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No DVD drive in new iMac ???

So I have just completely upgraded my 15 years of home movies on DVD over the last year.

I converted video, old DVDs and used imovie to make great copies for all the family.


I just learned that if I get a new imac from Dec 2012, they have no DVD drive ?

What ?

If its true, then I need to buy into some device that can play and burn them for the next years.


Yep, Apple have a vision, but I cannot see it and I am 50.

In 180 months , when I am 65, I wont care about the visons of Apple.

But i will care about the memories on the discs and as Apple dont let on why they restrict the continuation or stop the use or anyone else using aformat that quite honestly is massively serviceable today and will be for some years.


Glad I dint chucj out the old dell and also, I will going fire her up to play my movies and memories. Steve Jobs is pictured on some of those DVDs, guess the new guys wanted to move on pretty fast from that era too !


Hmmm, now where is the off button, I need to do some exercise and get real again !


see ya

iMac (27-inch Mid 2011)

Posted on Oct 23, 2012 3:19 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 23, 2012 3:30 PM

Just do what I will be doing: don't buy a new iMac! 👿


With no Firewire you won't be able to connect your video camera either!

1,509 replies

Aug 4, 2014 11:07 AM in response to mjg556

mjg556 wrote:


If you guys actually read what I wrote, you'd see that I said it should be included with the purchase of the computer, part of the cost, so you wouldn't be paying anymore for it.

Do you live in some fantasy land where things are free?


Nothing is free so if you want an optical drive you can buy one, I (as I do not want one) can choose not to.

Aug 4, 2014 11:09 AM in response to mjg556

mjg556 wrote:

If you guys actually read what I wrote, you'd see that I said it should be included with the purchase of the computer, part of the cost, so you wouldn't be paying anymore for it.

Of course we would be paying for it. Nothing like this is actually free. Nobody gives Apple the raw optical drive mechanism, the materials needed to make the case, or pays for the factory to assemble & ship the finished unit. Apple pays for all of that & since it is a for profit corporation it is going to pass the costs along to the end buyer, along with a markup to cover warranty & support costs & to keep its stock holders happy.

Aug 4, 2014 11:36 AM in response to mjg556

mjg556 wrote:

Aside from watching movies or burning music, which isn't THAT important, I shouldn't have to pay 80 bucks for an external optical just to be ABLE to install new software that I already have to purchase.

If you have an older Mac with a built-in optical drive, you can use it along with CD/DVD sharing to install software on a new iMac. I have done this just to make sure it is possible & it works quite well. And if that isn't practical for you, as has already been mentioned many times in this long discussion there are many, far less expensive external optical drives on the market that you can buy that work at least as well as Apple's $80 unit. If you live in the U.S., you should be able to find one on sale for $30-35 from any of several "big box" computer superstores, shipping included if you order it from their web sites.

Sep 26, 2014 11:31 PM in response to _aiyda_

With Apple and many other Software Companies using Internet downloads only and software downloaded from Apple servers on the Mac App Store, Apple made a decision to do away with the built-in optical drives in their computers.

These built-in optical drives were always the first piece of hardware to fail and they were problematic and weren't standing up to being both mounted In a non-standard, vertical position in iMacs as well as being exposed to the rather warm internal environment inside of iMacs and Mac Minis.

Most report that the new Apple external optical is more reliable and stable, now, being out of these harsher, internal computer environmental conditions.

No DVD drive in new iMac ???

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