> It's really expensive to setup your own server to distribute an application.
I haven't found it expensive at all. I've been selling apps outside App Stores for over a decade and never needed more than my $9/mth shared web hosting. Accepting credit cards is even easier & cheaper through someone like Fastspring or Kagi, who only take 8 - 9% instead of Apple's 30%.
> It's also really annoying to have to patch your apps without a store.
On the Mac, Sparkle is your friend for auto-updates, it's been around since 2006 (long before the Mac App Store existed): http://sparkle-project.org
On Windows, there's WinSparkle, though it isn't quite as elegant: http://winsparkle.org
I don't disagree, there were always solutions. The app store just made it easier than the alternatives. But now the alternatives are easier than the store.
I haven't found it expensive at all. I've been selling apps outside App Stores for over a decade and never needed more than my $9/mth shared web hosting. Accepting credit cards is even easier & cheaper through someone like Fastspring or Kagi, who only take 8 - 9% instead of Apple's 30%.
> It's also really annoying to have to patch your apps without a store.
On the Mac, Sparkle is your friend for auto-updates, it's been around since 2006 (long before the Mac App Store existed): http://sparkle-project.org
On Windows, there's WinSparkle, though it isn't quite as elegant: http://winsparkle.org