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I doubt it's laziness, I would think most users have no idea what the implications of running from a dmg / the desktop / ~/Applications or /Applications really

I doubt it's laziness, I would think most users have no idea what the implications of running from a dmg / the desktop / ~/Applications or /Applications really are... It doesn't help that there are also .pkg installers that have a wizard-y interface (and which often are run from a mounted dmg, e.g. VirtualBox). Apple could impose some order on the mess, but I tend to find their solutions to problems like these heavy-handed, so though that would probably benefit most users, it might not be a win for the more technical ones.

pfranz 10y ago
I'm sure it's ignorance for most people, but I know it's laziness with some people I know. I think the whole .app folder idea was a great idea that I'm surprised others (Windows/Linux) haven't copied. The /intention/ is that anything that would need to get installed/fixed happen when the app is first launched. This both removes the need for an installer and helps repair things (if the App was moved or preferences were deleted). Thankfully installers are pretty rare in my experience. Usually it's for pretty involved things (network monitor, VM environment) or lazy multi-platform devs (Microsoft Word, or Adobe). I think the App Store is the most straightforward for the average user--I just wish they'd improve it so it was used more.