Q: No DVD drive in new iMac ???

I think is great that they have a policy towards common users. It's normal that as a common user, when you enter the apple world, having what they give you is a great option cause they've thought about every detail in order to make your experience of use easier and definitely great. For me it’s always been a plus.

But they’ve obviously forgot the audio/video guys. The new iMac 27” have almost the same port solution (USB Thunderbolt) as the Mac mini, I don’t get that. For me that I do weddings the DVD optic drive option is not only necessary but fundamental. The momentum that a DVD represents, with the face of the bride on the DVD or whatever, and a book with the wedding photos, is irreplaceable. Now a days there are web options and facebook or twiter options added for the wedding experience. But a solid book with “brochured” copies of photos and DVD’s can’t be replaced in that experience. Let’s not forget that apple provide a book service with aperture and iphoto if I’m not wrong. This is stuff you can’t change either.

Denying a good DVD or future bluray option it’s a bad professional move. On the one hand they provide a powerful computer obviously featured for those that need time saving solution on managing files and render, with the fusion drive, in my case they could just left a 1.4 TB all flash (the double of mac book pro retina) but would have scared people.

Some people compare the DVD solution to the floppy disk from 1998… By that time it was only logical 1.44 MB didn’t produce any business but to the guys who still sold them. And internet was growing big time providing the solution of sending little files through free email accounts… If I don’t remember badly by 2002 you could send 5MB by hotmail account, almost 3 times more than a floppy… Today it’s not that easy…

I don’t think this is just a facebook status checking machine, for that I have iPhone and iPad, they strip away the necessity of being able to provide different professional formats, or better said consumer formats trough what I consider a working computer. I think it’s definitely sad that they chose to take DVD away and not giving bluray solution that’s been asked for by consumer of private video and photo creation.

Many people will say or think that for that type of necessities we will be provided by a tower mac pro solution. But in this economy and turn of events of the digital world that is a solution that’s for a few lucky people that can charge for their equipment. More and more these days the payment of photo/video work it’s a global low payment that has no consideration for the equipment that you use. Since that’s a common coin in the profession, I as a professional tend to low cost in equipment in order to make a job viable of profit…

It’s not my job to provide solutions but to demand them. I’ve used mac for a long time and have defended their every move. This I can’t, this is not a matter of religion or who knows better. The times of the mac being a struggling company are gone, now it’s on the top of the chain in a partnership with intel and many other top brands. I expect the best because I pay for the best.

Good post, Pipogoro!

haha.. I'm glad i got my imac 21.5" just a moth ago. I needed as few wires as possible.. yet have a dvd writer, card reader etc. With new new iMac series, I'd really struggle. Card slots at back, no dvd.. True I miss the usb 3 ports, but with things like belkin thunderbolt docks, i can even get that ! This is a bad move Apple. Sure its a very powerful as well as beautiful piece of computer, but at what cost? No dvd writer? Atleast for the next 5 years we're still going to use dvds, or atleast till they last. I dont need dvd drive for work, but for that occassional movie/ ripping i'm glad i have it

Another "problem" I read about was that it will be virtually impossible for users to replace or add RAM themselves, meaning that you can no longer use a £30  8GB stick but will have to pay Apple £160 to add the stuff.

Basically a complete rip-off at over 5 times the price.

babowa wrote:

 

Well, there's the Mac Pro or, at the other end (and getting better now being offered with a fusion drive): a Mini with an external monitor or two and an external drive.

Babawa, I don't think you understand who the iMac user is. You keep offering solutions ie: buy a Mac Pro, that are not practical from a price point/design perspective. iMac users want a desktop solution in a streamlined design that has the basic functionality (and hear this...a optical drive) without tethering a load of crap to it.

Fred Jorge wrote:

iMac users want a desktop solution in a streamlined design that has the basic functionality (and hear this...a optical drive) without tethering a load of crap to it.

I have been an iMac user for at least six years. I can't think of a time that I didn't have at least one external hard drive plugged into them (for backups, something I consider mandatory for any serious user) plus a wired keyboard & at times a few other things like audio interfaces or cameras. And whenever it has been practical, I have connected them to my router with ethernet cables rather than wirelessly.

I don't think I'm particularly unusual in this respect, so while I'm sure what you say is true for some users it isn't for all of us.

Message was edited by: R C-R

Actually, I've had every iteration of iMac since the first one and I have one now, so don't tell me that "I don't understnd who the iMac user is".  If the new and future iMacs do not meet my needs, rather than complain, I will look at other possibilities.

And, FWIW, their superdrives have always been finicky - I've had three fail even though I use them sparingly, preferring my desktop external burner. I don't expect much from a vertically installed super slim laptop style drive where any media can easily shift 1/1000th of an inch.

If all you want is basic functionality, get a basic Mini with a monitor of your choice and an external burner which can be placed under/on top of the mini.

"I have been an iMac user for at least six years. I can't think of a time that I didn't have at least one external hard drive plugged into them (for backups, something I consider mandatory for any serious user) plus a wired keyboard & at times a few other things like audio interfaces or cameras. And whenever it has been practical, I have connected them to my router with ethernet cables rather than wirelessly."

Well that was why apple came up with the time capsule, wireless back up and no clutter. They even threw in a wireless keyboard, mouse and track pad. 

Now yoyu want us to start adding wires?

R C-R wrote

I have been an iMac user for at least six years. I can't think of a time that I didn't have at least one external hard drive plugged into them (for backups, something I consider mandatory for any serious user) plus a wired keyboard & at times a few other things like audio interfaces or cameras. And whenever it has been practical, I have connected them to my router with ethernet cables rather than wirelessly.

 

I don't think I'm particularly unusual in this respect, so while I'm sure what you say is true for some users it isn't for all of us.

Really, why would I want to tether another external compontent when I could have it built in. I consider my current intel iMac pretty darn slim and elegently designed. I don't need a super edge slim version that bulbs out in the middle just to remove the optical drive a better solution. Do you?

Creeper523 wrote:

Well that was why apple came up with the time capsule, wireless back up and no clutter. They even threw in a wireless keyboard, mouse and track pad. 

Now yoyu want us to start adding wires?

I have no EMR/EMI polluters and don't have to deal with batteries. Wired is the only way to go.

Well that was why apple came up with the time capsule, wireless back up and no clutter. They even threw in a wireless keyboard, mouse and track pad. 

 

Now yoyu want us to start adding wires?

Fellow users don't want you to add anything. It's called having a choice/options. I don't back up wirelessly preferring a more reliable and faster firewire connection to three externals. Just because Apple offers a Time Capsule or anything else doesn't mean I have to buy it.

My wireless keyboard was absolutely worthless during a 2 1/2 hour call and troubleshooting session to Applecare - the iMac was not responding to key commands from the bluetooth during the boot up process because the sequence of keyboard being off and needing it on for the key commands is not reliable, so I had to get out my older USB keyboard and it worked fine. FWIW, my hard drive is being replaced tomorrow.

I will avail myself of wireless or any other innovations when they meet my needs, not because they're available.

As it appears that this thread is now moving into a different direction from its beginning as a rational and interesting discussion, I will most likely be done here.

That's the way it goes. Strange; I heard the same complaints when Apple did away with the floppy drive. Apple makes a lot of income from hardware upgrades; that's why the fan club is so big. It's what made Apple.

One can complain and threaten to quit Apple or decide wheather or not a PC would be a better choice. Sure one has to look out for virus's, trojans, and spyware, but...we'll have a DVD drive by golly.

Best....

I heard the same complaints when Apple did away with the floppy drive.

I don't think the analogy is the same.  When floppy drives were discontinued ZIP drives, and CDs were quite common.  Yes, some did complain (not me).

In the case of DVDs, many people see them as technically superior to downloading and video streaming.

A blue ray DVD will give you higher quality video than anything available for download. Moreover, the ability to play a DVD movie on various devices is extremely simple and straightforward. Conversely, these boards are full of people experiencing great difficulties in playing movies that they have paid for and downloaded on their various devices.

With billions of DVDs sold every year I believe that removing the optical drive from a “All-in-One Computer” is premature.

I know some have switched to Windows over this issue, I will not.  For now, my Macintosh purchases will be Mac Pro with two optical drives, one of which is Blu-ray.

now that i've had a few days to think about this i've calmed down a little. but only just a little.  this is really nothing new to me. i have a lot of old programs that i run and 10.6 is the newest operating system that will run them. so if i have to replace a computer that will run 10.6 it will have an optical drive. i looked in my dock and i have eight programs that i use that require an optical drive. so older it will stay for me. the only place that i think i will have to go "modern" is the internet and i can buy a no frills machine for that and upgrade my internet machine when necessary. no big deal. to get on base you gotta learn how to hit a curveball.  not all of my machines have to do everything.  that is the solution to my problem. i bet with a little creative thinking you guys can find a solution for your concerns also.

With h.265 coming out next year, h.265 might kill the Blu-ray and DVD disc.