The App Store is becoming as overused a buzzphrase as Web 2.0, with San Francisco now implying the city itself, as much as any device, can become a platform for applications.
Gavin Newsom, the city’s trendy Twittering mayor, guest-posted on the Mashable blog on Friday. He announced the launch of the DataSF App Showcase, “a City App Store to highlight and centralize programs created from City data.”
“This has worked for Apple and Facebook, at last check; there are 60,000 apps available in the Apple App store and more than 350,000 different Facebook apps. Why not create a government app store as well?” he said.
Mayor Newsom said the site highlighted apps in development plus existing iPhone apps such as Ecofinder, helping recycling in the Bay Area, and Routesy, which helps users find their way round the transit system.
But more apps will come from making more City data available to the public.
“The initial phase of DataSF includes more than 100 datasets, from a range of City departments, including Police, Public Works, and the Municipal Transportation Agency. This is just scratching the surface,” he said.
In another variation on the Apps Store theme, the White House announced Apps.gov last week.
This will be the General Service Administration’s Cloud Computing Storefront – a centralised site where government departments can buy web-based “cloud computing” applications, for which the GSA had negotiated terms of service.
Earlier this week, Intel announced an App Store framework for the PC, with Acer, Asus and Dell becoming initial partners in launching App Stores based on Intel’s platform.
Intel expects its developer community to create and sell apps for netbooks and other small devices powered by its Atom microprocessor.
“There’s roughly 35m netbooks in the market today, and nobody’s developing software specifically for their segment, they’re really a unique opportunity,” Peter Biddle, head of Atom Software Strategy, told the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco.
