Panic, the developers of popular software for the Mac like Coda, Transmit and Candybar, wrapped up a critical update to their FTP client / file manager / all-in-one solution Transmit 4 on January 6th to fix “important bugs” and correct issues with the Transmit Disk feature and Amazon S3 connection. As they explain in a post on the company’s blog, their original plan was to submit the update to Apple and release it on their website as well once the Mac App Store version got approved.
Apple didn’t approve the update after two weeks, so Panic went ahead and posted the update on the application’s website so that users who didn’t buy the app through the Mac App Store didn’t have to wait any longer to have the bugs fixed. In their own words, Transmit 4.1.5 is now “half-available” as the app in still “in review” for Mac App Store approval.
I found the use of the “half-available” terminology interesting because it rises an important question: when critical bug fixes need to be approved, how’s the website / Mac App Store combo going to work? Many developers are still selling apps both through their websites and the Mac App Store, and while the Sparkle updater offers up-to-minute availability for new versions that don’t need to be approved by anyone, apps in the Mac App Store need to go through the app review team. Developers in the App Store (both Mac and iOS) can ask for an expedited review when submitting an update, but as we can see in Transmit’s case, that doesn’t always happen.
The problem I see in this situation is the following: a Mac app like Transmit, which deals with FTP / SFTP servers, Amazon and WebDAV, is vital to “pro users” who manage websites and need to upload files on a daily basis; an update waiting in Apple’s review queue is a damage to these users who use Transmit for a living. Sure, iOS apps may need quick updates as well, but I don’t think there are as many “professional” applications on the iPhone and iPad as on the Mac. On the other hand, what would Apple do if an important bug is found in Apple Remote Desktop? That’s a pro app used every day by thousands of network admins, and I bet Apple would approve it right away. Of course they would, it’s their own application. But there are thousands of other apps from third-party devs that need to be approved just as quickly.
In the future, I believe we’ll see more “half-available” updates if Apple doesn’t change its policy and allow for really quick updates to be available as soon as possible.
