....it almost smells like they're looking to ultimately take complete control over all software that installs on a Mac.
Is that bad?
I would rather buy a piece of software that Apple has approved because I will then know that the developer hasn't taken shortcuts in the way that software interacts with the operating system. I assume that Apple is not going to endorse any software that affects the system.
I think back to computers "pre-Mac". I never had a computer before 1984 and chose to have a Mac because it didn't have all the problems that affected existing computers. For example, any new piece of software for those computers almost always meant a new learning process because they all worked differently.
The Mac philosophy was so simple that it's a wonder no one had thought of it before. No matter what kind of software a person developed for the Mac, it would work exactly the same as every other so that the learning curve was reduced.
A developer could not, for example, create Mac software whose windows worked differently than any other Mac software - no matter what it was. Ditto a whole bunch of other functions. The routines were contained in the Mac chips and the developer went to Apple to get access to them.
If Apple is going back to its roots to prevent the spread of problems, i.e. A developer cannot be endorsed if their software will cause the system to break, then it has to be good.
I doubt it will stop anyone from developing software outside the Apple circle but then the responsibility for problems rests with the person(s) who chose to install it.
ryck
