Macbook design question - card readers?

Macs will never have card readers. Steve and Jonathan don't like holes in their designs, and it would have to be cut into the unibody.

Never, then, extends to their deaths, provided their apprentices do not share their design philosophies... but that's not likely.

The only way your probably get one is if someone makes a plugin for the express card slot, although I'm not sure if that is even technically feasible.

It is a minor irritant, but if included would be at the expense of a thicker, less solid design. I'm not sure if you've seen a screen shot of the internals of the MacBook/MacBook Pro, but in both cases there is almost no extra internal space.

The CD and HDD are on the left, the battery and ports go on the right. Ports are fairly limited in number, especially on the MacBook.

I don't know about you, but I don't know anyone who uses memory cards as a form of storage, other than the ones used in cameras. Even in cameras, people seem content to just plug their camera in.

The only card reader I would find useful is a CF reader, and even then, I'm not prepared to have that big a hole in my computer just for a rare convenience.

andylyon said:

If that's the case what about the MacBook Pro's expansion card slot? Surely that has a hole? Correct me if i'm wrong.

AnDy

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Thats a covered hole LOL. The express card is present in the Macbook Pro because many professionals require express card expansion for stuff like eSATA, video/audio output, etc. That's why that it is available on the "Pro" machine. Like the previous poster said, Jobs and Ive, for as long as they are in that position, will not allow the incorporation of a card reader in the macbook notebooks.

Macs only come with what you need and nothing extra. There are many different memory card types out there, not one standard type. If the most common type was built into macbooks, there would still be lots of people who couldnt use it because their camera uses a different type of card. So a memory card slot is not something everyone can use, and so isnt built in.

I do use SD cards transferring pictures from cameras At least once per week.
And I do use much less my CD drive (I think I used it maybe 6-7 times since the beginning of this year...
I think they should start including in all the digital cameras wifi to transfer pictures.
I miss my SD slot much often in my iPhone, actually...

...get a netbook, they have card readers built in

elppa said:

The only way your probably get one is if someone makes a plugin for the express card slot, although I'm not sure if that is even technically feasible.

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I use this one every day:

Express Card Reader

I'm grateful that there is a versatile Express card slot that can accommodate a cheap reader for whatever card standards emerge during the life of the laptop, rather than short-sightedly locking me in to whatever is the fleeting standard of the day.

CashGap said:

I use this one every day:

Express Card Reader

I'm grateful that there is a versatile Express card slot that can accommodate a cheap reader for whatever card standards emerge during the life of the laptop, rather than short-sightedly locking me in to whatever is the fleeting standard of the day.

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Lol, couldn't you say that about USB as well?

A card reader is a much BETTER way than plugging the camera in with usb.
1) faster, 2) doesn't use the battery in your camera.

andylyon said:

And also, I did not know Jobs/Ive had stated that before so thats cleared a few things up.

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Really, this is a core, important thing to understand about Apple. Apple doesn't do things, like them or not, because of market surveys (of the direct variety) or because of spec matching (they do a little of this) with competitors. They don't really care how many ports Dell or Compaq has, and they don't really care how many ports you think they should have.

When they get their mind set on not doing something, they're very hard to sway. SD card slots are a good example of this. They've been around, they've gotten common, yes, some people who have them use them (particularly on netbooks, where even I use mine, but also outside of netbooks).

Apple doesn't really care about that. They have a vision for a product and that's kind of the end of the story... neither the people who argue that these slots are unnecessary, that no one uses them, and that they are aesthetically problematic, nor the people who argue that they are de rigeur, that no serious computer maker does not use them, and that Apple computers are well nigh unusable without them, are really relevant at all.

I for one am happy that Apple doesn't mess with these. It looks messy on computers and honestly, I have no problem using USB or even buying a cheap reader. Just one of those things that I don't ever "miss". I have it on my HP desktop, but I only use it about twice a month.

CashGap said:

I use this one every day:

Express Card Reader

I'm grateful that there is a versatile Express card slot that can accommodate a cheap reader for whatever card standards emerge during the life of the laptop, rather than short-sightedly locking me in to whatever is the fleeting standard of the day.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. Good to know the option is available. Out of interest, do you use your express card slot for anything else?

macrumorsMaster said:

Lol, couldn't you say that about USB as well?

A card reader is a much BETTER way than plugging the camera in with usb.
1) faster, 2) doesn't use the battery in your camera.

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That's probably why the poster you quoted brought a card reader, Lol.

LAS.mac said:

I think they should start including in all the digital cameras wifi to transfer pictures.

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Do you know how long that would take with 15 megapixel pics?

Keep the mac without a feaking card reader. Buy all the USB adapters you want for $10 and enjoy one less gizmo on your machine that can crap out.

Typical Apple

Well the just did, SD slot in all macbooks

Tallest Skil said:

Macs will never have card readers. Steve and Jonathan don't like holes in their designs, and it would have to be cut into the unibody.

Never, then, extends to their deaths, provided their apprentices do not share their design philosophies... but that's not likely.

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Owch, you just got OWNED by Apple.

All MacBook Pro's have an SD Card Reader Now.

And the 13in has one too because it is a pro.

Nice job guys.

MattZani said:

Owch, you just got OWNED by Apple.

All MacBook Pro's have an SD Card Reader Now.

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Only the 13 and 15. The 17 still has the ExpressCard34 slot, which I think is more useful than a dedicated SD-slot, but w/e.

Tallest Skil said:

Macs will never have card readers. Steve and Jonathan don't like holes in their designs, and it would have to be cut into the unibody.

Never, then, extends to their deaths, provided their apprentices do not share their design philosophies... but that's not likely.

Click to expand...

Arrogance downed. LOL

Tallest Skil said:

Macs will never have card readers. Steve and Jonathan don't like holes in their designs, and it would have to be cut into the unibody.

Never, then, extends to their deaths, provided their apprentices do not share their design philosophies... but that's not likely.

Click to expand...

Me thinks you may live to regret that statement... hope you have a sense of humour about it!

andylyon said:

Haha love it, raised the question a few weeks back, in hope someone would agree, turns out Apple did. I sometiems love arrogant people who think they know it all!!

AnDy

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You so should have stuck it on one of the prediction thread (citing “secret” sources). Would have looked a genius.

Good job.

And yes Apple is stubborn, but they are also not stupid enough to never admit they are wrong. They held out for a while of CD Burning as well. I think it is a worthy addition, particularly as most cameras (and phones) seemed to have settled on them.

From a purely financial perspective it probably cheaper as well, which if I am being cynical, may have had a bearing in the decision.