No Optical Drive in Next Mac Pro Refresh

[Davy.Shalom]

So it has been speculated that there will be no optical drive(s) in the next refresh of the Mac Pro. I presume the Mac Pro will be entirely redesigned, or shrunken down to about the size of a PowerMac G4.

What are your thoughts on the optical drive omission?

 

[ChristianVirtual]

Optical devices don't have a place in Apple's view of the world anymore. Maybe it survive as a BTO option. Or attached via USB/TB.

 

[steveOooo]

It's fairly redundant - Ive used mine around 2-3 times in 10months

I think it's just easier to have a USB DVD / bluray burner with your blank discs and take it out whenever you need to burn a disc / author a DVD for a client etc

Jus stick a 2x ssd 2.5" slot(s) in there - much more useful

 

[ekwipt]

barely ever use it, i turn most of software disks into images once and then store the DVDs, so an external USB would do me fine

 

[ScottishCaptain]

Sure, as long as they maintain the option to use one externally.

I use mine all the time, but I don't care if they're internal or external. External drives tend to be higher quality anyways, the ones Apple ships as "Superdrives" today are just rebranded LG units- they retail for under $20 elsewhere and the quality is absolutely pathetic.

I would be displeased to learn that they're dropping support for booting from optical drives in EFI, or otherwise constricting OS X's burner support to official Apple USB optical drives instead.

-SC

 

[YosemiteSam]

I need it. I use it all the time. I understand why other users may not care or may not need it at all, but I think it should still be there in a Pro/workstation machine (which is supposed to provide you all the I/O you need). Do you have any idea how much "pro" (and other) software I have that installs off of optical discs?

I wouldn't mind if it's a BTO option or something, but I'll be pretty mad/frustrated (but not necessarily surprised) if Apple doesn't include it. You know, because Apple seems to have such a great idea of what I do and don't need (that's sarcasm).

I wish they'd make it a blu-ray drive too, but I know that's not going to happen.

I also realize that I can add an external optical drive. But that's stupid to me when an internal bay is already there, and when I've already got a ton of other external peripherals. There's room in the box. It costs Apple maybe a couple dollars to put it in. The Mac Pro is not an iPhone- I don't need my machine to be small and constantly shrinking from iteration to iteration. I don't see any benefit to removing it.

 

[d-m-a-x]

External is fine just as long as burning is still supported in the Os. I burn camera raw files to blu ray, put the discs in a cool dark drawer, then erase from my hard drive. Saves a lot of money. I also have found discs are just as, if not more reliable than hard drives for long term storage.

 

[Spacedust]

The should put the same drive which is for MacBook Air but builtin at the top of the case. It would look awesome and take only a bit of space.

 

[xgman]

My thoughts are good riddance to the awful archaic technology! I hate having to suffer through using a burner for anything.

 

[mr.iso]

Do you have any idea how much "pro" (and other) software I have that installs off of optical discs?

But how many times do you actually install that software?

 

[Small White Car]

I would certainly be happy with a slot-loading drive. I'd expect at least that to happen.

These days I only ever use the drive to burn a master video DVD. I then take that master over to a duplicator machine. I probably make 500 or so disks per year. I wouldn't be doing that in my tower.

So, ironically, I don't see a huge need for a burner in a tower because I burn a lot of disks...too many to ever do in the computer itself.

Even if they removed it and made me pull out a USB burner for those masters...oh well. I really wouldn't mind that.

 

[Dustman]

This would be a dumb omission on a Mac Pro. Are they trying to save space? lol That said, an external on a desktop isn't a big deal. I just hope they compensate on the price of the machine.

 

[725032]

the optical drive is dead

 

[wildgiles]

It would certainly be harder to please some of my clients without a DVD burner. IF, IF internet was a lot cheaper and faster I could forgo the DVD burning for clients.

 

[ActionableMango]

A slim slot drive would be fine. Or even an empty bay would be fine. I'm willing to roll my own.

Don't care for externals. It's that kind of thinking that leads one to remove all the HDD bays too, and just have a rat's nest of external drives connected to a plethora of AC/DC wall warts, USB cables, firewire cables, and I suppose Thunderbolt cables.

 

[ssgbryan]

Well, the optical drive isn't dead for me.

The iCloud nonsense is totally dependent on your ISP. Which in my case means that the DVD is going to be used for a very long time.

 

[twietee]

A slim slot drive would be fine. Or even an empty bay would be fine. I'm willing to roll my own.

Don't care for externals. It's that kind of thinking that leads one to remove all the HDD bays too, and just have a rat's nest of external drives connected to a plethora of AC/DC wall warts, USB cables, firewire cables, and I suppose Thunderbolt cables.

I'm with you. Just let me plug in my Blu Ray drive and everybody is happy!
And I also don't get why people do like their cables soo much.

 

[goMac]

Apple killed floppies on the Power Mac at around the same time they were dropped off the other Macs. Wouldn't surprise me.

Most people will use thumb drives anyway. We're all mostly doing it these days anyway.

 

[theSeb]

I'm with you. Just let me plug in my Blu Ray drive and everybody is happy!
And I also don't get why people do like their cables soo much.

You can already plug in your BR drive

 

[Peace]

If there is a new Mac Pro my guess . Since it is the last of the professional macs. It will have blu-ray read/write optical bay.

 

[twietee]

You can already plug in your BR drive

I know that, but not so sure what you mean as the thread is about no optical drive in the next refresh.

 

[dkersten]

I seriously doubt that the next Mac Pro will not have an optical drive.

And what's with people continually saying that the Mac Pro won't get refreshed. Didn't Apple specifically say in a PR statement that the Mac Pro would be completely refreshed by the end of next year?

 

[twietee]

It's hard to imagine a MacPro without an optical drive.
But I would be really surprised if the 2013 'Pro-thing' wouldn't have a radical redesign. My speculation is, and I hope I'm wrong, that they don't want to redesign that case 1-2 years later (we all know how Apple hates discs) so they kill it right away. The cMBP will phase out soon as well. But who knows.

 

[theSeb]

I know that, but not so sure what you mean as the thread is about no optical drive in the next refresh.

Even if there is no optical drive in the next Mac pro, you will still be able to plug in a BR drive - it might have to be an external one though.

 

[marzer]

As more Macs are built sans OD, the more Apple grows the list of Macs compatible with the Apple External DVD drive.

I know optical media is still a commonly used media but it is on the decline. Besides, external DVD drives are so friggin' cheap.