Hi all I am in the market for a new laptop and have been looking at the macbook air. I know the main purk is the size for travel and such. The big question is how is it getting by without an optical drive ? If you watch movies and such are you watching them off a usb drive ? What about loading new software ? Main question is how do macbook air users get around not having the optical drive ?
Thanks !
Ive had my MBA for 3 months now, never once felt like I needed an optical drive or that something was missing. A lot of programs are downloadable. I think you'll only have a small handful of programs that you buy that require a disc to install.. As the other poster said, you can use remote Disc, which let's you use the optical drive of any computer (PC or Mac) on the same network. if you find yourself watching DVDs or listening to CDs on your laptop, or burning a lot of discs, you can get an external drive to connect by USB (apple's SuperDrive or one by other brands- make sure you read reviews first tho, as not all are compatible with the MBA). that way you can get the functionality of the optical drive just when you need it without affecting the look or weight of the air.
overall, it's not a big deal (if you consider buying the external drive).. I wouldn't let that be a main deciding factor for buying the MBA. just my 2 cents
Edit: Also, I use the MBA as my primary machine.
