Superdrives Pulled

[fyrefly]

I dunno what it means, but it was reported in the Latest MBA update rumour...

All of the stand-alone MBA SuperDrives have apparently been pulled from Apple Retail stores. You can still order them online... but why they've been pulled is beyond me - unless the new MBA needs a different drive? Or it'll include a drive? I highly doubt that, but who knows.

I can confirm that in the Eaton Centre store in Toronto, Canada - there are no MBA Superdrives on the shelves.

 

[BJNY]

Hoping this means there will be a new external superdrive

because ALL MacBooks will no longer have internally.

 

[hachre]

because ALL MacBooks will no longer have internally.

That would be nice. And use that space for +50% Battery

 

[Scottsdale]

I actually think there are several possibilities.

One, they eliminate the MBA branding from the MBA SuperDrive. It is being sold with Mac mini servers that don't have an internal SuperDrive.

Two, they eliminate the MBA branding and release it for all Mac notebooks as an external drive... as it implies the next updates to MB and MBPs will eliminate the worthless optical drive.

Three, they introduce a new design with USB 2.0. Probably still eliminating the MBA branding.

Four, they introduce the same design only with USB 3.0 OR LightPeak. And still eliminating the MBA branding.

Five, they introduce a BluRay/SuperDrive and I believe eliminate the MBA branding from it as to be used with ANY Mac.

Six, the completely eliminate from the lineup. For me, this makes the most sense given Apple's strategy.

It doesn't mean the MBA will get an optical drive... far from it. What it probably means is the MBA will get an SD Card Slot!

However, I have heard no chatter of BluRay capabilities in the next OS X update, so that's probably not going to happen... plus, BluRay is already a dying format. Digital is the future. SD cards are a much better option than optical media too.

I don't think the BluRay is likely, but it makes so much more sense than just the ancient and worthless DVD/CD combo drive. As long as Apple uses optical drives, it needs to be BluRay. Otherwise, they just need to eliminate the optical drives all together and use SD cards for software.

Hence, the MBA gets an SD card slot and all Macs then have it for future software updates... this makes the most sense by far!

No matter what, this doesn't mean at all that the MBA will be updated. There is separate information leading to an MBA update possibility. I write this because someone said on another thread that this information doesn't mean there will be an MBA update and we're reaching to expect such.

 

[Maven1975]

Total elimination seems possible. Just look what they did to the iTunes logo and Steve's jab saying its dead tech.

Re-branding seems very likely.

 

[steviem]

Eliminate the MBA itself, remove the Optical Drive from the MacBook making it thinner and smaller.

Then sell an Apple branded USB stick or SD Card with Snow Leopard install bootable from it for £50.

 

[Maven1975]

Eliminate the MBA itself, remove the Optical Drive from the MacBook making it thinner and smaller.

Then sell an Apple branded USB stick or SD Card with Snow Leopard install bootable from it for £50.

This is why I think the Air might see a touch screen revision.

 

[macbook123]

I wonder if Apple has ever done a survey among customers to find out what people use their optical drives for. If, as I suspect, for many customers the main use is software re-installation, which usually happens when people are connected to the internet (hence they could do it without a drive, e.g. using a USB stick or SD card), they should have abandoned the internal optical drives long time ago. Even if many still use their optical drives to consume movies, etc, I suspect that there is a large user group that does so while at home, where once again they could use an optical drive.

My bet is that such a customer survey has never taken place, that Apple thinks they can predict what customers want and ar miscalculating. At least I've never heard of anybody taking part in an Apple product survey.

I really don't understand how Apple could be missing this revolution for so long. It's obvious the optical drives are a being phased out. Why not acknowledge it and offer alternatives that look like all laptops are going to look like in three years?

 

[tigres]

I think I have used my 99.00 drive for my MBA about 2 times since 08'. But SL install on remote disk is a painful process...

 

[racer1441]

Hoping this means there will be a new external superdrive

because ALL MacBooks will no longer have internally.

Bingo. maybe the 17 inch at most has it, and the imac.

 

[cleric]

Finally time to replace it with Universal Media Disc!

 

[cleric]

This is why I think the Air might see a touch screen revision.

Right... steve jobs in the elevator with a touchsreen macbook air. It was hiding under the powerbook g5 all along!

 

[Scottsdale]

I wonder if Apple has ever done a survey among customers to find out what people use their optical drives for. If, as I suspect, for many customers the main use is software re-installation, which usually happens when people are connected to the internet (hence they could do it without a drive, e.g. using a USB stick or SD card), they should have abandoned the internal optical drives long time ago. Even if many still use their optical drives to consume movies, etc, I suspect that there is a large user group that does so while at home, where once again they could use an optical drive.

My bet is that such a customer survey has never taken place, that Apple thinks they can predict what customers want and ar miscalculating. At least I've never heard of anybody taking part in an Apple product survey.

I really don't understand how Apple could be missing this revolution for so long. It's obvious the optical drives are a being phased out. Why not acknowledge it and offer alternatives that look like all laptops are going to look like in three years?

Of course their marketing department does surveys. We have read about them before. The AppleTV survey about a year ago made headlines on Mac Rumors. Apple isn't as naive as you think... nor as arrogant.

Every company the size of Apple use surveys to assist with their product development decisions. We might think Steve Jobs does whatever he wants, but they know approximately how many of a product they will sell... and the surveys or just talking with customers is how they do it... a few errors though.

I suppose they didn't realize how successful the iPhone would be, but they definitely used surveys and other products to determine what features would be critical. In addition, I have to believe the original MBA was thought to be far more successful, but Apple did the original MBA's branding in itself by shipping such a worthless product.

 

[halledise]

It doesn't mean the MBA will get an optical drive... far from it. What it probably means is the MBA will get an SD Card Slot!

However, I have heard no chatter of BluRay capabilities in the next OS X update, so that's probably not going to happen... plus, BluRay is already a dying format. Digital is the future. SD cards are a much better option than optical media too.

I don't think the BluRay is likely, but it makes so much more sense than just the ancient and worthless DVD/CD combo drive. As long as Apple uses optical drives, it needs to be BluRay. Otherwise, they just need to eliminate the optical drives all together and use SD cards for software.

thank you - this is echoing in part my assertion of some months ago regarding SD replacing Optical.
cheers

 

[hachre]

I actually think there are several possibilities.
One, they eliminate the MBA branding from the MBA SuperDrive. It is being sold with Mac mini servers that don't have an internal SuperDrive.

Two, they eliminate the MBA branding and release it for all Mac notebooks as an external drive... as it implies the next updates to MB and MBPs will eliminate the worthless optical drive.

Three, they introduce a new design with USB 2.0. Probably still eliminating the MBA branding.

Four, they introduce the same design only with USB 3.0 OR LightPeak. And still eliminating the MBA branding.

Five, they introduce a BluRay/SuperDrive and I believe eliminate the MBA branding from it as to be used with ANY Mac.

Six, the completely eliminate from the lineup. For me, this makes the most sense given Apple's strategy.

I think it will be a combination of several of your points. Too many people need an optical drive still, even when it's just occasionally, so Apple won't remove any option for it completely. I think however that most people by now no longer use their optical drives sufficiently enough to warrant having them in every computer by default..

USB 3.0 and Lightpeak are nice, especially for hard drives and in the case of Lightpeak for basically everything, but I think they are both overkill for just an external optical drive. It would negatively impact compatibility at almost no benefit.. On the other side... The target audience are the buyers of future computers which might not have optical drives in them anymore, not the ones who have them already... So those future computers will have the ports required and the compatibility issue doesn't really exist...

What I think might happens is:
[*]Apple removes the optical drive from all the Laptops and Mac Minis.
[*]They release a new external optical drive targeted optionally for all those computers.
[*]Maybe new connectors, maybe not - not a big deal I think.

I still don't think it will be BluRay capable. Apple doesn't want to support physical media for transporting movies. They won't come late to this party. They simply won't come at all. They are making a point this way. The potential buyers for the external drive are people who still need traditional optical media, and even if it is just to rip an Audio CD into iTunes, or to make a Photo CD for your Grandma with no USB Ports.


About the MBA. I also think like some other people on this forum that it has been targetted too much at thinness instead of lightness. For most people that I know, the fact that it's thin is simply a "wow" thing. It holds no further value though. It can be a nice thing to top the cake so to speak but it shouldn't be the main selling point... What has to be the main selling point is that this notebook is light and maybe even durable. It is for people who use a laptop heavily while on the go. It needs to be rather small and light. Not win any world records in being thin. In my opinion they should put the thinness behind and make it small, light and durable in the first place. Also the original MBA just didn't have enough ports. No Ethernet port was a let down for many... n-Wifi is good yes, but when you wanna transfer some amounts of data a cabled connection is just 10 times faster... And the USB Ethernet was basically useless, since it was - well USB. It also was 100Mbit only which n-Wifi can also reach quite easily these days. Put more ports back in, make it less slim but more light. Maybe you end up around a traditional Macbook and you can scratch the MBA completely. In that case the 11.6" version might make sense that we keep hearing about. Screen size would pretty much be the only thing that differentiates between the Macbook and Macbook Air in that case...

 

[CyberBob859]

2011- end of the optical drive from Apple

Apple can easily go the Linux route - download your OS from the Apple Store, with a program to install on USB drive or SD card. Then boot from that drive to install the OS. All future updates occur with Software Update. No more system disks.

I've been hoping for awhile that Apple will finally retire the optical drive, especially on laptops. Use that extra space for a larger battery or a second hard drive. Not such a big deal on the Air, but it would be a major feature on the MacBook Pro line.

And, the way that Apple likes to up-sell, they may just make the 11.6" Air their "starter" Pro series, or sell to those who want a thin and light laptop, while the 13", 15", and 17" can be configurable with multiple hard drives or extra battery for those that want extra performance, don't care so much about weight and thickness, and are willing to pay more. The white MacBook stays as-is to cater to consumers who want the cheapest traditional laptop from Apple, and for volume educational discounts.

Also, the rumor that iDVD will be removed from iLife '11 could also be an indication that the optical drive is dead from Apple's perspective. If you really want one, there's always third party solutions.

 

[mgrisham]

In addition, I have to believe the original MBA was thought to be far more successful, but Apple did the original MBA's branding in itself by shipping such a worthless product.

You have to be recognized as the most prolific and generally knowledgeable commentator on the MBA, but some of us are still using the original MBA and feeling completely satisfied with it. "Worthless" demeans your critical acumen; a lot of us out here have adequately-cooled MBAs with intact hinges, gorgeous displays, and enough memory for what we do.

 

[Scottsdale]

You have to be recognized as the most prolific and generally knowledgeable commentator on the MBA, but some of us are still using the original MBA and feeling completely satisfied with it. "Worthless" demeans your critical acumen; a lot of us out here have adequately-cooled MBAs with intact hinges, gorgeous displays, and enough memory for what we do.

You choose to take it as a personal attack on YOUR MBA. My feelings cannot influence your results. If you're happy with your MBA, more power to you. In all honesty, the only people I know that were very happy with original MBAs were the ones that bought it refurbished for $999... not the original buyers who paid $1799 to $3099 for a computer that when initially released was problematic at best.

My experience with the original MBA has proven, TO ME, that it's a complete failure. I knew over 25 people with original MBAs, and all but one had a different computer within 12 months. I would say that's definitely the quickest turnover I have ever seen and there was a reason the product was a failure and not acceptable given Apple's own standards. The original MBA did NOT live up to MOST, NOT ALL, people's standards of what a Mac should be.

In addition, it was a novelty, while the rev 2,1 MBA was a completely new computer in terms of component makeup. I stand by my OPINION that the original MBA was a failure that seriously tarnished the MBA brand. You are free to your own opinions. I do not take anything you say personal, and I advise you to get past that in life, or you will be miserable.

Seriously, make your own statements and opinions... if other people's opinions differ, don't take it personal! Life is a lot more enjoyable when you don't take attacks on computers, computer manufacturers, and etc as personal attacks.

I go through this all the time here. I criticize Apple, Steve Jobs, and just about every other computer manufacturer, but I choose not to attack people (except on rare occasions where it's due to personal attacks on my character).

 

[hachre]

I stand by my OPINION that the original MBA was a failure that seriously tarnished the MBA brand.

I agree with this btw. I wanted to get the Air when it was new. I had a 15" MBP (still have) at that time. I didn't like the 13" screen, especially knowing Apple and their crappy 1280x800 resolution at that size.. It's just too low imo, but that's another topic. The thing that held me off buying was the price. It was WAAAAY too high...

I stopped thinking about the Air, and was looking at a new MBP for the future when the Air got updated one day. The main thing that had changed for me was the price. I was very interested to buy. And as usual before doing so I went to the Apple Discussions site and checked posts in the MacBook Air section. What I saw there was pure horror. Pages and pages filled with angry people with malfunctioning screens, overheating, broken hinges, hanging beachball cursors, nonresponsive Trackpads and Airs that turned themselves off.

I remember I was thinking to myself what the hell has Apple done here... Of course I decided against the Air again... Ever since almost nothing has changed. The update that came out back then seems to fare a bit better overall, yet it still suffers from some of the same problems the original MBA had. Especially the hinges, that still break, and the downclocking and overheating in general...

I have had the very first MBP 15" when it came out. And I have the 5,1 MBP and I gotta say. The 1,1 is just a piece of crap compared to this since it is constantly overheated, even by doing nothing, just charging can overheat it and the fans run at max speed. I hate hate hate that and I don't want an Air that is prone to these problems.

So I agree with Scottsdales assertion, the MBA brand is tarnished. At least in my heart it is. Apple will have to bring out something that is obviously and to a high degree changed to what we had before and work perfectly for them to gain my trust back... However if they will indeed go with the 11.x screen size the MBA is definitely nothing for me anymore :/

 

[sparkie1984]

Just to add, there are still SuperDrives on the shelves of my apple store

 

[GoCubsGo]

I think I have used my 99.00 drive for my MBA about 2 times since 08'. But SL install on remote disk is a painful process...

This is about how much I used it. I really need to work on hacking it to run on any computer and at least get some use out of it.

 

[peggy06]

They're Back

For what ever it is worth Superdrives are back at my real Apple Store and online as well. Maybe they found some in the back of a warehouse somewhere

 

[macbook123]

No surprise. I knew there wouldn't be an update before 2011, or whenever they're going to drop optical drives from the MBP's.

 

[pasker17]

Best buy

For what is worth, I visited 2 Best buy stores over the weekend. They usually keep a lonely MBA on display but, on Saturday, there where no MBAs to be seen.

 

[Scottsdale]

No surprise. I knew there wouldn't be an update before 2011, or whenever they're going to drop optical drives from the MBP's.

Yup, you know it all. The funny thing is some people make guesses and predictions... and other people just know. The great thing is we can point out how wrong people were most of the time. I suspect an MBA update happens this month, but there's no guarantee that's a guess or prediction. I don't know it as a fact, and I don't claim to.