The reason we did that is because /usr/local/bin isn't on the default path on many OS X systems, and we didn't want the installer to modify the user's PATH.
The thing about Homebrew is that it's great once you have it, but the user experience of actually installing it can be quite a pain, and we didn't want users who don't have it to have to go through the trouble. That being said, I still think it would be great to contribute a Homebrew formula.
When installing via .pkg, you can place a file in /etc/paths.d that adds to the path. For example, when you install in /usr/local/rethink/, you just add a file (e.g. /etc/paths.d/rethink) with one line: /usr/local/rethink/bin. Thats it, very easy.
Would you like to leave a comment here if you update the package to install into /usr/local, I'd also prefer to use that directory.
Congrats on the new release! You are definitely doing a great job making developers love RethinkDB, feels like you already generated loads of interest.
Regarding the first point, which OS X systems are you referring to? The default PATH on Mountain Lion definitely contains /usr/local/bin, as you can see here:
/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin
With respect, I don't share the view that installing Homebrew is a pain. Even the most inexperienced would-be developer can follow the very simple guide I (very coincidentally) posted yesterday: http://hackercodex.com/guide/mac-osx-mountain-lion-10.8-conf...
But it seems you guys are amenable to offering both the .pkg installer and a Homebrew formula, which would be great. :^)
Definitely, would love those. We also had a few other people offerring to contribute a brew formula, so this'll likely happen in the next few days.
FYI, we just wanted to give people a one-click install on a clean OS X setup. We have no objects to supporting package managers, and were going to do that eventually (but hey, it's much easier for the issue list to grow than to shrink :)).
We're always very happy to receive community contributions. There may even be something in it for you... such as a USB drive. (You didn't hear about these drives from me though.)
The thing about Homebrew is that it's great once you have it, but the user experience of actually installing it can be quite a pain, and we didn't want users who don't have it to have to go through the trouble. That being said, I still think it would be great to contribute a Homebrew formula.