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Will You Buy The "Super Rip Off" OS X Lion USB Thumb Drive ???

mrwonkers

mrwonkers

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 31, 2004
362
0
Cyberia
I have just purchased a MacBook Air and a Mac Mini Server both of which come with no physical restore media like they used 2. My only option download Lion once a month or fortnight [machines used 4 AV/Production, restored after each job] or pay $75 Australian dollars for a restore stick that should have come in the box. Great Apple wants to transition to downloaded software only and we have to wear it - I have just spent 2 and a half thousand dollars on their machines and a now have to fork out for the OS on a super overpriced USB stick - and then still have to download iLife because you don't get that in the box anymore either.

This SUCKS! Not everyone has access to fast or cheap internet, I can see this being the future [but] - Now is too soon to roll this method out I feel, how do you guys feel about this Apple shenanigan?
 
mrwonkers said:
I have just purchased a MacBook Air and a Mac Mini Server both of which come with no physical restore media like they used 2. My only option download Lion once a month or fortnight [machines used 4 AV/Production, restored after each job] or pay $75 Australian dollars for a restore stick that should have come in the box. Great Apple wants to transition to downloaded software only and we have to wear it - I have just spent 2 and a half thousand dollars on their machines and a now have to fork out for the OS on a super overpriced USB stick - and then still have to download iLife because you don't get that in the box anymore either.

This SUCKS! Not everyone has access to fast or cheap internet, I can see this being the future [but] - Now is too soon to roll this method out I feel, how do you guys feel about this Apple shenanigan?
Click to expand...

yawn.
 
mrwonkers said:
I have just purchased a MacBook Air and a Mac Mini Server both of which come with no physical restore media like they used 2. My only option download Lion once a month or fortnight [machines used 4 AV/Production, restored after each job] or pay $75 Australian dollars for a restore stick that should have come in the box. Great Apple wants to transition to downloaded software only and we have to wear it - I have just spent 2 and a half thousand dollars on their machines and a now have to fork out for the OS on a super overpriced USB stick - and then still have to download iLife because you don't get that in the box anymore either.

This SUCKS! Not everyone has access to fast or cheap internet, I can see this being the future [but] - Now is too soon to roll this method out I feel, how do you guys feel about this Apple shenanigan?
Click to expand...

They :)apple:) didn't make so much money because they played nice...

Apple has mastered the art of relocating the exchange medium from the accounts of their customers to their own, to such high level that one feels the "pleasure" whilst being fleeced... :D
 
USB stick version wont work on latest 2011 Air, its a different build so no I wont be buying it.

Made my own which was tortuous process 3hours plus for the download (I figured better to do it now when I dont need it than leave it till some stage when I do). Even if they offer it as an 2011 compatible version later I'll just stick with the DIY one.
 
snorkelman said:
USB stick version wont work on latest 2011 Air, its a different build so no I wont be buying it.

Made my own which was tortuous process 3hours plus for the download (I figured better to do it now when I dont need it than leave it till some stage when I do). Even if they offer it as an 2011 compatible version later I'll just stick with the DIY one.
Click to expand...

Are you sure, I thought the OS X Lion USB Thumb Drive worked on all macs capable of running Lion. I thought it would have all drivers for different models and would install the appropriate software/drivers according to which model it was being installed on. An Applecare advisor stated to me today it would work with both my 2011 MacBook AIr and 2011 Mac Mini.
 
Wait, what? You need to download lion once a month? Lets pretend you are actually re-installing everyone month. I'd have to assume at that point you are doing some pretty crazy stuff. Cool. Now, am I to assume that you are capable of doing some crazy stuff with your mac, but not capable of figuring out how to either:

* Use the built in recovery partition
* Create a USB drive yourself
* Use virtual machines

??

Give me a break... you just like to complain, don't you? I for one, am glad physical media is on the way out. If your special needs require you to have lion on physical media, I'm glad you have to pay for it yourself instead of it being baked into the price of every mac.
 
OP, do you know that the Thread Title and Poll Question are in direct conflict with each other? The answer to one is the opposite answer to the other.
 
mrwonkers said:
Are you sure, I thought the OS X Lion USB Thumb Drive worked on all macs capable of running Lion.
Click to expand...

quite a few folks have tried. As per the App Store version the current thumbdrive has a build of Lion that's different for the one used by the 2011 MBA and doesn't have appropriate kexts for the hardware in the Air.

e.g. this comment here

if and when they do merge the builds, then there could be a later thumbdrive that becomes available. But until then you're stuck with enduring the online recovery. Either every time, or at least once to capture the necessary files to build your own stick from.
 
When I get Lion (not got it yet due to lack of Rosetta, but the very good security it offers tempts me) I will simply get a USB key cheap and make my own installation media. I'm certainly not keeping it as a download only, I want to do a clean install.
 
The thing that also jumped at me was the idea of reinstalling every month.

I reinstall my Mac OS X maybe once a year, or 8-9 months at the soonest. I just reformatted when Lion came out and have no plans to format again unless things get really funky.

I did find it annoying that I had to clean install Snow Leopard first, and then Lion, but for doing it so rarely I don't care. I typically make a day of doing a complete system reinstallation anyway, so taking an extra hour or two and a few mouse clicks isn't the end of the world.

With that said, it'd be cool to just make your own Lion from scratch recovery USB key, but its not a deal breaker.

I am also glad physical media is on the way out. I LOVE doing all my computing cloud based.
 
mrwonkers said:
I have just purchased a MacBook Air and a Mac Mini Server both of which come with no physical restore media like they used 2. My only option download Lion once a month or fortnight [machines used 4 AV/Production, restored after each job] or pay $75 Australian dollars for a restore stick that should have come in the box. Great Apple wants to transition to downloaded software only and we have to wear it - I have just spent 2 and a half thousand dollars on their machines and a now have to fork out for the OS on a super overpriced USB stick - and then still have to download iLife because you don't get that in the box anymore either.

This SUCKS! Not everyone has access to fast or cheap internet, I can see this being the future [but] - Now is too soon to roll this method out I feel, how do you guys feel about this Apple shenanigan?
Click to expand...
Have you tried calling and nicely explaining how much money you spent and how a restore option really is important to you? I am just curious to see what they will say to you.
 
I talked to a few people from Applecare and after some explanation they sent me the Lion USB install at no cost. I've actually had it for a few weeks now...just explain your situation and they are more than likely to help. Apple has the best customer service of any company I've dealt with....
 
JBazz said:
Have you tried calling and nicely explaining how much money you spent and how a restore option really is important to you? I am just curious to see what they will say to you.
Click to expand...

Yes I called them back [about 6 times in total :rolleyes: ] and finally spoke to a Senior Applecare Advisor who new what he was talking about [and wasn't just reading from a script] and he confirmed that the OS X Lion Thumb Drive would not work with either the MacBook Air or Mac Mini Server. Customer Relations offered me a very nice gesture as compensation for having my time wasted and being misinformed by Sales Staff. I guess I'll just have to settle for making a bootable USB key of my own for each machine and keeping these 2 new Macs.
 
mrwonkers said:
I have just purchased a MacBook Air and a Mac Mini Server both of which come with no physical restore media like they used 2. My only option download Lion once a month or fortnight [machines used 4 AV/Production, restored after each job] or pay $75 Australian dollars for a restore stick that should have come in the box. Great Apple wants to transition to downloaded software only and we have to wear it - I have just spent 2 and a half thousand dollars on their machines and a now have to fork out for the OS on a super overpriced USB stick - and then still have to download iLife because you don't get that in the box anymore either.

This SUCKS! Not everyone has access to fast or cheap internet, I can see this being the future [but] - Now is too soon to roll this method out I feel, how do you guys feel about this Apple shenanigan?
Click to expand...

If you have to restore the machines like that so often wouldn't it be easier to use something like Carbon Copy Cloner to create a copy of a clean install on an extra drive, then copy it back to each computer after each job? Not only would you not have to redownlaod all that software every time but it should be faster and have everything already configured and set to go.
 
I would buy it if I could pick it up in the Apple store (or ordering it to be mailed to me), instead of downloading it from the App Store. The difference in cost then ($30?) is fairly minimal for a nice bit of physical media.

You have to keep some perspective that the alternative, a few years ago, was to pay $129 for a CD.
 
Looks like there are some lower cost solutions coming...
 
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