Lack of a DVD drive option is terrible. Agree?

[hexonxonx]

Since I bought my first Mac in back in July of 2007, I have only used the DVD drive when I wanted to reinstall the OS or Windows in Bootcamp.

I have never rented a DVD and last time I rented, it was a tape at Blockbuster sometime in the 90s. I buy all my TV shows and movies in HD on iTunes and if I can't find it on iTunes, newsgroups solve that problem.

Last time I even bought a DVD was about 2007 and I last bought a CD sometime back in the 90s and that was for someone else for Christmas.

I have no use for DVDs or CDs.

Though it will be a few more months before I can buy one, my next computer will be an Mac Mini. Won't miss the optical drive at all.

 

[sapporobaby]

Oh you must be in a good mood today giving me such excellent tips. Whats ur recommendation for somebody being 6"5 and weighing 163 pounds?Can you give me some good ideas for a trainings plan

Back on Topic, I think the only reasons I use my disc drive for, is to install software and import music. However since I have ripped over all of my music to itunes now and most software can be installed over the web I personally don't see much use in them.

Well, I would start some sort of weight training program if you are interested in gaining mass. Eating carbs and protein is a must.

As for the disc drive, DVD R-RW, can be had for a song. It seems as the OP didn't do his homework and now wants to come here to complain due to buyers remorse. Also, seems strange that the OP has not stopped back with another epic missive..

 

[chrono1081]

I disagree (with the original post not the one above me). Many people just don't use optical media anymore but could benefit from more hard drive space or a larger battery that could fill the void where the drive once was.

Optical media just doesn't store enough data for many uses today. I have ZBrush files that are larger than what a dual layered DVD can hold, and don't even get me started on After Effects footage where ~10 seconds of video eats up 1.5 gig.

I do completely understand that some people still use optical media heavily, and that many ISPs cap downloads so heavy downloading is not something everyone can do and I completely sympathize with that, but in the end I think that removing the optical drive and putting either more battery or more hard drive space is a better solution, and to use an external (any will work, you don't need the $100 Apple one) for optical media needs.

 

[reputationZed]

A rant to pick apart...

The point of minimalism is to make things simpler, not to eliminate fundamental and necessary features

OK with what you've said so far

like a DVD drive.

if you're going to make a definitive statement you should present quantifiable or at least qualitative data to back that statement. You're telling us a DVD drive is a necessary feature without establishing why or for whom.

The point is to reduce things to the bare minimum, not go below the minimum.

Same criticism, where is this minimum defined and who defined it?

But in the case of the removal of the DVD from the Mac Mini, it's very different because CDs and DVDs are still commonly used on a daily basis by most people.

I'll call shenanigans on this one. Most people use DVD's on a daily basis. I'd love to see quantifiable data supporting that assertion.

When you buy most software it comes on DVD.

True 5 years ago, but 95% of the software I've purchased over the last 3 years has been by means of a digital download. Judging by the popularity of the App store, developer online stores, Steam, and Blizzard's Battlenet, I'm not alone.

DVDs are also by far the cheapest and easiest way to backup large sets of data or save them in a format that can be sent to someone in the mail. Many people do not have the ability to cheaply transmit 4GB or 8GB files to one another via any other means.

I'd argue that USB thumb drives are more cost effective, just as easily sent through the mail, and a more practical solution for backing up or transferring 8GB or less. With large amounts of data backing up to a second harddrive is far more practical than backing up to DVD. Backing up 500GB of data would require 112 or more DVD's

It's wrong of Apple to inflict its will upon us by forcing people to buy a computer without a DVD. So my friend was essentially given no option but to buy a Mac with no DVD drive, and not because Apple couldn't afford to put a DVD drive in the computer,

No one was forced to do anything. Apple removed an option. You're friend made a choice to purchase a computer that would not provide an out of the box solution to meeting his (or her) needs.

My friend wanted to buy a Mac because our band records using Digital Performer, which is only on Mac.

I'm not familiar with the software, but if a developer is make only, they really should be offering a digital option. The writings been on the wall for at least 2 years now. This is a failing on the developers part, not Apples.

because Apple wants to inflict its vision of the future on the rest of us who are living in the present. Apple wants to force us to use online software, music, and movie distribution because Apple makes more money when we do that.

So shame on Apple for tailoring their product line to fit their business model?

Just buy an external DVD drive," you might say.

My thoughts exactly. If you can spend $800 on a computer it does not seem like $22.13 for an external drive is exactly out of reach.
http://www.amazon.com/External-Burner-Drive-Acer-Aspire/dp/B001UDVUNW

In that thread I also posted links to many other posts where people are having a heck of a time getting Windows to install, since it forces you to use an external USB volume that it reformats and uses to create a weird Windows 7 install volume from an ISO disk image that you must provide. Apple provides no instructions on how to obtain this ISO image and it proves to be a heck of a complex task.

So it's Apple's responsibilty to provide tech support for installing Microsoft products? There are any number of sites on the Web that give step by step instructions on how to create an ISO image of the Windows installer on a USB stick.There is an amazing free service called Google that would have made finding this information quite painless.

I am very saddened by the direction that Apple is taking. The worst part is that that thread is about the fifth or sixth bug report I've had to write about Lion in less than one day of using it. I am under the very strong impression that Lion is by far the worst Mac system release ever, and I have been through them all going back to System 4 on the 512ke.

Seems like someone got side tracked from their rant about DVD drives to a rant about Lion.

I feel like many Mac users are so defensive about any negative criticism regarding the Mac that the initial response this thread will inevitably get is, "You are wrong," "You must be doing it wrong," "There must be something wrong with your Mac," "Lion is perfect," etc. But the sad fact is that tons of problems exist and as long as we users keep blindly waving the flag then Apple will not correct its course.

And yet you fail to make a convincing argument as to why anyone other than your friend needs to have an internal DVD drive in their Mac. Inferring that anyone who disagrees with you does so because they are a fan boy is disingenuous. Apple will change direction when they believe doing so is the best response to a change in the market, or when they believe that change is the best way to capture market share. Sorry to bust your bubble, but I doubt Apple places a great deal of emphasis, be it blind flag waving or long winded rants, on what gets posted in a forum.

So far I have yet to find one single redeeming feature in Lion that is something that I as a user would actually want, coming from Snow Leopard. Meanwhile I have seen bug after bug, along with several worthless modifications to existing features that essentially broke them. None of the new features I've seen are any kind of "upgrade;" mostly they are gimping of existing features or entire removal of them. The addition of gestures is no excuse for a point-upgrade. "Full-screen" apps have existed since the Apple II. The encryption features are cool but how many people use that?

Lion's just a point upgrade to SL is a fairly amusing argument when you consider the same argument was made about SL being upgrade from Leopard, which was nothing more than a point upgrade from Tiger. None of these releases were bug free, all of them introduced features that many thought were questionable, and all of them took away features we believed we could't do without.

I feel so much better now.

 

[DesertSilver]

Everyone that says "people just don't use optical media anymore" is basing their generalization on their own personal use, which is the wrong way to think about it. I can agree that we're not using optical media as much as before, but it's definitely necessary for some.

As someone that recently had a wedding, it's a pain in the arse not having an optical drive.

- Our photographer provided a DVD for the engagement pictures - had to use someone else's computer to access an optical drive for transferring files to my personal server.
- I needed to make a slideshow DVD for the reception - had to do this on someone elses computer to burn the disc.
- Received wedding pictures - see engagement pictures above.
- Family member took video and put it on DVD, want to create backup disc ISO for archiving - haven't done yet, need to borrow someone's computer.
- Want to send family members disc of images and videos - haven't done yet, need to borrow someone's computer.

As you can see, it's definitely an inconvenience. I'm not saying it's the end of the world since I do see optical drives being fazed out, but just not yet.

And yes I made the choice to purchase a computer without an optical drive, but I didn't realize how much of an inconvenience it would be at the time of purchase.

 

[nastebu]

I just don't know what kind of weird Techieverse some of you people live in where optical media just "can be done away with" with a flick of the magic wand. But it seems like you're living in a world with no music, no photos, and no movies... or at least none that you don't store in low resolution or highly compressed forms...

Who is talking about storing it? You don't need an optical drive for that. And for sharing, very few people want dvds. For sharing it, the vast majority, sharing video means youtube, and sharing photos means email. Even if you share photos in person, that means copying onto a usb drive, not burning a CD.

 

[KScottMyers]

Wow - I think this thread could go on forever.

Lets see - maybe this will help. Looks like these are your choices.

You want a mac mini with an optical drive...

• Buy an older mini with an optical drive
• Buy a new mini and add an external optical drive
• Give up on the mini and get an iMac or MacBook Pro that has a built-in optical drive
• Buy a different brand computer that has a built-in optical drive
• Buy a new mini and start doing things differently where you don't rely on an optical drive

Do one of these and stop complaining.

 

[fa8362]

I have also sent this message to Apple.

Apple couldn't care less.

 

[mac jones]

Just the whirring sound alone bugs me

 

[gyorpb]

Apple couldn't care less.

Actually, I think that if they are overwhelmed with messages complaining about the Mac Mini's lack of an optical drive, they might actually introduce a model with an optical drive, again.

But my bet is that they receive very few such complaints, when compared to Mac Mini sales numbers.

.tsooJ

 

[fa8362]

Actually, I think that if they are overwhelmed with messages complaining about the Mac Mini's lack of an optical drive, they might actually introduce a model with an optical drive, again.

Not a chance. Apple knew there would be resistance and did it anyway. Complainers should just buy an external or buy a junk Microsoft PC.

 

[gyorpb]

Not a chance. Apple knew there would be resistance and did it anyway. Complainers should just buy an external or buy a junk Microsoft PC.

I never claimed they'd think there would be no resistance. And if sales outnumber complaints by a large enough margin, they have been proven correct.

However, if sales suffered significantly and there were ample reason to believe this is due to the lack of (internal) optical drive options, you can bet they'd offer one, right quick.

.tsooJ

 

[aziatiklover]

Everyone that says "people just don't use optical media anymore" is basing their generalization on their own personal use, which is the wrong way to think about it. I can agree that we're not using optical media as much as before, but it's definitely necessary for some.

As someone that recently had a wedding, it's a pain in the arse not having an optical drive.

- Our photographer provided a DVD for the engagement pictures - had to use someone else's computer to access an optical drive for transferring files to my personal server.
- I needed to make a slideshow DVD for the reception - had to do this on someone elses computer to burn the disc.
- Received wedding pictures - see engagement pictures above.
- Family member took video and put it on DVD, want to create backup disc ISO for archiving - haven't done yet, need to borrow someone's computer.
- Want to send family members disc of images and videos - haven't done yet, need to borrow someone's computer.

As you can see, it's definitely an inconvenience. I'm not saying it's the end of the world since I do see optical drives being fazed out, but just not yet.

And yes I made the choice to purchase a computer without an optical drive, but I didn't realize how much of an inconvenience it would be at the time of purchase.

Sorry to hear that it was inconvenient for that one special day of your life a wedding! Sounds like if you had a super drive it would have been used once!
On the other hand I hired my really pro photographer for my wedding and I asked no DVD **** everything over the my server and website. Me and the wife made a special website for our weddings. yea tell me about it we are so 2011 right? haha

 

[mrsir2009]

Uh, one thing to note about needing DVDs/Blu-Ray to watch movies... Why don't you watch them on your television like a normal person?

 

[benhollberg]

Uh, one thing to note about needing DVDs/Blu-Ray to watch movies... Why don't you watch them on your television like a normal person?

Not everyone has an HD TV for Blu-ray, not everyone even has a television at all.

 

[DesertSilver]

Sorry to hear that it was inconvenient for that one special day of your life a wedding! Sounds like if you had a super drive it would have been used once!
On the other hand I hired my really pro photographer for my wedding and I asked no DVD **** everything over the my server and website. Me and the wife made a special website for our weddings. yea tell me about it we are so 2011 right? haha

Next thing you'll probably say is that physical photo albums are so 2010, right?

My point was that optical drives has it uses and saying that nobody uses them is a generalization not based on any proven information, that I've seen.

Many here seem to have the thought that the "Apple way" is the right way. If Windows PC manufacturers did away with the optical drive first, tell me you would have thought "you know what...that was the right decision." After all, you can get most Windows software as downloads also, just not in a centralized app store.

I'll add that I personally accept that optical drives be removed from laptops as they typically sacrifice some functionality for portability. But for desktops, I feel it's a ways off until getting rid of them altogether (I realize the Mac Pro has optical drives but that's a different price point than the mini).

 

[Wicked1]

It is annoying, however, Apple is trying to move away from optical media altogether (not selling it in their stores anymore). They do offer the MBA superdrive as an add on, and while it is expensive, the option is there nonetheless. I still use mine on occasion to rip a cd or play a dvd or game, and I definitely prefer to keep it, but the external really isn't that big of a deal if the computer doesn't move. It would be obnoxious with my MacBook since I move it around and have limited USB ports, but you just leave a Mini on the desk and it's got plenty of ports.

You can do what I did and buy a cheap HP DVD player with USB cable from BestBuy for $40 so if I ever need it to rip another disc I will have it, however I am myself battling the war over not using DVD or CD's anymore, I want to move a way but the move is painful at times, but now with the new Mini being used as the main server in the house, I have everything on external drives, no more media except for once in a while when we buy a new DVD and I have to rip it, otherwise Disc-less is the new wave.

 

[noisycats]

Then pick up a year old iMac or Mini for $600-800

That's prolly because they are musicians on a budget!

I cannot believe the number of words utilized to convey the simple situation that your friend apparently failed to do any homework and instead bought an inappropriate computer for his needs.

Return it, exchange it, sell it, buy the appropriate peripheral, whatever, and move on...Apple certainly has.

 

[reputationZed]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)

I bought a 2011 Mini and solved this DVD "problem" by picking up a $20 external burner so its not a big deal. But what does bother me is the blind excuse making by the defenders who act as if physical media no longer exists. If Apple wants to rid their products of DVD drives then fine, but the subtraction of this feature didnt result in the addition of a new/better feature so in the end this made the 2011 Mini LESS versatile than the previous models and isnt something any consumer should be praising.

I completely disagree that there is not an upside to getting rid of the optical drive. The space that was once used for an optical drive can now be used for a second HDD, a SSD, or in the case of a portable a larger battery. The is huge benefit on the MacAir. I'm no longer forced to carry around a piece of equipment I very rarely ever use. In the isolated cases I need a DVD drive I can always grab an external.

 

[aziatiklover]

Next thing you'll probably say is that physical photo albums are so 2010, right?

My point was that optical drives has it uses and saying that nobody uses them is a generalization not based on any proven information, that I've seen.

Many here seem to have the thought that the "Apple way" is the right way. If Windows PC manufacturers did away with the optical drive first, tell me you would have thought "you know what...that was the right decision." After all, you can get most Windows software as downloads also, just not in a centralized app store.

You must not be serious right? Physical photos in general and for a wedding?! Sorry, but all pics that I have taken are all over my server and I never had to waste paper to develops them. It's been like that for years now. And I can't remember last time I went to walmart or walgreen to get my physical pictures! Wow talking about nostalgic bro. You might have heard SD cards and digital frames right?

 

[sapporobaby]

a rant to pick apart...

best post ever !!!!!!!!

 

[aziatiklover]

I cannot believe the number of words utilized to convey the simple situation that your friend apparently failed to do any homework and instead bought an inappropriate computer for his needs.

Return it, exchange it, sell it, buy the appropriate peripheral, whatever, and move on...Apple certainly has.

I think you quote the wrong person bro!

 

[sapporobaby]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)



I completely disagree that there is not an upside to getting rid of the optical drive. The space that was once used for an optical drive can now be used for a second HDD, a SSD, or in the case of a portable a larger battery. The is huge benefit on the MacAir. I'm no longer forced to carry around a piece of equipment I very rarely ever use. In the isolated cases I need a DVD drive I can always grab an external.

You've outdone yourself. BPEE = Best Post Ever Ever.....

I agree 100000%. I removed the optical drive from my MPB and now have 2 SSD's inside. My MBP (Early 2011 with Thunderbolt) is crazy fast, and I have only need to use the optical drive once.

 

[DesertSilver]

You must not be serious right? Physical photos in general and for a wedding?! Sorry, but all pics that I have taken are all over my server and I never had to waste paper to develops them. It's been like that for years now. And I can't remember last time I went to walmart or walgreen to get my physical pictures! Wow talking about nostalgic bro. You might have heard SD cards and digital frames right?

Another generalization based on personal preference. I guess we'll just agree to disagree.

 

[aziatiklover]

Another generalization based on personal preference. I guess we'll just agree to disagree.

I know and I feel like it's still 2004-2006 when you say something Seriously physical wedding pictures would be a big mess if you know what I mean. Over 1000 pictures to print waste of time and money for me. I rather create a log in on the website and get my guests to download them.