Apple’s gift for after the holidays is here – the Mac App Store that was announced back in December has opened on the 6th of January, just like the Cupertino-based company announced back in December. As you may remember, back in December Apple announced that come the 6th of January, it will roll out the Mac App Store to 90 countries around the world.

At the time Apple explained that just like the App Store for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, the Mac App Store will allow you to browse paid and free apps; these apps will be sorted in categories like Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity and Utilities. If you find an app that seems interesting, you can view customer ratings and reviews. If you don’t know what app to check out, you can find out what’s hot or view staff favorites.

Once you’ve made your choice you can easily purchase, download and install apps. The apps, which will be updated via the Mac App Store, can be run on all of your personal Macs.

All this talk about “you will be able to do this” and “you will be able to do that” is old news. You are now able to do this because the Mac App Store is no longer something that will be offered by Apple, it is something that is currently offered by Apple. If you’re on Mac OS X Snow Leopard you can get the Mac App Store via Software Update. There are more than 1,000 free and paid apps to choose from in the Mac App Store.

“With more than 1,000 apps, the Mac App Store is off to a great start,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think users are going to love this innovative new way to discover and buy their favorite apps.”

The Mac App Store is available for Snow Leopard users through Software Update as part of Mac OS X 10.6.6.
To get the Mac App Store, download the Mac OS X 10.6.6 Software Update or visit apple.com/mac/app-store.