no cd drive in new macbook?

The sharing is done over a Local Area Network - Ethernet or Wifi. I suppose it could be done with FireWire as well but I've never tried it.

Why are you replying to a year old post?

None of the new Macs have an internal optical drive. If that is important to you then you will not buy a Mac. Simple.

shamguy4 wrote:

i just looked at the macbook pro video...

thers no cd slot.....that ***** how are we suppose to watch dvd's? or install software.....

cd's are still in and a huge part of our world....i dont get it

If you must have a cd drive not getting it is the best idea.

This discussion... Like so many others speaks to the weakness of apple's computer business and solidifies while it will never become the new standard. With hardware software integration just not getting a new MacBook pro will eventually necessitate an entire switch of OS and the peripherals that go with it. What might another hardware manufacturer do? Offer two MBPs - one with optical drive and shorter battery life or other features and one without. But, god forbid apple give us such hardware choices.

When my PC using friends defend why they haven't switched the least assail able rationale is " apple didn't give me the specs I wanted and it is a premium priced machine". If apple is going to chargesuch prices (because they are quality machines - likely the best with their chosen -by apple - configurations) they will never be able to appeal to many older, enterprise, or pro users. Naturally I then ask these people why they haven't switched to Linux, but that's a different thread ;-).

In any case these ballsy choices (what optical drive), low choice, and high prices is responsible for why each innovation alienates huge swaths of apple's business (look how the enterprise and creative industries reacted to the "innovations" in apples server hardware/software with lion. Or look at how iOSification of OSX combined with locking down bootcamp to windows only, the neglect of VPN and other Professional, science, and developer applications have soured apple with many in those markets.

It worries me, these choices, and more is the " then don't buy it " line that seems to pass so easily on the forums and apparently in apples boardrooms.

I agree: it's completely ridiculous not to include a disc drive. I like to purchase my cds and movies on discs, rather than risk having everything I own on a laptop, whether I back it up or otherwise. And then, hey, I can put my CDs in my car or DVDs in my dvd player. Discs are still a huge part of technological culture. This just seems like Apple's way of making everyone buy their music and movies through their software (very frustrating and surely very irritating to any other seller). Poor choice, Apple. I've been pushing Apple products to my friends for almost ten years, but I don't think I'll be buying this new model anytime soon.

Gods, I can't believe all this "I can't do without a CD/DVD drive" stuff. Those media are going the way of the floppy. Ten years from now, no one will be able to use them and kids won't remember them. "Come on dad! It's like using an unembedded cell phone."

What you guys ar ignorant to is quite a handfull of things:

1. Outside of the U.S. Netflix, Huliu, and other interweb luxuries are not available. So YES, I still watch DVD's

2. Outside of the U.S. a lot of countries still don't have iTunes available to them. So YES, I still need to put my music on from a CD. I KNOW RIGHT?! I'M SO BEHIND!! (I'm being sarcastic). Plus, a CD, is much better quality than whatever you can get on the internet.

3. I can understand no CD in a MacBook. But a MacBook pro?!! First, you need to install editing software (because in your country you cannot download online), second you need to be ready for on-the-fly projects, third, I want to burn a CD for a friend/ a Master for an artist/ a DVD for a client/ I have to carry around that external thingy and have no place to put it while working on the plane, train, bus, or whatever.

Someone said it's better than carying one around whether you need it or not.. seriously?! how heavy is it?! half a pound?! just take off your watch and you make up for the difference. How lazy can you be?! How heavy can it make it?!

I can't believe someone can look at a draw back and try to justify it. With the iPhone service problem they said people are holding it wrong. DVD's CD's Blurays, burning CD's, it's not of the past and will not become so anytime soon.

What Apple is trying to do is force everybody to get things on the App Store because it's cheaper than buying the external CDdrive, and in a lazy world which would be bothered to carry the built in CD drive around, they are the winners because we're such babies who want things NOW and don't want to wait for the hard copy.

Putting all the above aside.

Lets say I need to re-install my software after formatting for whatever problem, how do I do that? And yes, in the dreadful situation where I need windows for some awesome software that OSX does not support, how do I do that?

What is the solution for the situation whereby an osx user is forced to boot from the osx install disc to reformat, or run a disk utility sweep of the OS drive? These things happen you know. What is the solution? You want to reformat you have to pay 80$ ? Really?

Yes, maybe they will maybe they wont. They never do say. But the frustrating thing is that they have priced it so the retinas are actually cheaper than non retinas. add a SSD to a non retina and the price is 3099 while retina is 2999, plus you get 16gb ram vs 8. That is a huge difference when you also consider you get the top of the line display. it is frustrating to those of us who have waited over 5 years to get a new macbook.

NOW, i am hoping for some insight on my question...

What is the solution for the situation whereby an osx user is forced to boot from the osx install disc to reformat, or run a disk utility sweep of the OS drive? These things happen you know. What is the solution? You want to reformat you have to pay 80$ ? Really?

Installing Windows 7 for Bootcamp without a disc drive is a pain in the ***, especially if you don't have a Windows-formatted USB drive handy. It's so stupid not to have a disc drive. Will you use it every day? No. But is it a nice option to have? Yes.

Meanwhile, the Macbook pros for disc drives. It's just the stupid pointless overpriced retina that doesn't.

It is not only about watching dvd. Almost all diagnostic imaging examinations are released on cd or DVD .

Apple Gives a very consistent platform to medical imaging software. It is a waste of reputation not to offer any more a cd drive.

I didn't make it too clear with my original post, but a recovery partition already exist within the built in harddrive, (you can boot to it by holding the option key when turning on your Mac) the flashdrive suggestion was just in case you delete that by accident, which is possible, because I did that

Thanks. I will look at staples and apple store... I also want to look into the slot on the side of the macbook pro, between the headphone and USB ports.... i understand it can store pictures and video. COOL AND A HALF!

You do realize that if you sell the CDs you are supposed to take the songs off your computer/iPod/music player, right? Yeah, I know, common practice is to keep them, but legally you have no rights to that music if you do. Just sayin'...