Should the App Store be used to sell Macintosh programs, too?

Lately, I’ve been thinking about the App Store. The launch of the App Store forever changed the iPhone, and possibly even Apple. There’s just no way iPhone users could look back now. And Apple can’t look back, either, as they’ve broadened their user base with the success of the iPhone and App Store. Some developers complain about its restrictions, while others have fallen in love with it. But most of us value our iPhones because of the apps we can use with it that Apple doesn’t make. It’s not perfect, but there are a lot of features to like about the App Store, features I think Apple could, and should use elsewhere.

The App Store provides one central location where all apps available for the iPhone of iPod touch can be purchased and downloaded. Generally speaking, these apps have to follow certain rules and regulations, and should almost be guaranteed to work on your iDevice. There’s a certain amount of trust built in. When you download an app, you trust that it will work. If apps issue updates, all you have to do is fire up iTunes on your Mac or the App Store on your iPhone and check for them. Installation and upgrading is automatic. It doesn’t get much easier. That’s why I think Apple should take advantage of this idea.

I’d love to see what I’m going to call the “Application Store” for Mac. On your iPhone, you have apps; but on your Mac, you have an Applications folder filled with applications. What if Apple were to announce something similar to the App Store, but for the Mac? Now, I say similar because I don’t necessarily want Apple to be the exclusive distributor for all applications on the Mac; but there are a number of features of the App Store that would translate well onto the Mac.

In my vision, the Application Store would be a central location for applications compatible with the Mac. There would be sections and categories just like you’d expect. Actually, it would be a whole lot like Apple’s current downloads page. But here’s the difference. Instead of being a webpage, it’s an application, not unlike the App Store. You could search for, read reviews on, purchase and download applications with it.

Just to be clear, this wouldn’t be the only place you could download applications, though it might prove to be the simplest and best. Sure, you could still browse the web for applications, and they wouldn’t need to be on the Application Store. But I’m thinking developers would want take advantage of this (unless they were excluded for some reason).

Instead of downloading, mounting and dragging applications to the Applications folder, you just fire up the Application Store. You could search for an application and all you’d have to do is press download. Payment could be handled through your iTunes account. Applications would be automatically downloaded and installed on your machine for you. he process would take almost no effort on your part. Then, when an update is pushed, guess what you do? Nothing. When Software Update runs again it could automatically check for any and all updates, not just System Updates issued by Apple.

This sort of functionality has been available for Linux for some time now, why not Mac? Developers could insure that users have the experience they are intended to have by making sure everyone is up to date automatically. The store would simplify installation of applications for Mac newbies, and make the process of keeping up to date ridiculously easy. Plus, Apple would have even more backing for the idea that Macs just work and are incredibly simple and intuitive.

No longer would you have to launch an application for it to check for updates. This way, every time you launch an application, you know you’re running the most current version. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve launched an application only to find out it can’t be used until it downloads and installs the newest patch A minor annoyance for sure, but one that could be a thing of the past.

What do you think? Assuming Apple wouldn’t lock down the Mac and make this the exclusive way of installing applications (or, for that matter, even if they did), do you think this would be a good idea? How would you like to have Software Update do what it sounds like it’s supposed to do? I want to read what you think in the comments.