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and $129 (or more, for Windows and some other OSes) on a DVD that CAN NOT BE ERASED is a better deal.

$69 for an OS is a good deal. $69 for an OS on an non-erasable USB is a better deal that $69 for an OS on a non-erasable DVD because it's faster to install.

If you want a USB drive that you can erase, there are cheaper options. If you want an OS, there are more more expensive options on even worse media.

put it this way. they should have released it on the USB pens in the first place for $39 instead of favouring the App Store.
 
Nope, never had. But I have had a few usb sticks die, which really sucks since they are so much more expensive than a DVD disk,

You are having a laugh! You've never scratched a DVD but have had a FEW usb sticks go down!?!

You must be the unluckiest person on the planet!

To suggest that usb thumb drives are less reliable than DVD's is ridiculous. Of particular note is that home burned DVD's have a very limited shelf life as the material they are made of degrades within a short time.
 
put it this way. they should have released it on the USB pens in the first place for $39 instead of favouring the App Store.

What they should have done was release the USB drive in the first place for 29 cents and given away a free backrub with each.

If apple wants to offer a $30 discount to people who use their preferred method of purchase, awesome.
 
yes but still. £55 or $69 in the us for a USB pen wish i quote. CAN NOT BE ERASED, is pathetic. you pay half the price for the software. so the actually pen itself must be made of Titanium or Zinc if it were to cost twice as much as whats actually on the drive

Yes, perfectly understandable.

Yet Apple could have demanded 129 as it always has in the past for a physical copy. They did did not, however.

Anybody remember Leopard and its features that were not HALF as good as Lion's subset in, let's say, security department? Yeah, 129 bucks, please!

Apple is spoiling its users by offering them .99c apps, $70 Aperture and $15 Pages... We need to put things into perspective and get where they are coming from.

Besides I bet nobody from this orum will pay a cent for that USB stick as 90% of commenters here are knowledgable enough to burn their own bootable DVDs.
 
The MacRumors article omits an important piece of information that 9to5mac.com, Thisismynext.com and macstories.net all reported (originally from 9to5mac.com)

If you install Lion with this USB drive, you will be unable to use the recovery partition. I guess it just doesn't create one during the install. Of course, the likelihood is that you have crappy internet and so you would always want to use the USB stick. It seems that if you want a physical backup of the installer, it's best to make your own.

Wrong. It creates one. It's the same as if you simply ran the Lion Installer App from the Store.

There isn't one on the USB stick (don't know if there's one on the Apple stick either) but it would be redundant. The installer DMG has the same tools as the Recovery HD partition.
 
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Still cheaper than Windows on a DVD.

Not really I got 7 for free via university and most other students in Germany too. Good enough for my boot camp partition.
 
Ok guys, who cares about the price or the "beauty" of this fragile USB key.

Let's discuss the important stuff here :

1) Available online, has anyone been able to confirm if these are available at 3rd party resellers or in brick and mortar locations ?

2) What is on there, just Lion, or did they put all the other extras they usually put on the DVD like Xcode ?

I want to know if I'm purchasing this (don't want to order online, mail is a bitch where I live) or if I'm simply going to cave in to Apple and give them their damn MAS statistics they want so bad.
 
Is this compatible with the New Macbook Airs? As it has an updated lion install which currently is only available as a download during reinstall not the App Store.
 
I want to know if I'm purchasing this (don't want to order online, mail is a bitch where I live) or if I'm simply going to cave in to Apple and give them their damn MAS statistics they want so bad.

Are you seriously considering to pay an extra $40 for not having to sign up for the MacAppstore?
Just buy a $50 gift card, use a trash mail account and download it.

T.
 
This USB device contains OS X Lion. I see a lot of people falsely saying you can make one yourself, but you can't. You can put the OSX Lion installer on a USB drive.

WTF? Wrong. Yes, you CAN make a Lion install USB drive. The install you create on a thumb drive from the download is a full Lion install that can be installed on a blank drive. I've done it myself.

EDIT: The tool Apple officially supports makes a boot drive that then downloads and installs Lion. The Lion install image you get from the Mac App Store has the full Lion install .dmg in it that can be put on a USB drive (or DVD). The first option is officially sanctioned by Apple, the second one not, but very trivial to accomplish.
 
Wrong. It creates one. It's the same as if you simply ran the Lion Installer App from the Store.

There isn't one on the USB stick (don't know if there's one on the Apple stick either) but it would be redundant. The installer DMG has the same tools as the Recovery HD partition.

Why does Apple assert this:

"Important Note

"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."

Seems odd, if the USB installation looks exactly the same as the network download installation.
 
Are you seriously considering to pay an extra $40 for not having to sign up for the MacAppstore?
Just buy a $50 gift card, use a trash mail account and download it.

Yes, I am seriously considering paying an extra 40$ to not sign up to the Mac App Store. A 50$ gift card and trash mail account still gives them their statistic. If I can avoid it, the better. If this is available at the Apple Store and has XCode 4.1 on it, I'm not bothering to even touch the MAS and Apple can go get their damn fake statistics elsewhere, I will not participate in making that online heap relevant.

I hate it when stuff is forced down my throat and I don't particularly care about the 40$.
 
naughty naughty Apple - that seems a load way too much - you can make your own for less than £30

Look at the facts, No DVD Production cost acquired for production/Manufacturing of physical media for the new OS (Download Only), No Costs for packaging or shelf space, Apple passes the saving on the customer by a direct download.

But since Apple must Package and pay costs for a Limited supply of the USB Keys it costs More Money.

Do you understand Anything about Business costs?

The cost of Production and hiring a company to manufacture these USB Keys with Apples Retail Logo Also this item is in a small quantity due to most users Downloading direct so cost are higher due to small quantity Of Order, As with all thing Companies get a bigger discount with the more they order.

Do you have any idea how Much Fuel prices and Airline Freight Prices are today to transport these to stores.

You see when you break down packaging and Production then tack on transportation and then a limited supply needed due to most users Downloading Direct, its very easy to come to that price.

Since Apple let us download direct we cut out all the middlemen and get the savings directly, When you purchase a Physical item and then add on all the extra cost involved in its production its very easy to understand the cost difference.

People can argue all they want, But don't Misunderstand that you not only pay for the raw costs of the USB key, You pay for all the Shipping Printing Manufacturing and Every cost involved in a physical Distribution that is only for a small minority of people.

You don't like the cost of the Physical Media, Go download it.

Its the same Straw man argument when they do a breakdown of the iPad or iPhone and give a Cost number for the Physical parts but forget to add all the other things that going making and distribution of a product in the retail chain.

Physical Software Distribution Its Not Cheap At All, Digital Software Download Distribution is a Godsend to the industry and for cost savings to the user, But as always a small amount will complain.

But we do have an option.
 
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This USB device contains OS X Lion. I see a lot of people falsely saying you can make one yourself, but you can't. You can put the OSX Lion installer on a USB drive.

A couple years ago I was TDY in a location with crap for internet. Let's say I had to go back there, or let's consider the other Mac users who have to go.

If they read the false info telling them to make their own recovery USB drive with Lion on it, and do so, they'll be in big trouble when they get there and realize they're self-made USB drive only has the installer and they still need to download Lion itself.

However, if they buy this drive, they can install Lion without connecting to the internet.

I'm not sure why the downloadable Lion can't be put on a USB drive, maybe it's a piracy issue. If the app store version could be copied to USB and distributed freely, it wouldn't take long before the .dmg was on every torrent site. maybe the store-bought drive has DRM measures.

Personally, I think it's good to have this option. I downloaded Lion and don't have a need for this installation so far, however being an indie game developer who's thinking of making commercial arcade games with mac hardware, it would be nice to be able to install Lion on the many machines I will be putting out in public without having to enter my Apple ID and password into each.


Anyone can make a USB or DVD form The Lion Download that Boots.

If you don't Know how to use Diskutility and the many easy to follow direction available then use this and make sure you follow the directions.

ITS FREE....

Lion DiskMaker (US) "USB or DVD Creator"

http://blog.gete.net/lion-diskmaker-us/

"Lion Disk Maker is a small application programmed with AppleScript that you can use with Mac OS X 10.6 or 10.7 to burn a DVD or build a bootable USB key from Mac OS X Lion’s Installation program."


This utility will do it all for you and you just need to know how to click the App and Read the Directions. I have 2 USB/DVD Boot Instal's and they boot & installed on my Mac Pro and Mac Mini's Just fine.
 
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Does anyone know if these are the same drive shipping from AppleCare? I sent in for one Sunday and it should arrive today.
 
So why couldn't the Ministry Of All Our Futures make this available from the get go, thus avoiding the hammering they got for their download-only channel, or is the whole bunker-mentality routine a cornerstone of their HR strategy?
 
Basically they've charged someone £35 extra because they have a poor broadband connection, something that is all to common in the rural parts of the UK. I just think the markup is to high.

I myself managed to download the update as I luckily live in a town, yet my friend who wanted it in a nearby village had to try and download it on his 256kbps connection, needless to say it took forever.

Why didn't you let your friend come over to your home and download it?
 
Why does Apple assert this:

"Important Note

"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."

Seems odd, if the USB installation looks exactly the same as the network download installation.

All I can verify is that the USB Stick I created (per my own notes on the previous page, not Lion Disk Maker or any other tool) did, in fact, create a hidden Recovery HD partition, in addition to the clean install. It's of format type Apple_Boot, named Recovery HD, and weighs in at 650MB.
 
That has got to be some amazing profit margin in there!

It's a 50 cent part.
The tragically hip will have them mounted.

Magic one hundred billion in the bank.
Think rich. :apple:

----------

So why couldn't the Ministry Of All Our Futures make this available from the get go, thus avoiding the hammering they got for their download-only channel, or is the whole bunker-mentality routine a cornerstone of their HR strategy?

Building up demand and suspense for the ultimate Kult keepsake.
 
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