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look at it this way what if you lose your usb cord to your camera. best buy aint going to have that cord for you handy. you will have to order it from the vendor on a 4-6 weeks delivery date. sweet. if dont really care about your vacation or friends wedding pics fo a month to two thats cool, but if you would like to look adjust or share them your s.o.l. yes there are ways around it; that cost money! its a bad flaw not to have. macs are know for pics and vids why limit them. everyone has an sd card everyone. not everyone has a cord to hook up to your mac or their pc. plus move past 4 sd cards can hold some serious gigs no days its a great back up. very disappointed with that. i have 3 macs not one can except at least have the desktops.
 
I'm happy my macs don't waste space with a dedicated SD card slot. For those of us that don't use SD cards, or use SD in addition to other formats, a dedicated SD card reader is unnecessary. There are a bunch of tiny multi-format card readers that are cheap, portable and ubiquitous. I'm content to carry a little card reader and never use the cable that came with my cameras.
 
How do you get your pics off your camera? You have to connect a usb cable from the laptop to the camera? :confused:

In my opinion this is way easier anyway than opening the camera, getting out the card, put it in a card reader, put it out of the card reader, put it back in the camera...

I prefer to just plug in a cable and go. That's my personal preference though.

Anyway just get one of these if you have a mbp:

http://www.amazon.de/34mm-ExpressCard-Card-Reader-für/dp/B000KY6MU8
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
http://www.amazon.de/34mm-ExpressCard-Card-Reader-f%C3%BCr/dp/B000KY6MU8[/url]

Cool solution there...

But really, it's not a big deal... and despite what you try to say, there is no standard in flash memory-

I still use an old sony point and shoot that uses mem stick cards, my current work camera uses SDHC and the camera I'm getting uses compact flash... A USB reader is the way to go...
 
New card formats come out all the time, and old card formats get obsolesced so quickly nowadays -- even SD has been superceded by SDHC, which means I have to toss out my external USB card readers I bought just a couple of years ago.

I assume that Apple only wants to devote precious port space to ports that will get used regularly during the entire lifetime of the laptop. Smart move on their part IMO.
 
Because if they put in an SD slot they need to put in a CF and a microSD and so on.
 
camcorders

Hi, I am looking to buy a canon FS100 camcorder that uses SD cards to put it's film on. As the mac has no SD card slot what would bring out the best quality? Importing the footage by USB cable or by getting an SD card adaptor?
 
Hi, I am looking to buy a canon FS100 camcorder that uses SD cards to put it's film on. As the mac has no SD card slot what would bring out the best quality? Importing the footage by USB cable or by getting an SD card adaptor?

It'll be the same speed either way with those solutions, as they're both USB based. (unless one or the other has a REALLY slow controller)
 
I use a USB reader. Its annoying because I have to remember to bring it with me when I travel (or bring the camera cable). I wish Apple could find a way to include one now that you can buy cards with enough memory to be used as backups or to hold several movies.
 
I laugh when people talk about "breaking the design"

I am typing on a HP business notebook. The SD slot is flush with the body, right below the PCMCIA slot ;) Oh-so conspicuous it is not

A memory card slot of whatever kind can have the slot flush on the body, or hidden by a cover. SD cards are slightly wider than a human thumb. Yes, a huge break in the design :rolleyes:

How many people have sat there and said the SD card slot on their HP/Sony/Thinkpad/Asus/Toshiba/Dell/Acer/Samsung breaks the "design"?
How many people looking to buy would actually say that they refuse to buy because the memory card slot offends their preference for a clean design?

But an adaptor and cable sitting next to their system does not break the design :rolleyes:

And Apple fan boys would be the first to congratulate Apple on joining 2002 the day they finally add a simple SD slot... if that day ever comes
New card formats come out all the time, and old card formats get obsolesced so quickly nowadays -- even SD has been superceded by SDHC, which means I have to toss out my external USB card readers I bought just a couple of years ago.

I assume that Apple only wants to devote precious port space to ports that will get used regularly during the entire lifetime of the laptop. Smart move on their part IMO.
You said it: years. The trauma of having to get the wallet out and buy a new reader that is fabulously expensive at £10 :rolleyes: Anyone with a reader circa 2005 will find SD/SDHC support
I use a USB reader. Its annoying because I have to remember to bring it with me when I travel (or bring the camera cable). I wish Apple could find a way to include one now that you can buy cards with enough memory to be used as backups or to hold several movies.
Sony's top of the range 11.1" ultra portable for years with each refresh have consistently included as standard a multi-card reader, expresscard (used to be PCMCIA) and an optical drive. It most definitely is nothing to do with size constraints
 
Sony's top of the range 11.1" ultra portable for years with each refresh have consistently included as standard a multi-card reader, expresscard (used to be PCMCIA) and an optical drive. It most definitely is nothing to do with size constraints
:confused: I don't think I ever mentioned size constraints. Its just Apple's refusal to add another hole in the case. I agree, I think it sucks.
 
I just use one of these:

sandisk_transfermate_2.jpg


As you can see it works with a good number of different cards.
 
I honestly can't believe that this is a serious issue for anyone. I, for one, am glad that they did not waste space or resources for such an unnecessary addition. And I find it kind of humorous that anyone would think of this as such an important component of laptop design. :rolleyes:
 
Actually, it just depends on preference, and having one/not having one isn't a big issue, but for the best choice (even though I don't care much)
I think it would be good if they HAD one because given the number of USB ports (and how close they are) it would be waste to have a little usb adapter/drive sticking out of there (and taking some space from other ports, given the size), rather then having a tiny card inside the laptop that you can plop out on the go(in a way much safer, you don't bump it into things).

It isn't a OMG feature, since the majority don't even use the actual slots for the cards anyways, I havn't heard anyone talk about this at all anyways...

Comparing this to firewire is NOT a good comparison, firewire is a really good addition, specially since it is faster and stronger then USB, and alot of technologies today are switching to firewire, since it is faster. USB won't catch up to it that quick as far as I know, and that is pretty much the thing holding me back from upgrading to aluminum.
 
The majority of people have either no need for such an addition, or would rarely use it. As many others have said (and it is true for us as well) it is much easier for us to offload content from the SD cards in our cameras while they are still in the cameras.

In all of the time I have been using computers (Mac or PC), I have never once bad a need for an SD slot. It is redundant and unnecessary.
 
I bet the OP is sorry he ever started this thread. For whatever reason, Apple has decided not to include it in any of their systems. My guess is that maybe they want to keep excess slots to a minimum. Until they decide to include it, Mac zealots will claim that their decision to exclude such things is the best idea in the world.

I, for one, miss being able to pop out my memory card and inserting it into my portable. Not having to deal with cables is just more convenient for me. You'll have to accept that Apple has decided not to go with memory card slots and deal with buying a card reader or using the supplied USB cable that came with your camera. :(
 
Ah, very original - disagreement equals "Mac zealot."

I get that you and others might miss that feature. The point is that it is, and will likely remain, a non-issue for the majority of computer users - Mac or PC. I have never had a discussion with anyone who has made a computer or printer choice on the basis of the availability of SD slots. Most people simply do not care.
 
I just use one of these:

sandisk_transfermate_2.jpg


As you can see it works with a good number of different cards.

What sucks about those though is that it takes up both USB ports. I know because I have one just like it. It's too wide and blocks the other port.

I hate how Apple will always sacrifice functionality for design. It sucks. Oh well though, if that's the price I have to pay to use a Mac then so be it.
 
Seems like a pretty weird argument, in my opinion. Almost every peripheral these days is USB... why even bother taking the card out, putting it in your laptop, drag the photos to the desktop and then into iPhoto, then putting the card back in your camera... when all you have to do is connect a USB cable (which iPhoto will automatically detect and then import) and transfer your images that way?

Don't argue just for the sake of arguing.
 
Seems like a pretty weird argument, in my opinion. Almost every peripheral these days is USB... why even bother taking the card out, putting it in your laptop, drag the photos to the desktop and then into iPhoto, then putting the card back in your camera... when all you have to do is connect a USB cable (which iPhoto will automatically detect and then import) and transfer your images that way?

Don't argue just for the sake of arguing.



yep. my thoughts exactly. this also reduces wear and tear on the card + camera itself if you think about it.
 
look at it this way what if you lose your usb cord to your camera. best buy aint going to have that cord for you handy. you will have to order it from the vendor on a 4-6 weeks delivery date. sweet. if dont really care about your vacation or friends wedding pics fo a month to two thats cool, but if you would like to look adjust or share them your s.o.l. yes there are ways around it; that cost money! its a bad flaw not to have. macs are know for pics and vids why limit them. everyone has an sd card everyone. not everyone has a cord to hook up to your mac or their pc. plus move past 4 sd cards can hold some serious gigs no days its a great back up. very disappointed with that. i have 3 macs not one can except at least have the desktops.

HAH! I'm sorry, but your post literally made me "LOL". What type of digital camera do you have that is so proprietary that it doesn't use a standard USB plug? Whether it be mini-usb to USB or otherwise? You do realize that the USB cables that come with your camera aren't special, right? You can use them with any USB device! Imagine that! And you can buy them for cheap at any electronics store. Honest. Trust me. I wouldn't lie to you. :D
 
Seems like a pretty weird argument, in my opinion. Almost every peripheral these days is USB... why even bother taking the card out, putting it in your laptop, drag the photos to the desktop and then into iPhoto, then putting the card back in your camera... when all you have to do is connect a USB cable (which iPhoto will automatically detect and then import) and transfer your images that way?

Don't argue just for the sake of arguing.

Um... actually you can get iPhoto to open automatically if you're using an SD card reader too. quit spreading FUD, many people use SD cards for everything from cameras to Cellphones to organizers. Just like people use e-sata, firewire, and more then 2 USB ports. It's ridiculous how much crap Apple fanboys will take for the "team".
 
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