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Author Topic: MAS opinions?  (Read 1935 times)

Offline Xairbusdriver

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MAS opinions?
« on: January 18, 2011, 11:38:30 AM »
After seeing Aperture for less than half price, and one of the iLife apps for $15, I bought both a few days ago. Apparently one of those "snap decisions" that my sig warns about! wallbash.gif

Now, I'm stuck with an app that doesn't do much of anything and certainly less than I expected. I can only assume that Aperture is iPhoto on steroids? Maybe I need to spend some time studying the Help files? Is it really made for photogs who never need to crop an image? Or 'deconstruct' one onto different layers? dntknw.gif

And, while I can give it away, there is no real license to accompany it that the new 'owner' can use for an update. Even changing/buying a new machine may cause problems for the MAS. It appears that it looks at the Aperture .plist to ascertain ownership, so be very careful about mucking with that file! :eek

There are some fairly upset folks at one developer site about the fact that their software will only be available via MAS. Current users have no choice but to update to 10.6.6, at least temporarily. And they are also concerned about moving to new hardware or selling/gifting current versions of their apps.

Most of these concerns come back to the 'all your apps are belong to Apple' feelings! rofl.gif

Opinions? Experiences?
« Last Edit: February 27, 2011, 02:44:27 PM by kbeartx »
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Offline Paddy

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MAS opinions?
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2011, 12:38:49 PM »
Well, to address the first part of your post, Jim...Aperture is a pretty powerful app that is quite a bit more than "iPhoto on steroids" AFAIK. I'm a Lightroom devotee, and haven't actually used Aperture, but it does pretty similar things. Here's a discussion of what it does do, which will give you a better idea:

http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11059297
http://www.apple.com/aperture/what-is.html

I shoot in RAW all the time now - and I have over 30,000 images on this computer (maybe more - I'm still working at getting them all in LR, but real life and real jobs keep interfering!! wink.gif ) so I need something serious to handle all that. Lightroom is superb - I do very little image manipulation in Photoshop these days.

And Aperture has cropping, Jim. wink.gif Perhaps a little Aperture how-to is in order?

Or...dare I say it...crack the manual? toothgrin.gif

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/Aperture_...ing_Started.pdf

As for the Mac App Store (was wondering what "MAS" was there for a minute...) - you don't have to buy Aperture there. But the boxed version is twice the price. And yes, there may be some developers who are opting to let Apple take over the marketing/retail end of their business for them, but lots haven't. I would imagine that there are still some issues to be worked out re: ownership and licensing. It would be nice if the App store would send you the serial number separately, but that would also probably make it a lot easier to pirate the software. T'ain't perfect at the moment, I'll give it that much.

But DO give Aperture some serious time - I think you'll find it's worth it if you're dealing with a lot of photos and particularly if you start to shoot in RAW (which I urge anyone to do if your camera has the ability and you're interested in taking more than just snapshots).
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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MAS opinions?
« Reply #2 on: January 18, 2011, 01:13:13 PM »
Well, I'm not sure about shooting in RAW. Especially during the Winter! I'm not exactly 'cold natured' but I do enjoy being warm and that means at least a light jacket, even down here in the South... Of course, even in the Summer, I tend to stay fully clothed when outside...sunburn and all... Thinking.gif

I did look at the Help pages a little and even watched a few of the included vids. But I think an app should come already adapted to the users "workflow." After all, that kind of info should be included somewhere in the vast collection of preference files in the several locations of the massive hard drives in our machines, now-a-days! Are you trying to tell me that we still need, much less actually have, manuals?! eek2.gif Heresy, I say! rant.gif laughhard.gif

OK, we've heard from Paddy, has anyone else used the Macintosh Application Store? Especially anyone who is on my side? Or at least sympathetic... tears.gif
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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MAS opinions?
« Reply #3 on: January 28, 2011, 08:07:56 PM »
I asked for opinions. Microsoft didn't answer me directly, but they must be visiting TS? dntknw.gif
<Notably absent from the store is Microsoft Office for Mac.>
QUOTE
Microsoft says it's still studying the store.
I'll bet they are! laughhard.gif
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Offline kimmer

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MAS opinions?
« Reply #4 on: January 28, 2011, 10:10:48 PM »
QUOTE(Xairbusdriver @ Jan 18 2011, 11:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
...has anyone else used the Macintosh Application Store? Especially anyone who is on my side? Or at least sympathetic... tears.gif


I'll always offer you sympathy, but for once I can't offer an opinion rofl.gif as I don't use 10.6 so M.A.S. is useless to me.
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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MAS opinions?
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2011, 05:24:35 PM »
Another "review" of some developers attempts to work around the current licensing problems. <MW: Developers split over MAS>
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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MAS opinions?
« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2011, 10:55:11 AM »
Read about an interesting multi-clipboard app yesterday. Visited the developers site and found that it was only available via MAS. doh.gif They obviously already have a website. I suppose they could have an agreement that limits their bandwidth and server space such that they can't provide direct downloads wacko.gif I suspect it has more to do with Apple's "capabilities." We already know that Apple demands 30% regardless and other benefits (for themselves). It may seem easier to simply let Apple have it's way than to "irritate the beast." That, of course, is the developers choice. But it is creating a disincentive for creative ideas to come from the source of so many innovative, small, specialized people.

While the app in question was only $5, that is more than I am willing to pay for an app without any info except what is supplied by a web site with no user inputs. The "trial" use concept is the foundation that starts a process of trust-building that becomes a collection of loyal users/customers. Those loyal users usually provide new feature requests that end up creating an even better app!

I'm willing to bet that large corporate developed apps (more descriptively called monolithic suites!) have fewer satisfied users, as a percentage of purchasers, than most small developers. Like Microsoft, many of those corporations simply buy ou/up competition instead of real innovation and creative development. Of course, large and complex suites require more specialized and concentrated work by several programmers, so the development price and selling price can be extremely high. There needs to be a way for judging the usefulness of an app prior to paying for it, in my opinion. That may come with time as more people offer opinions, but opinions often don't cover the way others might use (or not be able to use!) an app.
« Last Edit: February 22, 2011, 11:00:23 AM by Xairbusdriver »
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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MAS opinions?
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2011, 11:03:36 AM »
Here's another take on the MAS, although mainly discussing ebooks. <Macalope article.>

I think this comment probably explains my feelings well: "Ultimately it's Apple that has the most to lose. It's a bad business strategy. Apple is betting that they can go it alone against the entire world of ideas for low-margin digital goods and subscriptions." They certainly can, Microsoft proved that method works...for a while, anyway. rolleyes.gif
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Offline kimmer

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MAS opinions?
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2011, 07:18:32 PM »
I don't really know anything first hand about the MAS as I'm "locked out" since I’m using 10.5, but from what little I've read I likely wouldn't use it. I'd contact software companies and see if I could buy their software direct. If not, I'd be looking for an alternative.

Also (and I didn't follow any links in that article due to time constraints) I know from other articles I've read that Apple is pushing Amazon and B&N over all this -- and if that's the case, then Apple will lose in the ebook sales. Amazon and B&N don't need Apple to sell ebooks.

Anyhow, it will all be fun to watch.
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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MAS opinions?
« Reply #9 on: February 25, 2011, 03:35:16 PM »
<ars technic reports more problems with rules, rules, rules...> Makes one wonder how intelligent the rules makers at Apple really are. Apparently not as future thinking as the engineers and coders... rolleyes.gif The "open Internet" is just too flexible for rules made to gather money. dntknw.gif
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