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For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Friday, May 28, 2004

Installing Software on Mac OS X: Software Update to the iTunes Music Store of Software

This horribly named article is nonetheless dead-on.

"Ever since I upgraded from MacOS 9 to the first version Mac OS X, I’ve often wondered how user-friendly OS X is with regard to installing software. Finally (now that I’m using the latest (Panther, 10.3.4), I thought I’d document the install process and make some notes as I go ... This is the supposedly normative [sic?] Apple procedure. And it’s not user-friendly. It’s not easy. It doesn’t even, in some cases, make sense. It should be a much easier process - maybe a general installer built into the operating system [ala Windows] ... Apple needs to create a newer, better Software Update. Eventually, it should include a payments system for paid upgrades and updates, and new software. In other words, it should be an iTunes music store for software. Let’s go, Apple. Time to lead again."

Microsoft is moving to a standardized installation routine as part of its mid-2004 patch management change-over, which will include new versions of Windows Update, Automatic Updates, and Windows Update Services (WUS, formerly Software Update Services), among other technologies. Starting with SP2, Microsoft will support only two installer types (down from dozens today), and the end user experience will be identical on both. Clearly, Apple has some work to do in this area.

[ Posted at 2:09 PM | Permalink ]