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Remove the CD/DVD drive from portable Mac's.
One thing that I would definitely like to see in the next revision(s) of the portable Mac product line-up, is the removal of the CD/DVD SuperDrive. I can't remember the last time I used a CD/DVD as I download 99% of my media now, so why not put the space that this large, clunky, mechanical component takes up to better use?
Option 1: Add more battery cells. If you've seen the new 17" MacBook Pro, where Apple were able to get 8 hours of battery life out of it, mostly by removing the latches and mechanisms for removing the battery, imagine what kind of battery life they could get by replacing the optical drive with more battery cells!
Option 2: Hard Disk / Flash Disk Combo. You could use the large HDD to store all your files, and have a 16GB flash drive to store to operating system and other essential files on. This means that the hard drive spins up less (better battery life) and the OS can run faster as it is being run from quicker flash memory.
Option 3: A combination of the above.
Apple were the first company to ditch the floppy drive from their machines. It's now 2009. Isn't it time we moved on from lugging around these shiny little discs and put this valuable space in our MacBooks to better use?
Option 1: Add more battery cells. If you've seen the new 17" MacBook Pro, where Apple were able to get 8 hours of battery life out of it, mostly by removing the latches and mechanisms for removing the battery, imagine what kind of battery life they could get by replacing the optical drive with more battery cells!
Option 2: Hard Disk / Flash Disk Combo. You could use the large HDD to store all your files, and have a 16GB flash drive to store to operating system and other essential files on. This means that the hard drive spins up less (better battery life) and the OS can run faster as it is being run from quicker flash memory.
Option 3: A combination of the above.
Apple were the first company to ditch the floppy drive from their machines. It's now 2009. Isn't it time we moved on from lugging around these shiny little discs and put this valuable space in our MacBooks to better use?
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Inappropriate?I think that is a kind of (sorry) stupid idea. How are you going to burn CD's then? I need to burn CD's cause otherwise I can't listen to music in my car. Don't you ever want to burn a CD????? Point one. Point two: Some people actually like to buy CD's, just because they want to hold the CD in their hands, that includes me. How am I supposed to get them on my laptop/into my iTunes library without a CD drive??? Point three: CD's are not like floppy disks and we are not already past the CD age. Point four: What about watching DVD's? Sorry, but in some countries you can't buy movies through iTunes (that includes Germany). I need a DVD drive.
And last but not least, why don't you buy a MacBook Air? No CD drive! -
Inappropriate?@lovettfan
I'm not saying stop supporting CD/DVD's altogether. There's no reason that the external SuperDrive Apple sell for the MacBook Air couldn't work with a new 'no SuperDrive' MacBook.
For me, the advantages of using the space that a optical drive takes up for stuff like more battery cell's and/or a flash drive, outweigh the disadvantages of not having a built-in CD drive. If I needed to do any of the stuff you mentioned in your post, I could just plug in my external SuperDrive when I get home.
I would love a MacBook Air, but it's low power (1.86GHz C2D makes a non-starter. A machine with similar dimensions and processing power to the MacBook Pro, but ditching the CD drive for a much high capacity battery and super quick primary flash drive is definitely something I would buy.
Just have a look at this photo of the insides of a new 15" MBP Unibody below, and i've outlined the SuperDrive, look at how much space it takes up!
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Inappropriate?buy an optibay
