>" independent record stores about to be crushed by a shiny new Virgin Megastore."

I don't think that's an accurate comparison because:

1. the Virgin Megastore doesn't get 30% of the revenue from the independents.

2. the Virgin Megastore doesn't get copies of the customer lists and sales records of the independents.

3. the Virgin Megastore can't slap their logo on everything in the independents' stores.

4. the Virgin Megastore cannot easily create their own competing versions of the independents merchandise.

The app store significantly reduces the friction needed to discover and install apps. In the first 10 minutes of using it, I discovered 3 useful apps and installed them all without loading a disk image, installing it, dragging the mounted disk image to the trash, then deleting the disk image file.

This morning's productivity is probably blown...

I'm sure someone much smarter than me could draw many parallels, both good and bad, between malls and apps stores.

Personally, I say I hate malls myself, yet once in a while I get the urge to go and buy a few things I didn't know I needed. I find comfort in the consistency of the stores, that you can go to any mall and find roughly the same vendors. Once at the mall, my choices are narrowed down (which ties into the whole Paradox of Choice http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice:_Why_More...).

distribution already exists! it's called the internet. fire up a website, have a downloadable app, and you're done. I don't understand why people keep saying the same for "app stores" like iphone and android, and now osx too. why can't I just search for an app on a search engine, goto that apps website, download it and run/install it? how does this system benefit me as a user at all?

You don't need it, but it makes things a hell of a lot more convenient. When I run Linux, I don't Google "linux media player", I just search the repository and install things much easier. If I googled "linux media player", I'd have to sort through various unrelated sites (reviews, howtos, spam/malware, old versions on different sites, forums, etc). When I search an app store/repository, I just get exactly what I want. It's less of a noticeable benefit if you know exactly what you want (because you can usually look for the app name and find their site), but it's helpful for searching for a category of apps. Additionally, it's nice to have a simpler update system. Updating apps on Windows is a mess, and I know I should really do more about it, because apps that don't include update functionality generally don't get updated.

you make a fair point, making the distribution easier is a nice feature. I still would have preferred a slightly more open approach however. How about defining an installer protocol? like install://url.to.my.servers/my.app.installer.json.or.whatever.format and then my browser could have the app installer for my OS registered on install:// urls. that way the installer format could be cross platform, and not controlled by any 1 company, but still be an easy point-and-click on a website without the hassle of running other things etc?

Then if you want the trust that the verification of apple gives you, you should make sure you only download software from apple.com, but the whole system is still more open and accessible by being online on websites rather than specific to a piece of software running on OSX.

It doesn't, because you're clever and knowledgable about computers. Unfortunately, not all users are like you. Tell an ordinary user to search for an app on a search engine ("what's that? oh, you mean google!"), goto that apps website, download it, and run/install it, and before you know it he'll have a dozen Bonzi Buddies stealing his credit card numbers.

Most users need a web browser (email, FB, gossip sites), maybe a word processor, and maybe an occasional game. They need something more like Chrome OS, not an app store. Sophisticated users (gamers, programmers, tinkerers) don't need an app store either.

I don't trust the cherry picked testimonials on your site.

I don't trust you that your website isn't spam.

I don't trust you with my credit card number.

I don't trust you that your program is well made and follows conventions.

I don't trust you that you won't install a Trojan on my machine.

I don't trust you that you won't put Adware all over.

I don't trust you that your app is bug free and won't ruin the performance on my computer.

But if Apple accepts your app into the app store, I don't have to worry about these things.

Bundled with OS. One click and easy to use. Not everyone is a "tech geek" and for some even turning on a computer is hard.

Absolute nonsense.

Users don't want to search through multiple websites, use paypal and drag icons into the application folder.

You will be disappointed - users will love this.

Yes, you are probably right. But then, it's just a feeling, and feelings can be pretty nonsensical sometimes. I've been an enthusiastic mac user for 20 years, now i'm surprised to realize I slowly grew to completely distrust and dislike apple's vision of what the computer ecosystem should be. File this under 'Snobbish rantings of a disappointed user' ;-)