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technicolor

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 21, 2005
1,651
1
><><><><
Seriously is there any good reason for them not to include the Super Drive on every model of computer they sale?
 

dpaanlka

macrumors 601
Nov 16, 2004
4,868
30
Illinois
Please point me to any Mac built since 2001 that does not have Firewire. In fact, everyone was a freaking out when the 15" MBP didn't have FW800, but behold it returned.
 

AlBDamned

macrumors 68030
Mar 14, 2005
2,641
15
Please point me to any Mac built since 2001 that does not have Firewire. In fact, everyone was a freaking out when the 15" MBP didn't have FW800, but behold it returned.

Did the first core duo MBP have no firewire or just FW400? I can't remember.
 

After G

macrumors 68000
Aug 27, 2003
1,583
1
California
Gives people a choice.

If people were forced to get a Superdrive (especially edu customers), they'd go nuts and Apple would lose sales.
 

Allotriophagy

macrumors 6502a
Sep 5, 2006
917
0
Apple probably has huge piles of the things in their stockpiled inventory, which they bought for $0.75 per unit. By the time that runs out, they will be getting Superdrives for $1.50 and just use those instead.
 

mduser63

macrumors 68040
Nov 9, 2004
3,042
31
Salt Lake City, UT
I sure wish they would get rid of combo drives. That's really the only thing that would stop me from buying the low end MacBook and/or Mac mini. Of course, I guess that's why they do it...
 

emptyCup

macrumors 65816
Jan 5, 2005
1,482
1
I sure wish they would get rid of combo drives. That's really the only thing that would stop me from buying the low end MacBook and/or Mac mini. Of course, I guess that's why they do it...

When people say "I would buy if only... " I generally suspect they would not. What they would do is move on to: if only... it had more than 512MB of RAM, a bigger HD, a 4 MB cache, a bigger screen, a smaller screen, a matte screen, a better graphics card, higher performance, lower price, etc., etc.

I used to buy computers by the score and I appreciated not having to pay for things I didn't need. What the complainers really wish is that Apple would give them free features they don't value enough to pay for. It is not a bad wish but reality is excepting that often you have to make compromises.
 

SkyBell

macrumors 604
Sep 7, 2006
6,603
219
Texas, unfortunately.
Because not everybody needs a superdrive.

That's reason #1.

I have one, but that's because I bought the high-end mini. Not for the drive, but because I needed the extra 200 or so MHz, and the larger hard drive. Super Drive, I could do without Read-write cd's and read DVDs is all I need. The combo drive does that, does it not?
 

mduser63

macrumors 68040
Nov 9, 2004
3,042
31
Salt Lake City, UT
When people say "I would buy if only... " I generally suspect they would not. What they would do is move on to: if only... it had more than 512MB of RAM, a bigger HD, a 4 MB cache, a bigger screen, a smaller screen, a matte screen, a better graphics card, higher performance, lower price, etc., etc.

I used to buy computers by the score and I appreciated not having to pay for things I didn't need. What the complainers really wish is that Apple would give them free features they don't value enough to pay for. It is not a bad wish but reality is excepting that often you have to make compromises.

No, actually, that really is all that stops me from buying a low-end MacBook or Mac mini. I don't care about HD or RAM especially since those are upgradeable anyway. I don't play games so the graphics card doesn't matter to me. Seriously, a low-end MacBook would be perfect for me except that I do need to burn DVDs often. I wouldn't complain at all if Apple made it a $45 BTO upgrade instead of forcing me to pay for a bunch of other upgrades just to get a built-in SupderDrive.
 

Leareth

macrumors 68000
Nov 11, 2004
1,569
6
Vancouver
Not every one wants or needs a superdrive.

When i got my PB I specifically chose the combo model with the extra VRAM option.
When I need to burn DVD's I use my external laCie drive to burn them faster that the Superdrive and I find it less moody with different brands of disks.
 

iW00t

macrumors 68040
Nov 7, 2006
3,286
0
Defenders of Apple Guild
Apple probably has huge piles of the things in their stockpiled inventory, which they bought for $0.75 per unit. By the time that runs out, they will be getting Superdrives for $1.50 and just use those instead.

Wow, the price difference on these can buy Steve a nice weekend blast in Vegas. Why use $1.50 drives when Apple can just put in the then $0.50 combo drives instead?
 

yg17

macrumors Pentium
Aug 1, 2004
15,027
3,002
St. Louis, MO
Yes, I did say that. FW on the iPod really isn't needed because USB is much faster now than it was in 2001 plus not having the FW chip saves some space.

FW400 is actually a lot faster than USB2.0. Even though USB2.0 has the higher transfer rate on paper, FW400 is able to sustain a higher rate while USB2.0's speed fluctuates. I'd give anything for the iPods to have FW again...
 

garybUK

Guest
Jun 3, 2002
1,466
3
FW400 is actually a lot faster than USB2.0. Even though USB2.0 has the higher transfer rate on paper, FW400 is able to sustain a higher rate while USB2.0's speed fluctuates. I'd give anything for the iPods to have FW again...

Too many dead ipods because they are very sensative (the FW ports) I have seen numerous dud ipods simply by plugging them into a dodgy PC firewire port. USB is more resiliant.
 

technicolor

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 21, 2005
1,651
1
><><><><
Because not everybody needs a superdrive.

That's reason #1.

I have one, but that's because I bought the high-end mini. Not for the drive, but because I needed the extra 200 or so MHz, and the larger hard drive. Super Drive, I could do without Read-write cd's and read DVDs is all I need. The combo drive does that, does it not?
And that there is my point.

The whole I dont need a superdrive point is crippled when Apple pairs the combo drive with the weakest model in the lineup.

There are no stock configurations with the best options plus a combo drive.
You either have to pay more to just get the drive even if you dont need the extra ram, processor, or hard drive. Or you get a superdrive you dont supposedly need in order to get a better processor, more ram, or a bigger hard drive. It really is a matter of upselling rather than "for consumers who supposedly dont need a super drive"
 
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