mountain lion iconWhile OS X Lion was initially announced as an exclusive Mac App Store release, Apple did backtrack slightly before launch with a decision to offer a $69 USB thumb drive to assist users without access to broadband connections.

As reported by Pocket-lint, Apple has decided to end that experiment with OS X Mountain Lion, making the forthcoming release a true Mac App Store exclusive.

Apple has confirmed to Pocket-lint though that its concerns weren't justified with customers not remotely interested in the USB drive offering:

"It was an interesting test, but it turns out the App Store was just fine for getting the new OS."

OS X Mountain Lion is scheduled for a public launch in "late summer", with pricing yet to be announced.

Top Rated Comments

Stella Avatar
169 months ago
Sucks for people who don't have fast internet access....
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
loki0wn Avatar
169 months ago
At nearly 3 times the price, no wonder no one was interested in getting the USB stick. Sigh. I don't want to redownload an OS every time I need to format.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
el-John-o Avatar
169 months ago
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10454133-94.html

Actually there are still quite a few living in rural areas who cannot get affordable broadband. There is always sattelite, which is what I used to use when I lived in a Rural area. But it was over $1,200 to install, $75 a month for 512kbps connection, and limited to 5GB per month. Eventually 3G came available so that became our ISP. So it's still not a decent solution for downloading Lion / Mountain Lion. Though, admittedly, if I were in that situation, I'd probably go to somewhere with an access point. Nearest place was 30 minutes away but everything was 30 minutes away. No biggie. Just go get a coffee and download Lion.

I also think it's unfair to tell these people to 'move'. Don't knock it till you try it! It's awfully nice living in a place where you don't lock your doors and you can leave your keys in your ignition, where you don't have the sound of cars driving by... there's a lot of great reasons to live in a rural area. And there is more to life than internet!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rumple Avatar
169 months ago
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10454133-94.html

Actually there are still quite a few living in rural areas who cannot get affordable broadband. There is always sattelite, which is what I used to use when I lived in a Rural area. But it was over $1,200 to install, $75 a month for 512kbps connection, and limited to 5GB per month. Eventually 3G came available so that became our ISP. So it's still not a decent solution for downloading Lion / Mountain Lion. Though, admittedly, if I were in that situation, I'd probably go to somewhere with an access point. Nearest place was 30 minutes away but everything was 30 minutes away. No biggie. Just go get a coffee and download Lion.

I also think it's unfair to tell these people to 'move'. Don't knock it till you try it! It's awfully nice living in a place where you don't lock your doors and you can leave your keys in your ignition, where you don't have the sound of cars driving by... there's a lot of great reasons to live in a rural area. And there is more to life than internet!

You got that right there are a lot of people who have slow internet. Everyone who says just move is a child who doesn't have a mortgage or any bills. Or a snooty jerk.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DesignerOnMac Avatar
169 months ago
Wrong. A lot of people out in rural areas do not have broadband of a speed sufficient to make downloading OSX feasible. The world is not yet interconnected at high speeds. It is attitudes like yours that creates the digital divide. Reality check, please.

A Government survey reveals that 40 percent of United States residents have no broadband access and 30 percent have no Internet access at all.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
davidwarren Avatar
169 months ago
Hum, with a 12 month update cycle like iOS, I would not be surprised if this and future updates are under $10.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
iPhone SE Dynamic Island Majin Bu

iPhone SE 4 Leak Shows Dynamic Island, Casts Doubt on Rumored 'iPhone 16E' Name

Monday January 20, 2025 9:01 am PST by
A new iPhone SE is widely rumored to launch this year, and the device has potentially been confirmed today by known leaker Evan Blass. In a private social media post, Blass shared an image of what appears to be source code mentioning an iPhone SE (4th Gen), which casts doubt on the alternative "iPhone 16E" name rumored for the device. However, the name in the source code could be a...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...