Apple now selling $69 Mac OS X Lion USB Thumb Drive
For those who don't want to purchase Mac OS X 10.7 Lion from the Mac App Store for $29.99, Apple is now selling the $69 USB install drive in its online store.
Buying Lion on a physical medium from Apple's online store carries a price more than twice that of the digital download. The drive ships for free in one to three business days.
"OS X Lion is available on a USB thumb drive for installation without the need for a broadband Internet connection," Apple's official product description reads. "Just plug the drive into your USB port and follow the instructions to install. OS X Lion is also available for a lower price as a digital download from the Mac App Store."
In addition to the lower price, Apple also incentivized users to buy Lion from the Mac App Store buy giving it a month's head start over the USB thumb drive. The 3.49GB operating system install became available for download on July 20.
The product also comes with an "Important Note" from Apple: "When you install OS X Lion using the USB thumb drive, you will not be able to reinstall OS X Lion from Lion Recovery. You will need to use the USB thumb drive to reinstall OS X Lion."
Lion marks the first operating system release from Apple where a download is the preferred install method. AppleInsider was first to report in May that Apple planned to push users toward buying through the Mac App Store.
The last version of Mac OS X, Snow Leopard, also carried a $29.99 price tag, but its default distribution method was on a physical DVD. When Apple redesigned its thin-and-light MacBook Air in 2010, it came with a USB thumb drive to reinstall Snow Leopard, as Apple began to move away from disc drives in its Mac lineup.
Apple did not reveal until Lion became available on the Mac App Store in July that a USB thumb drive would be sold in August. But the company also noted that users who do not have broadband access at home, work or school can download the multi-gigabyte install file from the Mac App Store at its retail stores at no extra cost.
Buying Lion on a physical medium from Apple's online store carries a price more than twice that of the digital download. The drive ships for free in one to three business days.
"OS X Lion is available on a USB thumb drive for installation without the need for a broadband Internet connection," Apple's official product description reads. "Just plug the drive into your USB port and follow the instructions to install. OS X Lion is also available for a lower price as a digital download from the Mac App Store."
In addition to the lower price, Apple also incentivized users to buy Lion from the Mac App Store buy giving it a month's head start over the USB thumb drive. The 3.49GB operating system install became available for download on July 20.
The product also comes with an "Important Note" from Apple: "When you install OS X Lion using the USB thumb drive, you will not be able to reinstall OS X Lion from Lion Recovery. You will need to use the USB thumb drive to reinstall OS X Lion."
Lion marks the first operating system release from Apple where a download is the preferred install method. AppleInsider was first to report in May that Apple planned to push users toward buying through the Mac App Store.
The last version of Mac OS X, Snow Leopard, also carried a $29.99 price tag, but its default distribution method was on a physical DVD. When Apple redesigned its thin-and-light MacBook Air in 2010, it came with a USB thumb drive to reinstall Snow Leopard, as Apple began to move away from disc drives in its Mac lineup.
Apple did not reveal until Lion became available on the Mac App Store in July that a USB thumb drive would be sold in August. But the company also noted that users who do not have broadband access at home, work or school can download the multi-gigabyte install file from the Mac App Store at its retail stores at no extra cost.
Comments
The product also comes with an "Important Note" from Apple: "When you install OS X Lion using the USB thumb drive, you will not be able to reinstall OS X Lion from Lion Recovery. You will need to use the USB thumb drive to reinstall OS X Lion."
This is short sighted of Apple.
Of course Apple needs to engage more with such organisations to get more Macs into them in the first place.
This is short sighted of Apple.
I have tried reinstalling from Lion Recovery. It asks for your Apple ID and checks with the App Store that you've purchased Lion before proceeding. So that's why it won't work, the App Store will have no record of you having bought it.
I have tried reinstalling from Lion Recovery. It asks for your Apple ID and checks with the App Store that you've purchased Lion before proceeding. So that's why it won't work, the App Store will have no record of you having bought it.
Except if you buy it online AND buy the USB stick.
Except if you buy it online AND buy the USB stick.
Who the hell would do that?
This is short sighted of Apple.
Why? If you have the USB drive, why would you need to make a recovery disk? All the recovery disk does is allow you to boot enough lion to recover from Time Machine or a separate backup. If you have the USB drive, which mimics a DVD, you can do the same thing from that. Apple is actually saving you a step.
I'd think it would be a good idea to make a backup copy of the flash drive though, if you can.
Who the hell would do that?
People who don't trust the uptime of Lion Recovery, people who don't have an Internet connection 24/7, people who are too lazy to make their own physical recovery item?
Plenty of people.
Who the hell would do that?
Got to admit it is a creative, if somewhat expensive, solution.
Except if you buy it online AND buy the USB stick.
There is an application from apple that allows you to make your own USB after buying Lion from the app store.
There is an application from apple that allows you to make your own USB after buying Lion from the app store.
Never said there wasn't. DID say that people are lazy (as well as listed some other reasons).
We know we are raping you but it's okay, we are Apple.
Sticking it in and breaking it off,
Steve Jobs
There is an application from apple that allows you to make your own USB after buying Lion from the app store.
Why not share with us what it is called and where we can find it?
I have tried reinstalling from Lion Recovery. It asks for your Apple ID and checks with the App Store that you've purchased Lion before proceeding. So that's why it won't work, the App Store will have no record of you having bought it.
Actually, it could easliy work, and IS short-sighted of Apple, IMO. IF you purchase the USB drive through Apple's online store, you CAN login with your Apple ID to make the purchase, no? So there they have a record of your Apple ID purchasing a copy of Lion.
If you have slow or no internet connect we are going to offer you this plastic thumb drive!!! And it's only $69.00!!! Yes that is 233% of the original price...A Steal. A four gigabyte thumb drive cost us about $.90 so unfortunately we have to pass that cost onto the customer.
Don't post again until you understand why this exists. You're just making a fool of yourself.
Why not share with us what it is called and where we can find it?
I have tried reinstalling from Lion Recovery. It asks for your Apple ID and checks with the App Store that you've purchased Lion before proceeding. So that's why it won't work, the App Store will have no record of you having bought it.
I still fail to see how you install from a HD crash or system corruption if you dont have a physical media. If I cant boot up how can you access the internet to re-install lion?
Don't post again until you understand why this exists. You're just making a fool of yourself.
Youre getting into a bad habbit of doing personal attacks. Youre lucky I am not a moderator. "dont post again" and "shut up" are unacceptable imo.
So for organisations that have computers isolated from the internet and who prohibit USB thumb drives for security reasons still don't have a way to upgrade.
Of course Apple needs to engage more with such organisations to get more Macs into them in the first place.
Anyone who has the above restrictions must surely be a severely edge case scenario. If there are security restrictions in place, these would apply to end users, not to system administrators, who would surely have the technical know-how to get a copy of Lion burned to DVD or imaged to a disk or whatever in order to effect an install or upgrade on the users behalf.
Youre getting into a bad habbit of doing personal attacks. Youre lucky I am not a moderator. "dont post again" and "shut up" are unacceptable imo.
I have noticed in a number of threads (indeed I have been on the end of one of them) that Tallest provides the bare minimum of information in order to suggest that he has the knowledge, and when someone who isn't tuned into his psychic frequency has the temerity to ask for clarification he shoots them down like some sort of dumb moron. When someone asks a question in somewhere like here, it's generally because they want to know the answer, not because they have some sort of desire to trip you up, but it seems as though he sees a question as some sort of slur on his knowledge, as if we are challenging it's accuracy, not merely wanting clarity. There's always someone like it on any forum.