Disk images are awesome. If you only think you're going to need an application once, you can run most straight from the image and be assured that nothing will e

Disk images are awesome. If you only think you're going to need an application once, you can run most straight from the image and be assured that nothing will end up on your system. I think you have a bad understanding of how installation on a Mac should work. There are only two cases: 1. Dragging an application bundle to a folder. This method is for applications that can run without installing or modifying anything important. 2. An installation app. This method is for apps that require a script or executable to run to be able to function. If you ask me, this is better than the .exe installers that come with every Windows program, inevitably littering files all over your system. .dmg's are mostly just convention in the Mac world, as far as I know. You can package an app in a .zip file, but you can mount a .dmg and then it just appears as a disk on your Mac. I used to use a Windows machine, and when I moved to Mac this was one of the things that confused me -- but most everyone I've talked to about it agrees that after a little while you get used to it and it makes a lot more sense than the other system.