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Removing the optical drive is nothing but a money-making exercise
I went to see Apple the other day to take a look at OSX Lion and also the new Macbook Air and Mac Mini. When Apple launches a new product it invites journalists along to meet some of the people who have worked on developing it. As a big fan of the Mac Mini, I was interested to ask Apple why it had taken the decision to remove the optical drive, essentially making it a download only computer.
Making a download only laptop I can understand; the Macbook Air is designed to be portable and slimline while also having good battery life, so adding an optical drive doesn't make sense.
Apple's reasoning behind getting rid of the optical drive on the new Mac Mini is a tad more dubious.
So, why did Apple do it? An Apple employee who worked on the development of the Mac Mini told me he no longer used disks, he even went so far as to suggest that nobody really used disks anymore...which is odd.
I for one still use disks from time to time; to add music to my computer, to watch DVDs (of which I have hundreds) and, crucially, to recover my system should everything go hideously wrong. I'm fairly sure I'm not in the minority and there are many people who still rely heavily on disks to use their computer.
There's no sense, for the user, in not having an optical drive on a desktop; they don't need to be super-small nor do they don't have battery life to worry about.
I can't help but feel that the real reason Apple got rid of the optical drive is to make more money. If you wanted to buy a film, TV series or music album on the new Mac Mini, the only real option you would have is to download it from (Apple would hope) the iTunes store.
Want to buy a new game or maybe a new piece of software? Head to the Mac App Store. Every time you do, Apple takes a cut.
I've never been a fan of the 'closed ecosystem' that Apple champions and this latest move is wholeheartedly depressing.
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CD/DVD Drives are not dead
You are so right. I am one that still uses my drive. My wife is a big fan of using tools like Rosetta Stone. If that were our computer for the house, her investment in Rosetta Stone alone would be more than the cost of the computer.
Posted by Scott, 26 Jul 2011
no
I vote for keeping optical drives
Posted by nuska, 26 Jul 2011
Options
Or buy a USB DVD drive? I agree with you that no optical drive is an inconvenient move, but it's not insurmountable. My personal feeling is that it was taken out to help with thermal issues from the screamer of a chip now in the Mini.
Posted by Dan, 26 Jul 2011
More money?
James, I have no doubt Apple is motivated by the desire to make more money, as should any company responsible to its shareholders. I also acknowledge that there are many instances in which Apple's apparently 'closed' ecosystem can be frustrating. However, the new Mac Mini is a spec update with a price drop of £70. For the difference, if you really felt you needed an optical drive, you could buy Apple's external DVD drive for £66 or any other brand for much cheaper. Many people simply don't use optical media that much (or at all) any more. For them, this is a substantial saving. On the other hand, if you still need one, you have the choice to get one. In this particular instance, that's not really a depressing 'closed ecosystem'.
Posted by Frank, 27 Jul 2011
well...
It's called a USB stick. You should try one sometime. :)
Posted by Dizzle, 27 Jul 2011
Computer versus Storage
The computer system is getting incredibly powerful in a small package and with the introduction of technologies such as Thunderbolt, Time Capsule, iCloud, etc. the trend is towards de-centralized storage. This is nothing new, any large data center or business server today traditionally has the primary storage de-centralized and shared among many different computer systems when combined with high speed networking. Today at home I have Broadband Internet that rivals what I have at work so network speeds (both locally in my home and from the Internet) are VERY fast. I have over 5 terabytes of content myself and rarely use optical media anymore. What would be a nice alternative from Apple would be an enhanced version of their Time Capsule product that would include a Thunderbolt port AND an integrated Blu-ray/Super-Drive Burner/Reader that has high speed wireless and wired networking support. Could also easily be built by a third party. Hook something like this up to the new Mac Mini and the Time Capsule is your home de-centralized storage/archive. Put a blu-ray disk in and watch a movie, or burn content, etc. Apple could build a version of their Time Capsule with Thunderbolt AND include a Blu-ray/Super-Drive Combo and give it high speed wireless and wired network connectivity.
Posted by Jim, 27 Jul 2011
Will CDs and DVDs be buried with floppy disks soon?
Apple removes optical drive from new Mac Minis, what does this mean for good ol' CD-ROMs? Will CDs and DVDs be buried next to floppy disks soon? http://wp.me/p1yzb4-17J
Posted by kristin, 27 Jul 2011
It's because you are old
Face it it is because all of you are old... as in older than apples target market or research group. Who has apple always tried to reach out to? College student like myself, or young hip professionals. If you were to go to any college campus and tried to find a student who was reliant on optical media, you wouldn't. It's because of devices like iPad's, iPhones and tablets that we have begun to switch to a digital media age. The (young) people are happy to do away with the old and carry on with the new. Let go and move on, you will find there are actually easier and better ways of manipulating media.
Posted by Jesse, 27 Jul 2011