Apple is planning to launch it's Mac App Store later today and the initial response to the whole idea from the pundits was mixed. I am actually quite curious and here are a few of my observations/predictions:

1. Developers will love it – not really an expectation as a number of popular developers already said so
2. Users accustomed to app stores will love it – it will enable discovery which is important in the "small" Mac community
3. Apple is not looking for revenue from the store – just exposure and getting people into their ecosystem
4. Microsoft will most likely follow suit soon – possibly even announce something at CES
5. This is the way to do app distribution on any platform – we now have the iOS store, Android Market, Amazon App store, Google Chrome Web App store, Steam, …

The last point is something I have been thinking about since Apple launched the first App Store. Why would anyone buy physical media in the world of broadband internet connections? You might argue that digital download is nothing new but the app stores are not just about distribution. A big part of the experience is the simplicity of installation and setup which have always been an issue with consumers and software. 

What do you think?