No (like I said). And I have no problem with buying it. I just don't want to have to copy it onto something I don't have (USB drive) to install it.
If you're okay with buying ML for $20, but not okay with buying a $5-10 USB 8-16GB thumb drive that could be quite useful in the future on Amazon, I'm a bit puzzled. But okay.
At least tell me you have an online backup solution? Because almost invariably, people who tell me they don't want to buy backup drives are the same people who later come back angry and entitled, and blaming Apple when their hard drives fail (as ALL hard drives do one day).
Anyway, if you're really not okay buying a $5 8GB USB flash drive, here's what you do: boot up your Mac via the install DVD of whatever version of Mac OS X you DO actually own a copy of, open up Disk Utility, and add a second partition to your internal drive. Name it whatever you like (I would chose Apple HDD to differentiate from Macintosh HDD) (Make SURE, I mean SURE, NOT to erase the original partition. Just add one. It's an option; I assure you.) Size it just big enough to fit the OS install. Or optionally, size it to however much space you have to spare on the HDD.
Then, boot back up in your current 10.8 install, run the 10.8 Install DMG file, and install 10.8 on the NEW partition. Once it's installed, updated, and so on, you've booted from it, and you're absolutely sure you're happy with the clean install, boot from that install DVD again, delete the original partition (once you've got any crucial files you need off of it, if there are any), resize the new clean-install partition, boot back up from there, and remove the DVD. Should be all good to go.
Or you could make your life just a hell of a lot easier and buy a $5 flash drive.
