New thinner iMac

[J&JPolangin]

I wish Apple would go with Blu ray support so I could plug my USB Blu ray into any of my macs...

 

[7709876]

Sure. Tech is all about progress. DVD and bluray could already be gone or replaced by something new and better in a few years. But you're talking too soon to bash ODD now. Most people STILL use ODD (be it Bluray or DVD). ODD users are not living in the past. It's still the now tech. Most developers, producers still sell their contents on that rounded optical media. Maybe in your little AppStore world everything is on the cloud, being downloaded and you assume most people on earth have 1Gbps home connection to chew up 10GB of downloads or streamed content in a couple of secs. What if I dont have decent internet? Can I bring my own HDD to Apple and ask to buy and copy contents from AppStore?

Optical is still the cheapest, easiest, most practical way to distribute software, movies, games which sized in GBs. If ODD is dying, why they dont sell games or software in a USB stick then?
If anything, only a little portion of overall laptop drop ODD completely for the sake of thinness like MBA and all ultrabooks. Having external ODD is not the same as having it built in, it can be not there when you need it. Most laptop and computer out there still need it for many reasons. It's not in the past yet.

You might wanna argue and compare it to the death of floppy, or many legacy ports. But floppy didnt have added value over optical. It has smaller capacity, low read/write speed, cannot be made any cheaper, and so it was a dead end. But optical media has all the sweet spot, capacity is reasonably enough, it can be mass produced easily and inexpensive, it's thin enough to be caried around and it's still darn popular. You don't need internet to own the content. DVD is 14 years old, but mouse and keyboard are 30 years old, maybe you live in muucch more past for still using keyboard in your computer.

I agree with this.

I personally still use an optical drive for the following things :

1) Installing software I buy or already own.
2) Ripping DVDs/Blu-Rays I buy for my home server to stream around the house
3) Burning home videos to DVD for family members to watch. Some of these family members don't have a computer. (My mother in law is 76)
4) Ripping audio CDs I own or buy

I am sure other users have different uses.

Companies tend to drop tech when there is a direct replacement and people stop using it. Serial ports went because everyone had and was using USB.

People still buy stuff on optical media. I personally think that Apple should man up and stick a Blu-Ray drive in the iMac

 

[forty2j]

Apple should not keep technology in a computer because maybe 10% of people still use it. That's idiotic. If they did that we'd have everything ever put in computers still in every computer made. a 35" CRT monitor with 55 types of ports in the back. It's dumb. End of story. Live in the past all you want, sooner or later the ODD is dead. Probably sooner.

10%. Funny. I challenge you to find some real numbers on computer software sales split between digital and physical media. I bet you'll find it's closer to 50/50.

I can go to any one of about 50 stores within 10 miles of me and buy physical software that comes on DVDs. I can't do that for CRT monitors with VGA cables. No matter what year the DVD is invented, you can't escape the fact that it is still very widely used.

 

[Roller]

Now that's a good thought. As iMacC2d says, removing the ODD would have little impact on the thickness of an iMac. So the customer can decide to have one or not. I hope Apple has had the same thought.

Although that would serve the people who want an internal ODD as well as the ones who don't, I doubt that Apple would do this, since they'd have to manufacture two types of enclosure.

Personally, I rarely use the ODD in my 2009 iMac, so I probably wouldn't miss it. On the other hand, I understand that others have different needs.

 

[carlgo]

I would rather have a thicker, chinless design. Fill it with good stuff and keep it cool. Keep the disk drive unless Apple can hook me up with a secret fast internet connection.

 

[yinz]

Regarding the software distributor debate: hasnt the Mac app store outsold best buy, Walmart and other top software venderrs leading the industry in software distribution or was I mislead by apple?

I bet the ODD, no-ODD debate has a correlation with age. The no-ODDers have probably never bought a record, then cassette tapes, maybe some 8-tracks for the car, then CDs, then DVDs. They may not have tired of buying the same music more than once, or of copying it from one format to another. I won't be around in 50 years, but I bet a similar debate will, and then the no-ODDers will understand the plight of the ODDers, and maybe the plight of those who remember when computers use to only compute. Now they are toys, and toys have to be cool.

I think so too. But I don't think the problem is that things need to be new and shiny. I think the problem older people can't accept change from records to 8tracks to cassettes to CDs to mp3s. You were young once, I'm sure you enjoyed showing off your Walkman..

And again, I have no issue with that. I doubt I'd buy it, I'd just rip them on my windows computer and move it to my NAS from there. But that's not my point. The idea that it's worth pulling something that is still quite useful in order to save an inch on a desktop is what I have a problem with.

There are a few things I'd rather have than a DVD rom. Better graphics card, extra HDD, or I'd even use a tv tuner. What I have a problem with is taking functionality to make it prettier (and only barely that).

Yeah, I wouldn't mind those things. I don't blindly chase superficial things, but my point is that optical drives are not as useful as you describe for a lot of people (ultrabooks support this claim). I expect with the money they do save by not including the optical drive, they can provide us with better hardware elsewhere, but I think that type of hardware should still allow the machine to go down in size.

No, I said most people still have DVD players and collections in the house. I doubt there are a lot of people actually ripping them to the computer. However, because many people still use DVDs, that makes movies on DVD a viable option for quite a while. It's currently by far the cheapest way to buy movies, especially when you looked at the used market (which goes away when you buy a digital download). It's currently cost prohibitive to buy from iTunes. I really really hope that changes, but I doubt it will because the content providers are dead set against streaming.

Ok, but one does not easily draw that conclusion (doubting people rip their dvds) when trying to read your argument from a holistic point of view. I see where you are getting at here. I think your argument is based the premise that DVDs are the cheapest way to obtain media, and I think this premise undermines the sheer dominance of accessibility on the Internet. You are assuming that the majority of media consumption is through the legitimate means of purchasing DVDs but neglect to mention the ubiquitous nature of Internet media. It's not unknown that when you include Internet piracy into the equation, far more people consume digital media than they would from their optical drive.

Am I saying apple is supporting piracy? No, what I'm saying is transferring large files over the Internet is easy and when calculating Internet traffic flow as a whole, DVDs as a form of data storage and media consumption does not even compare fairly against the power of the internet and cloud computing.

Also, I agree, iTunes media is expensive. Luckily my pass time is surfing on Internet forums debating with people rather than consume iTunes media.. Lol

Again, this assumes you have other idevices. Even if you have a mac it doesn't add a lot of functionality to the apple tv besides being able to stream a few shows. You can buy a movie for roku off amazon just as easily as you can buy a movie from iTunes for apple tv. You can currently stream espn3, hbogo and hulu to roku using playon. You can't get any of that on Apple tv.

Yeah, like I said, it's an accessory, but I think it's pretty safe to assume people on this forum will have other apple products. I agree that if you didn't, roku is better. The fact is, you do, so it's a good deal.

Apple's main advantage over that box is being able to stream your personal media collection through itunes, which you can't do if you can't rip that media collection. And really, it's not an advantage anymore, since playon can do the same thing.

Sorry I'm not familiar with playon, does it work with your Mac or idevice, which you already have?

So can any laptop.

yeah, it gives people another option now. An arguably cheaper one too.

And again, thinness on a desktop computer is not high priority. To a point, sure, but millimeters doesn't gain you anything.

I don't disagree.

 

[Seamaster]

The ODD crapped out on my 2006 iMac a year ago.

I haven't missed it.

 

[Blythyvxr]

The optical drive will get deleted soon. Purely on cost grounds.

It probably adds about ~$10-15 to the unit price of the iMac, given that Apple sell about 5 million iMacs a year, that's about a $50m saving that can be made.

Then there's the other cost benefits it might bring, such as a smaller packing box (the current iMac box is unnecessarily huge. I'd sell the stand as a separate accessory, or redesign it for better packing), lower pack weight, less assembly time, no software discs to add etc.

And if some users feel they need an accessory drive... they can pay for it. Yet more profit.

Some users want to watch DVDs? Well, they can always download their favourite films off of iTunes. More Profit.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Sure. Tech is all about progress. DVD and bluray could already be gone or replaced by something new and better in a few years. But you're talking too soon to bash ODD now. Most people STILL use ODD (be it Bluray or DVD). ODD users are not living in the past. It's still the now tech. Most developers, producers still sell their contents on that rounded optical media. Maybe in your little AppStore world everything is on the cloud, being downloaded and you assume most people on earth have 1Gbps home connection to chew up 10GB of downloads or streamed content in a couple of secs. What if I dont have decent internet? Can I bring my own HDD to Apple and ask to buy and copy contents from AppStore?

Optical is still the cheapest, easiest, most practical way to distribute software, movies, games which sized in GBs. If ODD is dying, why they dont sell games or software in a USB stick then?
If anything, only a little portion of overall laptop drop ODD completely for the sake of thinness like MBA and all ultrabooks. Having external ODD is not the same as having it built in, it can be not there when you need it. Most laptop and computer out there still need it for many reasons. It's not in the past yet.

You might wanna argue and compare it to the death of floppy, or many legacy ports. But floppy didnt have added value over optical. It has smaller capacity, low read/write speed, cannot be made any cheaper, and so it was a dead end. But optical media has all the sweet spot, capacity is reasonably enough, it can be mass produced easily and inexpensive, it's thin enough to be caried around and it's still darn popular. You don't need internet to own the content. DVD is 14 years old, but mouse and keyboard are 30 years old, maybe you live in muucch more past for still using keyboard in your computer.

Like i said, it isn't Apple's problem if you don't have fast internet. They can't hold back technology because some people don't have fast internet. Like i said, the ODD will be dead from Macs soon, and when it does, you can either buy an external, or learn to move onto better things. Either way, it's not my problem. I just know i won't miss the useless thing.

 

[iMacC2D]

Removed.

 

[Nandifix]

They should remove it. When was the last time anyone honestly had to download 8gb of data. And why not just leave it on overnight?

 

[nuckinfutz]

That, of course, suggests the optical drive is holding back technology. Even as it stands in the iMac, it's a complimentary addition to the base system and its presence doesn't hinder the performance or aesthetics of the machine (as I said earlier, although many believe the machine could be made thinner without it, it's not the thickest component inside the iMac by a long shot, and thinness/lighter overall weight doesn't really matter in a desktop).

The thinness angle is an anathema. The optical drive presents yet another moving device in a computer which means it will stop moving some day. Moving means a motor which means noise and power usage. Moving means other potential nasty stuff (iMacs scratching discs isn't new)

The optical drive as an integrated component cannot die soon enough.

 

[Stolz25]

Sorry I'm not familiar with playon, does it work with your Mac or idevice, which you already have?

It works with DLNA protocol, which apple tv doesn't support. They have an app for ipad which you can then airplay to the apple tv, but the video is worse than on my other device and it tends to crash. Plus, if I'm watching an airplayed video from my ipad I can't actually use the ipad while I'm watching the basketball game or whatever else I'm doing.

I use my playstation to watch over my tv with it. I'm not sure if you can install the software on a mac, as I didn't try it.

yeah, it gives people another option now. An arguably cheaper one too

But it's not cheaper. $99 is almost as expensive as a cheap laptop now, and most people already have the laptop anyway. What they don't have is iTunes set up to stream their movies. And if they want to do that they'll be spending time ripping their DVD collection and converting it to iTunes format.

 

[iMacC2D]

Removed.

 

[nuckinfutz]

Now I haven't used an optical disc in a while. Once or twice a year perhaps. So i'm not speaking from a personal standpoint of having a useful tool taken away, but rather from the hardware engineering and practicality standpoints.

I think therein is the problem. What many of us are saying about the optical drive is that it "is" important but no longer necessary device to be integrated into the computer itself. Most of us are not saying that the use of optical drives should stop.

Apple already sells an external Superdrive for $79.

If people thought about from the perspective that the money and space taken by a little used ODD is preventing them from having perhaps a SSD boot drive or a faster GPU they may think otherwise.

I'd prefer a small amount of SSD for the Boot drive and applications. This would benefit 100% and could be paid for by jettisoning the ODD.

 

[animalresource]

Damn, I thought this was real for a second.

That would be a sweet iMac. I've never understood why they use up so much space at the bottom of the iMac. Why not make the entire front the screen but make the stand a bit taller so it doesn't look too low, that would be cool.

 

[seanm9]

As someone that used the internet frequently in 95, I know the answer for this to be "Yes". In 95, you would click a site, have a raw-text-skeleton site appear, and then all of the binary bits (pictures) would slowly draw in two at a time. It was nothing like the experience today.

My point is as connections have become faster we have found new ways to saturate the bandwidth available.

 

[dawsonm]

If you want to use outdated technology, buy a PC.

Hell, I believe you can still get PCs with floppy disk drives. Want Apple to put that back into iMac too?

A dual layer DVR RW is somewhat newer technology than a 3.5" floppy disk.

I still interact with many of my friends who have outdated technology.

My 4 yea old is given DVDs for her birthday which I have to get bt my iDevices

My 27" 2011 iMac takes up such a little amount of desk space, I'm sometimes at a loss as to what to put on my desk.

There are more reasons why its too soon to loose an optical drive from a DESKTOP PC

 

[nuckinfutz]

There are more reasons why its too soon to loose an optical drive from a DESKTOP PC

No really. We all have our anecdotes but the reality is internet distribution of content is mature. Those who are still married to past technology are free to fund this but when I buy a premium computer I expect premium components.

 

[7709876]

Yes, internet distribution is mature. That doesn't change the fact that most people have lots of media on discs that they don't want to buy again.

Add to the mix that most of the digital media is going to be lower in quality than what they have on the shelf beside them.

You might have a bottomless pit of cash but I for one don't.

 

[yinz]

No really. We all have our anecdotes but the reality is internet distribution of content is mature. Those who are still married to past technology are free to fund this but when I buy a premium computer I expect premium components.

Dead on.

Yes, internet distribution is mature. That doesn't change the fact that most people have lots of media on discs that they don't want to buy again.

You might have a bottomless pit of cash but I for one don't.

I think in some places, you are allowed to download soft copies of the DVD's you own as long as you don't redistribute them to others.

If $78 is an issue, maybe you should rethink your priorities instead of buying a new iMac, use the old one for a few more years or try refurbished.

Plus, if I'm watching an airplayed video from my ipad I can't actually use the ipad while I'm watching the basketball game or whatever else I'm doing.

I think what you are referring to is AirPlay mirroring. If you just AirPlay videos, you can do other things on the iPad

But it's not cheaper. $99 is almost as expensive as a cheap laptop now, and most people already have the laptop anyway. What they don't have is iTunes set up to stream their movies. And if they want to do that they'll be spending time ripping their DVD collection and converting it to iTunes format.

Where are you getting $100 laptops? (After reading my comment, it came off as a bit condescending, so I wanted to clarify that this is a genuine question) I've never seen something like that. The cheapest NetBook I've seen is $200 EEEPC 700, but I haven't been computer shopping for awhile. Also, those cheapo NetBooks can't run the quality of video an iPad can run. Intel Atom just doesn't cut it.

 

[Seamaster]

Yes, internet distribution is mature. That doesn't change the fact that most people have lots of media on discs that they don't want to buy again.

So buy an external ODD.

 

[7709876]

So buy an external ODD.

I think in some places, you are allowed to download soft copies of the DVD's you own as long as you don't redistribute them to others.

If $78 is an issue, maybe you should rethink your priorities instead of buying a new iMac, use the old one for a few more years or try refurbished.

I am buying an iMac as I want a neat, all in one solution. If I have to start adding in extra bit and bobs it is no longer an all in one.

 

[BlazednSleepy]

I am buying an iMac as I want a neat, all in one solution. If I have to start adding in extra bit and bobs it is no longer an all in one.

Put it away when it's not in use. Problem solved.

 

[gabicava83]

If you want to use outdated technology, buy a PC.

Hell, I believe you can still get PCs with floppy disk drives. Want Apple to put that back into iMac too?

Don't go from one extreme to another

----------

I am buying an iMac as I want a neat, all in one solution. If I have to start adding in extra bit and bobs it is no longer an all in one.

You're not going to get through to them. I understand what you are saying an in agreement with you.

A DVD/CD drive will widely still be used. Specially if you back up to DVD and or, burn a lot of copies.

If Apple reduce the price of the iMac, where it covers to cost of having to buy an external DVD drive, then it's somewhat annoying, but not a huge issue. If they still charge the same premium and expect you to buy (if you need it) an external DVD Drive, then that is somewhat greedy.

Don't get me wrong, I download ISO's all the time, as I do a lot of server stuff with MS and other OS's, but that isn't the point.