If you haven’t heard yet, Apple has released the Mac App Store as part of OS X 10.6.6. This is a storefront tied to your iTunes account much like the iOS App Store, except that it sells Mac applications. You can get this store simply by running Software Update on your Mac to update to 10.6.6, assuming you’re already running an earlier version of Snow Leopard. The best part of this is that you can get Pear Note there! In fact, it’s currently #45 on the Top Grossing productivity apps list! I know a lot of you have questions about this, so I wanted to answer the common ones here.
Where can I get Pear Note?
Pear Note is and will continue to be available both directly from this website as well as through the Mac App Store. While some developers are ignoring the Mac App Store and others are making their applications available solely through it, many of us (including myself) have decided to make both options available to users. So, if you want to buy Pear Note through the Mac App Store, go for it. If you’d rather buy it here, that’s great too.
The Pear Note you get from either place is functionally the same. It’s the same version, with the same feature set, at the same price. You should be able to use Pear Note from either place to take notes in the exact same manner. That said, there are some differences between the two, which I’ll talk about below.
Where should I get Pear Note?
You can get Pear Note either here or in the Mac App Store. As I said, it’s the same application. The main differences are:
- Updates – The version in the Mac App Store will be updated through the Mac App Store, which is nice as you can update all your apps at once there (much like you can in iOS today). The version here will update itself. On the other hand, updates to the version here will go out more quickly, as they do not have to go through Apple’s review process which can take a week or so.
- Upgrades – At some point in the future, I’ll release Pear Note 3 (though not any time soon). When that happens, I’ll likely offer upgrade pricing (say 30% of the full price) for current users. Apple does not currently have a way to offer upgrade pricing on their store, so new versions must be purchased  for full price. This may be worked out by Apple before the time comes, but it’s good to be aware of a potential future pain point.
- Convenience – While I try to make it as convenient as possible to purchase Pear Note here, it’s never going to be as easy as the Mac App Store. With the Mac App Store, you click buy, enter your iTunes password, and the app is installed. No credit cards, no license codes.
- Leopard Support – The Mac App Store only supports Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.6 and later. If you’re still running Leopard, you have to get Pear Note here.
- Trials – Apple currently offers no way to try out software through the Mac App Store. That said, you can always download the trial here, then delete it before purchasing through the Mac App Store.
- Refunds – I offer a 60 day no questions asked return policy here. Refunds from Apple are possible, but not as easy or straightforward.
- Reviews – You get to review the app on the Mac App Store if you buy it there, which can be fun (but only if it’s a five star review – other reviews are not any fun
).
I already own Pear Note, can I migrate my purchase to the Mac App Store?
Sadly, no. Apple currently offers no way for 3rd party developers to do this, and I doubt they ever will as it would create a mechanism that developers could use to cheat Apple out of their cut of the sale. The good news is that there are a lot of advantages to continuing to use the non-Mac App Store version (as outlined above).
Why doesn’t Pear Note show up in the Mac App Store as “INSTALLED”?
Some people have been confused by launching the Mac App Store and having it mark some of their previously installed 3rd party applications as “INSTALLED.” Some have assumed this meant that the Mac App Store would now start treating these as Mac App Store purchases (auto-updating, allowing you to review, allowing you to re-download). This is not the case. The Mac App Store will not treat these apps as purchases. Even worse, the Mac App Store will refuse to let the user purchase these apps (even if what is installed is just a trial). Developers of these apps are currently scrambling to figure out what to do.
The apps that show as installed are using the same unique identifier for the Mac App Store and non-Mac App Store version. Pear Note does not use the same identifier, and consequently does not suffer from this problem.
Questions?
If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to shoot an email to support@usefulfruit.com or post something in the forum.