Open Radar

 
Summary:

Notification Center Should Be Available for All Apps Not Just Mac App Store Apps

Steps to Reproduce:

Write an app. Distribute it outside the Mac App Store.

Expected Results:

The app should have access to Notification Center.

Actual Results:

The app does not have access to Notification Center.

Regression:

None.

Notes:

The Mac App Store is a good thing for many people. It's good for Apple, as you get a big cut of many app sales on the platform. It's good for many developers, who get an easy way to get their apps to users. And it's good for users, who have a great source for software.

That said, it's not for everyone. Some apps that are quite good for the Mac platform aren't acceptable under the current rules. Other developers don't wish to give up 30% to Apple, or have other reasons for wishing to sell their software outside the store. Heck, the fact that Apple has unveiled Developer ID makes it clear that Apple understands that the Mac App Store is not for everyone.

So why require that an app be in the Mac App Store to use notifications? There's no engineering reason for it. Can any reason besides greed be used to explain it? I'm open to explanations, but right now, it simply stinks. All apps should have access to the Notification Center.

This isn't Apple. It's not right, and Apple is better than this.