As promised, Apple on Thursday launched the Mac App Store, which is available to all Snow Leopard users via the Mac OS X 10.6.6 update. That update hit the company’s servers first thing in the morning. The Mac App Store promises an experience similar to the iOS App Store, with the ability to seamlessly buy and install software through an iTunes account.
CEO Steve Jobs said in a press release: “With more than 1,000 apps, the Mac App Store is off to a great start. We think users are going to love this innovative new way to discover and buy their favorite apps.”
The software available in the Mac App Store at launch includes not only Apple’s iLife suite and Aperture but also applications from Boinx, Autodesk, and others. Autodesk CEO Carl Bass said: “We’re delighted to bring our professional-grade paint and drawing app, Autodesk SketchBook Pro, to the Mac App Store on its first day of launch. We’ve seen tremendous success on the Mac, iPhone and iPad with multiple apps. We’re excited to offer SketchBook Pro on the Mac App Store so artists can easily create everything from quick sketches to high-quality artwork right on their Macs.”
The front of the Mac App Store