Comments on: Are Optical Drives Going the Way of the Floppy?

By: Still More Victims Caught in Apple’s Wake: Apple «

Still More Victims Caught in Apple’s Wake: Apple « — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 21:02:37 +0000

[...] Then, following the quarterly earnings call where Steve proclaimed Apple’s love of flash, Apple announced an update to a drive-less MacBook Air: a MacBook which already lacks a SuperDrive. [...]

By: Jeremy099

Jeremy099 — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:46:28 +0000

Those are SSD’s (solid state drives) they are used as mass storage for actual computers

This article is talking about SD cards (typcally used to store the pictures in digital cameras

SD *cards* are much MUCH smaller than SSD *drives*

By: Khürt

Khürt — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:21:21 +0000

@Pete,
I am concerned about data loss (not theft). I have an external drive where my photos and other media is stored. I use BackBlaze ( I do not work for or have any financial interest in BackBlaze ) to back that up. Should my HD fail or my house go up in flames, my documents can be recovered from the Cloud.

Please elaborate on how “Backing data up to a cloud is not secure and you lose control over the information”? Give facts. Not opinion.

By: The MacBook Air is Doomed

The MacBook Air is Doomed — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:01:42 +0000

[...] rented and sold at the iTunes Store. Unlike the floppy, Apple has a vested interest in speeding the demise of the optical drive. Should Apple remove the optical drive on Pro lineup, the impact would be immediate for the MacBook [...]

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:06:01 +0000

Blu-ray discs go for about $5-$10 each, and can hold 50 gigs. Soon 200 gigs.

Yeah, SD cards will be competitive some day. When they’re so cheap we shoot our photos on them and leave them on. SD-ROM.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:28:56 +0000

I have been thinking for a while now that internal DVD drives are going to go. The cost to replace an internal DVD drive is prohibitive, and many iMac owners I know buy a cheap external drive to use when their internal one breaks. That position has to change. And to get slimmer, more power-efficient, lighter laptops, the DVD drive is the next thing to go. Anyone wanting to watch DVDs can get a cheap external drive. And you don’t often need to read or burn a DVD when you have a laptop on your lap, most often you can put it on a desk and then burn, so an external drive is no hassle, as long as it can get it’s power from the laptop.

By: karl

karl — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:28:52 +0000

Some nice figures that speak for SD here:

http://www.gnegg.ch/2009/05/no-more-hard-drives-for-me/

By: SeanBlader

SeanBlader — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:31:55 +0000

Discs for movies yes. Discs for software forget it. In fact, I can’t even remember the last software I got that came on a disc maybe Vista? The few operating systems I’ve picked up since then were downloads, those being Windows 7 and a few editions of Ubuntu. In fact I’d bet in ten years physical media goes away entirely and everything is done via the cloud. Sneakernet is so 20th century.

By: Howie Isaacks

Howie Isaacks — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:30:35 +0000

I still use mine, but then I’m always having to burn something for a customer. I also burn the latest Mac OS X updates onto DVDs for use out in the field. Not everyone’s internet connection is nice and fast like the one I have at home.

By: David Crellen

David Crellen — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:48:39 +0000

Apple has always *successfully* abandoned media before its time: Mac was leader in the nascent 3″ drives in lieu of the then-ubiquitous 5″ floppies, etc.

In the original days of memory, there was the expensive EPROM (erasable, programmable, read only memory), the moderately priced PROM (One-time programmable read only memory) and the cheaper ROM (factory programmable read only memory).

With Apple’s foresight and the above analogy to flash memory, I can easily see Apple defining a factory-programmed, multi-gigabyte, read-only SD device which could house Snow Leopard distribution (or Logic Studio). It would not have to be reprogrammed and would cost a tiny fraction of a flash SD card and be a permanent storage device for the bootable software.

It would be like making a “Gold SD” and, guaranteeing millions, would probably cost less than distribution on DVD’s.

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:12:57 +0000

As has been said already, this wont happen yet, but maybe in time. But if Apple Decides to go this route in there 09-10 refresh schedules, they will be bitting a huge bullet with a lot of users, and external corps. Fact being, all the software recalls for repacking, and production. R&D costs for best method delivery, etc. Its just not a viable option at this time.

The problem still exists, drives fail, optical, hard or solid state. They all fail, and you still need a method to back that information up. I agree that clouds can be used, but they just aren’t as secure as they should be. Now unless you want to encrypt your backups at compression time, then push them to the cloud, but its still attackable, still able to be hacked. Nothing is secure.
Hard copy digital media is the best resource until we find another viable solution. So DVD’s and CD’s will not go anywhere for some time, and if apple chooses to discontinue the opticial drive its another Microsoft Purchaser Ad going, well I need cds so I can’t get a mac. like we need that.

As a person who produces music, cds are still needed. There are still a lot of people who dont have iPods/MP3 Players etc, or a method of listening to music in their car… Other than the stock CD Deck.

Apple wont make that move, until the other manufacturers start porting over to different methods for delivery or use.

By: Apple Considering Dumping Discs for SD Cards | Ronald Heft

Apple Considering Dumping Discs for SD Cards | Ronald Heft — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:03:48 +0000

[...] is running out quickly for the optical medium. Even with Bluray, I have no problem working with just flash memory. I say, sure, take away my [...]

By: Hagen Kaye

Hagen Kaye — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:34:01 +0000

I guess I don’t consider a CD/DVD permanent. I used to make two copies, just in case one failed in the future.

By: grey

grey — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:29:11 +0000

No mention of spintronics or holographic storage still
on the radar screen even thought InPhase, Aprilisc, Optware, and
multi-layered proposed still haven’t solved cost or reliability.

Optical storage cost less but like the albatross there is some
new learning needed to make revolutionary optical data storage
operational,,,,,but it will happen and SD is not the future of
storage for many reasons.

By: Don

Don — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:11:32 +0000

I see a great opportunity for a new peripheral device – a stand-alone blu-ray/dvd player/burner with an SD slot. Transfer your files onto the SD card and pop it into the peripheral for burning, or vise-versa. Now the power consumption, burn time, buzz-chunk-shake-shimmy is off the laptop.
Eventually the optical disk will deservedly go the way of the floppy, zip, and jaz.

By: pete

pete — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:06:58 +0000

I agree with you about backing up temporary data. I use USB Flash Drives exclusively for that as well. But don’t you ever back up anything more permanent that you would use a disk for?