No DVD drive in new iMac ???

I like the pic of the setup showing the illuminated USB 3 hub sitting on the SuperDrive.

What make is the USB hub?

Hi Jim. It's a Satechi 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub...

http://www.amazon.com/Satechi-Premium-Aluminum-MacBook-MacMini/dp/B00FP3OX3C

It's on sale for $29.99, $10 off at the moment. I hate it when that happens. I like the hub though. About the only complaint I have is that the USB cord is very short, only 10" long. It's fine if you want to place it where I have it, but anything further away would require an extension as the cord is hard-wired to the hub. Nice aluminum finish. Be aware that the blue LED is always on, even during sleep because the iMac's USB ports are always powered. Fine for my office, but it might bother someone in a bedroom.

I also have this Unitek powered hub hiding in the back with various "permanent" UBS devices connected:

http://www.amazon.com/Unitek-Adapter-Compatible-Windows-Version/dp/B00EHDT4HG

It has a single blue LED on the top which is very bright. The LED could easily be covered with electrical tape if needed though.

Both work very well, however I've run into one oddity which I'll share becuase read/write speeds on my USB 3.0 devices (HDD/SSD docked drives, thumb drives, etc.) would sometimes be very good, but not so good other times (as measured by Blackmagic Disc Speed tests). I thought that there was something wrong with my iMac. Then I thought there was something wrong with my hub(s). Turns out it was neither. This Apple Support Article summarizes it best:

How do I get the best performance from the USB 3 ports?
The first device you plug in will configure the port, so always connect USB 3 capable hubs or devices first.

What happens if I plug in a USB 2 device into the USB 3 port first?
If you plug in a USB 2 hub first, all devices connected or "daisy-chained" to that hub will operate up to the maximum transfer rate of USB 2 speed (480 Mbps).

A Genius I talked to said that it's something to do with power savings. I don't know if that makes sense on an iMac but it is what it is. In any case, if you need USB 3.0 transfer rates and you have some USB 2.0 devices, be sure to isolate them or at least follow the instructions above.

Hope that helps!

Is this hardware ommision really still an being treated as a major issue after all this time

Really?????

I'm afraid so, I know several who have switched from Macintosh to Windows because of this issue.

Ziatron wrote:

Is this hardware ommision really still an being treated as a major issue after all this time

Really?????

I'm afraid so, I know several who have switched from Macintosh to Windows because of this issue.

With all due respect...really? Rather than pop $30 for an external CD/DVD drive someone (several someones?) actually switched to an entirely different operating system, and all that entails...and found an acceptable/comparable all-in-one desktop Windows computer simply because a new iMac they considered buying didn't have a built-in CD/DVD player? Seriously?! And they didn't work for CNET? Well now, I've just about heard everything.

Ziatron wrote:

I'm afraid so, I know several who have switched from Macintosh to Windows because of this issue.

I find that very hard to believe.

This thread doesnt quit, does it?

Ive already given 8 very logical reasons WHY there is no superdirve in the new Imac

and WHY you DONT want one IN the new Imac.

😊

richsadams wrote:

A Genius I talked to said that it's something to do with power savings. I don't know if that makes sense on an iMac but it is what it is.

There are potentially some power issues (see the Power section of the Wikipedia USB article for the gory technical details) but generally speaking a bus powered USB device would just shut down if it can't get enough power, or behave erratically.

The reason Apple advises plugging in a USB 3 hub first (IOW, directly to the computer's USB 3 port) in a daisy chain of devices is simple: USB 2 devices can transfer data no faster than 480 Mbps; thus, everything downstream of a USB 2 hub will have to share that maximum total data rate & no USB 3 device (hubs included) plugged into it can use the faster USB 3 transfer rates to exchange data with the Mac.

If you are using only USB 3 hubs & still see fluctuating data rates, it is probably because more than one device on the same Mac port is transferring data at that time, & the total is at or close to the maximum useable USB 3 data rate of approximately 4 Gbps.

There's one thing I've learned in marketing is that no matter how minor a problem is, in your mind, it's a huge issue in the consumer's mind. Rather than admit Apple acted prematurely in removing the optical drive, you choose to continuosly look down your nose at the end consumer and sneer at them for making what you may consider a near-sighted decision not purchasing an iMac because it's missing one.

A negative is a negative. I've not found one single person who would've refused an iMac purchase because it had an OD. They simply would just not use it.

Yes, I 100% believe that it really is hard for you to believe.

R C-R wrote:

There are potentially some power issues (see the Power section of the Wikipedia USB article for the gory technical details) but generally speaking a bus powered USB device would just shut down if it can't get enough power, or behave erratically.

The reason Apple advises plugging in a USB 3 hub first (IOW, directly to the computer's USB 3 port) in a daisy chain of devices is simple: USB 2 devices can transfer data no faster than 480 Mbps; thus, everything downstream of a USB 2 hub will have to share that maximum total data rate & no USB 3 device (hubs included) plugged into it can use the faster USB 3 transfer rates to exchange data with the Mac.

If you are using only USB 3 hubs & still see fluctuating data rates, it is probably because more than one device on the same Mac port is transferring data at that time, & the total is at or close to the maximum useable USB 3 data rate of approximately 4 Gbps.

Good info and makes sense...thanks for that. As long as I don't have a USB 2.0 device plugged into a USB 3.0 hub the iMac recognizes it (the hub) as a 3.0 device. So I keep 2.0 and 3.0 devices separated. As long as that's the case results of any speed tests are as expected and stable.

Cheers!

Apple Super Drives are way over priced. You can purchase a BluRay USB powered drive elsewhere for the price of Apples Super Drive. If Apple really wanted to make friends with those who want an optical drive and make everybody feel like they are getting a huge perk, they should just include a drive with the purchase instead of requireing an extra purchase.

All this is getting a little OTT. I use a MacMini Server and a Thunderbolt display for professional design work and when I need a cd/dvd player I just stick a remote in and hey ho! Let's now stop this endless discussion and move on please. All I've seen all day is a useless discussion which keeps popping up going over the same old thing every hour!

cwmmjm wrote:

1. Apple acted prematurely in removing the optical drive

2. iMac because it's missing one.

3. A negative is a negative.

1. 100% absolutely incorrect, tremendous thought was in place in its removal, of which I listed them, very logical

2. Its external now for good reason

3. Actually its a huge POSITIVE, as listed why.

That you fail to see logic and reason behind its removal is at fault. 😊

1. slot loading drives are near impossible to clean the lens on

2. Blank media issues, and inserting dusty disks eventually leads not to mechanical failure, but failure from environmental corruption.

3. The Superdrive has many moving parts and due to misuse / abuse is 'moderately' easy to corrupt mechanically.

4. Nearly all software and Itunes media is via the net, or otherwise Netflix, etc etc. Digital consumer media has declined drastically

5. Superdrive had no room in new superslim Imac

6. Removing the Superdrive removes a significant failure point and therefore removal of necessary Imac servicing

7. Imacs circulated air thru the superdrive slot in a vacuum effect brining in dust to deposit on the lens causing failure in a very dusty dirty room.

8. Having replaced , repaired, and dissected many superdrives, they are very complex with many moving parts and removing same was a very good idea.

justamacguy

Apple Super Drives are way over priced.

Actually they are not, the ext. Superdrive is made by Panasonic, the bare drive inside is $40, and inside it, it is very complex mech having taken many apart,

the rest is a interface card and alloy chassis.

There are $40 LG drive that work fine, but arent made as well, and arent as robust.

Or if money's no object, you could go for the gold! 😉

http://www.pawtec.com/product/pawtec-ultraslim-external-usb-3-0-slot-loading-bdx l-3d-blu-ray-writer-burner-silver/

cwmmjm wrote:

There's one thing I've learned in marketing is that no matter how minor a problem is, in your mind, it's a huge issue in the consumer's mind.

If you rewrote that slightly so it said "in some consumers' minds" I doubt many would disgree with that.

But consider that in 1998, a huge problem in many consumers' minds was the lack of a floppy drive in the very first iMac, & for that matter so was dropping the traditional ADB & Apple Serial ports in favor of this new port standard almost nobody was using in either the Mac or PC world called "USB."

We heard the same arguments then as now: Apple doesn't know or care what consumers want or need! Most software comes on floppies so consumers will be forced to buy an external floppy drive! Prematurely abandoning the old stuff will drive loyal customers to the Dark Side, & maybe even kill the company!

Except it never happened.

As an added bonus, I seem unable to boot my shiny new iMac from a Disk Warrior boot disk using the accessory external disk drive which I had to purchase in order to continue operating in the real world.

Great. 😠

Does anyboy know of a thread that would tell me how to boot from the external optical drive?