Mac OS X Lion to Bring iOS-Like Uninstall Process for Mac App Store Apps

[WhySoSerious]

I'm all for merging the two OS's together....but do we really need to hype a feature like this on the main page or even in the keynote presentation in June? Seriously, it's just an alternate method to delete an app....BIG FREAKING DEAL.

Guess I had/have higher expectations than most when it comes to Lion/iOS5...

 

[Rustus Maximus]

"Install" is much better than launching a disc image, opening an applications window, and then dragging the icon over to the other window.

If that 'old' process is too complicated for people then I truly weep for the future.

 

[3282868]

I'm not so sure that is true. I was teaching an elderly person how to drag and drop a file into a folder and the whole drag and drop concept did not seem all that easy to her….

I once had a client I set up a Windows box for years ago call me frantically in the middle of the night because she couldn't find the "any" key to continue...

 

[paradox00]

I think this is fair but let me bottom line it.

10 versions of Mac OS and no standard process for properly (and completely) removing apps?

and...If dragging to the trash can is effective why do so many cleaner applications exist?

Mac OS has some really cool features but also lack polish and refinement. This lack of refinement is based solely on apple's drive to not be like Windows.

The new iOS approach to removal does not seem effective as I doubt this is a complete uninstall...probably just an background move to the trashcan. How many times have you removed apps from your phone then reinstalled them to find you previous data intact?

Some windows uninstallers leave a ton of crap behind too, more that the library files that are left behind on a mac (which can easily be found and removed). I think you need to get over your concerns with the consequences of dragging something to the trash in OSX just because that won't work well on Windows.

PS: Why is leaving behind a text file so you can easily restore your settings a bad thing?

 

[steadysignal]

It's a dialogue box for christ sake.

+1 (but it doesnt matter to the hater).

 

[paradox00]

I'm glad Apple is thinking for themselves and leaving the purists behind as they adopt newer, better ways of doing things. The idea of installing from a disc image is ridiculous. Anyone I've explained it to can understand it, but always mention there must be a better way. "Install" is much better than launching a disc image, opening an applications window, and then dragging the icon over to the other window. Also, dragging a file to the trash doesn't delete all the pieces it came with. An uninstall was needed. I have been using AppZapper, but this will now be built into the OS.

There is a better way. Good programs include a shortcut to the applications folder in the disk image. Some even have arrows directing you to drag the application to the shortcut within the same window. How on earth is an installer better than that?

Apple's uninstall process also works really well. If you want to delete the program but retain the settings, drag the program to the trash, if you want to delete the settings, drag the settings folder from the library to the trash as well or use a third party app like app zapper (as you mentioned). How is the Windows uninstall process better than the one step process of dragging into the trash or dragging into app zapper?

People coming from Windows often criticize macs because they get the job done too efficiently, and they find it hard to believe that things can work so smoothly yet still be effective. They come with the expectation of expecting complexity, and when it isn't there, they find the lack of complexity to be a fault. It's a ridiculous phenomenon, but it's quite real. I should know, I also switched.

 

[ssdeg7]

Im on DP 2 Update 3. This un-installation process applies to all external apps, not just MAS apps. No code, no change required.

I just tried it myself, it works with all apps, this is great

 

[csHokie]

Uh, this comment is entirely wrong. With iOS, you can download something and move to another app and it will continue downloading in the background. The multitasking APIs have all the obvious backgrounding tasks covered and will likely include more if needed. Basically the goal is to allow background tasks when needed and when not needed let the app suspend and release resources to the apps you actually need. This method in iOS has proven to work far better than traditional operating systems like Mac OS X and Windows. That's why they are bringing it "Back to the Mac OS". The best parts of what they developed in iOS are being added in Lion.

I think most people's problem is that they mistakenly viewed iOS as inferior in every way to Mac OS X but in many ways it is cutting edge and far better than OS X and Windows have ever been. The way iOS multitasking works is the reason very powerful and memory hungry apps like iMove and GarageBand for iPad work so surprisingly well on such a limited memory device. The apps get to use a much larger percentage of the CPU, GPU, and RAM than they do on traditional OSes under normal usage where you have multiple apps open.

Yeah, it would work great for quick loading, full screen or minimized applications. I'm afraid it would fall apart most everywhere else... and they would have to have more background options than in iOS (can I listen on a socket for incoming connections in a daemon?). Anyway, I don't think they will get rid of the traditional <blank>top multitasking.

Right now I have a bunch of tabs open in Safari on my Mac and it's consuming a little over 1GB of RAM and lots of CPU. If I switch to Photoshop, Safari is still going to be using up all that RAM and CPU I really need for Photoshop when I don't plan on using Safari again until later today. And I don't want to shut it down because I have a bunch things in these tabs that I want to get back to later today including partially typed forum replies, halfway read articles, etc. On the iPad, Safari would suspend and release the RAM and CPU to my currently used RAM/CPU hungry app. That's what they need to bring to Lion.

Use Firefox and save tabs on exit...

 

[Otto J]

PS: Why is leaving behind a text file so you can easily restore your settings a bad thing?

Could someone please elaborate for the not-yet mac user what exactly we're talking about when bickering over left files and folders? Are we just talking about one folder with files that might be useful if you re-install the program? If so, then I would say that this is a VERY important feature to have, when you have such a simple uninstall feature as dragging to the trash. Sometimes you do things by mistake, and yes, sometimes you don't realize your mistake until 5 seconds after you emptied the bin. Isn't this app-cleaner stuff just about not having the "hassle" of finding that folder and manually deleting it? Like others, I don't see how Windows is better in this regard, in any way. Lots of windows programs leave folders after uninstall, that you need to remove manually. The fact that windows, to my knowledge, _don't have_ an "app zapper" - simply because installs are too varied and complicated for such a program to work - tells me that the Mac way is better. It's not about Windows not needing such a program, it's about Windows being poorly programmed so that such a program wouldn't actually work very well.

I DO want a Windows "app zapper", that makes sure that I can install and uninstall a program, and then return my system to the exact same state as before. (Well, basically, I guess I want a Mac... )

 

[paulsalter]

Edited

 

[Ravich]

This is going to seriously hinder my productivity with application deletion. In fact, I'm going to go ahead and change my productivity schedules for next year to include an hour of application deletion per day instead of 30 minutes.


Oh, wait a second, this only applies to mac app store applications? Thanks god! I'll just need to increase it to 45 minutes per day in that case. What a relief.

 

[dethmaShine]

I once had a client I set up a Windows box for years ago call me frantically in the middle of the night because she couldn't find the "any" key to continue...

lololol

This is going to seriously hinder my productivity with application deletion. In fact, I'm going to go ahead and change my productivity schedules for next year to include an hour of application deletion per day instead of 30 minutes.


Oh, wait a second, this only applies to mac app store applications? Thanks god! I'll just need to increase it to 45 minutes per day in that case. What a relief.

1. Works for any app [MAS app + any other deletable app].
2. You can drag and drop into Trash.
3. This behavior is in launchpad not in the finder or the terminal. You have other ways to delete applications too.

 

[jimmyjoemccrow]

No, those aren't the best possible choices. Those are probably the worst possible choice.

http://www.wakeinteractive.com/blog/view/yes_no_dialogs_are_confusing/

The examples given in that link are extremely dumb. Nobody is going anywhere when they are at their PC. They are not being forced to make a spur of the moment decision when they use their computer, they have time to sit and read the dialogue and understand the consequences of their choices. We are not talking about reading the whole works of Shakespeare and we aren't talking about an annoying pop up every 5 minutes. There is absolutely no harm in educating the user a little.

The example of the lift buttons is already present in the OS anyway, for example the arrows on a scrollbar.

 

[kristoffer4]

But this will become confusing to some. Some will ask why can I delete some apps this way and others I have to move manually to the trash?

My girlfriend complained the other day that installing new programs is a bit of a pain. I showed her the app store and her response was but what if the programs I want is not in the app store? In this case VLC.

 

[CommodityFetish]

Hello First and Second Class Apps

Yep, another example of Apple coercing developers (and users) into using their app store. "The choice is yours, either:

1. use our app store and your app is a first-class citizen of OS X!

2. don't use our app store and your app is a second-class app that will not be able to work like first-class apps -- now they can't even be deleted in the same way..."


Will it be any surprise that eventually the second-class apps will be eliminated and the only option will be apple's app store. Classic proprietary monopoly tactics.

But this will become confusing to some. Some will ask why can I delete some apps this way and others I have to move manually to the trash?

My girlfriend complained the other day that installing new programs is a bit of a pain. I showed her the app store and her response was but what if the programs I want is not in the app store? In this case VLC.