As a developer, I want users to try my apps before they buy so they know they’re getting what they want. As a user, I know I like to try apps before I buy. They could issue a license that expires in a given number of days or after a given number of uses.
There are no technical reasons Apple couldn’t offer demos.
They are, in fact, mostly policy changes as opposed to complex technical changes. The following changes should be relatively easy for Apple to implement, as none involves fundamentally altering the store’s operations. If you compare the Mac App Store to the iTunes Store, the Mac App Store is clearly the ignored child. However, with a few simple changes-and one not-so-simple changes-the Mac App Store really could be the place to shop for Mac software, instead of a place where you only find apps that meet Apple’s narrow definition of what an app should be. That’s not the case, though-I just think the current implementation is flawed and leads to bad experiences for both developers and customers.
Because I recently discussed the tradeoffs involved in selling apps only on the Mac App Store, some are convinced I hate the entire concept of the App Store.
