Why aren't these Mac Apps on the Mac App Store?

As good as the Mac App Store is, there are some drawbacks to it:

• App store app developers can’t offer demos or paid upgrades through the Mac App Store, meaning there's no option to try before you buy.
• Developers can't communicate directly with their customers if they have a problem.
• App store app developers have to pay a cut to Apple when the customer purchases the app.
• Apps listed in the Mac App Store run in a restricted 'sandbox' environment, which can be a good thing, but can also be too restrictive.
• Mac App Store apps can be pulled from the store at any time by Apple, or have their certificate revoked. Meaning if you have a business-critical app from the Mac App Store which you need to reinstall, you could be stuck.

What is my opinion of the Mac App Store?

My opinion of the App Store is that it's good for novice users - it's introduced people to Applications they never knew existed, without them having to look all over the internet for them. It's also reduced the risk of downloading something malicious (malware) and probably saved people multiple trips to the Genius Bar in Apple Retail Stores. It's also made App updates far far easier for people. It's also great for developers, because by using the App store, developers can reach billions of potential customers.

My program 'Tweaker' would never be allowed on the App Store as it can modify the behaviour of your system, and Apple would rather most people don't do this. They don't want people to have the ability to change their system settings to that degree.

Imagine you were working in an Apple Store, trying to tech-support a tweak that a customer had made to their system. You'd be unaware of what tweak they'd performed, so it'd be a very in-depth procedure to reverse it if you didn't know how.

(This is why they introduced System Integrity Protection after all. Although it's great at stopping malicious software, it also takes away the ability to customise). For those who appreciate the foundations of MacOs or OSX but would like more control over the interface, then Tweaker serves it's purpose.

If you are a developer using the App store, you reach billions of people, but you have to pay every year for an Apple Developer Certificate, plus around a 30% cut to Apple of your Application sales. Many developers have been accused of being tight... I mean, frugal, but some developers think these fees (sometimes termed the 'Apple Tax') is too high. Worse though is that customers with Apps downloaded through the App Store can't be helped without a fix being reposted to the App Store with the related delays.

Another aspect of the App store relates to self management of software, particularly if you are a business. If you'd purchased apps from the App Store, they aren't like normal apps. Apple can choose to revoke a developer's certificate or even remove the App from the store at any point. You'll not be able to reinstall it again if this is the case. With normal software you can back it up however you please and you have it for as long as you require. This is also better for businesses who have to deploy software to multiple computers, who don't need the software disappearing without notice when it may be critical to their business.

There's nothing wrong with downloading software from outside the App Store, and it'll still run if you right-click an Application and choose 'open', but be absolutely sure you trust the software or use it on a computer / device that doesn't matter to try it out first. And always have a backup of course!

One of the greatest strengths of Apple's App store is that they are vetted to a greater degree than the Google Play store on Android. There's always that doubt when downloading an android app that it can do anything behind the scenes, and perform tasks that aren't documented by the developer.

I should also add that being an official developer in the Mac App store, is quite frankly a ball-ache. There's a very in-depth and interesting article here (and archived PDF version here, just in case it disappears), and it pretty much confirms why I will always be an unsigned developer - at least on the Apple platform.