Gatekeeper is a new "protection" system designed by Apple for OS X Mountain Lion. How does Gatekeeper protect users? Simple, it prohibits the installation of any type of application that does not have a so-called Developer ID, that is, a unique registration code that is available in an Apple database that OS X checks. In practice, in OS X Mountain Lion, Apple installs the same limitation as in iOS, but the good part is that on the operating system for Macs we have the option to close this system. It comes active in OS X Mountain Lion, so you will have to disable it manually to install any kind of applications you want.
Gatekeeper seems like a good idea, but for application developers who don't want to publish their titles in the Mac App Store, it exists a big problem. First of all, Apple does not allow them to use the APIs for iCloud and Notification Center, so you will not receive notifications from applications installed outside the Mac App Store and you will not be able to synchronize the information from them with iCloud and its iDevices. Secondly, there is always the possibility that Apple will give up the option to install third-party applications and this is where the jailbreak should intervene to help us install whatever we want. Apple is taking the first steps towards closing OS X and I for one do not think that their decision is really that good.
Cabel [Sasser] was told point-blank that Apple has great respect for the third-party app community, and wants to see it continue to grow" Panic engineer Steven writes, "they do not want to poison the well. Despite these great strides forward, Apple is walking a dangerous line with regard to features that are only available to App Store distributed apps. The two most prominent examples are iCloud and Notification Center. Cabel asked Apple if, thanks to Gatekeeper and Developer ID, App Store-only features would eventually be available to signed apps that were not distributed through the App Store. There was some shuffling of feet and a "we have nothing to announce at this time". It didn't sound particularly optimistic.
Gatekeeper will generate many problems for Mac owners in the future because Apple will reach a point where it will force third-party application developers to move their titles to the Mac App Store or they will no longer be able to sell them. Until this happens, we can quietly enjoy the freedom offered by OS X.
