I think the reason we haven't heard many complaints about the doing away of physical media is exactly this. As long as power users can make their own offline media, there's nothing to complain about.

You can download old versions of macOS from the Mac App Store or as direct downloads from Apple's website. Create a bootable USB drive using the installer Application ...

You'll need a Mac, an 8GB USB drive or SD card, and a little patience. So you can't simply 'burn' the ESD DMG inside the installer to USB anymore? I've done that on ...

If you have multiple operating systems installed on your computer, or if you are trying to boot off various utility or other boot disks, you may run into problems where using an alternative or desired ...

How to create a bootable USB to install OS X Your email has been sent Creating a USB Installer for Apple OS X 10.7-10.8 Creating a USB Installer for Apple OS X 10.5 ...

Mac users who have a need to run Windows applications or games may have good reason to keep an eye on the development of Windows 7, due for release later this year. Among its features are easier setup ...