Mac App Store Some Things You May Have Missed

By

StoreFront1.png

Apple has opened the Mac App Store today ushering a new era for Mac software distribution. It is an interesting new way to get software for your Mac in a way many of you are already used to using for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

It’s not perfect, but neither was the iTunes App Store for iOS. I’m sure that it will improve with time. I took a look through the Mac App Store today and I want to share some things about the new Mac App Store that you may have missed.

Free and Paid Apps, Some Issues

There are a plethora of free apps and one of the first ones to take a look at is the new Twitter application, which is the v2.0 of Tweetie that everyone has been waiting for since nearly the beginning of last year. I’ll have a review up about it later.

Of course there are paid apps, like Angry Birds which looks great on a big screen. However, there seem to be problems reported in user comments with Angry Birds — so you might want to keep an eye on its status before purchasing it.

RapidWeaver users also reported problems after purchasing it in the Mac App Store per an article on TUAW. However, it looks like a fix has already been submitted for it and it is already available to download and install.

No Trial Versions

The Mac App Store doesn’t contain trial versions of any applications — you have to go to the developers own website to obtain a trail version. This is true even for Apple software and iWork ’09 is an example of that.

Subtle Change to Apple Menu

The venerable “Mac OS X Software” on the Apple menu at the top left side of your screen has been replaced with “App Store. ” Selecting this option launches the Mac App Store application on a Mac updated to Mac OS X 10.6.6.

Check Your Purchases

If you launch the Mac App Store application and click “Purchases” you’ll see a complete list of applications you have purchased whether you paid for them or not. Their status will be listed – usually as “Installed.” If you drag an application to the Trash the button changes to “Install” giving you a quick and easy way to re-install applications on your Mac.

Application Icons Added to Dock

When applications are installed they are automatically added to the Finders Dock. If you don’t want them on their simply drag the applications Dock icon to the desktop and let go. It will be removed from the Dock. If you change your mind later and want it back in the Dock you’ll have to drag the application icon from the Applications folder to the Dock.

Application Finder for New File Types

If Mac OS X cannot find an application to open a particular file type you’ll see this dialog if you double-click the file that doesn’t already have an application associated with it. You’ll be given the option to choose an application to open it with or search the Mac App Store for an application that supports this new file type.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.