MAS being intergrated with the iTMS?? Your thoughts please ....

Apple to Integrate Mac App Store In iTunes?
Apple to Integrate Mac App Store In iTunes?

The SlideToMac link within the story is in another language so you will need a translator. It just reiterates what RedmondPie posted.

What do you all think about this. Would this make all the downloading more seamless or as stated in the article

While it will make all apps (iOS, Mac) available under one roof, it will make iTunes even more bloated

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Me personally like that it is a seperate App. I have the MAS and iTunes open all the time, so it seems like putting 2 into 1 would be beneficial.

I know  is all about the user experience but trying to cram so much into iTMS ??? Really not sure about this

Cheers

iTunes IS bloated but it also needs to be completely re-written to take advantage of the new lines of CPUs with multiple-cores as well as take advantage of better coding. One would hope that Apple is doing this with 10.7 but if integrating the Apps store into it forces them to overhaul iTunes then I am all for it.

baggss said:

One would hope that Apple is doing this with 10.7 but if integrating the Apps store into it forces them to overhaul iTunes then I am all for it.

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Good point as i didnt even think about 10.7 coming out. Would be good if there was a complete over haul of iTMS . . .
Playing the waiting game again.

I still think it wrong trying to put ALL eggs in the 1 basket though !!

The biggest advantage to me is easier tie in to complementary APPs (as in iPhone or iPad versions of the Mac APPs).

Razormac said:

The biggest advantage to me is easier tie in to complementary APPs (as in iPhone or iPad versions of the Mac APPs).

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Yea that could work. As in having the iOS and the Mac equivalent listed in the same list. That would be cool actually, not having to look for either of the other 2.
But as baggss posted, there would have to be a major overhaul to it

Cheers

I like the idea of all in one place.
But a better plan (IMHO) would be if iOS and Mac OS merged into one hybrid system that could run on either platform. So you download Pages once and can use it on your MBP or on your iPad. I'm not versed in writing apps or anything like that so I have no idea if this is a reasonable wish, but I think it would be pretty cool. It would eliminate the need for a bloated iTunes.

I agree with 100% of the above. Some things I think itunes needs.

1. Integrate iOS-AS and MAS. So then you can you don't have to search for one version of the app when you found the other.
2. Make use of multi core cups for itunes.
3. Update the code in itunes. Ie an overhaul.
4. Allow developers to have MAS links on their websites so people can link right to the MAS to purchase the software.
5. Allow you to purchase iOS apps on your Mac and then transfer to the iOS device after downloading is complete. No idea if you can do this now. I don't own an iOS device.
6. Bring back the Apple developer awards for OS X software.
7. Allow developers to have a sale on multiple purchases. Ie if you purchase same software for OS X and iOS there should be a discount. Cause most people won't want to pay 2x for essentially for the same thing.
8. Allow a way for iOS and OS X versions of the same software to talk to each other. For example in a game. You could send across the saves from one machine to the other so you can play where you are up to no matter what device you are on. This I'm sure would have a use for productivity apps too.
9. Overhaul the itunes UI. Bloated to me is only when there's too much fluff or poorly integrated features in a piece of software. This could work if the MAS is integrated well into itunes.

If I think of any more I'll post them up.
Yes a lot of people already said some of the points I listed. But I agreed with them too.

MYmacROX said:

I like the idea of all in one place.
But a better plan (IMHO) would be if iOS and Mac OS merged into one hybrid system that could run on either platform. So you download Pages once and can use it on your MBP or on your iPad. I'm not versed in writing apps or anything like that so I have no idea if this is a reasonable wish, but I think it would be pretty cool. It would eliminate the need for a bloated iTunes.

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But then you'd have to design apps and a general UI that works well with a mouse and with a touch driven environment. With Apple looking into touch screen imacs (with the flexi stand so you don't use the imac vertical in touch screen mode) what you want might just be a possibility in the future. Sure it's easier just to have 2 different versions. One for touch and one for mouse.

Secondly you'd need to have the OS optimised for hardware specs of a Mac and a portable device. At the moment not really possible cause there is big tech spec differences there. But in the future where the ipads/touches and future portable devices have similar specs to the Macs, this will be really possible. But for the time being I don't think so.

And thirdly you'd need a shift in thinking from Apple. There is no terminal app for iOS for a reason. Apple don't want you with that much access to iOS. But they have to have it in OS X or there'd be a revolution against Apple. So yeah for this to happen Apple would have to open up the OS more for the devices. And show the file structure, allow a terminal or similar for the portable devices etc etc.

^^ To quote Dumb and Dumber: "So you're saying there's a chance." haha ;P

What I'd prefer is to have iTunes, Mac App Store, iOS App Store (split off from iTunes), iBooks etc all NOT BE APPS AT ALL. I'd prefer them to be seamlessly integrated into the system, maybe just menubar icons or widgets, always on call but never there till you call for them. Maybe a single "iTunes" icon in the menubar, which when clicked on offers a list of possible stores or your own library.

This would still be fully compatible with the older versions and the Windows version since it all pulls content from the same source, it would just be a more integrated way of presenting the info for Mac users.

I'll never understand why they poked fun of changing the iTunes icon, but never address the bigger issue. iTunes isn't iTunes anymore.

I could see this being a short term solution and change it up with Lion. I do like plugging in my iOS devices and having one app take care of all the syncing though.

I'm pretty sure that the App store will not be integrated into iTunes. iTunes is not required software on a Mac, the Mac App Store sells applications that have nothing to do with any of the devices that iTunes syncs with, and from a logical standpoint, just doesn't make any sense.

Oh and the Mac app store isn't cross-platform so it would make no sense on Windows so Apple would begin to have a very divergent Mac and Windows version of iTunes which I'm not so sure they're interested in.

Just because there's some random blank page in iTunes doesn't mean Apple will ever do anything with it or that it even has anything to do with the Mac App Store.

iTunes has had all kinds of weird things hidden in it for awhile that lead to all kinds of rumors that never actually happened. My favorite example is all the WMA and WMV icons, etc hidden in iTunes. That basically went no where.

TattooedMac said:

Me personally like that it is a seperate App. I have the MAS and iTunes open all the time, so it seems like putting 2 into 1 would be beneficial.

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Why do you have the Mac App Store open all the time? There's not really a need to have it open unless you're actually buying some software or want to take 5 seconds to check for an update every few days or weeks.

schweb said:

Why do you have the Mac App Store open all the time? There's not really a need to have it open unless you're actually buying some software or want to take 5 seconds to check for an update every few days or weeks.

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No particular reason, other than to check for the updates And now the its is out, when reading about a particular App that someone has mentioned in a thread, or i have read about in a blog, i have now gone to the MAS had a look for it to see what its all about. I go there now 1st then google 2nd now. I tend to go to google as well though to be fair, as to get more info on said App. I can do this at least once a day too !!
Just havnt really needed to close it as it takes up so very little resources. I have had a update nearly everyday so it just sits there and does its thing.
When it lets me know of a update, ill go ahead and dl it. Seems to me it here with us now in our everyday lives and updating is just part of that everyday life now lol IMHO JUts like my iTMS/iTunes I dont listen to music everyday, but it picks up my podcasts coming in, updates for my iOS device Apps. JUst sits there and does is thing

Cheers

I am probably one of the few people who uses itunes every day for it's original purpose. Of listening to music. And am someone who used to listen to use Sound Jam on OS 9 and watched it be bought out by Apple and slowly become the itunes we know today. Back in 2001 or whenever Apple released itunes it was a perfect name for a really good music player. But today the App is less about the tunes then it has ever been. If the word itunes was not such a instantly recognisable name I'd would not be surprised if Apple changed the name of the app. Apple can not do this cause everyone knows it as itunes but I'm saying the itunes name does not really say anymore the true nature of the app.

I hardly ever have the MAS open. And if it is integrated with itunes I'm not really worried. But personally I am all for killing itunes in it's current form. As in not have it a stand alone app anymore. It is so big now it needs to become part of the OS. Totally integrated with it. Cause I know a few people who are not even sure what a Mac does they know it has itunes. So yeah I think Apple will work out a way to make this happen. But for 10.7, totally integrate itunes/MAS/etc into the OS and I'll be happy.

Like for example when you right click an app in the finder the little contextual menu that comes up should have an option that says "find similar apps on the MAS". And a second option should say "Visit the developers website". Just little things like this. And same for music files. When you right click them there should be an option that says "copy and import into itunes" or something similar.

I'm not 100% sure how you move itunes/MAS from being an App to being part of the OS. Heck even the finder at the moment is just an App. But an App that you can't really quit and is always there in the background.

Well they are my current thoughts.

The one huge shortcoming of the MAS in its current form is that you have to have it open to check and alert for updates. As a system software, it should be able to run in the background like once a day and alert you for new updates.

Even Microsoft and Adobe have managed that.

Kind of like the software update does now you mean schweb?

schweb said:

The one huge shortcoming of the MAS in its current form is that you have to have it open to check and alert for updates. As a system software, it should be able to run in the background like once a day and alert you for new updates.

Even Microsoft and Adobe have managed that.

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Agreed. I'm hoping that since this is really just the first iteration of the MAS there are improvements to come.

the8thark said:

Kind of like the software update does now you mean schweb?

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Yep which makes it even more ridiculous that they overlooked it in the MAS.

iTunes is, increasingly, a driver/manager for iOS device media and software. It just also happens to play music and videos.. Personally, I would like to see the App/Music/Movie Store and iP** sync functions split off from the media player functions, with the Mac App Store as a third separate app.

schweb said:

Yep which makes it even more ridiculous that they overlooked it in the MAS.

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That may be related to the fact that the App Store is a late-arriving add on for Snow Leopard. I wouldn't be surprised if background updates come with Lion.