Good observation. One can take advantage of the discounts too.
Yep, just got the Refurbished 27-inch iMac 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 at the ed store, got even more discount and for peace of mind got also the AppleCare. It will arrive Thursday.
Good observation. One can take advantage of the discounts too.
I doubt that. The iMac is a consumer PC and most of them have CDs/DVDs at home that they'd like to use with their computer.The amount of users who need one are less than the amount of people who don't.
The price of an iMac is set by Apple. Hardware cost is only one factor of it and I doubt that the price for the optical drive significantly raises that.They drive up the price for users who do not.
Granted.They are loud.
Granted. Still, an AIO should be flexible in its use. Fact is, many many people prefer physical media over this DRM crap.There are alternatives (USB, Cloud, Externals, etc).
You mean like the outdated disk drives that they build into their current iMacs, except for the ones that contain the way overpriced SSD ?They have constantly moving parts that also generate a lot of heat within a small/thin enclosure.
That's the consequence of the AOI concept. The same applies to all other parts, especially to the screen, which will outdate at a much slower rate than the other internals. There are still many moving parts inside an iMac that can break.More moving parts mean more possibility of something breaking. Which means, to repair my simple and cheap optical disc drive, I would have to lug my ENTIRE computer to Apple to get it fixed. As well as be out of a computer for that amount of time.
...but not for a machine at this price.You can literally get an external for $20.
I doubt that. The iMac is a consumer PC and most of them have CDs/DVDs at home that they'd like to use with their computer.
Granted. Still, an AIO should be flexible in its use. Fact is, many many people prefer physical media over this DRM crap.
You mean like the outdated disk drives that they build into their current iMacs, except for the ones that contain the way overpriced SSD ?
That's the consequence of the AOI concept. The same applies to all other parts, especially to the screen, which will outdate at a much slower rate than the other internals. There are still many moving parts inside an iMac that can break.
Even worse, if you're afraid of breaking parts then an iMac which is practically non-repairable by the user should be avoided.
...but not for a machine at this price.
I don't critizize those who are happy with their iMacs, no way doing that. It's just that I don't like this "Apple does it and so it must be good attitude".
The removal of the optical drive was pimarily an advantage for Apple, but not for the customer. The same applies to stupid ideas like non-upgradable RAM, mechanical harddisks (non-upgradable) and other stuff that is sacrificed for pure optical reasons.
I was waiting for the new iMacs for more than 8 months, but the package that they delivered just didn't cut it for me. For an AOI these days I expect...
* a 256GB SSD as the base configuration
* user-upgradable RAM and harddisk
* an optical drive
* all connectivity that I would ever need
* hassle-free target display mode so that I can use the screen with other devices
I don't care about the thinner case and while I see the technical advantages of Thunderbolt one must accept that it's more or less dead technology that's only used by Apple as a unique selling proposition for their overpriced (glossy, wtf) displays.
Optical drives are a dying breed, just as floppy drives were several years ago, and those were phased out. No need to have them when a simple external drive will do what 1/50 users need.
It's more than 1/50 of users. People want to rip their old CD's, sometimes you have software and games on DVD's or CD.
Adding an external drive ruins the concept of an all-in-one computer.
Who is STILL buying CDs?
Who is STILL buying CDs? And not using Steam? If you have not ripped your old CDs yet, come on.
So you're basically saying that a $20 add-on external that you will use once in a great while (or are you just endlessly ripping a pile of CDs that lasts forever?) is preventing you from buying a $2000 work horse? Absurd.