Q: No DVD drive in new iMac ???

When you consider the cost and difficulty in changing software (not to mention changing habits, God forbid) a new computer that does not have what you have grown accoustomed to, well, venting is necessary. I have given Apple many thousands of dollars and gladly. Now, they have a problem of too much cash on hand? Cmon man, give us a DVD (that works sometimes, at least).

People in the business don't consider the cost of a program. The cost is pasted onto the customer ( or you absorb it to keep the customer) Many of times I have seen a customer using a new program or new versions. If we want their business, we buy. Same with computers and or other platforms. It's all about making money and not ones-self.

If you need the 99 cent DVD play and don't want to buy one to just to stay in business... that is up to you. You be surprised how fast a customer will change and stay with the flow, before a business needs too.

(We get files for a new program versions (or other programs) from customers all the time. We have to run out an but a copy fast if we don't have one yet. We tell them, "sure we can do it, no problem.")

You can elect not to buy a new iMac for any reason you like. Or you can buy one and add an external drive, or you can buy something else.

I am very uncertain and suspicious of the motives behind no recordable drive in the new Mac lineup.

Motives are obvious, sales.

Well, thanks, I was looking for your permission when I posted what I posted.

You said you were uncertain ......

I have to wonder why...  with all of the business people in this thread... why are they complaining about buying a 99 cent item. (You think that when the zip drive came out... that we bought zip drives for all of the workstation... we didn't. We bought a few hand handed them around when someone needed one.) Buy a fews DVD drives and hand them around to the workstations.

It's a bad thing to have a Mac with with a non-operable working DVD drive. And they do die. I'm sure Apple had a big over head replacing broken DVD drives in the Mac. Now it's one less moving part in the Mac to die.

It's all about making the big bucks and not worrying about the simple things to keep a business running.

If they failed so often and for the cost of an iMac you would think that Apple would have supplied a better quility more relaible drive. Don't forget to factor in that the new iMac is more money.... without the drive.

Apple does what Apple does.

To be honest, they are archaic, clumsy and sound like a coffee grinder. I can eat my snack before the movie loads and starts to play. Blu-ray forget it,it's nap break before that disc loads. My old eight-track player from the 60's still runs. Sometime I have to use a matchbook to make a tape work... but it works.

Assorted comments, not aimed at anyone in particular, written from the perspective of someone who less than 2 weeks ago switched from a 2008 iMac 24" running Snow Leopard to a 2012 iMac 27" running Mountain Lion:

• The idea of an AIO computer is outdated. At the least, everyone that uses an iMac for any serious purpose should have one or more external HDs for backups. Ideally, at least one of them should be capable of being used as a startup drive.

• Apple has never made every port as accessible as it should be. Anyone who occasionally uses headphones with an iMac knows what I mean.

• Consumer grade slot-loading DVD drive mechanisms are not very rugged or reliable. It isn't just the ones Apple has used; it's all of them. They all use cheap, stamped metal parts & actuators just barely powerful enough to do the job. I can't remember the last time I saw one that included a manual eject override (usually accessible through a tiny hole) in case a disc got stuck & could not be ejected normally.

• I wasn't happy that my new iMac didn't have a built-in DVD drive but I got over it. The slot-loader in my 2008 iMac had become cranky: sometimes it would not recognize a disc the first time it was inserted; sometimes it struggled to eject a disc. I was afraid that it wouldn't be long before a disc got stuck in it, necessitating a costly trip to the shop or a risky DIY teardown to fix or replace it.

• Mostly because of that, I'm starting to realize that an internal optical drive isn't such a good idea. If an external one fails, I can just replace it. And I am not limited to what Apple offers. I can get a decent Blu-Ray burner from OWC for about $100. For offsite & archival backups, the much larger capacity of BR discs is a better fit for me.

• The thinness of the new iMac is obvious. What was not until I used it for a while is how amazingly quiet it is & how cool it runs, even under heavy load. It also feels more sturdy than any iMac I have ever used & somehow has richer, deeper sound even though there is less room inside for speakers. I don't know how Apple managed all that but I suspect the thinness is more a consequence of an improved, "less is more" internal design than a design goal in & of itself.

• Every design is a trade off among mutually conflicting goals. I would love it if the new iMac had a built-in optical drive, all the ports my old one did, & so on. But if that means compromising on the striking improvements this one includes, I would not be a happy camper. It is easily the best iMac I've ever used.

I know it's a great machine, there's no doubt about it. But saying that they used to give you a non reliable DVD and that you are happy in fact, that now they decided no to include one whatsoever; it's like saying they used to build a great car with a crappy radio and now I’m happy that they don't include one in the same price range.... They are stealing "our" money (yours and mine) and being lazy about it!!! Cents… yes!!! But I prefer to save the whales with that money!!! Je!!

They should have come up with a solution, “better” than what they had. If a display like the Mac book pro retina has ghosting issues you make the display better... They used to be LG and now they are Samsung, they fixed the problem, they didn't get rid of the display and said "now you can use it with your iPad retina, so you really don't need a display" and charge you the same.

Most guys said, in this post, the floppy drive worked with USB in the year ’98, 14 or 15 years latter they come up with the same idea… The difference is that at the time a USB floppy drive was state of the art technology, other brands used a funky port that wasn’t that reliable.

I expect they give a solution according to what they should do “state of the art technology” asking less from apple is equal to buying another brand. If you don’t care, you don’t mind buying other brands, with no design, no color, no personality, no life…. I want apple and I want apple to be good!!!!

Cheers!!!

pipogoro wrote:

 

I know it's a great machine, there's no doubt about it. But saying that they used to give you a non reliable DVD and that you are happy in fact, that now they decided no to include one whatsoever; it's like saying they used to build a great car with a crappy radio and now I’m happy that they don't include one in the same price range.... They are stealing "our" money (yours and mine) and being lazy about it!!! Cents… yes!!! But I prefer to save the whales with that money!!! Je!!

Hard to take anyone seriously when they start ranting on about Apple 'stealing' money. You don't have to buy one, I advise you to take that choice.

R C-R wrote:

 

• The idea of an AIO computer is outdated. At the least, everyone that uses an iMac for any serious purpose should have one or more external HDs for backups.

 

• Consumer grade slot-loading DVD drive mechanisms are not very rugged or reliable. It isn't just the ones Apple has used; it's all of them. They all use cheap, stamped metal parts & actuators just barely powerful enough to do the job

 

• I wasn't happy that my new iMac didn't have a built-in DVD drive but I got over it.

 

• Mostly because of that, I'm starting to realize that an internal optical drive isn't such a good idea.

 

• The thinness of the new iMac is obvious. What was not until I used it for a while is how amazingly quiet it is & how cool it runs

Amen to that !

Let that post be the epitaph of the optical drives in Macs and good riddance to them at that.

I could not be more happy that they're ditching the sodding things - a waste of space in a modern machine. I think most people just don't realise what an overwhelmingly inefficient medium they now are.

Maybe all the DvD advocates in this thread just like to Fed-Ex their dinner from the kitchen to the table, maintain a cathedral to keep their car in at night, or hire a double decker bus to carry their 2 shopping bags back from the supermarket, but I'll be a lot happier with no moving parts in my Mac and an external drive !

Well I say steal because the option it's not given to me. See if they are so sure about the DVD why don't they offer a free one or a discount with the purchase your machine. And of course I'll always buy Mac there is no other choice in the market such as this. It's an awesome computer it just doesn't have a DVD solution that I like or want.

i just purchased my first imac this week and bought the external superdrive also. i used the drive to load windows and supporting hardware from bootcamp and havn't needed yet. i play games and the games i play download from places like steam and origin, so i don't need a internal unit and i just came from a pc. so far so good. i'll have to wait and see how it goes. but at first i thought it was strange it did'nt have one built in! but not so much now.

budd.

Of course there are no moving parts!!!! They are glued!!! Jejejejejejejee!!!! Cheers!!!!