Apple has set a few rules for applications in the App Store, including "doesn't crash" and "doesn't duplicate existing apps".
I like and dislike this move.
First the dislikes: The App Store is a toll booth for Apple, a chokepoint on Mac applications that ensure Apple gets a cut of every sale. It also gives Apple the ability to suppress any app. (For any reason, despite Apple's propaganda.) It is a lot of power concentrated in one entity.
Now for the likes: It raises the bar for software quality, and probably reduces the price of apps. Where PC applications (and Mac applications) typically cost from $100 to $500, the lightweight apps in the App Store go for significantly less. I expect the same for Mac apps.
To shift to metaphors:
The initial days of personal computing (1977-1981) were a primitive era, requiring people to be self-sufficient, equivalent to living on the open Savannah, or in northern Britain. How they built Stonehenge (Visicalc) we will never really know.
The days of the IBM PC (DOS and Windows) were roughly equivalent to the Egyptian old kingdom and the empire, with some centralized direction and some impressive monuments (WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft Office) built with a lot of manual labor.
The brave new era of "app stores" (either Apple or Microsoft) will possibly be like the Roman Empire, with better technology but more central control and bureaucracy. Computers will finally be "safe enough" and "simple enough" for "plain users".
The new era brings benefits, but also signals the end of the old era. The days of complete independence are disappearing. Computers will be appliances that are controlled in part by the vendor. Applications will shrink in size and complexity (probably a good thing) and work reliably within the environment (also a good thing).
It's a brave new world, and developers would be wise to learn to live in it.
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