Link: Queuing up package installations
Apple Knowledge Base article on how to queue up package installations in the Mac OS X Installer. The claimed goal is to avoid multiple “Optimize System Performance,” but we all know that the real reason is to group all tasks that require user interaction in order to have time to go get a coffee.
This article has a funny tone too:
Tip: Even if Installer is already chugging away at some cool software for you (or even uncool software, Installer doesn’t care), you can double-click even more package files and Installer will add them to the same queue. Installer still won’t optimize until after the very last package is installed, and then just once.
and
This feature doesn’t apply to third-party installer applications that don’t use Software Update or the Mac OS X Installer. Typically such installers run only once, are for very large applications, and are on removable media (CDs, DVDs, and so forth). Such installers might entertain you with screenshots of the software in action, or tips about how to get the most out of the product, while installing and optimizing in the background.