Until today Apple’s Mac OS X Lion was available only as a 4GB download or through a Wi-Fi connection at an Apple Store–two options that kept the cat in the bag for people not near a major mall, or those with slower Internet connections or capped bandwidth. In a move to bring more people into its den, Apple on Tuesday launched a Mac OS X Lion thumb drive ^[1].

Users that install Lion with the thumb drive will need at least 7GB of free hard drive space and will not have access to Lion Recovery ^[2], reports Sean Ludwig for VentureBeat, who says the new option is priced a bit high at $69 since the OS costs $29.99 to download directly from the Mac App Store. Even so, chances are with more than 250 new features Lion is going to continue to be a draw for people, even if they have to pay double to get it.

Read more at VentureBeat ^[3].