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Optic drive: obsolete dinosaur destined to extinction? or legacy relic for ever?
- Thread starter xoggyux
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Well my "original" CD/DVDs (the kind that are silver in the bottom side) are very robust and work well most of the time without any problem, but the ones I burn myself.... meh! they are crap, really if I get 70% success when burning them it is a miracle, and if half of those last for the next 6months I'd arrange a party! They are simply crap (It might be my fault, I only buy spindles with 50-100 CD/DVDs and when they are $15-25 only) maybe I am buying cheap (AND BAD) ones, but the only reason I would buy CD/DVDs is because they are cheap to begin with... if I had to pay $40+ for 50-100 DVDs I rather buy a 500GB hdd for ~$50
that guess what... its more reliable, faster, silent, it can be erased, it hold more space it occupies less space and I do not have to buy a $50+ case to protect it.I mean CD/DVDs are crap from the day they were designed. Who thought it was a good Idea for a disk with such a high density should have the surface where it stores the data exposed!?
With all due respect, thats the silliest comment I have heard. You do not want a 1~2 inches long slot for cards but you do want a 4~5 inches long slot for a CD/DVD drive??? You also say that your ibook is light enough for you yet you leave on the table the possibility of buying a ~2000 computer that is underpowered and only benefit is that is light (wich by the way does not have optic drive either, which is what I was suggesting??) 60g is enough right, why would appple bother in including 200GB++ i mean that makes no sense... And you would not take advantange of any of the "substitues" for the optic drive? are you serious? you cannot take advantage of an extra couple of hours of battery in a PORTABLE computer, I mean after all is not supposed to be [battery life] the single MOST important thing in a PORTABLE computer, I mean if people would want POWER then ALIENWARE or any of those dumb brands would have 20% marketshare of laptops and not apple. In the other side the MBA is not the alternative since they battery life leaves much to be desired and it ditches the optic drive and a decent array of ports for what an extra 1lb of weight? After all, it might be my opionion only, but I think the last thing qualifies for portability is the thickness of the laptop (anything under 1.5" is acceptable I think, the only real important thing is a decent weight, decent battery life, decent port array, decent screen size [13+ but less than 16"] ?
And in the otherside this is not something that is likely to happen until at least 2 years (or more if BD disc becomes an standard agrrr..) and as soon as someone makes the first move, you will see literally thousands of companies offering flash/usb alternative to their cd/dvd content....
I mean do you guys remember when apple ditched the floppy disk? did the sky fell over our heads? I am sure at that time people screamed yelled cried etc, but for a months or so, then everyone was happy that the crappy floppy disk was out of the mind, yet dell/hp kept them for years to come and it was actually scary (they looked old despite being brand new at that time) anyway at that time (at least in the PC world) floppy was the only way to boot a computer when HDD/windows failed, there was not USB boot capability or such, if companies would not push it, we would still buy them to have them "just in case" to boot the computer, just for that!!!!
Sounds like a uh... like a hard drive, lol.
Yes, hard drives spin too.
While solid state drives are much much better, and I'd love to have one if I could afford it, they're just way too expensive.
I've also never had any problem losing data from optical media because of a scratch or dust. The only exception would be when I sometimes borrow DVD's from the library, and occasionally they'll skip a little bit in certain parts because they haven't been cared for well by previous users.
And yes, it would be nice to switch over to selling software on flash drives instead of DVD's, but again, it's just too expensive right now. And they also require a lot more material, don't they?
Yeah, the only difference is that the disk inside a hard drive are very well protected, also they have several built in features to protect them from shock also their movement is way more precise reducing vibration.
I've got something that is going to make you guys laugh. For music, I play vinyl records. I've got several thousand collected over time from friends and family, etc. I take good care of them, and each record will only get one play a day to let the grooves set back in. By utilizing this method, the record will last virtually forever.
Back to the subject. I do use my optical drive a lot, but only in the PC, because it can take it. The mac drive is ****, and I'm actually afraid to use it. I think that eventually when bandwith improves optical drives will be removed in favor of online media centers with downloadable content on the go.
Back to the subject. I do use my optical drive a lot, but only in the PC, because it can take it. The mac drive is ****, and I'm actually afraid to use it. I think that eventually when bandwith improves optical drives will be removed in favor of online media centers with downloadable content on the go.
I think I've used my optical drive twice, maaaaybe three times since I got this MacBook Pro, and only that many times in the one this one replaced.
I say offer the option to remove the drive and add a bigger batter, a cell modem, or just more ports (eSATA, FireWire800, full size DVI and DisplayPort).
I say offer the option to remove the drive and add a bigger batter, a cell modem, or just more ports (eSATA, FireWire800, full size DVI and DisplayPort).
Now that you mention, something else I'd like to see at least in the PRO line is support for DUAL monitor (2 EXTERNAL monitors not the internal + external, the internal does not have to work while using 2x external but that would be a great option since now a days you can get 2 22~25" for less than $400 which is a garbain.
Optical disk don't break when you drop them, or submerge in salt water, or spontaneously stop working. They can be easily transferred between computer, is a cheap medium, and definitely very each to use.
I like optical disks thank you very much.
I like optical disks thank you very much.
what about acid, fire, meteors, near absolute zero temperature, radiation, no gravity etc????
Anyway CD/DVD are susceptible against scratch (which happens to be more common for a portable device than dropping them or submerge the in salt water)
While I don't use mine (replaced it with a 2nd hard drive), I don't think that Apple should get rid of them. Most people use them, at least occasionally for cd ripping/installations, and I'd rather have the option of taking it out and using the interface/space for something else than not to.
John
John
Great idea, I'd go even further:
Computer: obsolete dinosaur destined to extinction? or legacy relic for ever?
Leave out everything and let's just give apple 2000 bucks for the 2 stickers.
Computer: obsolete dinosaur destined to extinction? or legacy relic for ever?
Leave out everything and let's just give apple 2000 bucks for the 2 stickers.
Yes, but they're SO SLOW! You can only burn once, and if you get DVD-RWs that already have data, it takes longer burn, you need third party software (usually), and they're more expensive than regular DVDs. Flash is so much faster, uses less power, is cost effective, and to top it off, it's silent.
Just be sure not to submerge your flash drive in salt water.
Blu-ray is pretty scratch resistant. i think that it is going to be a long long time before we see the end of the optical discs. reason being a dvd, blu-ray, or cd sitting in a case on the shelf will not just randomly erase itself or fail. yes you have to take care of them just as you have to take care of your HDD or flash drive. so until we get to the point that HDD dont fail, we will have the discs.
I was thinking to replace the optical drive in the coming days for a second hard drive, but I want to either install windows 7 or xp for next semester and a couple of apps that need windows. Can you install windows on a second hard drive? or for that matter, can I install it in a partition on my main hard drive without an optical drive?
That is kind of the same justification people would say when manufaturers stopped including floppy disks (in fact if i can remember well apple just stopped putting flopy on their products from one day to another way before other manufacturers did the same, and many people complained at first, but if something like that would not happen we would still have them, same with parallel port, com port, ps2 port, etc) beside what you do (exchange of files) is done way better with USB thumb drives which are faster, silent, smaller, will conserve your battery, are more reliable, and unless one of the computers is 15 years old or use windows 95
There's ummm... a pretty big difference between a 1.44MB floppy drive in 1998 and a 700MB CD or 4.7-9.4 GB DVD (which lets you watch movies on your computer) in 2009.
It's not a good idea. They already did it with the air, if you want one, fine, go for it. But how the hell are we going to watch the DVDs we already own on our computers (train, planes, if nothing else) without a DVD drive? Or uh... burn a DVD? Kinda hard without one.
Not sure why you'd call this an epiphany, it's been thought of many times before....
this is a good point because i am forced to keep my DVD collection beside Uranium-239 due to lack of space
Leave it in and just improve the build quality of the unit. I use mine a lot and to have to carry an external drive around to places is more of a pain than a helping hand. Also most of my clients that get cds 1) ask for them 2) there cars have cd players 3) they get them asap and I don't have to mail or email something that can get destroyed after I give it and before they get it 4) most of the population isn't cutting edge contrary to wishful thinking and are very happy with cds/dvds at this time and the somewhat distant future.
Last, all the reasons for cds/dvs being destroyed can apply to other methods as history has proven all things can fail at the most inopportune times. So far they are cheap, a tremendous amount of folks use them every day and given the example in the thread, if giving photos and other stuff needs to distributed to many a cd/dvd is a great way to do it since my thumb drive hasn't found a way to split itself into at least four
Last, all the reasons for cds/dvs being destroyed can apply to other methods as history has proven all things can fail at the most inopportune times. So far they are cheap, a tremendous amount of folks use them every day and given the example in the thread, if giving photos and other stuff needs to distributed to many a cd/dvd is a great way to do it since my thumb drive hasn't found a way to split itself into at least four
I dont use mine much on my MBP (its broke anyway and I cant send my laptop in for replacement, Id be without it far too long) and use an external in the mean time but I would not buy a computer that did not have an optical drive. Too many things require it one time (software installs).
Actually I lie I have 3 eeePC's and none of them have an optical drive.
Actually I lie I have 3 eeePC's and none of them have an optical drive.
I would like the option for a bigger battery, faster CPU (hotter, more cooling), and/or a second hard drive.
I say get rid of it on the laptops and just include that nice MBA optical drive.
The only time I use a disc is to install an OS (so like every 2 years), rip a CD (6 times a year, usually like 3 in one sitting), install some high end program like photoshop (every 3 years), install a game (I'm on a Mac, 0, lol), burn a DVD home video or music CD (3 times a year), never watch movies on my computer but if I did I would rip them.
And the thing is everytime I do this I'm at home, I never need an optical disk on the road. As long as the laptop gets either:lighter, longer battery, or more powerful then I'm all for this. Lugging around a disc drive is pointless. Too bad the MBA has to be so crippled, otherwise I would get one.
The only time I use a disc is to install an OS (so like every 2 years), rip a CD (6 times a year, usually like 3 in one sitting), install some high end program like photoshop (every 3 years), install a game (I'm on a Mac, 0, lol), burn a DVD home video or music CD (3 times a year), never watch movies on my computer but if I did I would rip them.
And the thing is everytime I do this I'm at home, I never need an optical disk on the road. As long as the laptop gets either:lighter, longer battery, or more powerful then I'm all for this. Lugging around a disc drive is pointless. Too bad the MBA has to be so crippled, otherwise I would get one.