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X2Pro pulled from the Mac App Store
I bought X2ProLE and today needed the full version. So I went to buy the in app purchase upgrade, it says it doesn’t exist. Can’t find it in my purchases, or in the App Store.
So I called the developer, who since they are based in the U.K. have a guy living here in the states. He informed me that Apple cut them off due to nonpayment of their developer dues. They realized the mistake and said to them it would take about twenty four hours to come back. I have a major deadline today and so he sent me an installer. Great!
Not so fast…
The installer then wiped my MAS receipt on the LE version, and installed the full version. Only the Mac App Store pops up telling me “This is not a testing account” and then stopped the app from opening.
I spent hours on the phone with Apple who bounced me from person to person and they all said the same thing. “There isn’t anything we can do about this.”
This is making it much harder for me to enthusiastically endorse FCPX to people. If Apple cannot treat developers better who actually make the “Pro” part of FCPX possible, then I may have to reconsider using them.
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27 Replies
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It seems like you ran into a very specific set of circumstances that unfortunately lined up at the most inopportune time. If anything, it’s the developer’s fault here, not Apple. What’s Apple to do with a company not paying it’s bills?
I don’t think there’s anything more wrong here than if Adobe’s server went down and I couldn’t install a CreativeCloud app for a day. Things happen. No system is perfect.
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Have you tried logging out from MAS just in case being logged in does a check. Not sure if it’ll work but I do know that people have moved from MAS purchases back to direct from developer purchases.
Personally I think the MAS is fundamentally flawed for professional use.
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[Marcus Moore] “Things happen. No system is perfect.”
Try explaining that to a client when you’re on deadline, the developer offers a fix and the MAS stands in the way.
Some developers have complained that they can roll out a bug fix and it can take days for MAS approval.
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The fact is, if they are telling the truth, which I am inclined to believe the developer, as I have read other instances of other developers having similar things happen. They paid their dues, Apple corrected the mistake, but it will take a day to come back to the App Store.
This wasn’t a server catastrophe, this was just the bill collecting computer doing it’s thing, and their unwillingness to expedite fixing the problem. Apple gets 30% off the top of every $150 sale. This was over the $99 yearly developer dues.
These people make a major function missing from FCPX possible. It’s truly frustrating that they can’t see that cutting off apps that directly add essential functionality to their key editing software will also affect their customers.
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I get it, I really do- but the developer screwed the pooch when they didn’t pay their bills. A developer enters into the MAS agreement knowing they system. If they don’t have a workaround for something like this happening that’s MAS agnostic, then it’s even more confusing that they didn’t keep up with their end of the deal.
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I did try logging out and back. This was their version for internal use so it was tied to one of their testing accounts. Since they are based in London and the man who works for them here isn’t a technical person, he had no way to send a version that worked for me.
Yes, the MAS is totally flawed for Pro use. In order to offer updates every app has to go through the sometimes month long approval process. Whenever a new issue comes up, you have to wait for that long sometimes if you upgraded. (I know, I should have backed up my working copy of X2Pro LE)
Whenever possible I always buy from the developer. In this case it’s the only way available.
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I think you are misunderstanding the point.
According to them they DID pay their bills and it was a mistake on Apple’s part who are taking a whole day to fix it. The company is based in the U.K. and they were gone for the day.
The support person here in the US who isn’t himself a developer found an installer to give me. It suckerpunched my working LE version.
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[Darren Roark] “I did try logging out and back.”
Don’t log back in. You might even take the computer off its internet connection temporarily. It’s just a gamble but if there’s no communication with MAS you might be able to run it. If it’s looking for the developer’s MAS account, that may be the problem. Some installers may allow it to run independently for some period before it checks again. Just a gamble but it might work.
[Darren Roark] “In order to offer updates every app has to go through the sometimes month long approval process.”
I know some developers will give you the option to buy from MAS or direct. Granted it’s more work for the developer but when users depend on a product for professional use, the MAS wait for approval is a very serious problem.
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He said, she said. It could have been an honest mistake on the developers part, or it could have been Apple’s fault. We can’t know for sure.
I’m just saying that there’s a LOT of elements lining up here that put you in your current situation- the local guy’s boo-boo, the time difference, the (possibly) unpaid bills, the tight deadline you’re on.
The turnaround time for app approval is a problem, and perhaps as time goes on, Apple can instigate a process under which developers in good standing can earn a more expedient approval process for minor updates.
The problem seems to be that Apple has a lot to loose if they let something slip by, press-wise.
Do you know anyone else locally that can do the conversion?
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Thanks for the suggestion. I tried it on my laptop, same thing. It’s a bummer.
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