You are supposed to be able to "daisy chain" up to 7 TB devices off of a single port, much like Firewire devices can be. The limitation is that the bandwidth is shared by all seven devices.
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Apple Releases New Sandy Bridge Mac Minis and Thunderbolt Display
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You are supposed to be able to "daisy chain" up to 7 TB devices off of a single port, much like Firewire devices can be. The limitation is that the bandwidth is shared by all seven devices.
Apple wants you to buy from the cloud instead of you ripping them. Pretty sure any USB dvd player can do the job cheaper.
Well I guess it will allow Apple to pad their bottom line as I bet quite a few people will now have to get the external drive.
Talk about a great way of burying a $80 price bump.
So the base model not only lost its optical drive it kept its price? I am to believe that adding Tbolt to it is worth that?
Force people ? They didn't remove the USB ports last I checked. USB DVD drives exist and are cheap too. Come on people, not the end of the world and a move that we all saw coming last year.
Don't get the Apple superdrive, it's overpriced. Much cheaper drives that offer all the same capabilities out there. Shop around.
confused
look at the product page, it says £529:
http://www.apple.com/uk/displays/specs.html
and look at the store price £899:
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC007B/A
any ideas?
look at the product page, it says £529:
http://www.apple.com/uk/displays/specs.html
and look at the store price £899:
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC007B/A
any ideas?
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And, I might be wrong, but for Canada I think there was a price drop too? Those are always good!
Screen captures from the Canadian Apple store:
Attachments
That completely fails to answer the question I asked. Thankfully, Arn did by pointing out that a TB cable was built-in.
"Somehow, 'I told you so' just doesn't quite say it." -- Will Smith in I, Robot
I know that some idiots have called me an Apple hating troll for openly speaking my mind about rather obvious facts in the past, but I've been predicting this next logical step for Apple since the Mac App Store was announced.
That Apple is now shipping Macs without built-in optical drives is completely unsurprising, what is so hard to understand here? DVD and BluRay sales hurt Apple, plain and simple. You're supposed to download all your content from iTunes where Apple gets at least a 30% share of everything. If you still refuse to pay the Apple tax and want an optical drive, you have to put more money on the table for an external DVD drive.
Problem is, not all of us use our computers/optical drives for "traditional purposes" like software installs or backups. Like just yesterday, I needed to slipstream SP3 into a retail copy of XP Pro, which required a DVD so I could burn an ISO. Apple doesn't know what I'm going to be using my computer for, so the best thing they can do is give me all the tools I could possibly need (especially in a DESKTOP computer) so I can use them as needed.
Why get rid of the optical drive on a desktop/media computer
You would have to ask Steve to be sure, but I think it is a combination of being able to use the interior volume for other things, like better graphics and cost, the thinking being that the majority of customers would not care and those who did would simply attach an external optical drive...no big deal.
It is a trade-off I think worthwhile. I have been using external optical drives for some time now anyway.
Anyone spending money on a media center in 2011 should plan on ripping their DVDs. In the media center, it is much better to allocate that space to more storage.
Funny that MR didn't mention i7 in the top model. Or that video out is now HDMI (with included adapter to DVI, obviously TB can be used for monitor as well but I assume that will be a tiny fraction for a long time).
Decent machine now although still a bit overpriced compared to alternatives. i7 with thunderbolt external drives makes this machine a pretty powerful one. Is 8 gigs the limit on ram? That's probably the biggest limitation keeping this from doing really demanding work now.
I'd love to see apple make the form factor a bit bigger so it could use all desktop parts and more ram slots. But apple is still obsessed with style over substance.
Decent machine now although still a bit overpriced compared to alternatives. i7 with thunderbolt external drives makes this machine a pretty powerful one. Is 8 gigs the limit on ram? That's probably the biggest limitation keeping this from doing really demanding work now.
I'd love to see apple make the form factor a bit bigger so it could use all desktop parts and more ram slots. But apple is still obsessed with style over substance.
do you know how long it has been since i've used a CD to set up Windows? years. USB stick and network share iso files all the way
you are right so im happy i have my last gen model with the super drive.lol they want you to spend more money on the mac book air super drive addon..lol
This one has me scratching my chin a bit... For as long as CD/DVD media is prevalent in society, I don't see why Apple would feel the need to ditch support for it completely! I can see how it could be deemed unnecessary on a laptop, a la the MacBook Air (can't remember the last time I ever needed it while on the road) but I think for a desktop, it's a bit of an unnecessary move.
After all, the form factor is no different. And Apple might say that there is an external drive option, but I don't think it's anything like the 'compact and convenient' solution that they think it is.
How am I supposed to *stream* my current library of CDs and DVDs to a Mac Mini?
Sure it's an elegant looking machine, maybe a tad expensive and lacking in areas (2GB RAM is a little mean and as there's momentum towards switching to flash RAM, I think that whatever drives are offered as alternative/complimentary hardware, they should ALL be 7200 RPM).
Mini, Mouse, Keyboard, Superdrive... all adds up!
After all, the form factor is no different. And Apple might say that there is an external drive option, but I don't think it's anything like the 'compact and convenient' solution that they think it is.
How am I supposed to *stream* my current library of CDs and DVDs to a Mac Mini?
Sure it's an elegant looking machine, maybe a tad expensive and lacking in areas (2GB RAM is a little mean and as there's momentum towards switching to flash RAM, I think that whatever drives are offered as alternative/complimentary hardware, they should ALL be 7200 RPM).
Mini, Mouse, Keyboard, Superdrive... all adds up!
Off to the Apple sore to get me a NEW base Mini to use as a Lion sever once Lion is finished installing on my iMac!!!
WHAT A DAY!!!!!!!!!
WHAT A DAY!!!!!!!!!
The high en model price is a little steep though...
Lets see on one side :
The high end mac mini (i7) with a thunderbolt display, a SSD drive, a superdrive (for the luddites) and applecare (mandatory people !) -> 2726$
Then a entry level 27 inch iMac (i5 but quad core) with 256 GB SSD, better graphics and applecare -> 2368$
Sure the TB display will last longer that any computer, but still it doesn't feel right to have the mini being this overpriced because Apple charges an arm and a leg for SSD.
If only they would have taken a risk putting 128GB SSD and no hard drives, maybe they even could have seen enough thermal gain to put better discreet graphics, while leaving those looking for greater mass storage capacities for a TB peripheral.
Lets see on one side :
The high end mac mini (i7) with a thunderbolt display, a SSD drive, a superdrive (for the luddites) and applecare (mandatory people !) -> 2726$
Then a entry level 27 inch iMac (i5 but quad core) with 256 GB SSD, better graphics and applecare -> 2368$
Sure the TB display will last longer that any computer, but still it doesn't feel right to have the mini being this overpriced because Apple charges an arm and a leg for SSD.
If only they would have taken a risk putting 128GB SSD and no hard drives, maybe they even could have seen enough thermal gain to put better discreet graphics, while leaving those looking for greater mass storage capacities for a TB peripheral.
Odds that the Spring 2012 MacBook Pro refresh (which is rumored to be a design refresh) carries a disc drive? Getting close to zero.
If you want one, better buy the 2011 model.
If you want one, better buy the 2011 model.
I mistakenly thought you knew what daisy chaining was. There is a second port on the TB device that you use to connect the next TB device to. The devices are connected to each other and only one is connected to the Mac. You only need one port on the Mac to do that.
A little disappointed about the lack of Superdrive, but the reality is in the year I've had my current Mini i've used it probably 10 times. The 2gb is an insult, but I'll probably update to 8gb from Crucial anyway.
Happy with the better price. I paid £649 last year, then we had a price cut, then vat rise.
Sad to see the Macbook go, the replacement isn't really a true replacement. A laptop you can't upgrade, next model up is the MBP with a horrible glass screen.
Happy with the better price. I paid £649 last year, then we had a price cut, then vat rise.
Sad to see the Macbook go, the replacement isn't really a true replacement. A laptop you can't upgrade, next model up is the MBP with a horrible glass screen.