Even Apple distributed stuff doesn't
allow this (hence the sale of their "family packs".

So, for me, since I don't pirate software and don't mind paying a fair price
for it, this will be a HUGE boon. Apple's been running stores for how long,
and hasn't shut down their authorization system yet? I'm not sure I would
trust Microsoft with this (PlaysForSure anybody?), but Apple has a pretty
good track record here.


> > Do the apps contain ads?
>
> I'd be surprised if this isn't an option.  Maybe not initially, but it
> seems obvious to offer it as an option.
>

It's quite brilliant, actually. Everybody was fighting over AdMob, then
Apple creates iAds and creates a premium selling price for adds. On top of
that, they take a large chunk of the mobile space right out from under
AdMob/Google. Now, while Google's still working on mobile advertising, Apple
suddenly is imminently expanding it to the desktop? Brilliant. And if I get
the chance to use software with ads for a bit before deciding to pay and
open it up, all the better for me.
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