When OSX Lion came out, everyone in the office needed a copy of the latest xcode. Instead of 20 people downloading the same file individually, one person downloaded xcode via the app store and shared the installer with us. It all went fine, we were able to install it and it worked, however when it comes time to update, trouble arises. Basically the only way to update is if the original person signs in to their Apple account on your computer. You can’t update via Software Update. The only way to get updates without getting the original person to sign in is to uninstall xcode, redownload it, and reinstall it.

That’s right. To obtain updates, I need to uninstall an app I already have installed, and download an installer I already have. That – to me – seems like a big waste of bandwidth. I’ll go back to using serials so installers can be shared instead of being linked to accounts.