Egypt's PM, JICA chief discuss boosting investment, education ties at TICAD 9    Egyptian pound wavers vs. USD in early trade    SCZONE showcases investment opportunities to eight Japanese companies    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    Egypt's PM meets Tokyo governor, witnesses signing of education agreements    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Egypt's Sisi, France's Macron discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts in phone call    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egypt to tighten waste rules, cut rice straw fees to curb pollution    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Egypt's Sisi: Egypt is gateway for aid to Gaza, not displacement    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Downloading Mac software, made simple
Published in Daily News Egypt on 27 - 01 - 2011

NEW YORK: By now, many of you are familiar with the App Store on iTunes — the portal through which Apple Inc. sells mobile applications, or "apps," for its family of iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches.
Now, Apple has made downloading software on a Mac computer as easy as it is on an iPhone.
The Mac App Store, which launched this month, lets Mac owners browse various categories of software in one place, both from Apple Inc. and outside parties. Moreover, downloading apps is as easy as clicking "Buy" and letting the software install itself.
I set up the Mac App Store on my MacBook and spent a week treating myself to new games and other apps. Suffice it to say, I can get used to having a computer that tries to be as smart as, well, my smart phone.
Getting started:
The Mac App Store is its own program, available as a free download for laptops or desktops running Snow Leopard, the latest version of Apple's operating system.
You sign into the store using the same Apple ID you would use to buy apps for your iPhone or music for your iPod. If you already have credit in your iTunes account, you can use it in the Mac App Store.
Selection:
Three weeks after opening for business, the Mac App Store sells more than 1,000 apps — a fraction of the 300,000 available for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches. Its 21 categories include sports, news, weather, productivity, games and education. As with iTunes, the Mac App Store lists new additions, staff favorites and the most popular free and paid apps.
Some, such as the game "Angry Birds" ($5), began as apps for mobile devices and were adapted for Macs' larger screens. Other well-known — and free — apps include Twitter, the note-taking program Evernote and Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle app for reading e-books. Other popular games include "Flight Control" ($5) and "Call of Duty" ($50). The latter game has already been available for the Mac, both on a disc and as a download — the App Store just makes it easier to buy it.
Meanwhile, there are some you might not have heard of, such as the photo editor Pixelmator ($30) and Wallet ($20), which stores credit numbers and other sensitive information.
Apple's own software is on display as well. For the first time, the company is selling individually the various pieces of its iLife suite, which includes iMovie, iPhoto and GarageBand. Same goes for the productivity suite, iWork. For instance, you can buy Apple's word processor, spreadsheet program and presentation creator for $20 each. The full suite costs $79 in Apple's online store and retail stores.
Notably absent from the store is Microsoft Office for Mac. Microsoft says it's still studying the store.
Apps such as Twitter and "Angry Birds" loaded quickly on my aging MacBook. That's not to say they can't use improvement: Twitter lacks the "show retweets" function Twitter's website has; that allows you to keep track of who has re-posted updates you've made. Meanwhile, "Angry Birds" takes up the entire screen, obscuring, say, instant-messaging conversations in the background. The game works well with the MacBook's touch pad, but it lacks some of the immediacy of touching the screen to pull back the slingshot to fire a bird.
Luckily, when a developer improves an app, it's easy to update it — or several, in one swoop. For its regular App Store on iTunes, Apple has pages of submission guidelines and is known for summarily refusing apps that fall afoul of them. It's not clear what guidelines apply to the Mac App Store, but Apple did say it tests apps to ensure they run smoothly.
Easy installation
The Mac App Store is smart enough to know what software you already have installed on your computer. So, when I looked at the product page for Pages, Apple's word processor, the option to buy was grayed out because I already own it.
Once you click "Buy" to begin the download, the installation process takes a turn for the cute. An icon for your new app flies across the screen and lands in the dock at the bottom. A progress bar beneath it shows how much of the download remains. When the app is finished installing, its icon will start bouncing up and down in the dock.
And there you have it. Installing apps on a Mac is now as easy as installing them on an iPhone. It's a big improvement over having to find software on a developer's website, click through various dialog boxes authorizing the download and then click through even more to begin the installation.
Verdict:
Because it's a free download, the Mac App Store didn't trigger the kind of around-the-block lines and breathless anticipation that new iPhones or iPads get.
Yet it's revolutionary. We've seen smart phones become more and more like computers. Now, that evolution is coming full circle: Apple is making its Macs as easy to use as its iPhones.
In essence, Apple is encouraging us to trade the freedom of buying software from all over to the place for the convenience, and security, of buying them in Apple's own store, where Apple gets a 30 percent cut of all sales.
It might sound nefarious, but the iPhone App Store shows that this is a very powerful idea. It has encouraged software developers to create apps no one ever thought of before and encouraged consumers to take chances on software from developers they've never heard of. We've all come out ahead on that one.


Clic here to read the story from its source.