31–40 of 58 posts
However, even if I haven't used man CDs or DVDs for a while I still get a "but, but I know I'll need them someday..." reaction.
PSA: There's still a ton of excellent, obscure music on CD that hasn't reached the cloud. Get ripping your local libraries and dollar bins while you still can. (Incidentally, the optical drive in my last machine, a Macbook, was as good as useless. It failed multiple times because of the flex in the plastic case. So much for impeccable Apple design standards.)
Already now all the many users of floppies can pick from only a dozen or so floppy drives on Amazon. Abhorrent! And the money they have to pay for it! Way more than $10†! Truly horrific.
All kidding aside, you will be able to buy cheap external optical drives for a long, long, long time. There is no need at all to worry. The optical drive merely becomes an external add-on for those who truly need it. I also like to buy old music that hasn’t made it to “the cloud” and probably never will. I will keep an external optical drive in the closet for that purpose.
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Even for Apple's hardware customers, Apple's opinion on whether or not to deprecate the optical drive isn't entirely trustworthy. Given that CSS has been comprehensively cracked, ripped DVDs are the most widespread and reliable source of DRM-free commercial video in the world. Apple sells DRMed video that competes with (among other things) ripped DVDs. Beyond the financial incentive, Apple wants people to buy their D…
So, you need an internal drive for ripping? External drives are where it’s at and Apple will gladly allow you to use them. (You can get one for the low, low price of $20 if you really want to.)
Also, if Apple is really done with the optical drive, the day will come when they won't sell the peripheral either. There will almost certainly be third-party options, of course, but Apple would have added yet another inconvenience. And so on.
Throughout this process, Apple can reasonably claim to be acting in the interests of the consumer, but the ulterior motives are still there. That means there is a credible reason to doubt Apple's claims.
Of course, Apple will not do this completely overnight, but it does seem like we're moving in that direction one step at a time. I think Apple/Steve's long term vision has always been for the PC to be like all other electronic devices; you buy it configured, and for fixes/upgrades you always go through the manufacturer or manufacturer-approved process. It is a complete opposite to something like a Lenovo ThinkPad where a lot of the stuff is user replaceable and serviceable (hence making it a little more future proof and much cheaper for upgrades).
As a MBP user, I am happy with where Apple is right now but I'm not sure I'm completely happy with where they're headed (and Apple doesn't care about customers like me who are probably Something to think about before investing a lot in Apple products and becoming tangled in the ecosystem.
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So, you need an internal drive for ripping? External drives are where it’s at and Apple will gladly allow you to use them. (You can get one for the low, low price of $20 if you really want to.)
Need, of course not. That being said, internal drives make ripping significantly more convenient and, hence, more common (which still means incentives for ulterior motives). Defaults matter a lot and having to opt into an optical drive will make a significant difference in practice no matter how cheap and easy opting in is. Also, if Apple is really done with the optical drive, the day will come when they won't sell t…
There is no need for stupid conspiracy theories. Optical media is done. It makes sense to longer include it by default. And if you really believe that there will be less ripped movies around because Apple ditches the optical drive, well then I can’t really help you. Pirating will always be easy, what Apple does doesn’t matter.
PSA: There's still a ton of excellent, obscure music on CD that hasn't reached the cloud. Get ripping your local libraries and dollar bins while you still can. (Incidentally, the optical drive in my last machine, a Macbook, was as good as useless. It failed multiple times because of the flex in the plastic case. So much for impeccable Apple design standards.)
Yeah! While you still can! Because if we extrapolate from floppy drives, 2025 might be the year you no longer can buy optical drives. That’s, like, so soon! Already now all the many users of floppies can pick from only a dozen or so floppy drives on Amazon. Abhorrent! And the money they have to pay for it! Way more than $10†! Truly horrific. All kidding aside, you will be able to buy cheap external optical drives for…
And while I'm sure that Apple buyers were among the first demographic to ditch physical media, this development is certainly another nail in the coffin of the brick-and-mortar data archives that are record stores.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah! While you still can! Because if we extrapolate from floppy drives, 2025 might be the year you no longer can buy optical drives. That’s, like, so soon! Already now all the many users of floppies can pick from only a dozen or so floppy drives on Amazon. Abhorrent! And the money they have to pay for it! Way more than $10†! Truly horrific. All kidding aside, you will be able to buy cheap external optical drives for…
I'm not saying that CDs will ever be inaccessible to the motivated technologist. But the media will continue to degrade and disappear at an even faster rate with optical drives no longer commonplace. And while I'm sure that Apple buyers were among the first demographic to ditch physical media, this development is certainly another nail in the coffin of the brick-and-mortar data archives that are record stores.
CDs will certainly disappear – and good riddance to them.
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Yeah, I found this article whiney. The last time I had to use a DVD was upgrading to Snow Leopard. When I went to do the upgrade I had to take my 1 year old laptop in to get fixed because the DVD drive wasn't working on it -- it in fact probably never worked. I remember when BluRay 'beat' HD-DVD. By the time HD-DVD was dropped by Toshiba I was already thinking "who cares? no one is going to buy bluray anyway." I susp…
I think you address an interesting market that will still need disks. The home-theater geek. It's not yet practical to stream the amounts of data necessary to play a full 1080p movie for 2+ hours without any noticeable degradation or stuttering. For now, if you want the best, you need a Blu-Ray drive.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah! While you still can! Because if we extrapolate from floppy drives, 2025 might be the year you no longer can buy optical drives. That’s, like, so soon! Already now all the many users of floppies can pick from only a dozen or so floppy drives on Amazon. Abhorrent! And the money they have to pay for it! Way more than $10†! Truly horrific. All kidding aside, you will be able to buy cheap external optical drives for…
I'm not saying that CDs will ever be inaccessible to the motivated technologist. But the media will continue to degrade and disappear at an even faster rate with optical drives no longer commonplace. And while I'm sure that Apple buyers were among the first demographic to ditch physical media, this development is certainly another nail in the coffin of the brick-and-mortar data archives that are record stores.
The lack of an optical drive on Apple laptops will not be the stake to the heart of the brick-and-mortar music store; lack of consumer interest will.
The social music scene is moving online. Services like Last.fm, Pandora, and user "created" content sites like SoundCloud are the future. The nostalgia of standing around a music store is nice to think about, but not particularly profitable for the owner.
My main problem with optical at this point is that the storage capacity and price really haven't kept up with USB Flash Drives. It is also now easier just to buy an external hard drive for live backups.