If you have an Intel mac you can run Snow Leopard. The upgrade is cheap and you can then use the app store. If you have a PPC mac running Leopard then the App store is useless anyway as the App store only serves Intel binaries.
Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MB51.0073.B06
SMC Version (system): 1.32f8
Serial Number (system): W88
**M1AQ
Hardware UUID: 22B90F2E-8142-5A6E-96F8-F98
**BAE24
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled
I can't believe you HAVE to have virtually BRAND NEW Mac's to use the latest new gadgets. I have 8 Mac computers between my home and office. Only 1 is Intel and it's for my bookkeeping (so there won't be any games or apps downloaded on that computer). I cannot afford to replace even ONE of these G5 computers given this economy.....
Come on Apple! Think sometimes, won't ya?? Not everyone can afford brand new machines!
Obviously, you are caught in a bind on this one. My computer is three years old and Intel. I may very well feel a door shut in my face, has I not been able to go to 10.6. However, Apple has to move ahead, and work with developers. We all know when we buy a computer or other technology that eventually we will become dinosaurs. I'd like to be able to do TV and movie streaming but my TV does not have the connections and most of the devices that are easiest to use for that purpose do not work on our TV so we are unable to do so without spending a minimum of $400. I feel your pain.
The App Store is just another shop front. You still have the whole internet and all the physical shops throughout the world to buy software.
IMO all the Mac App Store is doing at the moment is making it much easier to impulse buy software most people don't really need, and most if it is available the 'old' way anyway.
While I have upgraded my older macbook pro to Snow Leopard and enjoy the app store at home all my office macs are still on Leopard because of lingering font issues where Snow Leopard font handling does not render Adobe Type 1 fonts very well. Many of my outside vendors such as designers and printers are still using Leopard for this same reason. Sad that Apple lost sight of the design community in it's march forward with new technology. Publishers cannot simply ignore the thousands of legacy titles which were built with what was at the time cutting edge and recommended font formats. Still I am an avid mac supporter who started with the mac when designers were the only one's using it...