Q: No DVD drive in new iMac ???

Wow.

I have a 2011 iMac and already have ugly USB extension cables running from the back just so I can temporarily connect USB devices such as thumb drives or cameras.  So now we're supposed to connect an external optical drive?  And you forgot the SD card slot, which is also in the back now.  So, you can either connect another ugly SD card extension cable, or turn the mac just so you can connect an SD card, which I do quite often.

I too was going to upgrade, but decided to keep my 2011 iMac.   Many other's I've conversed with in this forum and other Mac forums agree that the new iMac is dysfunctional for the reasons I mentioned.  We'll see what apple comes out with in a couple of years, and hope they offer a Pro version with optical drive, and USB port or two and SD card slot in a convenient location.  I love OS X, but I would never buy an iMac in it's current state.

I hate to say it but I agree with you. Will be passing on this version of the iMac.

Your right, I'll use my tax refund to purchase a new telly instead. Thanks.

I know the drive issue can be overcome by getting an external one, and not at Apples price either. The biggest issue for me is the placement of the SD card, I use mine a lot in my 2011 iMac. Now I'm disabled and in a wheelchair, access is an important part of my daily living and in the present glued together form over function unit I could never justify a new iMac due to the SD card placement. (cant see the point of upgrading now anyway when the 2011 iMac is still perfectly capable) I don't like the Mac Mini's that much and cannot afford a Mac Pro, so I'm really not sure what will happen next time round, hopefully Apple will have seen sense and at least added a card reader in the side of the iMac. Also the 21.5" is now out of the question anyway. Ram can go bad, with it glued away behind the screen that makes the iMac a throw away machine. God knows the damage that could be done trying to get one apart  to replace internal parts even by qualified staff.

killhippie wrote:

 

I know the drive issue can be overcome by getting an external one, and not at Apples price either. The biggest issue for me is the placement of the SD card, I use mine a lot in my 2011 iMac. Now I'm disabled and in a wheelchair, access is an important part of my daily living and in the present glued together form over function unit I could never justify a new iMac due to the SD card placement. (cant see the point of upgrading now anyway when the 2011 iMac is still perfectly capable) I don't like the Mac Mini's that much and cannot afford a Mac Pro, so I'm really not sure what will happen next time round, hopefully Apple will have seen sense and at least added a card reader in the side of the iMac. Also the 21.5" is now out of the question anyway. Ram can go bad, with it glued away behind the screen that makes the iMac a throw away machine. God knows the damage that could be done trying to get one apart  to replace internal parts even by qualified staff.

Several extremely good reasons for you not to buy one contained there.

This is not a criticism but the thing that I don't understand is why people such as yourselves waste your time venting your anger here.  You need to use the Apple Feedback (someone mentioned it earlier in this thread) to let Apple know your dissatisfaction, especially if it means you are not considering a new iMac anymore. Don't rely on Apple reading this forum. They can't because there is too much going on on these forums, so they don't.

That said, I didn't myself upgrade from my 1998 PowerMac to an iMac until late 2007 so I got a good nine years out of it.  So you don't really need to upgrade if your iMac is nearly three years old if your don't want to.  I'm using my late 2007 iMac now. It's fine for everything as you can see. I'm here (except that I regret going from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion in one go for a number of reasons that I anticipate are going to take me months to sort out).

As for the SD card issue, I don't have an SD card reader on my iMac.  I use an external USB Hub (powered) that I plug a universal cards reader (cheap as chips). I find even plugging an XD or SD card into one of these readers fiddly enough when they are not plugged in to my USB hub. So I can imagine how difficult it must be to shove these cards in when the slot is out of sight behind the iMac. What I can't imagine is how difficult it will be for poor killhippie!

External DVD Writer/Recorders are fine. I have one. Trouble is, they are mostly USB 2.  Mine won't work with my powered USB Hub. It only works plugged into my last remaining free USB at the rear of my iMac. So the new iMac will need to have plenty of spare USB slots at the back to cater for my existing kit.  I suspect that it hasn't. If one wants to copy directly, disk to disk, one will need a dual bay drive I reckon.  I don't know if any such beast exists.

One thing I do think is that the new iMac is no longer the true All-in-One device that it was.  My impression of the new iMac is that it is like paying for the biggest fish in the shop then getting it home only to find the tastiest bits have been removed to make way for a huge metal hook.

Speaking of huge hooks reminds me that there is much talk about the new iMac's start up speed due to SDD.  I wonder, how much have you guys heard about the "finite write capability" of these devices?  Not a lot I expect.

As I understand it from other websites, SSD's are not infinitely rewritable like HDDs. They may only be written to so many (finite) times.  Hence software like Fusion is necessary to limit the use of SSDs to apps that may be opened as many times as one would care to wish for but virtually never written too. Items such as, such as Apps.  Bear this in mind when you read what Fusion actually does.

When purchasing new computer kit (not just iMacs to be honest) if the manufacturer claims ultra fast start up speeds due to SSD, this seems to be something that one needs to be aware of.

Why?!!

Without an optical drive and easy access to the ports the new iMac is not much different than my old VT52 dumb terminal. It's just a windo to a server. I want something that I can be creative and productive with. I doubt the optical disc will ever go away. Floppy drives and Zip Disks went away because they reached the limits of available storage. Optical discs keep increasing in storage compatability, while relmaing backwardly compatible with prevous generations.

This is the same way Apple lost the war before. Becoming so hardware specialized (PPC) that nobody wanted to touch them. Looks like they're doing it again. Mac sales are down... whether it is because they are so specialized people don't want them, or so specialized they can't even make them. A little bit of standardization isn't all that bad.

Hi, Mac sales are down mostly because the silly new "thin" iMacs had/have production problems, the new Minis have many problems, noMaacPro for a really long time, & yes of course, their closed not working very well OS is eating into it, & will continue to do so in the future.

My pure guess is they've turned off/lost 75% to 90% of old time Mac Users already.

BTW. I'd rather run/use my PPC Macs than any version ever of Windows, OSX beyond 10.4.11, or Linux.

And, it's only going to get worse as Apple moves from usable computers to fancier and fancier toys; Apple Aims New 128 GB iPad at Professional Users. 

Sniif, sniff... goodbye Macs.

Simply put, I have given feedback. I cannot see Apple changing much tbh though. People need inovation not computers on a diet. I posted on here as part of a conversation, and being disabled I have a view that some may not have thought of along the lines of SD port access on the new iMacs. Yes its a pain, but to some its a deal killer. Also people forget memory can have issues hence mentioning glued in screens which effects the 21.5" version. Please dont assume I am just posting to have a rant, or that I'm actually angry, its more like dissapointment tbh. I also do contact the mothership when things go off course

I recommend an external player too!

But the LG BP40NS20 is cheaper and more versatile (even Blue-Rays) i'd say

+ it works fine with the 2012  Dec Imac.

And on we go.   The 'all in one' becomes an 'all in two' and before we know it we shall have 'all in tens'.    Bring back the workhorse machine that meets the needs of people with limited home desk space.