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[Tedesco!]

Too bad OSX does not support blu ray movie playback.

Yet it supports BRD burning....

 

[Vague]

My desktop has an optical drive but I've never used it. My husband built his PC without one. We stream everything. I don't really see why anyone would care about this to be honest, especially when it's cheaper to get an external drive if you still live in the 1990s and burn CDs for your portable CD player or whatever.

 

[TxdoHawk]

If I was in the market for a Mac Mini, I'd personally rather have the hundred bucks instead of the drive. I can definitely see why the change upsets a lot of people, though.

 

[shantyman]

The main uneasiness from me comes from the fact that it feels like Apple is trying to seal off all their computers into their own "walled garden" of itunes, mac app store, etc. just like all the ios devices.

I still think that while no optical drives on laptops is a smart move, removing them from desktops is a bit overkill.

The craziest feature of these Mac Minis is the restriction on other services. AmazonMP3, Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify are all restricted on them. You can't install Chrome either! I can't believe the nerve of Apple...

 

[Dennis]

Apple is by far the most progressive of the big tech companies.

First with the Smartphone, followed by single-handedly launching the modern tablet revolution.

Next, Apple introduced the MacBook Air that makes all other laptops look like cheap Fisher-Price toys.

Now, Apple says "fuck you" to the outdated and clunky tech that is optical drives.

Rest of industry, are you even trying?

 

[Dina]

Apple is by far the most progressive of the big tech companies.

First with the Smartphone, followed by single-handedly launching the modern tablet revolution.

Next, Apple introduced the MacBook Air that makes all other laptops look like cheap Fisher-Price toys.

Now, Apple says "fuck you" to the outdated and clunky tech that is optical drives.

Rest of industry, are you even trying?

I agree with every example you posted except the optical drive one. Taking shit away while not providing a better alternative to what we had is not progessive, it's regressive. In the laptops it makes a bit of sense, in a desktop it does not.

 

[lunarworks]

Yet it supports BRD burning....

BRD playback licensing is a "bag of hurt", as Jobs said.

Remember how Samsung almost successfully tried to get an injunction against all of Sony's PS3 sales in Europe earlier this year, temporarily halting shipments, due to Blu-ray functionality? With all the bitter disputes going on in the mobile area, that's just one more minefield that Apple doesn't want to tread on.

Not that I wouldn't LOVE to have Blu-ray in my Mac, I would, but I can see his point of view. They weighed the benefits and the drawbacks, and decided to leave it out. I guess I'll just save my Blu-rays for my big screen in the living room, where the level of detail has more benefits.

 

[kehs]

I agree with every example you posted except the optical drive one. Taking shit away while not providing a better alternative to what we had is not progessive, it's regressive. In the laptops it makes a bit of sense, in a desktop it does not.

What do you need physical media for when you can get what you need from the Mac store?

Besides anything on a disc takes too long to access compared to a solid state, if it's in that format you probably don't want to use it anyway. What do you have on discs, interactive restaurant menus, lol?

 

[Wrestlemania]

I agree with every example you posted except the optical drive one. Taking shit away while not providing a better alternative to what we had is not progessive, it's regressive. In the laptops it makes a bit of sense, in a desktop it does not.

The alternative is USB sticks/drives and the cloud. What do you want them to provide?
In the last five or so years I think the only times I've had to used my various iMac or Macbook optical drives are to install an OS or a game, and I don't need it for either of those things now.

 

[shantyman]

I can why Apple wants their laptops to be as thin and light as possible and i fully support removing the drive in them. But removing the optical disc drive from desktops is just pointless. The Mac Mini gained nothing from removing it. It is not thinner as the 2010 model. There is still room for the drive and the connector on the motherboard is there too. It is just Apple being stubborn and wanting all their customers to use the Mac App Store. It is the same reason they don't support Blu-Ray. And they probably want to save to repair costs. In my last two macs the superdrive died. Those slot in drives are not very reliable.

Again, quoting from Apple's site, it's not pointless:

So what did we do with all the extra space? We squeezed in more powerful processors, advanced graphics, and Thunderbolt technology. And removing the optical drive gave us room to do one more thing with Mac mini: lower its price. If you still want to burn discs, consider the external MacBook Air SuperDrive, which connects to Mac mini with a USB cable.

 

[eastmen]

Apple is by far the most progressive of the big tech companies.

First with the Smartphone, followed by single-handedly launching the modern tablet revolution.

No keyboard and no stylus support = big step back for cell phones.

Next, Apple introduced the MacBook Air that makes all other laptops look like cheap Fisher-Price toys

.

Yet the macbook air is a cheap fisher price toy wearing expensive clothes while the other laptops are state of the art wearing cheap clothes.

I much rather buy a $500 laptop that looks cheap but is more powerful than a mac book air than pay a premium for a turd in a box that looks nice.

Now, Apple says "fuck you" to the outdated and clunky tech that is optical drives.

Rest of industry, are you even trying?

And now your tied to Apple , every bit of software you watn on computer will come from apples walled garden . Want a PDF writer ? Oh apple sells that only your first born child. Want angry birds 4 ? Oh apple has that on their store , only a few pints of your blood .

I much rather be in control of what i'm doing than to have apple in control of what I'm doing.


With my outdated tech , I can back up 25 gigs in 10 minutes for $1 and i can keep tons of it stored in a very small space.

i can back up all my hardrives , all 2 TB of it on 40 discs. No matter what happens i can load all my data back , don't need to have an internet connection or be limited to slow internet speeds .

I'm able to restore at 54MB/s on my outdated bluray drive , if I had to get the data from carbonite i'd be limited to 2MB/s on my internet connection.


On the horizon we have HVD with up to 6TB discs .

Optical media is going to be needed for a very long time. Even now I download and back up all my DD to disc. Never know when you want something and don't have internet acess.

Just because you don't need something , doesn't make it out dated. In fact there are only two people in this world. Those who know what loosing all their data is like and those who don't. I will put you in the group that doesn't.

One day when your hardrive fails your going to wish you had backed it all up to optical

 

[Benjamin1981]

Again, quoting from Apple's site, it's not pointless:

Come on now. If you believe that removing the optical disk drive enabled Apple to lower the price of the mini, only god can help you. Apple buys those drive at 5 dollar a piece and now somehow removing that 5 dollar piece enables them to drop the price 100 dollar. Yeah, you are not fooling me Apple.

 

[LyleLanley]

Uhhh....

No keyboard and no stylus support = big step back for cell phones.

Do you really believe the iPhone was a step back for cell phones?

Yet the macbook air is a cheap fisher price toy wearing expensive clothes while the other laptops are state of the art wearing cheap clothes.

I much rather buy a $500 laptop that looks cheap but is more powerful than a mac book air than pay a premium for a turd in a box that looks nice.

The air is actually a surprisingly powerful computer for its size, I would like to see you find a laptop that is anywhere as close to as thin as the Air and as powerful as it for $500.

And now your tied to Apple , every bit of software you watn on computer will come from apples walled garden . Want a PDF writer ? Oh apple sells that only your first born child. Want angry birds 4 ? Oh apple has that on their store , only a few pints of your blood .

I much rather be in control of what i'm doing than to have apple in control of what I'm doing.

Again, this is stupid and shows how little you actually know about macs. Yes, you can purchase apps from the app store but you are in no way limited to doing so.

i can back up all my hardrives , all 2 TB of it on 40 discs. No matter what happens i can load all my data back , don't need to have an internet connection or be limited to slow internet speeds .

I'm able to restore at 54MB/s on my outdated bluray drive , if I had to get the data from carbonite i'd be limited to 2MB/s on my internet connection.


On the horizon we have HVD with up to 6TB discs .

Optical media is going to be needed for a very long time. Even now I download and back up all my DD to disc. Never know when you want something and don't have internet acess.

Just because you don't need something , doesn't make it out dated. In fact there are only two people in this world. Those who know what loosing all their data is like and those who don't. I will put you in the group that doesn't.

One day when your hardrive fails your going to wish you had backed it all up to optical

There are still uses for optical media obviously, but for the average person using time machine on a connected harddrive or a time capsule should be good enough.

 

[Appleman]

And now your tied to Apple , every bit of software you watn on computer will come from apples walled garden . Want a PDF writer ? Oh apple sells that only your first born child. Want angry birds 4 ? Oh apple has that on their store , only a few pints of your blood .

Let's be fair here, none of Apple's products other than their mobile devices (which never had optical drives) are forcing you into their "walled garden". You are still welcome to install any applications you please. And taking a shot at the pricing on the App Store is ludicrous as the App Store is almost solely responsible for the rapid decline in pricing for mobile applications, and even on the desktop it's the developers that set the prices.

 

[Wiktor]

Apple is by far the most progressive of the big tech companies.

First with the Smartphone, followed by single-handedly launching the modern tablet revolution.

Next, Apple introduced the MacBook Air that makes all other laptops look like cheap Fisher-Price toys.

Now, Apple says "fuck you" to the outdated and clunky tech that is optical drives.

Rest of industry, are you even trying?

I would say they are mostly regressive, not progressive. Doesn't stop them from being hugely influential though.

 

[dem]

Im generally not a big apple fan.. but i am 100% with them on this.


How often does a person use an optical drive anymore? Like once a year?
Use an external drive. Theyre like 25 dollars.

They have NO PLACE on a laptop. I'm looking around for a pc laptop with no optical drive and its just painful.

 

[Wiktor]

They have NO PLACE on a laptop.l.

Mac mini isn't a laptop :]

And no, they definitly do have a place in a laptop market. Laptops are bassicaly great portable DVD players, best ones you can find on the market. Now, not everyone needs to have optical drive in their laptop and there are options for such people too, but to say they have no place in the market is just plain silly. I know a concept of other people having different needs than you do might seem alien, but it's something worth chewing on.

 

[eastmen]

Let's be fair here, none of Apple's products other than their mobile devices (which never had optical drives) are forcing you into their "walled garden". You are still welcome to install any applications you please. And taking a shot at the pricing on the App Store is ludicrous as the App Store is almost solely responsible for the rapid decline in pricing for mobile applications, and even on the desktop it's the developers that set the prices.

And how do you expect to get software in the future on mac's ? You think publishers are going to use expensive flash drives to put data on instead of 25 cent blurays ?

As for the rapid decline in pricing for mobile applications . I think your off on that , i've been with smart phones since windows mobile 5 and prices have staid the same. You can get free half assed software , slightly less half assed got you a few dollars and fully functional software still costs money.

Look at what apples doing now , they want a 30% cut off everything and now companys are fleeing . I can no longer use my ipad nook app to buy books , i have to go through the website because of apple.

Now we are going backwards in functinality

 

[Burger]

And how do you expect to get software in the future on mac's ? You think publishers are going to use expensive flash drives to put data on instead of 25 cent blurays ?

How ya gonna get software on yer eMac without a floppy drive?!?

Why we still got monkeys?!?

 

[AbsoluteZero]

I much rather buy a $500 laptop that looks cheap but is more powerful than a mac book air than pay a premium for a turd in a box that looks nice.

Would someone please post the benchmarks for this man.

 

[LyleLanley]

And how do you expect to get software in the future on mac's ?

From the internet, like I do now. Either from the app store or from websites selling software.

 

[Appleman]

And how do you expect to get software in the future on mac's ? You think publishers are going to use expensive flash drives to put data on instead of 25 cent blurays ?

I seriously can't remember the last time I used a CD to install an application. Hell, even CS5 is pretty simply DD'd from Adobe's site. Do it once, save it to an external storage drive (1TB for $100) and call it a day.

As for the rapid decline in pricing for mobile applications . I think your off on that , i've been with smart phones since windows mobile 5 and prices have staid the same. You can get free half assed software , slightly less half assed got you a few dollars and fully functional software still costs money.

Look at what apples doing now , they want a 30% cut off everything and now companys are fleeing . I can no longer use my ipad nook app to buy books , i have to go through the website because of apple.

Now we are going backwards in functinality

You've gotta be joking if you don't think that the App Store has lowered the average price for mobile content, especially games. Look at GTA Chinatown wars... launched at $40 on DS, is $2.99 on the App Store right now. Lowering perceived value of content has been HUGE in the mobile games industry.

Also, all Apple did with the Nook app is force them to remove the link from the App. You were always buying from the website, you just now have to manually (or create a home screen shortcut or bookmark) access the site.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Lowering perceived value of content has been HUGE in the mobile games industry.

Also, all Apple did with the Nook app is force them to remove the link from the App. You were always buying from the website, you just now have to manually (or create a home screen shortcut or bookmark) access the site.

Neither of those are good things.

 

[SneakyStephan]

Great news for the many, many people with strict data caps... oh wait.

Guess now they can brag about a small form factor and cut some costs too, derp.

My father brought his brand new laptop along today, I burned him a system restore disc and he used the drive to install office 2010.

My own optical drive still gets used regularly to play my retail collection of older games, I use it a lot to burn rips of my blu ray collection to take along to my brother's for weekends/holidays.

noone uses optical trololol.

 

[AbsoluteZero]

Mac mini isn't a laptop :]

And no, they definitly do have a place in a laptop market. Laptops are bassicaly great portable DVD players, best ones you can find on the market. Now, not everyone needs to have optical drive in their laptop and there are options for such people too, but to say they have no place in the market is just plain silly. I know a concept of other people having different needs than you do might seem alien, but it's something worth chewing on.

External drives exist. Its better to remove the drive and then give you the option to add it rather than forcing everyone to have to live with it.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Great news for the many, many people with strict data caps... oh wait.

Guess now they can brag about a small form factor and cut some costs too, derp.

So you're suggesting that...people will now hit their data caps because...they don't have built-in optical drive? So by extension, you're saying that everyone who owns a Netbook is having trouble staying below their bandwidth caps?

I'm gonna ask you to think about that again, then offer a new comment.

Derp indeed.

 

[Lonely1]

It's no longer about the size; it's about the convenience gained.

tell me truly: would you rather put your faith in a blank BD or DVD for archival, or a HDD? How many DVDs or BD's do you have to buy to gain storage space equivalent to 1TB+ HDDs, which are all under $100 now?

Then consider the convenience. I can put a 1TB 2.5" external HDD in my pocket. That's the equivalent of 40 BDs, 167 DL DVDs or 228 DVDs. In my pocket. And I can connect it to any other computer and damn near any new TV and have a reasonable expectation for things working.

Still, retail BDs make sense now and for some time yet to come. And for those times when you need to put a copy of something in the mail (like your wedding in HD), there is no better option than optical disc. But if you too can count on your hands how often those times are present, it's easy to understand why laptops would be better served with an external DVD drive option. Think of the practicality of all the weight saved and battery life added.

Well, In my scenario, I need to share a big file with my co-workers. I can download it to an USB drive... and wait until everyone gets to download the file from the single drive into each of their machines? Go to desktop to desktop? Or I can just burn some DVDs, give one each and be done with it.

And the HDD failure is not a trivial problem. While optical media just need proper storage, nothing too complicated.

I'm not saying that everyone needs optical media, but its far from obsolete and useless like the floppy drive was in 1998.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Laptops are bassicaly great portable DVD players

lol, this guy. herpty derpty.

Well, In my scenario, I need to share a big file with my co-workers. I can download it to an USB drive... and wait until everyone gets to download the file from the single drive into each of their machines? Go to desktop to desktop? Or I can just burn some DVDs, give one each and be done with it.

And the HDD failure is not a trivial problem. While optical media just need proper storage, nothing too complicated.

I'm not saying that everyone needs optical media, but its far from obsolete and useless like the floppy drive was in 1998.

if they're your co-workers, I assume they're all on the same intranet?

why not just put the big file in your shared folder and let them all copy it over the network to their computer?

of course, if you're handing off multi-gigabyte files daily...I'd count you in the extreme minority. fair?

 

[eastmen]

Uhhh....


Do you really believe the iPhone was a step back for cell phones?

using smart phones every day for 6 years and yes , yes i believe it . I think they are great for people who don't need a smart phone. But i miss pen input on my phone. Much more persice

air is actually a surprisingly powerful computer for its size, I would like to see you find a laptop that is anywhere as close to as thin as the Air and as powerful as it for $500.
The

What ? $1,000 gets you a 1.6ghz dual core i5 with 2 gigs of ram , 64GB ssd and a intel hd 3000 with a 11 inch screen.


I can buy a hp dm1z for $400 with a 1.6 dual core e-350 with a radeon hd 6310m and 3gigs of ram. The only advantage you get with the apple is the 64gig ssd , but for $300 i can have hp upgrade me to a 128gig ssd for the unit which is actually a usable amount unlike the 64 gig ssd in the mac and still only spend $700 vs $1,000 , have more ram and a better gpu vs a more power cpu. $1,200 will upgrade your air to a 128 gig ssd and 4GB of ram .

Again, this is stupid and shows how little you actually know about macs. Yes, you can purchase apps from the app store but you are in no way limited to doing so.

Really ? What happens when there is no internet connection or my data cap.

There are still uses for optical media obviously, but for the average person using time machine on a connected harddrive or a time capsule should be good enough.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/139348/apple_addresses_time_machine_complaints.html

yes cause time machine is perfect ... I guess when it works

Should allways have 2 back ups of your data . The great thing about optical is that you can keep multiple back ups cheaply

Time machines are semi useless as if a surge takes out your pc its most likely going to take out your time machine.

 

[Appleman]

Well, In my scenario, I need to share a big file with my co-workers. I can download it to an USB drive... and wait until everyone gets to download the file from the single drive into each of their machines? Go to desktop to desktop? Or I can just burn some DVDs, give one each and be done with it.

And the HDD failure is not a trivial problem. While optical media just need proper storage, nothing too complicated.

I'm not saying that everyone needs optical media, but its far from obsolete and useless like the floppy drive was in 1998.

Host the file on the network? Burning however many DVDs takes time as well...

 

[SneakyStephan]

So you're suggesting that...people will now hit their data caps because...they don't have built-in optical drive? So by extension, you're saying that everyone who owns a Netbook is having trouble staying below their bandwidth caps?

I'm gonna ask you to think about that again, then offer a new comment.

Derp indeed.

Noone uses a netbook for gaming, most aren't even suited for h264 playback ....
Think before you try to take the piss out of someone.

 

[Lonely1]

lol, this guy. herpty derpty.


if they're your co-workers, I assume they're all on the same intranet?

why not just put the big file in your shared folder and let them all copy it over the network to their computer?

Well, In my last work as a consultant, I didn't had an office in the building. I worked from another location (home or at my faculty). I do rent a remote server, but I have a bandwidth cap on that plus the upload speeds at my house (where I did most of my work) are slooow.

 

[eastmen]

I seriously can't remember the last time I used a CD to install an application. Hell, even CS5 is pretty simply DD'd from Adobe's site. Do it once, save it to an external storage drive (1TB for $100) and call it a day.

Thats great if you want to sit through the download.

You've gotta be joking if you don't think that the App Store has lowered the average price for mobile content, especially games. Look at GTA Chinatown wars... launched at $40 on DS, is $2.99 on the App Store right now. Lowering perceived value of content has been HUGE in the mobile games industry.

Your talking about a game that was released for another platform and had its investment returned. Its easy to drop the price of a title when it was already made and recouped its costs .

Let me ask , where are Tripple A games that are exclusive to iphones ? There are none because you can't support that type of development cost on the iphone.

Also, all Apple did with the Nook app is force them to remove the link from the App. You were always buying from the website, you just now have to manually (or create a home screen shortcut or bookmark) access the site.

Its more hoops and less functionality. Now instead of just clicking buy now and getting the item downloaded , i have to leave the app for a web page , download he information and go back to the app to view it.

Like i said , less functionality

 

[Appleman]

Neither of those are good things.

I completely agree, I was just pointing out that being angry at Apple for charging and arm and a leg for App Store content is absurd, not only because the content is fairly low price, but also because Apple doesn't dictate the pricing.

Thats great if you want to sit through the download.

Seriously? As opposed to the car ride and gas to the retailer that will give me CS5 on multiple DVDs and then having to wait around while it installs from the slower-than-HDD optical drive?

Not to mention that once it's downloaded, you can install it FROM THEN ON off of a storage drive in MINUTES.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Noone uses a netbook for gaming, most aren't even suited for h264 playback ....
Think before you try to take the piss out of someone.

you're really struggling here, bro.

1.) People are watching Netflix on their netbooks. They're not hitting their caps any faster than people with optical drives.

2.) People are watching Youtube/Dailymotion/Veemo on their netbooks. They're not hitting their caps any faster than people with optical drives.

3.) Online gaming takes up very little bandwidth, regardless of Netbook's ability to play them. If you were under the impression that you're using gigabytes of data playing your videogames online, you don't understand online gaming. and surely you're not dumb enough to suggest "buh they have to download teh gamez" because they'd have to do that with or without an optical drive (hello, Steam). If you were going to say that, thank me for not letting you look any more ridiculous.

4.) Netbooks have been suited for h264 playback since 2009. 720p MKVs without a hitch. Maybe you've been doing it wrong...hardly surprising at this point.

5.) The point wasn't really even about Netbooks; they simply provide an easy point of reference to counter your point, as we have millions of laptops without optical drives in the market. Indeed, they have been in the market for a number of years now along with optical drive-free 13" and 15" laptops from a variety of manufacturers from Asus to Samsung to HP. In fact, PCs were really the first to go optical drive-free. I assume you don't shit up Netbook or similar PC threads about the fear of people hitting their bandwidth caps BECAUSE of a lack of optical drive. So why now? Oh...we already know the answer now don't we?

6.) The very notion that you'd attempt to draw a straight line between optical drives and bandwidth caps makes it clear that you don't really understand how people use their computers in 2011. Or, you were desperate to make an anti-Apple point (likely, given the snide "dah thinness" remark). A little from column 'A'...a little from column 'B' I guess.

7.) You are simply wrong. Instead of backing down, you decided to challenge someone who knows more on the subject than you. Always a bad decision.


See, I know these things because (a) I've owned a Netbook for almost 3 years and (b) I've seen people of your ilk many times...posters trying to hard too take a crack at Apple in an effort to feel more secure, but in the process leaving yourself open and exposed to a fast punch in the mouth like a boxer who swung too wildly and missed his target completely.

Your argument was poor, and your point even poorer.

Well, In my last work as a consultant, I didn't had an office in the building. I worked from another location (home or at my faculty). I do rent a remote server, but I have a bandwidth cap on that plus the upload speeds at my house (where I did most of my work) are slooow.

ha. I totally understand that.

Like I've said, they still have clear uses. I still mail out copies of home vids to friends every so often because it's more convenient for them. and fortunately, the work I do doesn't require regular transfer of 3GB+ of files. My needs have regressed over time for optical stuff...but for those that need it, external drives and computers that still have them built in will remain for at least a few more years if not more. and desktops will always have them.

 

[Appleman]

Like I've said, they still have clear uses. I still mail out copies of home vids to friends every so often because it's more convenient for them. and fortunately, the work I do doesn't require regular transfer of 3GB+ of files. My needs have regressed over time for optical stuff...but for those that need it, external drives and computers that still have them built in will remain for at least a few more years if not more. and desktops will always have them.

I agree with you mostly, but I would put money on the iMac getting rid of the built-in optical drive. Hell, I've been running a gaming rig sans-optical drive for over a year now. I think that built in drives on everything but pro computers will be a thing of the past as, while there are some small minorities that may need them on a regular basis (see Lonely1), I doubt the vast majority of everyday consumers will need them on a regular basis.

External drives are the way to go. Don't take up space when you aren't using them, don't pay for them if you don't need them.

 

[HammerOfThor]

Apple is by far the most progressive of the big tech companies.

First with the Smartphone, followed by single-handedly launching the modern tablet revolution.

Next, Apple introduced the MacBook Air that makes all other laptops look like cheap Fisher-Price toys.

Now, Apple says "fuck you" to the outdated and clunky tech that is optical drives.

Rest of industry, are you even trying?

I agree with everything you said. But you forgot the iPod.

 

[SomeDude]

What is next after blu-ray? sorry, I havn't been keeping up.

 

[Vicetrailia]

What about the Macb Pro and their superdrives?

 

[Treefingers]

What is next after blu-ray? sorry, I havn't been keeping up.

The internets

 

[rezuth]

What ? $1,000 gets you a 1.6ghz dual core i5 with 2 gigs of ram , 64GB ssd and a intel hd 3000 with a 11 inch screen.


I can buy a hp dm1z for $400 with a 1.6 dual core e-350 with a radeon hd 6310m and 3gigs of ram. The only advantage you get with the apple is the 64gig ssd , but for $300 i can have hp upgrade me to a 128gig ssd for the unit which is actually a usable amount unlike the 64 gig ssd in the mac and still only spend $700 vs $1,000 , have more ram and a better gpu vs a more power cpu. $1,200 will upgrade your air to a 128 gig ssd and 4GB of ram .

Then you totally missed the entire point of the MacBook air, nothing can match it.

 

[mrkgoo]

.

 

[ChoklitReign]

It's like a gun: you don't use it often, but you'll thank yourself when you need one. I mostly use it for CD ripping and DVD burning.

 

[VGChampion]

And here I was hoping for Blu-ray someday. Still use a Mac Pro for work but I'm going to be sad when more of their computers show up without a CD Drive.

Still have my original Macbook and an '07 iMac and there's a CD in there almost 24/7 for one reason or another. Be it a new audio CD I picked up, watching a movie, or installing some software, I like my options.

Would suck though right now because my car doesn't have an iPod adapter so I still burn playlists off my iTunes for the road.

 

[Marty Chinn]

It's like a gun: you don't use it often, but you'll thank yourself when you need one. I mostly use it for CD ripping and DVD burning.

Or it could be like removing 10 keys you almost never use on the keyboard and having an external attachment when you need those keys =)

 

[Appleman]

It's like a gun: you don't use it often, but you'll thank yourself when you need one. I mostly use it for CD ripping and DVD burning.

Which is why I don't need one surgically attached to my arm, but if I felt I needed it on occasion I could still have one, but separated from my person.

 

[numble]

Or it could be like removing 10 keys you almost never use on the keyboard and having an external attachment when you need those keys =)

You really want them to include a number pad on their keyboards? Or the pagination keys?

 

[mrkgoo]

You really want them to include a number pad on their keyboards? Or the pagination keys?

I think his point is that just because you don't use something means it should be removed.

Although it's different fir different things. Marty has convinced me that external DVD drives are the way to go.

 

[Raistlin]

Apple is by far the most progressive of the big tech companies.

First with the Smartphone, followed by single-handedly launching the modern tablet revolution.

Next, Apple introduced the MacBook Air that makes all other laptops look like cheap Fisher-Price toys.

Now, Apple says "fuck you" to the outdated and clunky tech that is optical drives.

Rest of industry, are you even trying?

I don't want to argue your points much (though Sony was ahead of air for ultralights) ... but let's say you're correct in general.

This is really not an example of that at all. First the reasoning is more than debatable, but more importantly they aren't even remotely the first company to offer a small form-factor computer sans optical drive.

 

[Slurpy2k20]

No keyboard and no stylus support = big step back for cell phones.

You're fucking insane, a horrible troll, or both. How many smartphones from other companies are using your precious stylus and keyboard? Who the fuck wants to even use stylus with a smartphone on this planet, apart from you? How can you honestly believe being required to use an extra tool to interact with a phone is a good idea?

Yet the macbook air is a cheap fisher price toy wearing expensive clothes while the other laptops are state of the art wearing cheap clothes.

I much rather buy a $500 laptop that looks cheap but is more powerful than a mac book air than pay a premium for a turd in a box that looks nice.

Yeah.. see above. Your extreme hatred of Apple is making you rabid, and utterly nonsensical. Noone is stopping you or others from buying your $500 laptop, but the Macbook air is both a massive critical and consumer success. I've never seen a laptop reviewed so well across so many places as the new air. No, but you're right, it's a turd, says the guy lamenting the stylus phone.

And now your tied to Apple , every bit of software you watn on computer will come from apples walled garden . Want a PDF writer ? Oh apple sells that only your first born child. Want angry birds 4 ? Oh apple has that on their store , only a few pints of your blood .

I much rather be in control of what i'm doing than to have apple in control of what I'm doing.

Angry bird costs $0.99. Stop being a tool. How is this different from buying anything anywhere? You want them to sell Angry birds on a DVD disk? Companies can CHOOSE to have their apps available on the appstore, or they can sell them on their own damn websites. Noone is stopping you from doing anything, except that Apple is giving people an ultra-easy way to buy and install software- which will benefit 95% of the people I know who use macs.

With my outdated tech , I can back up 25 gigs in 10 minutes for $1 and i can keep tons of it stored in a very small space.

i can back up all my hardrives , all 2 TB of it on 40 discs. No matter what happens i can load all my data back , don't need to have an internet connection or be limited to slow internet speeds .

I'm able to restore at 54MB/s on my outdated bluray drive , if I had to get the data from carbonite i'd be limited to 2MB/s on my internet connection.


On the horizon we have HVD with up to 6TB discs .

Optical media is going to be needed for a very long time. Even now I download and back up all my DD to disc. Never know when you want something and don't have internet acess.

Just because you don't need something , doesn't make it out dated. In fact there are only two people in this world. Those who know what loosing all their data is like and those who don't. I will put you in the group that doesn't.

One day when your hardrive fails your going to wish you had backed it all up to optical

What a ridiculous rant. It's one thing if you're willing to back up your data to 40 disks, then do it all over again when stuff changes, and managing and organizing those disks- its something else entirely for you to expect other to undergo such an archaic and frankly ridiculous backup solution. Yes, optical disks will still be used, but certainly not for backup for the majority of the population.

Your entire post is nonsensical, and filled with ranting hate for a tech company, lamenting changes that consumers as a whole have embraced (My mind is still blown at your stylus comment) . If you had any say at Apple, your decisions would have either bankrupted Apple, or left it as a shadow of what it is now.