Apple has unveiled two new super-slim MacBook Air notebook computers, billed as "What if a Macbook met an iPad?" The new systems feature 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch displays, five to seven hours of batter life, all-flash storage, full-size keyboards and trackpads, FaceTime cameras, Nvidia graphics, HDMI output, and prices starting at $999.Coupled with these new models is the news that a Mac App Store is coming. Apple is going to replace the traditional PC method of installing software via CD/DVD with an App store-based download system.
Regarding the MacBook Air models, the most important element is the lack of an internal hard drive -- relying on flash storage, the new Airs will boot up almost instantaneously, like iPads. Sounds nice.
But there are some trends Apple is pushing here that might be a cause for concern. By pushing the App store model, Apple is attempting to eliminate the independent software market for its Macs. If you develop software for the Mac, it's going to be much harder to get people to buy and install it the old-fashioned way when the sleek new App store makes it easy.
For most consumers, and many software developers, this might be a moot point. Indeed, many will appreciate, and possibly profit from, the new App store. But letting Apple control the Mac software pipeline removes an important element of autonomy possessed by developers. Instead of making software available on its website, a software firm will likely link to the App store, much as iPhone and iPad developers do now. This takes away a certain element of control, and, of course, gives Apple a slice of the revenue.
That's not to say that these announcements are uniformly negative. The Airs look great. But you have to worry about where Apple is going with all of this.
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I believe Microsoft is also planning a more engrained "App Store" in Windows 8, at least according to a few early articles I've read about it. If Apple's rendition takes off, it'll almost be a certainty that Microsoft will make sure it's in on release.
ReplyDeleteThe business model and concept makes sense, to be honest -- you don't go directly to Levi to get jeans, or to General Mills to get your cereal -- you go to a multi-faceted store. It's a paradigm shift for sure for software, but it's not completely alien.
Good points, though the Web was meant to allow independent producers to sidestep the often convoluted process of getting their products onto store shelves. Instead of trying to get your homemade scarves into Wal-Mart, for example, you could sell them online.
ReplyDeleteWhether the Web is optimized for such transactions is another matter. You could make the argument that an App store is the best of both worlds -- a large inventory available in one online location. But there are many frustrations with getting a product into the Apple App store.