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New thinner iMac
- Thread starter Opspin
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I can't remember the last time I used my Optical Disc Drive. Before I used to Handbrake my DVD's and Burn CD-R's (Music) for my Coupe.
Today, I use my iPhone 4S or BlackBerry PlayBook in my Coupe using the AUX input.
I don't really care if my next iMac is thinner but if Apple drops the price because they decide to eliminate the ODD than I'm all for it.
Today, I use my iPhone 4S or BlackBerry PlayBook in my Coupe using the AUX input.
I don't really care if my next iMac is thinner but if Apple drops the price because they decide to eliminate the ODD than I'm all for it.
I doubt very much you'll see a price difference because of this. The ODD is probably around a $25 cost for Apple, and they tend to keep pricing the same unless they have to change it.
So here's the new iMac, much like the iPad two, the new iMac is much thinner, getting rid of the optical drive, and, you'll no doubt note, also getting rid of that unseemly chin, now covering the front with one big beautiful piece of glass.
Dear OP. Could you please rename this thread "the endless ODD thread" to make sure it is more accurate. I've never Before experienced such a boring, long, trench-vs-trench discussion.
2010 Mac mini with ODD $699
2011 Mac mini with no ODD $599
Still doubt it in this case. If it is an optional add on then we'll see a price difference, but if that's the case this whole thread is rather silly.
and why, exactly does the imac need to be thinner? it's not like you are going to carry that thing around or anything.. especially if it really is going to be 27 - 32"
second of all, apple should not remove the optical drive, even if there is this excuse of "we have the mac apps store. whats the point in having a disk drive?"
to support the idea of removing the disk drive
second of all, apple should not remove the optical drive, even if there is this excuse of "we have the mac apps store. whats the point in having a disk drive?"
to support the idea of removing the disk drive
One could argue that they would like to make it thinner for the same reasons that the iMac is thin to begin with. I know that this is a "how deep? All the way to the bottom!" response, but it's one of the more compelling answers. If the next iMac were a floating, edgeless, depthless, glowing square on my desk, I would be a happy man.
second of all, apple should not remove the optical drive, even if there is this excuse of "we have the mac apps store. whats the point in having a disk drive?"
to support the idea of removing the disk drive
While I agree that we need local storage, we're seeing a move from mechanical to flash based storage in general purpose computers. HDDs will be replaced by solid state components. Optical will be replaced by flash media (usb thumb drives for example). Mechanical devices will be moved to external purpose-built enclosures, which is what we will use if we need a big disk array or ODD.
Ultimately this will be a good thing. Faster performance, lower power consumption, smaller mechanical footprint, higher reliability. The big question is whether 2012 is the year for it. I truly believe that Apple could offer a 2012 retina-iMac with an optional external USB ODD and keep, if not exceed, it's current marketshare.
F
and why, exactly does the imac need to be thinner? it's not like you are going to carry that thing around or anything.. especially if it really is going to be 27 - 32"
second of all, apple should not remove the optical drive, even if there is this excuse of "we have the mac apps store. whats the point in having a disk drive?"
to support the idea of removing the disk drive
second of all, apple should not remove the floppy drive, even if there is an excuse of "we have an ODD now. what's the point of having a floppy drive?" to support the idea of removing the floppy drive
Bet you said that too. The ODD is irrelevant now for anyone not afraid to move onto new technology. Sorry, it needs to die.
Ok so I could either back you up with this post, or ***** on you, but that last sentence in your second paragraph is the funniest thing I've read today!
second of all, apple should not remove the floppy drive, even if there is an excuse of "we have an ODD now. what's the point of having a floppy drive?" to support the idea of removing the floppy drive
Bet you said that too. The ODD is irrelevant now for anyone not afraid to move onto new technology. Sorry, it needs to die.
The SD card reader needs to die. I have never used that thing and it makes the side of the monitor so ugly. Just a slot for dust to gather.
I wouldn't mind If they got rid of the DVD drive and invested that money on better graphics card..
Also another thing to note is now Mac's come with a Recovery Partition, I don't know about you guys but I only use the DVD drive to install an OS.. And the other alternative of course is Internet Recovery..
Also another thing to note is now Mac's come with a Recovery Partition, I don't know about you guys but I only use the DVD drive to install an OS.. And the other alternative of course is Internet Recovery..
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Again, it is not a matter of whether streaming and flash based technologies supersede optical/mechanical storage. It does. The question is whether or not 2012 is the appropriate year to deprecate ODDs to external-only offerings.
If 2012 is not the year that this occurs, then when? 2 years? 5 years? It has to be soon, if not 2012, then 2013 or 2014, and it cannot be never. To drop ODDs after the cost/burden exceeds the usefulness is what contemporary vendors do. To do so prior to this is progressive (where Apple wants to be). To do so as soon as flash was released would have been bleeding edge, and I would have been right there beside you chanting "too soon!".
It's probably time. If internal ODDs ship another year, it's not the end of the world, but I would have rather had a slimmer, trimmer, leaner iMac.
F
If 2012 is not the year that this occurs, then when? 2 years? 5 years? It has to be soon, if not 2012, then 2013 or 2014, and it cannot be never. To drop ODDs after the cost/burden exceeds the usefulness is what contemporary vendors do. To do so prior to this is progressive (where Apple wants to be). To do so as soon as flash was released would have been bleeding edge, and I would have been right there beside you chanting "too soon!".
It's probably time. If internal ODDs ship another year, it's not the end of the world, but I would have rather had a slimmer, trimmer, leaner iMac.
F
I confess that I haven't read every post in this thread, as it was getting painful to read. However, I did not spot any reference to the issue that first came to my mind... with this new skinny iMac, where does the RAM go? If we're sacrificing RAM upgradability just to become more "lean", then it's not worth it.
I have to say that I actually like the look of the existing iMac much better than the proposed new one. If I want to see an iPad on my desk, I'll just put my iPad there on it's stand. The only complaint I have about the existing iMac is that the thunderbolt display doesn't match it, for having dual displays.
As for the ODD issue... I've read and read and read on this thread, and I just don't get the issue. Why is the ODD in the iMac so desperately offensive to everyone. You can't even see the thing. Put a piece of tape over it if the slot bothers you. If taking it out will drop the cost $100 or more, sure, get rid of it. If not, why have less machine for the same money? Taking it out is not going to improve the machine any, and it could be handy for legacy apps for a couple of years. The whole argument just seems pointless.
For those of you that said "get an exteral ODD", that just seems to defeat the whole purpose of getting an all-in-one in the first place. Yes, the ODD should disappear eventually, but we don't need to rush to try to limit our capabilities just so we can prove to the world that mac is better. ODD is still alive and kicking in the Windows world, and to some extent, the music industry. If you rip the ODD out of the iMac just so you can puff out your chest and say you did it, all you've done is limit what a mac can do, and how it can be used to replace other environments. You've just added a reason to NOT switch to a mac. It's barely noticeable in there. Leave the poor little drive alone
I have to say that I actually like the look of the existing iMac much better than the proposed new one. If I want to see an iPad on my desk, I'll just put my iPad there on it's stand. The only complaint I have about the existing iMac is that the thunderbolt display doesn't match it, for having dual displays.
As for the ODD issue... I've read and read and read on this thread, and I just don't get the issue. Why is the ODD in the iMac so desperately offensive to everyone. You can't even see the thing. Put a piece of tape over it if the slot bothers you. If taking it out will drop the cost $100 or more, sure, get rid of it. If not, why have less machine for the same money? Taking it out is not going to improve the machine any, and it could be handy for legacy apps for a couple of years. The whole argument just seems pointless.
For those of you that said "get an exteral ODD", that just seems to defeat the whole purpose of getting an all-in-one in the first place. Yes, the ODD should disappear eventually, but we don't need to rush to try to limit our capabilities just so we can prove to the world that mac is better. ODD is still alive and kicking in the Windows world, and to some extent, the music industry. If you rip the ODD out of the iMac just so you can puff out your chest and say you did it, all you've done is limit what a mac can do, and how it can be used to replace other environments. You've just added a reason to NOT switch to a mac. It's barely noticeable in there. Leave the poor little drive alone
I disagree. This is the best thread on this forum. It's less about opinion and more about the relevance of ODD. I think it's an interesting discussion, although the title might still need to be changed.
I think the photographers would be very pissed if this happened.
For those of you that said "get an exteral ODD", that just seems to defeat the whole purpose of getting an all-in-one in the first place. Yes, the ODD should disappear eventually, but we don't need to rush to try to limit our capabilities just so we can prove to the world that mac is better. ODD is still alive and kicking in the Windows world, and to some extent, the music industry. If you rip the ODD out of the iMac just so you can puff out your chest and say you did it, all you've done is limit what a mac can do, and how it can be used to replace other environments. You've just added a reason to NOT switch to a mac. It's barely noticeable in there. Leave the poor little drive alone
Using that logic then we'd have to presume that the iMac shouldn't have "any" USB ports or Firewire or Ethernet because external peripherals could be attached and therefore spoiling the cleanliness of the AIO form factor.
Again there is no right or wrong answer here. Those that want the ODD to remain and no more right or wrong than those that wish it gone. What remains is the effectiveness of the configuration that Apple makes. If the bare drives cost $30 wholesale then based on standard 3x-5x markup means that little drive that you care so little or much about is adding anywhere from $90 to $150 to the price of the computer.
The $100 reduction in Mac mini sans ODD somewhat corroborates this. I don't expect the iMac to see a reduction in price but if it comes without ODD I expect to see the funds applied elsewhere in a faster GPU or SSD in every Mac. The key is finding what is going to have the impact across the largest amount of users and the ODD just isn't up to snuff anymore when you can buy a 16GB USB flash drive for $6 bucks
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With each iMac iteration, I go to the Apple store and put it through it's paces. I will do the same with the expected 2012 version. My PCs have been built locally, to my specs. A roomy tower allows for easy expansion and servicing and does not have heat issues.
The design of the iMac all-in-one is aesthetically pleasing, and I know the new one will be also. But will it be cost-effective compared to the ease of configurability of a tower PC? If the new iMac lacks an ODD, that will be a Huge negative for me as I use my ODD regularly. I dual boot various linux distributions with windows 7, and a CD/DVD for the .iso is easy and handy. Of course, a flash drive can often be used for the installation image.
Maybe the 2012 iMac will be the one to move me into Apple Land, where most in these forums reside. For me, the Mac Pro (Not Macbook Pro) would be ideal...except for the Price. I'm sorry PyStar was destroyed. A reasonably priced tower running some Apple OS was available, which offered the flexibility of a tower.
The design of the iMac all-in-one is aesthetically pleasing, and I know the new one will be also. But will it be cost-effective compared to the ease of configurability of a tower PC? If the new iMac lacks an ODD, that will be a Huge negative for me as I use my ODD regularly. I dual boot various linux distributions with windows 7, and a CD/DVD for the .iso is easy and handy. Of course, a flash drive can often be used for the installation image.
Maybe the 2012 iMac will be the one to move me into Apple Land, where most in these forums reside. For me, the Mac Pro (Not Macbook Pro) would be ideal...except for the Price. I'm sorry PyStar was destroyed. A reasonably priced tower running some Apple OS was available, which offered the flexibility of a tower.
Don't care either way for that, really. I can use the SD card slot, but i wouldn't. That requires taking the card out of my SLR. I keep the transfer cable plugged into my USB, so i just plug the camera up directly and upload to Aperture from there. Easier than messing with the card.
Me too. Only thing I can think of with this is people who take a ton of pictures and have multiples so they are already out of the camera anyway. But with the size of the SD cards anymore that would be a ton of pictures. And if you really want to use it you can buy a USB sd card reader for $5. Makes much more sense to get rid of this than the ODD.
CDs are digital...
#1 reason to drop ODD - to piss off old fuddy duddies who are afraid of change and still apparently think that AOL is the Internet
#1 reason to drop ODD - to piss off old fuddy duddies who are afraid of change and still apparently think that AOL is the Internet