You sound like a tosser now chief.
There is a world of difference between floppies and DVDs.
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Why don't apple kill the superdrive?
- Thread starter aibo82
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You sound like a tosser now chief.
There is a world of difference between floppies and DVDs.
I'm pretty happy with it as-is. I really do burn and watch enough DVDs to justify the existing drive, and I have no interest in blu-ray.
Move On? Haha do you realise what you're saying? Around 80% (guestimated) of useful software today is on DVD's. Films, Music, Software... the list goes on.
Mac's are supposed to be simple, easy to use. Do you really think Jobs would jeopardise that? When a consumer buys a computer, then buys some software for it, only to realise that they've just wasted their money thanks to the removal of a Superdrive. They'll be outraged, and that's an understatement.
The market is nowhere near removing superdrives or blueray. It's not going to happen for the next 4-8 years. In order for Steve to make that transition, all software, all music and all anything which can be bought on CD/DVD would have to make the change to flash too. Furthermore, the Apple store ONLY sells their software onto DVD's, so Steve would single handedly destroy a large portion of his organisations income. Are you really that naieve?
Stop dreaming. You don't realise the extent of what you're saying.
Off topic : despite getting a Mac in the next week, I wish Adobe would facepalm Apple by refusing CS5 for Mac. I'd love to see Jobs's face then!
Yeah they hold more storage so do blueray! why aint we using blueray to store software!
Because theres the internet! its not a useful format anymore! should I have kept my betamax just incase I wanted to drag it from the attic to record granny a film?
And theres no need to call me a tosser im not comparing one format to another! im saying ALL removable mechanical storage is past its best WE HAVE USB KEYS and the INTERNET!
And we said the same about VHS! and Tape Storage and morse code! things are changeing!
Google TV
Sony internet TV
Ipads, Ipods Mp3 players!
Solid state storage
Sky+ boxes with endless recording
USB flash drives
None Mechanical Non Degrading storage smaller and faster!
If the market takes up flash storage the prices would plummet like blue-ray now!
Optical storage is cheep to output films music and media but the internet is FREE! welcome to the revolution that is ITUNES and the like!
OPTICAL IS DEAD FROM NEXT YEAR TRUST ME! we want our movies yesterday! same with music thats why there spending millions updateing internet networks! soon as thats done endless lists of films and music on your internet tv streamed!
Its not far away sony already have an internet tv and we have iplayer on freeview sky and xbox360!
Even PS3 and Xbox is connected to the web for games!
Upload it all to itunes to buy! removing jobs cost of putting it on DVD!
"When a consumer buys a computer, then buys some software for it, only to realise that they've just wasted their money thanks to the removal of a Superdrive"
You think a consumer is that thick? Oh yeah Ill go by a wii game for my xbox tommrow! if the computer has been sold without the supperdrive they aint going to sell the software in that format are they to buy!
Like I dont buy an app for my Iphone on a CD!
Trust you? Who are you to trust?
I am saying it WILL happen, but not in the next 2-3 years. It won't. It's too big of a change.
Okay sorry Mr. Pedantic. Let me change the example for you so you can address it better, because clearly your so narrow minded as to just attack my words and not this overall situation. What happens if they had some old Mac software on a DVD? I am talking the average consumer... not the kind of people you find on these forums. My mum, my dad, they both love computers to death but bless their souls they couldn't get over a problem like this without help. I refer to them, because they are what the average consumer knows about a computer.
Incrementally, yeah this will happen. But I am saying it won't the next 2-3 years.
I can definitely see a version of steam for software in the future.in the future
However you are being realistic if you think it should have been featured in this update.
Show me ONE piece of software that you can buy on flash storage.
Case dismissed.
Specs:
Core i7 quad core
Temperature stays at 60C max due to massively improved fan size (they're bigger than 17 inch fans), idle temps are like 30 and fans spin at only 1500 rpm.
Right:
MagSafe power port
Gigabit Ethernet port
One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
Mini DisplayPort
Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
SD card slot
Audio line in
Audio line out
Kensington lock slot
Left
One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
One FireWire 400 port (up to 800 Mbps)
Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
HDMI port
Battery life 20 hours.
CDRom should go. I don't even use CDROM to install OS X anymore, I use a USB key. The last time I used a CDROM... well I've used it once since I bought my MBP, reinstalling Leopard. But the second I figured out how to install from a USB key, I threw out my CDs.
What Apple should do in the next 2-3 years is launch a highly optimized CDROM-less MBP (heck even the 13 inch can get core i5 and dual graphics without the CDROM) Sell an external CDROM for those stragglers, launch App store for OS X (ie you can buy Photoshop CS5 straight online and download a 4 gig file) Sell OS X on a 4gb aluminum USB key (apple ID of course)
Optical media will still have its place for at least a few more years.
1. Optical media is still cheaper to mass-produce than USB thumb drives.
2. It will be quite a while before most of the connected world will have broadband Internet fast enough to download large files like movies and big applications in an acceptable time frame. Even on relatively fast connections, downloading 50GB worth of content for a suite of apps like Final Cut Studio takes more than just a while.
3. Watch an iTunes-purchased 720p HD movie on a large, 50-inch+ flat panel display. Then watch the same movie on Blu-ray using the same display. There is NO comparison. And it's not just 720p vs. 1080p. There's also 10x the bitrate and thus significantly less digital artifacting.
Optical drives are still a necessity on most laptops, whether you like it or not. Sure, the MBA doesn't have one - but Apple still sells an external USB SuperDrive for those who don't have the means to do that disc over network thing with another Mac whenever you need install disc-based software.
1. Optical media is still cheaper to mass-produce than USB thumb drives.
2. It will be quite a while before most of the connected world will have broadband Internet fast enough to download large files like movies and big applications in an acceptable time frame. Even on relatively fast connections, downloading 50GB worth of content for a suite of apps like Final Cut Studio takes more than just a while.
3. Watch an iTunes-purchased 720p HD movie on a large, 50-inch+ flat panel display. Then watch the same movie on Blu-ray using the same display. There is NO comparison. And it's not just 720p vs. 1080p. There's also 10x the bitrate and thus significantly less digital artifacting.
Optical drives are still a necessity on most laptops, whether you like it or not. Sure, the MBA doesn't have one - but Apple still sells an external USB SuperDrive for those who don't have the means to do that disc over network thing with another Mac whenever you need install disc-based software.
Not only that but downloading software can led to corrupt files during the transfer. If this happens you have to contact the sever admin or someone at customer service to get this corrected. Not exactly convenient.
I would prefer to keep a hard copy of important software in my hands, not on some cloud server. But that is just my opinion. It would be nice if Apple would make this a BTO option.
If you got rid of the optical drive on Mac laptops, plenty of folks on here would bitch an whine about it.
The Spec Whores would see it as yet another thing that a Vaio or a Dell has that a Macbook doesn't (a la "It doesn't even have a DVD drive, never mind a Blu Ray!!). Travelling students / business people would bitch because they couldn't watch a DVD on the road and then there would be plenty of other people complaining because they can't burn a disk when they want without having to buy an external drive.
This would lead to accusations of Apple ripping off their customers for taking something away that was there before and making them pay for it, just like people complain about the express card on the 15" MBPs now. Ditto Firewire 400.
The Spec Whores would see it as yet another thing that a Vaio or a Dell has that a Macbook doesn't (a la "It doesn't even have a DVD drive, never mind a Blu Ray!!). Travelling students / business people would bitch because they couldn't watch a DVD on the road and then there would be plenty of other people complaining because they can't burn a disk when they want without having to buy an external drive.
This would lead to accusations of Apple ripping off their customers for taking something away that was there before and making them pay for it, just like people complain about the express card on the 15" MBPs now. Ditto Firewire 400.
But this time it wouldn't be a ripoff. The tradeoff is huge: over a THIRD more battery capacity, gobs and gobs of more space for the logic board and cooling(a GPU worth looking at, quad core i7), all because they omitted archaic technology that literally is an eyesore inside the MBP case.
They should either include it externally or offer it for stragglers to buy like the MBA. Its thin enough to throw in a bag if you really need it, and your MBP will have an absolutely killer battery or class-leading performance(for once)...or both!
I've been waiting for Arrandale since forever but I've decided that it is pointless for me to drop another three grand on a laptop until technology actually advances. As soon as what I described above happens, I'll buy another Apple laptop.
I have to say I've never really thought about this but in reality, I never use the Superdrive on my iMac for anything. Can't even remember when it was last used--perhaps a year ago. So I guess I would at least consider the option of not having an optical drive if that option were available.
As a student I find myself using my superdrive a reasonable amount, as I have to submit a copy of my work on disc. Aside from that the only time I've had a use for the thing is to install an operating system and I find that I'd rather do THAT from a USB device.
I know I'm not the norm, but I'd much rather have my hardware in my MBP was hardware i would actually use, ideally a bigger battery and, if possible, a second hard drive, with something akin to a MBA style disk drive so that, when I need it I can use it.
I know I'm not the norm, but I'd much rather have my hardware in my MBP was hardware i would actually use, ideally a bigger battery and, if possible, a second hard drive, with something akin to a MBA style disk drive so that, when I need it I can use it.
Specs:
Core i7 quad core
Temperature stays at 60C max due to massively improved fan size (they're bigger than 17 inch fans), idle temps are like 30 and fans spin at only 1500 rpm.
Right:
MagSafe power port
Gigabit Ethernet port
One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
Mini DisplayPort
Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
SD card slot
Audio line in
Audio line out
Kensington lock slot
Left
One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
One FireWire 400 port (up to 800 Mbps)
Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
HDMI port
Battery life 20 hours.
CDRom should go. I don't even use CDROM to install OS X anymore, I use a USB key. The last time I used a CDROM... well I've used it once since I bought my MBP, reinstalling Leopard. But the second I figured out how to install from a USB key, I threw out my CDs.
What Apple should do in the next 2-3 years is launch a highly optimized CDROM-less MBP (heck even the 13 inch can get core i5 and dual graphics without the CDROM) Sell an external CDROM for those stragglers, launch App store for OS X (ie you can buy Photoshop CS5 straight online and download a 4 gig file) Sell OS X on a 4gb aluminum USB key (apple ID of course)
Wow now thats the macbook pro! you just forgot the 3g wan! and touchscreen IPS display
As some have said, installation via optical media is still an issue. I have test machines and imaging/restoring aside, I often need to install fresh from media -- and, unfortunately, it often involves Windows. Not to mention the need for occasionally burning optical media for other devices/uses. Personally I'm not a fan of "the cloud" or being dependent upon a network connection of any sort in order to acquire data (consider ones who travel regularly via airplane or whatever). Granted the whole USB thing is potentially more portable (given enough storage) and arguably cooler, however flash is also more expensive than optical media for the time being. Just my 2¢.
The Internet is not free. It costs a lot of money to maintain the infrastructure and servers to run a successful downloading site. The costs will continue to rise as demand goes up. You also have to consider the costs that local ISP's will incur as customers start to use mega amounts of bandwidth to download huge HD files.
I support download for a lot of media, however when it comes to enjoying an HD movie there is no match for the quality of Blu-ray. The only way to get that kind of quality is if we want to be stuck downloading files that approach 50 GB or use much more expensive flash media. It will be a long time until we can sustain the kind of bandwidth to make downloading a file that large fast and easy.
For you, maybe. But there's plenty of people complaining that they don't care about battery life and they'd prefer more power draining bleeding edge hardware like quad CPU's and top end GPU's. Wanting the space for something else like an extra HD or bigger battery is just another variation on a theme that goes along the lines of "My mac would be perfect if only it had xxxxx"
I guess it just goes to show how difficult it is to get the specs right on a system.....But I honestly think more would complain about the loss of the superdrive than celebrate it's demise. Personally speaking, I find the Superdrive on my Macbook useful. I've used it to make CD's for hire cars when on holidays, rippping CDs and DVDs and backing stuff up / making copies of files for other people in situ. I guess it's all subjective.
It's even harder with major ISPs like Comcast and Time Warner limiting folks to 250GB and 30GB a month, respectively.