Mac OS X Lion to be available on USB in August, costing over twice as much
If you're not able to download Mac OS X Lion via the Mac App Store, you'll be able to buy it loaded onto a USB stick from August. But, at £55, it'll cost you more than twice as much.
Apple will make Mac OS X Lion available to buy on a USB stick in August, priced at £55. That's almost twice as expensive as downloading the software from the Mac App Store, a privilege for which you'll pay £21.
"Who would buy Lion on a USB stick instead of downloading it straight to their computer?" we hear you ask. "What variety of chump would pay £34 extra for a USB stick?" you seem to cry.
Well, for starters, the Lion download is rather large, at around 4GB. That might not sound like much if you're a tech-savvy, broadband-enabled, walking, talking, data-partitioning, Linux de-kerneling, data-hoarding biomechanical nerd machine. But not everyone has high-speed Internet access and, if your home connection has a data cap, you could rack up a nasty bill, or have your download throttled if you try and squeeze a Lion through the tubes.
If you're reading this and don't have Internet access at home, you'll be glad to know that you can pop into an Apple Store and borrow their broadband to download Lion.
Then again, if you have a relatively immovable machine, like an iMac or Mac Pro, lugging it to an Apple Store probably isn't an option. So, if you want some Lion-esque software clout, get ready to shell out.
Would you rather have Lion on a physical USB stick? Or are you embracing a download-only future? Let us know in the comments section below, or on our Facebook page.