Hi Akjim,

Thanks for your feedback.
You're definitely right concerning the single source of supply with Apple. That's the reason why we just created a profile on MacUpdate to be able to interact more with users.

Mountain Lion and GateKeeper restricts more and more applications coming from other sources and we now need to have an Apple certificate to be able to launch non-Apple-Store app by default on 10.8.

We'll see in the future if they'll tight us to Apple Store more till the iPhone extremes.

Meanwhile, why didn't you contact directly our support to express this ? We can't read all the forums on the net to look for users feedbacks !

Would be a pleasure to provide you a version of LanScan. We're not ready to propose it globally yet, but per user request, no problem.

Thomas

@ Akjim: what do you want for free? If the App Store makes it easier for developers to offer free apps, then I, for one, can't complain. For paid apps it's another matter. For them, not try no buy makes more sense.

Have to agree with that sentiment. The feeling that Apple wants to take control of every aspect of my life is overwhelming. I go out of my way to discourage the use of these sorts of products, they're the lemmings of the software industry.

HUH ?
The Apple Store policy of buy once and use legally on 5 machines is brilliant, and since the App Store came into being I have bought MORE software than ever before (as in Apps I have paid money for) for this exact reason.

The "single source of supply" remains the same, its the developer ! As soon as developers drop support/sale it does not matter where you got it from, the result is the same.

This applies to open source too, 99.9% of the population are NOT developers/programmers so having the source code is irrelevant to them.

I was not that long ago that I used VersionTracker as my source of other software, that site has become worthless to me which is why I am now here, buy MacUpdate is still prone to the same financial choices versionTracker had and could devalue/disappear one day too.

@ Sir1963: I was with you until you said that "MacUpdate is still prone to the same financial choices versionTracker had and could devalue/disappear one day too." Every product or service is subject to financial pressures - and choices. That's the nature of a free market. There's no reason MacUpdate should or could be free from the market risks that face everyone else in business.

As for the Mac App Store, the reactions seem to depend on whether a person sees it as a glass half full or half empty sort of thing. In fact developers have the same opportunities to market their software as they've always had. The App Store hasn't shut down any of these channels. If anything it shines a positive light on developer distributed software. If you read the "small print" posted by many developers, you'll see that the App Store version of their software is limited in ways their own distros are not. Of course you may only see this if you check it out on MacUpdate first. The App Store doesn't list apps as crippleware - though perhaps it should.

MacUpdate itself is a testament to the free market. As far as I can tell, most software listed here is not distributed via the MAS. Even most OS X updates are available as they've always been, as standalone packages from the Apple Download page.

At worst the MAS is a mixed bag. Among its strengths is an almost complete absence of malware; among its weaknesses are the limitations it places on some developers. As for Gatekeeper, it's quite simple to disable it if you need to. You choose the level of security it provides. It doesn't impose anything on anyone. I use plenty of software that is not yet Apple certified. I just right-click an app the first time I run it and choose Open. If I choose to launch it, it will no longer be blocked by Gatekeeper, no matter what my security settings are. Some people find these extra steps to be a nuisance. I see them as a small price to pay in an increasingly insecure cyber world. For example, I just got my notice from Adobe about how their servers were hacked and an unknown number of customer accounts may have been compromised. It's easy to be mad at Adobe for this lapse in security, but it's a certain sign of the times.

Given these times, in my opinion Apple is justified in battening down the hatches as securely as they can - and they are providing an essential service to the large majority of their customers by doing so. In the past Apple was guilty of taking security issues too lightly. And they were roundly criticized for it. Now they are taking security seriously - and they are criticized for this too. This tells us more about the critics than it does about Apple.

@B. Jefferson Le Blanc.

My post was about the sentence by Akjim "I'd love to try LanScan, but I won't go to Apple's app store. "
and from Panpagan "Only per AppStore? No thanks."

For free software (and paid) it makes sense to use the App Store for a developer:
They don't need to host it,
Have no traffic for downloading it,
They don't have to worry about securing a server from hackers,
They get analytics of the number of unique downloads.
Updates/bug fixes are easy to distribute, all current users get notified.
Customers without technical know how can get (and pay) for a wider range of software.
Security (from malware) seems to be higher .

I dont agree with All of Apples T&C but it is a model that seems to be working extremely well for lots of developers and customers.

The part about MacUpdate was that relying on it as your information centre for software is STILL a single source of supply that is probably more at risk (like versionTracker) than the App Store.

I check MacUpdate daily, and many is the time I have seen a piece of software listed and I have gone on to buy it from the AppStore.

Many developers understand the importance of selling directly, outside the MAS and those I support. They are also wise to sell through the MAS as well, it's good marketing for them.

Selling direct bypasses Apples commission from the MAS. Selling direct allows the developer to provide trial software. I will not purchase software which has no trial period and the MAS does not permit free trials. Buying direct means the developer can provide recent buyers with perks e.g. free upgrade to the next version for recent purchase, such is not permitted through the MAS. Buying direct means the developer can provide more functionality, otherwise prohibited by the MAS.

There are potential, simple benefits to purchasing through the MAS for those who wish to do so. Let the MAS exist, use it if you wish. I will purchase only from those who also sell direct and include trial periods. I've seen too many market hyped, dreamware bits of software that does not perform properly to have any further interest in trusting the developers marketing statements.

@Akjim

This software is FREE, how much more do you need to trial it ?

I don't use the Apple App Store, period. What I need is for developers to recognize the need and demand for direct downloads for all of their applications. This benefits the developers and provides the consumer benefits as well. This discussion ends now.

@ Akjim: This discussion ends now because you say so? And who are you exactly? The blog moderator? No? Too bad. Because the discussion will end when no one wants to comment further - or the actual moderator locks it down.

As for what you need, obviously most developers couldn't care less.

In respect to how much developers benefit from providing direct downloads, are you a developer? No again? Then how, pray tell, do you know how much developers benefit from anything? This app, like many others on the MAS, is offered for free. Providing direct downloads costs developers a lot and pays them nothing. The MAS is a less expensive way for developers to distribute free software - and advertise their skills - and helps Apple build brand equity in the MAS. So for both Apple and developers it's a win/win proposition. Which is why it has been so successful.

For users like you who refuse to patronize the MAS, even for free software, you're hurting no one but yourself. Judging by your attitude, you resent the pain and inconvenience of boycotting the MAS, but it's a self-inflicted wound. You'd like to think otherwise, but no one is responsible for your pain but you.

For commercial software, on the other hand, I generally - but not always - insist on a no try no buy policy. Even here the MAS offers advantages to developers of low priced programs, who have to balance the potential loss of business due to not hosting their own downloads against the savings they get from using the MAS - and the potential gain from using an A-list distributor. Like MacUpdate, the MAS offers a centralized location for people to find apps they might want or need. MacUpdate has fewer limitations than the MAS, but I haven't seen any comparisons of the number of apps offered by MacUpdate and the Mac App Store, so it's impossible to tell what difference, if any, that makes. The MAS is flashier than MU and no doubt is more appealing to unsophisticated users in particular. And there are many millions of those unsophisticated users out there, if MAS sales figures are any indication.

In my opinion there is room in the marketplace for both MacUpdate and the MacAppStore, which offer different approaches to software marketing. Other outlets, like Downloads.com on CNet, are far less appealing, to me at least, yet they seem to be prospering as well. Indeed, I think they have improved their format, apparently due to competition from the MAS - even the Windows side of their web site seems to have been cleaned up. If that were the only impact of the Mac App Store it would be worth it.

It is this variety of software distribution channels that benefits users. If you don't like one, you're free to try another. Personally I like MacUpdate's approach: They list software from a number of distribution channels, including the MAS. I'm free to choose what I like, and developers are free to distribute their apps as they see fit. That works for me. While I prefer the option to try an app before I pay for it, I don't hamstring myself by only patronizing developers who offer trial versions. YMMV.

Hi Y-Guy,

LanScan Pro is now out with the ability to resolve and assign custom names as you wished.

Check it out:
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/45453/lanscan-pro
http://www.iwaxx.com/lanscan

Thomas