Apple Mac App Store goes live

The new App Store for Mac has gone live ahead of its rumoured 5pm launch time.

We've been having a play around with it in the office and as predicted it functions like a desktop version of the iOS version accessible in iTunes.

Choose an application to buy or download for free and it immediately jumps to your dock with an iOS-style progress bar. Once the bar fills you can use the app.

Mac users should be able to download the MacOS update that introduces the App Store via the usual channels, although rather a lot of people seem to be doing it right now so you might want to wait a while before trying.