MacAppStore and external distribution
Gitbox started selling in November using old-school method: download a free version from gitboxapp.com, then upgrade to a paid version by buying a license.
Today Gitbox is available on Mac App Store as well. What this means to you?
If you have already purchased Gitbox, you don’t need to “connect” it to App Store. First, it is impossible to do for free: you’ll have to buy it again, from Apple. Second, you won’t miss much. Gitbox is a single-version application: there is no “lite”, “full”, “appstore” or “non-appstore” variant. The functionality is all the same. (Only difference is that binary in appstore has different autoupdating and license checking mechanisms.) Gitbox already provides automatic updates for free. There is one nice feature of the non-appstore purchase: updates can be released within minutes instead of a week.
Note that App Store marks the app as “installed” if it sees it on disk even if it was never downloaded from Apple. If you want to purchase it from Apple (maybe you have not yet purchased a license), then you should drop the app to Trash and restart App Store: the purchase button will become available. Your preferences won’t be affected.
So how do you decide where to purchase an app? Both distribution channels are great: appstore is more controlled, but sometimes much more convenient, another one is more flexible, but less integrated into OS. I believe it is important to keep both options available to you, but I want to avoid any confusion. So here is my policy:
1. Prices and discounts will always be the same and synchronized for both stores. The app is the same, hence the price is the same.
2. I will do my best to release big updates synchronously on both stores. I usually don’t release more often than once a week or two, so it is very possible to adjust to the appstore review delays.
3. In case of security updates or critical bug fixes, I will post an update immediately even if the appstore does not publish it as quick as I do on my website.
Enjoy Gitbox and buy it where you like. You will get the same support and love everywhere.