Posts tagged with "mac"

Apple Shuts Down OS X Downloads Page

As announced back in December 2010, Apple has shut down [thanks, Daylen] the OS X Downloads page that used to list applications, widgets and utilities users could download for their Macs. Instead, Apple is now featuring the Mac App Store at the same URL, which you can find here (the old apple.com/downloads/macosx URL also redirects to the new page). It’s unclear when Apple made the change to the webpage, but the last time we checked a couple of weeks ago the Downloads website was still active and listing apps for OS X. With OS X Lion approaching its public release, the fact that Apple has replaced the Downloads website with a Mac App Store banner doesn’t come as a total surprise – after all, Lion is going to be distributed exclusively on the Mac App Store, and Apple wants it to become the most popular way to discover and install new software for OS X.

Back in December, an email from Apple to developers said:

Because we believe the Mac App Store will be the best destination for users to discover, purchase, and download your apps, we will no longer offer apps on the Mac OS X Downloads site. Instead, beginning January 6, we will be directing users to explore the range of apps available on the Mac App Store.

We appreciate your support of the Mac platform and hope you’ll take advantage of this new opportunity to showcase your apps to even more users.

The Downloads page used to be a good source of traffic and page views for developers willing to showcase their apps on Apple’s website, for free. Now, they’ll need to submit their apps to the Mac App Store, which is organized in categories and has a front page with featured software and staff picks, but can’t be accessed from a web browser.

As a side note, the Widgets site can still be accessed here. On the Downloads page, Apple is also featuring links to iOS Software Updates, Safari Extensions, Mac Software Updates, Safari 5 and iTunes 10.

Ahead Of Next Week’s Earnings Call, Analysts Predict High Mac, iPhone And iPad Sales

Ahead of next week’s earning call, there are two reports out today by analysts that paint a rosy picture of Mac, iPhone and iPad sales. The first report by Barclays Capital anaylst Ben Reitzes, claims that Apple is likely to exceed 22% growth in Mac computer shipments during the June quarter. This is despite US market data that has been less optimistic, but Reitzes suggests that overseas sales may compensate for the “somewhat muted” US sales due to the fact that many consumers are waiting for new MacBook Air models.

The second report from Brian White of Ticonderoga Securities included some revised figures and claims that Apple is likely to have sold a record of 8.5 million iPads and an impressive 17.53 million iPhones in the June quarter.

After our recent trip to Asia, we indicated that we felt our iPhone estimates for the June quarter were overly conservative, while our iPad projections were achievable and well above the Street.

Apple’s previous record for iPad sales was last years holiday quarter where they sold 7.3 million units. The iPhone sales according to White would be less than last-quarter’s record 18.65 units but still more than double the 8.4 million units Apple sold in the same quarter last year.

While many larger tech companies rely on more cyclical trends to grow sales, we believe Apple enjoys the tailwind of strong secular industry trends, hot new products and market share gain opportunities

[Via Barrons, AppleInsider]

Simplify: A Spotify Music Controller and Artwork Widget for Mac

Spotify, the European music streaming service that has attracted millions of paying subscribers in the past two years, is finally launching in the United States, with some saying the big opening could happen as early as next week. For those not familiar with Spotify, the concept is very simple: instead of owning music, you stream it from the company’s servers that host a huge catalogue of songs from both major and less-known labels. You can build playlists, mark items as favorite, and pay to get unlimited access, higher quality bitrates, mobile apps and caching options for offline access. Whereas Apple’s upcoming iTunes Match service will scan songs you already own to mirror them online, Spotify lets you create your own online library of songs you don’t own (though a “buy” option has been recently introduced), but that you can stream at any time. It’s similar to other services like Rdio and MOG, but the company never managed to close a deal with US music labels and get the green light for launching its service until last week.

I’ve been a Spotify user for two years, and it’s completely revolutionized the way I listen to music. I still enjoy buying some music from iTunes, but Spotify’s biggest advantage over traditional marketplaces is that I can pay a monthly fee (or buy yearly access altogether with a gift card) to listen to just about anything I want, from any device. Spotify has a beautiful Mac client and an iPhone app that’s continually updated with new features; however, the company still hasn’t revealed its plans about an iPad app that would be much welcome one year after the iPad came out. Read more