Sat, Dec 19, 2009 12:40 PM
Using a computer means using apps, and using apps means installing them. For years this meant downloading and runing an installer, and it still does on Linux and Windows. But with OS X we've seen a migration to using disk images ("*.dmg" files).
For those of us who make software for a living this seems simple enough: double-click the DMG, double-click the mounted volume that appears, drag the app to your Applications folder, and you're done. What could go wrong?
If you've ever tought a complete newbie how to do this, or even someone who's had some Mac experience but installs downloaded apps infrequently, you've seen the problems.
First, they downloaded only one file, so why do they have two icons on their desktop? Of course you and I know that one is the DMG archive and the other is the mounted volume showing the DMG's contents, but this isn't always clear to everyone.
In fact, it's rather inconsistent with nearly every other icon they've enountered. Most icons are discrete things, a file or a folder: it's a single thing that you can move or even throw away as you like.
But many think that when they see the second icon (the mounted volume) it's a copy so it's safe to throw the first one away, the DMG file. Of course if they try that the OS tells them they can't because "it's in use", but it may not be readily understood that the thing that's using it is the mounted version of it, that second icon.
Also, many folks aren't clear that you should move the app to the Applications folder. Why should they? After all, most apps run just fine from the mounted volume. They see it, they double-click it, it runs fine, and when they're done they toss the file they downloaded, the DMG file, because obviously they don't need it anymore. Oops.
Sure, you can include writen instructions in the background image of your DMG archive to tell them to copy the file to the Applications folder, and many do. And sure enough, most users aren't complaining. But some do, so it raises the question:
Are DMGs really a better option to an installer?
We could weigh the pros and cons, but I think it's safe to say that after we consider all of the tradeoffs the best thing we could say for DMGs is that the benefit of using them to deploy applications is debatable, but not certain.
And keep in mind that in the modern world most folks in a position to buy a new computer have probably used one before, which means that most of those who are new to Mac OS have probably used Windows before. In Windows it's extremely rare to be able to use an app without first running an installer. Pretty much the same for Linux as well.
Of course all OSes have differences, and slavish devotion to any sort of common convention just for the sake of conformity would strip an OS of it's unique value, the reason for considering it at all.
But installing an app is a one-time thing, with (hopefully) far more time spent inside the app using its features. Surely there are many other opportunities to show off the value of an OS than making DMGs only because "it's more Mac-like". Seduce the new user with a familiar experience, then impress them with distinctions that matter.
Besides, what's the downside of using an installer? Anyone who can use a DMG properly can use a reasonably made installer, but the opposite may not always be true.
I've included some blog links below that discuss this issue. After reading them, I'm considering moving my future Mac deployments away from DMGs to installers.
Why is installing software on a Mac so complicated?
Mac App Installation
Installing Applications on the Mac: Still Broken
Blog Home Filed under: usability
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Richard Gaskin
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