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Comment by wpm

3 days ago

I was a Mac admin when they pushed the change to move Updates into the Mac App Store and I hated it then. It didn't even make sense from an ill-advised "must match iOS" way, since OS updates happened in Settings.app on that platform. Just bone-headed "this will boost eNgAgEmEnT" BS.

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wpm

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wtallis  3 days ago

I never got the impression that it was any kind of attempt to match iOS or "boost engagement". It's simply that the Mac App Store was brand new, and it was time to phase out DVDs as the primary distribution mechanism.

They did sell USB flash drives with 10.7, but it didn't make sense for that to be the primary distribution method.

  • wpm  2 days ago

    Sure, but I get my OS upgrades from the System Settings app now, what was stopping me from doing that in the early 2010s?

    And yes, the Mac App Store was brand new, what better way to boost engagement than to move a fairly standard and typical function into it even though it was unrelated? Sounds like a good way to trick people into using your new thing. Like a boost, to engagement, one could say.

    • wtallis  2 days ago

      The blocker was that they were still charging money for new OS versions at that time. System Preferences didn't have a payment processing system, the App Store did.

  • ghostly_s  3 days ago

    OTA updates were delivered through System Preferences for many years before the App Store, not on DVDs.

    • giobox  3 days ago

      There's some wires getting crossed here. Sure, minor maintenance releases were delivered this way, but up until 10.7 the only way to upgrade to a new 10.x release (major) was the DVD purchased from Apple*. I have all my purchased boxed OS X releases from 10.0 through 10.6 still sitting on the shelf.

      Major OS upgrades weren't free until the release of 10.9. 10.7 was first version you could buy as a download through the App Store.

      * 10.1 was an odd release, in that re-sellers got given a limited amount of free upgrade DVDs to hand out, but did eventually retail for 20 bucks IIRC. Regardless, DVD was still the only option.