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Poll: Could you live without an optical drive?
- Thread starter Forgeron
- Start date
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The reason the 13" MacBook Pro doesn't have a Core i3/i5/i7 is that NVIDIA isn't allowed to make a chipset (integrated GPU or not) that corresponds to the Core i chips. Look it up. That's also why we still have Core 2 Duo Macs on the market. It has nothing to do with the fact that an optical drive is still being used on it. Integraded being there instead of discrete, I'll grant you due to space constraints, so add at least 0.2" to the thickness and then problem solved.
The iMac doesn't either for some reason, and hasn't since they moved from plastic exteriors to aluminum. I miss it too; it's nice to know if the damn thing is asleep or just off.
true they increase the thickness, which will slightly increase the weight.. but our society isn't bent on thick things. they want slim things. and thats Apple.. they wont add thickness if they dont have to (that's their mentality).. they will have pleasure in slimming things down, but adding thickness somehow irks them and us mentally.
think about it this way.. if you were given the option of having a better graphics card and .2 inches of thickness, would you buy it? here is where an answer of "maybe" comes in. with all these reviews and details of curent gen MBP's, even if they add some thickness, people might hesitate in buying it, because of how their brain thinks.. now if they shave off a .2 inches, more people will buy it, why? slimmer and better..
0.2 inches doesn't seem a lot, but there will be a sig. difference when comparing the two generations. its like the iphones. the first iphone everyone loved, then the next one came out and was sleeker and a little bit slimmer. then the next one and it was different but was a tad bit slimmer. then the current gen iphones are the sleekest, slimmest, and sexiest and yada yada yada.. but if we look at the ratings and the products sold we can very well see that the next gen. model has better sales and a lot of reviewers focus on the design of the device.,
the thing i think the poster was mentioning (the one you replied to) is that if the OD was removed we would have much more room for a MBP 15" like switchable graphics card.. which means the best of both worlds. Nvidia and an i processor.
now i agree that OD's are important but it would be interesting to try the MBP without an OD? it wont be the AIr as it would perform faster and better upgrades and have features that are worthwhile (backlit keyboard, etc)...
apple wants money and to get money that have to satisfy peoples aesthetic desires- making devices look sexier and slimmer. and that is why people have macs and they love it. you look at a PC and they look plain crappy, i mean the trackpad looks weird and some keyboards are horrible.. but you have to admit Apple goes on the looks mostly (and it does have some great features.. but majority on looks?) <= thats me saying as a PC user...
as a PC user who hasnt had a mac ever and is waiting for the next upgrade.. what is the sleep LED.. is it the apple logo that goes off when its in sleep mode?
There are many pics that show the difference between the circuit boards of the MBP 13 and the MBP 15 which does have the i5/i5. The MBP 13 simply does not have the room for the 3 chip design used in the MBP 15 and MPB 17. Removing the SuperDrive from the MBP 13 would provide the additional space required for the additional chip.
See this link.
One of the coolest and most subtle features of the unibody MacBook Pros is an LED light on the fron of the bottom. It is pretty much invisible until it gos on and has this pulsating light.
Check it out on the Apple Site here. Second paragraph down on the right side.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arln4xe_e_8&feature=related
it basically indicates that the computer is asleep/stand by. just one of the many nice things about macbook pro
That's absurd. Very few people I know (and again, I work with tons upon tons of Mac users) would care about it being slightly thicker. Very few of them would even notice. Only those drinking Jobs' Koolaid about thinness would care and they're probably better suited owning a MacBook Air anyway.
i would not mind if it gets a extra feet in thickness , i also dont care if a laptop weight is 1 kilo or 5 kilo , as one thing i ask from a laptop is durability , thats why i still got a toughbook , i could drop it from second floor down and it would not even get a dent
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCFHVXdSCfs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCFHVXdSCfs&feature=related
I'd like to see you reinstall the OS without a Disk drive. Tried to do that on a Dell netbook a while back without a drive, not an easy task.
I personally wouldn't want to download the OS from some server, or be reliant on an external DVD drive particularly on the move, kind of defeats the mobile aspect carrying extra junk around with you.
If the OS needs reinstalling on the move, I got is a disc in my pack, but no dvd drive, damn I'm screwed.
I don't understand the fascination with wanting the drive gone. It serves more purpose than a PC without one.
Peace.
I personally wouldn't want to download the OS from some server, or be reliant on an external DVD drive particularly on the move, kind of defeats the mobile aspect carrying extra junk around with you.
If the OS needs reinstalling on the move, I got is a disc in my pack, but no dvd drive, damn I'm screwed.
I don't understand the fascination with wanting the drive gone. It serves more purpose than a PC without one.
Peace.
We want to have better CPU and GPU - they are 100x more important that superdrive which we use only for OS reinstallation.
Since Mac OS X Lion, we will not use DVDs for reinstallation.
That means that superdrive is just EATING the space, without any benefit.
PolycarbonatePie-junkies can buy an external drive - it's really cheap (29$)
Having played with the new Airs for the first time last weekend I have to say that the 13" is still too heavy and the 11" is damn cute but underpowered, they only had the 1.4 on display so don't know how much better the 1.6 is.
But I guess you could live with a 15" MB Pro if it was that thin but it will never happen, you'll need to loose so much, so there will be no point in ditching the DVD drive.
I would like the backlit keyboard and all the ports, also expandable memory and the option to change the hard drive but you could loose these things and you could loose power to low voltage components too so it doesn't overheat!
But I guess you could live with a 15" MB Pro if it was that thin but it will never happen, you'll need to loose so much, so there will be no point in ditching the DVD drive.
I would like the backlit keyboard and all the ports, also expandable memory and the option to change the hard drive but you could loose these things and you could loose power to low voltage components too so it doesn't overheat!
No, if Apple ditch the DVD drive then you can gauarantee they will half the thickness or something stupid and then you won't get any powerful graphics because it'll overheat! There is no point in ditching the superdrive, none, nadda, if they do then Apple will just stick more battery's in, no way in hell will they ever give you more powerful graphic then present, they've had several years to do that and haven't done yet.
Apple will have to upgrade the GPU (if don't want to lose the customers)
It can be done easily by ditching the superdrive.
There's no need in reducing the thickness of MBP;
they can just use the space more wisely than now
(by replacing superdrive and old GPU with new really PRO GPU)
CD/DVD is a technology from the old millennium,
I don't need it inside my shiny MBP SB.
It can be done easily by ditching the superdrive.
There's no need in reducing the thickness of MBP;
they can just use the space more wisely than now
(by replacing superdrive and old GPU with new really PRO GPU)
CD/DVD is a technology from the old millennium,
I don't need it inside my shiny MBP SB.
It should be an option - an optical drive or a second hd. This will not happen though, because we all know how apple likes option.
I use my optical drive daily, and will put a second one in my Mac Pro some time soon. I also use the drive in my mbp qite often when I'm on the go.
1. I get data cds or dvds quite often from the people I work with.
2. I prefer to buy a dvd over downloadable movies because it's way cheaper and I like to have my movie collection in a physical form. I think my shelf full of dvds looks very nice. I don't care about bluray though.
3. Most games still require to have the disk in the drive. Yes it's stupid, but that's the way it is. As with the dvds, I also like the shelf with my games collection. Plus download speeds are not so great here in Austria, to download a 10 gb game from steam I need to leave my Mac Pro running during the night. It's way more comfortable to just go to the store, buy and play immediately.
4. It's still cheaper to rent a dvd from the store. I have to walk 5 minutes to get one. Plus I can chat with the storekeeper and I support a small local business vs. a big multinational corporation.
5. I don't care about a laptop being 1 mm thinner.
I use my optical drive daily, and will put a second one in my Mac Pro some time soon. I also use the drive in my mbp qite often when I'm on the go.
1. I get data cds or dvds quite often from the people I work with.
2. I prefer to buy a dvd over downloadable movies because it's way cheaper and I like to have my movie collection in a physical form. I think my shelf full of dvds looks very nice. I don't care about bluray though.
3. Most games still require to have the disk in the drive. Yes it's stupid, but that's the way it is. As with the dvds, I also like the shelf with my games collection. Plus download speeds are not so great here in Austria, to download a 10 gb game from steam I need to leave my Mac Pro running during the night. It's way more comfortable to just go to the store, buy and play immediately.
4. It's still cheaper to rent a dvd from the store. I have to walk 5 minutes to get one. Plus I can chat with the storekeeper and I support a small local business vs. a big multinational corporation.
5. I don't care about a laptop being 1 mm thinner.
If it's possible for them to use the extra space from taking away the optical drive to improve cooling, that would be ideal for me. That way, they could put a better graphics card in the system. I'm not sure how feasible that is, but I'll put some faith in the Apple engineers.
That said, I would still need to buy the external optical drive. I wouldn't use it every day, but I still would use it enough where I can't completely rid myself of an optical drive.
That said, I would still need to buy the external optical drive. I wouldn't use it every day, but I still would use it enough where I can't completely rid myself of an optical drive.
I voted a couple of years. Personally I can foresee myself using optical until internet connections are universally fast all over the world, and until the quality of downloadable films is on par with bluray. I don't mean "equivalent" in the same way that a 256kbps AAC is "equivalent" to an uncompressed CD track, I mean the same bitrate, the same quality.
It's just quite clear what Apple want. Remove optical media - get the majority of people (sales of the external Superdrive) buying their music and films from iTunes.
The way I see it - if you want a optical drive-less Mac get a MBA. The MBP is the flagship, everything-in-one laptop.
But if their prosumer laptop goes the way of the MBA and they start removing necessary features to simply "make it lighter, make it smaller" then they will lose me as a customer (and gain a thousand more).
It's just quite clear what Apple want. Remove optical media - get the majority of people (sales of the external Superdrive) buying their music and films from iTunes.
The way I see it - if you want a optical drive-less Mac get a MBA. The MBP is the flagship, everything-in-one laptop.
But if their prosumer laptop goes the way of the MBA and they start removing necessary features to simply "make it lighter, make it smaller" then they will lose me as a customer (and gain a thousand more).
I voted Yes, but...
Yes as long as we get a discrete GPU and SSD also in 13" MacBook Pro.
We do not need another half inch thin 13" sub-notebook/netbook, we have Airs for that.
I want a 13" pro laptop with at least: 256g SSD, a dual/quad core i5 and a up-to-date GPU (mobility radeon HD6000 or nVidia equivalent).
I'd accept a 5-7hrs battery and 1" thickness, but i want a decent GPU also on the 13"....
Yes as long as we get a discrete GPU and SSD also in 13" MacBook Pro.
We do not need another half inch thin 13" sub-notebook/netbook, we have Airs for that.
I want a 13" pro laptop with at least: 256g SSD, a dual/quad core i5 and a up-to-date GPU (mobility radeon HD6000 or nVidia equivalent).
I'd accept a 5-7hrs battery and 1" thickness, but i want a decent GPU also on the 13"....
what is actually all the fuss about , thin thinner thinnest is alright for people who just and only surf the web and send emails , anybody who does want some serious work and spend that kind of money want to see in theory a fully fledged desktop all in one computer in shape of a laptop , and personally as handy as flashdrives ,external harddrives are for backups , i still want a backup on dvd of my data ,and dont want to carry around external drives all the time , as we all know a good dvd lasts years ,some harddrives dont even last weeks , and no warranty will help you if the data is lost , i have even some floppy's with old data from the early 90's , ok i have everything on dvd by now too , but just in case for the unlike event a dvd would become unreadable i keep even the floppy's , just in case my newer Mac's break down , i still could get on my data using a old Mac or with floppy disk drive like my powerMac 5500 from 97`
so i could not do without a optical drive on any laptop or desktop
so i could not do without a optical drive on any laptop or desktop