Apple: No Promo Codes In The Mac App Store

By Federico Viticci

The good news today is that promo codes for iOS apps are no longer limited to the U.S. App Store, but it looks like the upcoming Mac App Store (set to launch in January 2011, even though someone says it may open as early as next week) will be based on a different system. In fact, it appears that developers won’t have the possibility to generate promo codes for Mac apps sold through the Mac App Store.

In the iTunes Connect Developer Guide (version 6.2, last updated on November 1, 2010 - PDF) Apple mentions that promo codes are exclusive to iOS and won’t be available for Mac apps:

Promo Codes button (for iOS apps only). See the Requesting Promo Codes section to learn about promotional codes)

Promotional codes are not available for Mac OS X apps.

Apple Is Improving Security of Push Notifications

By Federico Viticci

Seems like Apple is changing quite a few things for developers today. First they announced promo codes have gone international, now, as reported by iClarified, Apple apparently sent out a notification to some developers informing them that, starting December 22, Apple will improve the system behind the Push Notification Service to use more secure connections.

On December 22, 2010, the production Apple Push Notification service will begin to use a 2048-bit TLS/SSL certificate that provides a more secure connection between your provider server and the Apple Push Notification service.

To ensure you can continue to validate your server’s connection to the Apple Push Notification service, you will need to update your push notification server with a copy of the 2048-bit root certificate from Entrust’s website. This will not require a change to your iOS apps – this update only applies to provider servers.

Developers who have released apps that rely on push notifications will need to update their provider servers with the new certificate. More info available here.

Finally: App Store Promo Codes No Longer Limited To The U.S.

By Federico Viticci

This is great news. With a brief note on iTunes Connect’s website, Apple informed developers that promo codes, the ones to redeem apps in the App Store, are now working worldwide:

Your promo code distribution is no longer limited to U.S. customers. Promo codes in iTunes Connect can now be redeemed by all App Store customers worldwide. Your Team Agent can request 50 codes per version of your app in iTunes Connect and your customers can redeem these codes in any App Store. To learn more about requesting promo codes in iTunes Connect, see the iTunes Connect Developer Guide.

Previously, promo codes only worked in the U.S. Store, forcing developers who were willing to gift apps to the press or users to make sure they had a U.S. iTunes account. Now promo codes are international. In the past we at MacStories indeed had a few headaches trying to explain you guys that, due to Apple’s limitations, promo codes were only available for US customers.

It took Apple two years, but it’s over. Really good news for users, developers and bloggers.

Finally! [9to5 via MacKinando]

Apple Confirms Devs Can Use The Same App Name Across iOS and Mac App Store, Provides Other Tips

By Federico Viticci

Three weeks ago we reported Apple updated its Mac App Store submission FAQ for developers to inform developers that it was possible to submit apps with identical names to the iPhone, iPad and Mac App Store. Today they’re making it official by posting the news on the Developer News website:

You can now submit a Mac OS X version of your app to the Mac App Store with the identical name as your iOS app on the App Store. Having the same name for your app on both the App Store and Mac App Store allows you to maintain the consistency of your brand and makes your app easily recognizable to customers.

Earlier today Apple also posted a series of tips regarding in-app purchases and app metadata. Apple reminds developers that “there is certain metadata which cannot be edited, such as keywords and the name of your app” and suggests in-app purchases should come with accurate screenshots and predictions.

According to a rumor surfaced yesterday, Apple may be a targeting an early Mac App Store opening for next week. We haven’t been able to verify this rumor with the developers we contacted, though, as no one apparently got notified from Apple about the change of schedule.

Apple Confirms: No Demos In The Mac App Store

By Federico Viticci

Following last night’s seeding of a new build of Mac OS X 10.6.6, Apple updated its Developer News portal with a few tips for developers to consider before trying to submit their Mac apps for approval. Among these tips (which include file system usage and custom graphical controls), Apple confirmed what many developers feared since the Mac App Store was announced: Apple won’t accept any kind of demo, trial or beta version in the new Store.

Apple is, in fact, suggesting developers to host demos on their own websites, as the Mac App Store only accepts retail versions of apps:

Your website is the best place to provide demos, trial versions, or betas of your software for customers to explore. The apps you submit to be reviewed for the Mac App Store should be fully functional, retail versions of your apps.

We don’t know yet if Apple will provide a way to better showcase links to developers’ website in the App Store description pages (right now, the iOS App Store features two links buried under an app’s description, right above screenshots) but sure this is bad news for many developers who were hoping Apple would announce the possibility to release demo versions in the Mac App Store.

The Mac App Store opening isn’t too far away now, so we’ll know more about the whole process in the upcoming weeks.

New OS X 10.6.6 Build Seeded To Developers, Public Release Soon?

By Federico Viticci

(image via 9to5mac)

As noted by MacRumors, a few hours ago Apple seeded a new build of Mac OS X 10.6.6 to developers. Build number is 10J537, and it comes 21 days after the public release of OS X 10.6.5. A first build of 10.6.6 was seeded before the actual release of 10.6.5.

The new build is apparently listed as GM (“golden master”) for the developers having access to it through the Mac App Store development program. Other registered Mac developers, as also reported by MacRumors, don’t see the build being listed as GM. Listing an OS update as golden master makes us think that Apple might be willing to release it soon, although it is quite curious that some developers haven’t been notified of the change.

Apple is set to open the Mac App Store in late January 2011, and we’re hearing there’s a deadline going on now for Mac developers to submit their apps for approval before the grand opening. This build of 10.6.6 provides “developer support for fetching and renewing App Store receipts” and Apple has explicitly asked developers to test fixes in Dock, Bonjour, Spotlight, OpenGL and Printing. Does that “printing” sound a lot like “support for shared printers in AirPrint” to you as much as it does to us?

Could Apple release OS X 10.6.6 and catch the popular two birds with one stone by delivering AirPrint fixes and Mac App Store in the same OS update? We sure hope so. After all, Jobs promised more on AirPrint is coming. Plus, the clock’s ticking on the Mac App Store.

What’s for sure is, exciting times are ahead for Mac users.

iTunes Connect “Sales & Trends” Down For Developers

By Federico Viticci

We received several tips from developers this morning informing us that “iTunes Connect was down”. We just checked, iTunes Connect works just fine but the “Sales and Trends” section (where developers can check on detailed reports of their app sales in the Store) is down.

When trying to access it (link), iTC returns the following error:

Your access is in the process of being set up, please return in 24 hours.

It seems like a maintenance routine that will be finished by tomorrow or later today, but we can speculate Apple will also roll out smaller improvements to the Sales interface once it goes back online. Anyway, developers, don’t worry: it’s not just you. It’s down for everyone, you just have to wait.

The Sales and Trends page is also unaccessible from the iTC mobile application.

Update: many developers are reporting Sales and Trends are back up. It sure is for us now.