Mac App Store - page 13

Apple has released the Gold Master build of the next version of of its Mac OS X operating system to developers, meaning that 10.7 Lion could see release to the public as early as next week, exclusively through the Mac App Store.

For users looking to upgrade, this is uncharted territory: the first OS X upgrade to be delivered digitally. To help you prepare for Lion and guarantee your machine is one hundred percent ready to upgrade the second Lion drops, we’ve put together this handy guide.

Here’s how to prepare your Mac for Lion, and do it right.

We know the release of OS X Lion is imminent, not just because Apple said it was coming in July, but because supplies of MacBook Airs and MacBooks are dangerously constrained, yet Apple is holding back new models.

So when’s Lion dropping? The latest rumor says right after this holiday weekend… and we’re inclined to believe it.

As some of you may already be aware from the previous posts I’ve written, I’m a huge fan of first-person shooters. While I’m certain I could never pluck up the courage to handle real arsenal, the number of precious years I’ve wasted on FPS games is frightening.

One of my favorite first-person shooters for iOS is Gameloft’s N.O.V.A. 2, which has just dropped into the Mac App Store, and will no doubt ensure my family don’t see much of me this weekend.

We love Jan Michael Cart’s incredible iOS concept videos. We still wish Apple would bring his dashboard and voice recognition concepts to iOS 5.

Perhaps Cart’s latest idea is the one most closely in reach: he envisions cross-platform text chat between iOS and OS X computers, and foresees Apple releasing their new iMessage client on the Mac App Store.

Final Cut Pro X might now finally be available for purchase on the Mac App Store for a lower price than ever, but for some video professionals, it has not been worth the wait: a pretty update that sadly jettisons many of the features that they depend on. There may be hope on the horizon, though: Apple has reportedly claimed that Final Cut Pro X will be getting some of these missing features in future updates.

Apple just announced its all-new Final Cut Pro X video editing software, which is now available from the Mac App Store today along with Motion 5 and Compressor 4.

The Reeder app from Silvio Rizzi has been one of the most successful Google Reader clients for iOS devices, and has proven to be incredibly popular on the Mac since its beta release last November. Today, Reeder leaves its beta tag behind and arrives in the Mac App Store.

Apple’s been promising that come Lion, OS X and OS X Server will be united… but with Snow Leopard Server costing $470 more than a retail copy of OS X, how will that go down?

New evidence suggests it’ll be simple: every copy of Lion will be able to function as a server, but you’ll need to enable that functionality by purchasing it through the Mac App Store.

Next time you install OS X? You’ll be slurping it down through the Mac App Store, not loading it up through an optical disc like some sort of caveman.

Never one to shy away for “Me-Too”-isms, Amazon has just launched their own analogue to the popular Mac App Store.

Weather HD is already one of the most successful weather applications for iOS devices – featuring in our roundup of the best weather applications in the App Store. Now Vimov have brought their creation to the Mac App Store to change the way in which you view the weather forecast on your Mac.

Shortly after announcing big changes to its web application, Twitter has pushed out an update to its free application for the Mac. Version 2.1 boasts an improved user interface and new features that make the application a whole lot nicer.

A digital game manual discovered on Steam for the upcoming Duke Nukem Forever release features some information regarding Apple’s App Store that suggests the title could be headed to iOS devices.

Starjimstar from the Touch Arcade forums found that at the bottom of all the legal text in the game’s documentation, there’s some “Apple App Store Additional License Terms.”

The latest build of Mac OS X Lion introduces an iOS-like method of removing applications installed via the Mac App Store. Within the new Launchpad application, users can click and hold on an app’s icon to start the ‘jiggling’ – just like in iOS – and an ‘X’ button appears in the corner of each icon which users can click to uninstall applications.

Don’t worry about deleting applications accidentally, however; just like iOS, users will be greeted with a message that asks them whether they’re sure they wish to delete the application. Clicking delete will move the application, and any files associated with it, to the Trash.

This feature currently only works with applications purchased from the Mac App Store, but I’m hoping it works with any application installed on your Mac when Lion is finally released.

[via MacRumors]

In an internal memo to its employees, Apple has announced the end of its iWork and MobileMe rebate programs with effect from close of business on April 18th. The rebate programs allowed customers to save $30 on MobileMe when purchasing a new Mac or iPad, and $30 on iWork when purchasing a new Mac.

The termination of these programs follows reports that Apple is set to revamp its MobileMe service over the coming months. A new MobileMe service, said to feature a digital “music locker” for streaming content from the cloud to Apple devices – as well as the “Media Stream” and “Find my Friends” features – is rumored to launch either later this month or at WWDC in June.

Though it’s not clear why iWork was also cut from the rebate program, it’s believed this is simply due to the release of iWork 2011 later this year. I think the the Mac App Store could also play a part in this: if Apple has decided to offer future iWork releases exclusively through the App Store as separate purchases, there may be a new way for customers to claim rebates – such as promo codes – or no rebates at all.

[via 9to5 Mac]

Although buyers of new MacBook Pros should have it come preinstalled on their machines, if you want FaceTime on your existing Mac, it’s going to cost you some bread, or beans, or shekels, or whatever your preferred pecuniary vernacular.

It won’t cost you much, though. Coming out of public beta, FaceTime for Mac has just hit the Mac App Store for just $0.99.

Changes over the beta aren’t significant… but explicit mention is made that 720p video calling is supported. Considering the fact that today’s MacBook Pros ship with “FaceTime HD” cameras, it looks like Apple has finally embraced the full capabilities of their 1280×1024 FaceTime nee iSight webcams.

Last week, one of the most interesting Mac programs to come out in years hit the App Store in Sparrow for Mac, an elegant and attractive e-mail client that looks and acts a lot like Twitter.

I loved it, comparing it to more full-featured clients like Postbox 2 by saying Sparrow was “the equivalent of skipping stones, not piloting a submarine.”

I decided to reach out to Sparrow for Mac team member Dom Leca and ask him a few questions about the origins, inspiration and future of the e-mail program that treats your Gmail as if it were Twitter.

The Mac App Store had a pretty big first day, racking up over a million downloads, but that’s more than just a big number for Apple… even successful software companies with proven distribution strategies are being wowed by the sort of numbers they’re seeing.

Take the chart above courtesy of Evernote, the popular virtual notebook and productivity suite. Note what happens to the Mac numbers come the Mac App Store launch day. Holy bejeebus.

The Mac App Store has been live for less than a day, but already pirates have figured out how to circumvent its DRM to install and run unauthorized paid apps. It’s not Apple’s fault, though: instead, it looks like developers just haven’t been paying attention to Apple’s own app validation advice.

Part the storied mists of time and gaze back far enough and you might remember that MacHeist once promised bundle-buyers the option to play around with Tweetie 2 before release, and even get a copy for free when it finally came out.

Needless to say, that promise came back to haunt MacHeist, as Tweetie was bought by Twitter and Tweetie 2 became the official Twitter for Mac client, which debuted yesterday as a free download on the Mac App Store.

MacHeist hasn’t let us bundlers down, though, as the new Twitter for Mac client has some secret easter eggs that are only available to MacHeist buyers… or anyone who doesn’t feel bashful around a terminal prompt.

A few hours before popular rumor indicated it would launch, Apple has just pumped Mac OS X 10.6.6 down through Software Update… most notably including support for the new Mac App Store, which is launching with over a thousand apps, including a very sexy new Twitter for Mac Client.

iWork ’11 is, surprisingly, not debuting on the Mac App Store, but you can find Aperture, at least, as well as iLife ’11. Check out the press release after the jump, and check in later for more of our impressions.

When you try to open a file that your Mac doesn’t already have a default app registered to, it doesn’t know what to do, so it either asks you to choose the application you want to use, or it will — if you so desire it — unceremoniously dump you back to Finder.

That’s actually not a very elegant way to handle unrecognized file extensions. Windows has a better system, for goodness’ sake: it will automatically search the web for applications that can open the file.

Luckily, with the arrival of the Mac App Store in January as well as the release of Mac OS X 10.6.6, that’s all slated to change. As it turns out, Apple has very cleverly deigned to integrate the App Store into the prompt you get when OS X doesn’t know what to do with a file: you can now search the Mac App Store for one that’ll work to open it. Keen!

Just as Cydia is the dark mirror to the iOS App Store, Cydia will also be available on the Mac, according to Cydia developer Jay “Saurik” Freeman.

Whenever the Mac App Store launches, it’s not going to be as full-featured as the iOS equivalent. We already knew that the Mac App Store would launch without promo code support, but according to new information Apple has just sent to developers, it also won’t support Game Center or in-app payments at launch.

If you are one of the many Apple rumor mongers who expects the Mac App Store to flutter cherubically out of the fertile womb of Software Update later this week, The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple suggests you put your celebratory cigars back in the humidor: it ain’t coming this week, or even this month. Dang.