no cd drive in new macbook?

Buy a laptop that meets your needs, if that is not Apple so be it.

I agree it's ridiculous for the MBP to have no disc drive, surely if you want a really light weight machine you go for the MB Air or even an I Pad but the MBP should be exactly that a Pro machine & include a disc drive, CD's & DVD's are still very much in use. It's alright saying if it doesn't have what you want don't buy it but if you want a lastest spec MBP for the speed & display you have to suffer No drive. A poor decision by Apple !

Want a new MBP that has an optical drive? Buy a new MBP that has an optical drive. You've gotten along fine without a Retina Display up to now, haven't you? So get along without one for a while longer. Almost nothing is ready to take full advantage of it now, and by the time a lot of software can do so, Apple may be offering machines with the same display but additional features and options.

Any flash drive will work, I use a Sandisk Cruzer, because I have millions of them laying around, i believe 2 GB would suffice but it may require 4, i don't remember, its not much more expensive, so you might want to just go with the 4 GB. Apple offers a flash drive with the recovery partition already installed for $70, but you can save that money go get one from amazon for a few bucks (I've bought ones that were only $0.96 that would work) and use the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant (http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1433) to make that a recovery disk, and there you go

The future will get here fast enough and making the new MBP without options seems like a clear mistake... We know that apple is pushing for a "Apptopia" but it simply hasn't happened yet. A little more grace to ease the prosses along would make sense.

with all due respect,

why not make your product embrase the market rather then strong-arm it? I know the strong-arming approach was the Jobs way (peace be upon him) but the market needs diversity to be healthy and lets face it, apple is a juggernaut who makes the best consumer computers around... who is really compeating with apple?

I can see everyones point on here yeah CD's arent in use that much any more and yeah DVDs can be streamed and downloaded from numerous website and from the use of apps. However what about all of them old CDs and DVDs that you have lying round your house that you would like to watch and rip on to your brand new MAC Book.

What about when you want to burn a DVD or Even install a game which you have brought ? How are you meant to get them on your MAC Book go out and buy a external Cd Drive after paying £1800 on a shiny new laptop.

Wheres the sense in that?

Dear All

An interesting discussion. I am presently waiting for my 2007 MBP to be returned with a new (expensive) logic board - yes, the NVIDIA one that lasts four years and a couple of months. Whilst waiting, I looked at the MBPs on offer and found myself confused. A retina display with an HDMI slot but no superdrive and a "normal" MBP with superdrive but no HDMI slot. I then discover the mini-display port, now called thunderbolt, can be used with an adaptor to give HDMI out. Presumably all these now include audio as well as video. So why has the retina got an HDMI out if one of its thunderbolt ports could be used with an adaptor and the MBP with a superdrive on which to play DVDs to a TV does not have a dedicated HDMI?

I am sure some of you will be repeating a few points that have already been said about this. However, the reason I have a portable is because I travel around the world with it. I do not have a superdrive equipped second Mac to share a drive. I spend a long time without wi-fi and internet or other means of accessing the outside world. That is not entirely true as I usually have access via a PC and satellite but not with my MBP. There are comments about using the Recovery mode in times of trouble, as opposed to a DVD, but I believe that requires internet access. Many of you make comments here about this situation but are living in the ideal world of constant and fast access to all the good things in life with instant and constant access to clouds in the sky and Netflix. Some of us do not have that, require a superdrive and will simply have to forego a retina display. On the other hand, we can get the upgraded non-glossy display and save some cash!

TY

I'm still using dual-layer DVDs for archival storage, so I'm going to be one disappointed pup when the day comes that Apple no longer includes DVD burners in any Mac configuration.

I'm expecting that my next Mac will be a new Mac Pro (whatever is out in 2015, when the AppleCare on my MacBook Pro will expire) and I'll be buying an external then (or even before then - I really would like the capacity of Blu-ray).

Clinton

True it isn't that expensive, but it's just one more thing I have to have with me. I purchased the MPB to write my dissertation, I already have enough stuff to carry around. Adding one more thing to my research was just the straw that broke the camels back. So I sent it back and purchased an older model.

Guess I'll have to buy a SuperDrive - GRRRR. I didn't check the new MCP when buying because in my wildest dreams I wouldn't think Apple would get rid of the drive! Seriously...Especially with the large screen, some people watch movies (DVDs) or workout videos, install from disk and as I just realized, transfer photos from CD. We have a photo CD of our recent family trip and darned if I can't put them on the computer so I can add them to my online album and share with the family.

You just assume a computer manufacturer will add all the components necessary for a computer and add the features that make the process better. Like an art class with an easel and lots of paper and paint, but no tray to put the paint in to help with the transfer from one medium (paint tube) to the other (easel). Ball dropped Apple.

Same type of question were being asked when CD drive took over flash drive. When technology upgrades Manufacturer push and sometime force customers to use latest technology and move forward even though customer is happy with current system and don't want to upgrade. Same case is here. It's 4G world. Who carries Flash drive when you have CD. Same way who will carry CD when we have PD, External Hard disks and 4G.

lol funny, but no one wants to carry an extra device to where ever they go.

Everyone said that about removing the floppy drive in the first iMac and replacing it with a CD/CD-RW drive. I think Apple knows a thing or two about pushing the envelope successfully...

Floppies were used in cameras and computers. Most games, movies, and music are downloadable online.