The Mac App Store

I am happy to announce that MarsEdit and Black Ink are now available for purchase on Apple’s Mac App Store.

As I expected, the Mac App Store is both an exciting new platform for reaching new customers, and a somewhat frustrating and difficult to explain territory when it comes to existing customers who are interested in the benefits of the Mac App Store, but who already own licenses to my software. Allow me to answer some questions that I have already been hearing quite often.

I already own your software, how can I migrate my purchase to the Mac App Store?

So far Apple has not indicated that there will be any mechanism to migrate existing paid customers into the Mac App Store update process. For existing customers, my applications will continue to receive regular updates outside of the App Store mechanism. I hope that Apple will come up with a solution to allow us to migrate folks who prefer the App Store into that workflow.

Some of you may have noticed that apps from some companies show up in the App Store app as “Installed” even though you purchased them outside of the App Store. I believe this is a quirk in the way the App Store works, and for example you will not be able to review or update these apps through the store. In a nutshell: the App Store app is confused into thinking that you bought the app through Apple, and this is causing many customers to believe that developers have found a way to “migrate” them onto the store. I don’t believe this is the case.

Is the Mac App Store version different from the version I can download from your site?

The Mac App Store and site versions are identical in core functionality and features, but there are minor differences having to do primarily with the update mechanism. The version I sell directly still updates itself, while the version from Apple can only be updated by Apple and is dependent on Apple’s approval schedule.

I have an older version of your software, can I get upgrade pricing on the Mac App Store?

At this time the Mac App Store does not allow for variable pricing based on customer qualification such as a previous purchase. Discounted upgrade prices are still offered from our own store.

Is it possible to download a trial of your software before I commit to buying it on the Mac App Store?

The Mac App Store doesn’t have an official mechanism for downloading trial versions of software, but you can download the standard trial version of my applications from the respective product pages. If you decide to purchase the application on the Mac App Store, you will be able to download and install a separate, authorized copy from Apple through the App Store interface.

I have another question that you haven’t addressed.

I am always available to answer your questions. Please get in touch by email or through the forums.