Maybe Blu-Ray and DVD wouldn't be so down in the doldrums now if Blockbuster Video still existed.
Perhaps if there were rental stores but then again, rent from Redbox, Netflix or go buy from Amazon, Best Buy etc.
The bigger picture is, Netflix and Amazon (and others) do big business in streaming; Redbox is the sole media rental outlet anybody knows anymore; buying a stash of scratchable optical discs is becoming a niche market of its own.
The bigger picture is, Netflix and Amazon (and others) do big business in streaming; Redbox is the sole media rental outlet anybody knows anymore; buying a stash of scratchable optical discs is becoming a niche market of its own.
I can't think of one reason for wanting an optical drive. I'm not blind to Apple making poor decisions but when was the last time someone gave you a disk? Data needs to be in the cloud in 2017.
I used an external USB3 Blu-Ray drive and used MacGo Mac Blu-Ray Player back in the day! Today I use it to rip those disks to save on networked NAS to play them.
[doublepost=1490530299][/doublepost]Apple decided not to support the optical disc. They said it was on the way out therefore, they abandoned it. What seems to be more the case is they dumped it for two reasons - get people to buy/rent via download/stream for Apple's iTune Store and in the quest for make everything THIN (optical discs just got in the way of this form over function design).
So how is it that we are starting to see yet more hardware and software being developed to further the use of the optical disc? I only hope that some of the hardware and software make its way to the Mac side in spite of Apple.
https://hdguru.com/pioneer-cyberlink-reveal-ultra-hd-blu-ray-pc-reader-bundle/
I can't think of one reason for wanting an optical drive. I'm not blind to Apple making poor decisions but when was the last time someone gave you a disk? Data needs to be in the cloud in 2017.
I've been given a USB Flash drive quite often.
The Cloud is good, but it isn't good for everything. Can be unreliable, slow, expensive ( think bandwidth limits and backing up your Mac / iPad storage ) , and unavailable ( i.e., no internet access ).
PinkyMacGodess,People should never discount optical media. It's here to stay (for a long while).
PinkyMacGodess,
I completely agree with you, there are many people/companies out there that still have things backed up on all kinds of optical media (I used to get SyQuest disks way beyond when they were still useful) but I think there are a number of people who have posted to this thread who misunderstand something. I hope you don't mind but I changed your quote to better illustrate the point "People should never discount optical media. It's here to stay (for a long while) but that doesn't mean it's use is growing, in fact it is decreasing dramatically and will continue to decrease until it reaches a point where it is no longer profitable to make new discs/tapes/readers/ect".
Please buy this:
https://www.adorama.com/owcmrssbdr6.html
...and stop complaining.
By the way: Jobs was right - It -was- a bag of hurt and I've -never- had to use a BluRay disc for -any- content I require. Like DVD, its format was created simply as a means to perpetuate DRM. You were tossed the "better resolution" bone.
Are there still people using a optical disk drive these days? in the cloud era
Are there still people using a optical disk drive these days? in the cloud era
What is this "DVD" you speak of???http://fortune.com/2016/01/08/blu-ray-struggles-in-the-streaming-age/
Jobs was not wrong. Blu-Rays, DVDs, are well on their way out.
Who gives a ****.
Are there still people using a optical disk drive these days? in the cloud era
Thank you for your insightful and pleasant contribution to the conversation.
I did a poll a few weeks ago in the Mac Pro subforum. About 74% still use optical disks in their computers. I was surprised it was that high.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/do-you-still-use-optical-discs-in-your-computer.2041720/
I wonder if you would get the same responses out of the other forums from the owners of the Mac Mini or iMac? Very interesting. I know I still use my optical drive, more for ripping than anything else.
Apple has dropped built in optical long ago and they were right.So what if Apple dropped the built in optical, you can still add an external. I believe Apple even sold an external SuperDrive for that purpose. I have an external Blueray drive on my Mac Mini.