Apple has reportedly begun accepting app submissions for the forthcoming Mac App Store. Apple is said to have made the announcement in an e-mail sent yesterday to registered developers.
If you’re interested in making a Mac app and weren’t cc’d on the e-mail, it’s said to have went like this: “The Mac App Store will be opening soon. You can get ready by submitting your Mac apps for review now. Log in to the Mac Dev Center for details on setting up an iTunes Connect account, creating Apple-issued Mac Distribution Certificates, and preparing your apps for the review process.”
The Mac App Store was announced during Apple’s “Back to the Mac” conference held in October. Apple has been kind enough to have already set up a developer resource page that includes assistance for those plotting Mac apps. Just remember to leave out multi-touch support this go around – Mr. Jobs is reportedly very adverse to the idea of a vertical touch screen.
Developers who successfully create a Mac app can expect the same rigorous review process that’s currently in place for the iPhone and iPad. The predictably strict policies governing the Mac App Store have already begun to irk developers who find it uncompromising. Open source champions and Firefox creators, Mozilla, have already expressed displeasure that the Mac App Store won’t allow for its “open beta” development process. Mozilla recently announced that it would be taking app-matters into its owns hands and releasing its own open source friendly app store.
Apple has yet to set an official launch date for the Mac App Store, but did announce during the “Back to the Mac” conference to expect a launch “within 90 days.” If our math is correct, that should give developers about two and half months at most if they want to have their apps ready for the store’s launch.
