OS X Lion Moves Software Distribution Toward App Stores
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Apple released OS X Lion in July 2011 primarily through the Mac App Store rather than as a boxed DVD. That delivery method was itself a major change: a full desktop operating-system upgrade could now be purchased, downloaded, and installed like ordinary software.
Lion also borrowed interaction ideas from iOS, including Launchpad, full-screen applications, and more prominent multi-touch gestures. Underneath, Apple added features such as application sandboxing support, automatic document saving, and Versions for keeping document history.
The release showed how mobile software practices were moving back onto the desktop. Centralized distribution, automatic updates, sandboxing, and account-based purchases would become common across operating systems. Physical media was quickly becoming unnecessary for routine software delivery.