Why did Apple pull the optical drives from mini?

Apple wants non-techies to use the iTunes store for their videos whenever possible.

A dvd player isn't necessary, everyone has one already.
 
I burn things quite often. Audio CDs for listening in the car, DVDs with pictures and video from trips for family members (who do not want family photos up on online sharing sites). I do like Blu-Ray for playback and will not be joining the Apple universe for HTPC use until they get on that bandwagon. So while I am perhaps a bit disappointed with this change of course, I do feel that the Mini optical drive was of questionable value without Blu-Ray support anyway so it is probably for the best.
 
It's an odd move considering it's suppose to be a desktop. They probably wanted to force everyone to stop using disc media, taking it out was the easiest choice. It also made it thinner and have room for discrete graphics. At least they solved the problem of discs getting stuck.

I would imagine how many people will be dissapointed if they were planning on using a Mac Mini as a HTPC.
 
The reason Apple did this was not lack of space or obsolete optical drives - cd's and dvd's are very much alive and everybody has them. The real reason is to force people to use iTunes and iCloud (and thus lots of $$$ for Apple).

Optical media may very well be rare for software, but its alive and well for content, and Apple does not operate in that market, so its in their interests. It doesn't hurt that it will also save a few $ on component cost, and not hurt sales at all, due to Apple's captive audience, and probably sales of a usb dvd drive which they may sell too.

Burning dvd's is very common and very useful since nearly everyone is able to use them, they are dirt cheap and disposable. I'm wondering if Apple will ever add blu-ray support and how much they'll charge for it.
 
starwa1ker said:
I would imagine how many people will be dissapointed if they were planning on using a Mac Mini as a HTPC.
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I think it's been 3, but could be as much as 5, years since I had my htpc and I only recently (last month) opened it to add a 90 degree data cable to get my optical drive operational.

I'm not sure what MrCrispy is referring to when he says that everyone has and uses optical media. I supposedly have a stack of cdr's and dvdr's but whenever I think I need them I end up using a usb drive (usually my phone, actually) because it's faster, more portable, easier, and less prone to malfunction.

Where are people using optical media?
it's antiquated on htpcs
cumbersome for everyday use
silly in portable use -- modern car stereos come in two variants: too old/inexpensive to have a cd slot *or* has an aux/usb port so the slot goes unused
 
I'm with mope. Optical media is dead. The SuperDrive in my MBP has been dead at the very least since Leopard (not Snow Leopard) was released, and I can count on one hand the times I've needed to use a DVD drive since then (and those times I was able to get by just fine without it).

Likewise for my HTPC that's been running since 2008ish. It's got a DVD drive in it, but I honestly don't think I've used it once since I've bought it, or had the need to.
 
Guess I'm the only one who wasn't sad to see it go.

The only time I ever use a CD is when I reinstall my OS, and even that's been obsoleted now with Lion. Less parts means smaller and cheaper iDevices.
 
I can't remember the last time I used the blu-ray drive in my htpc. Waste of money IMO.

I keep one in the pc that does my ripping and encoding though.
 
valve1138 said:
I can't remember the last time I used the blu-ray drive in my htpc. Waste of money IMO.

I keep one in the pc that does my ripping and encoding though.
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My HTPC's Blu-ray drive is actually the only optical drive I use. Ripping a Blu-ray to my file server to watch later is not only more convenient, but also completely removes the DRM headache. Last time I tried to play a new movie (Narnia) in my "real" Blu-ray player, it forced a 10-minute firmware update just to watch it. :rolleyes:
 
Save space, and we are moving away from CDs and DVDs. Almost all software and drivers and be downloaded online.
 
450 said:
HAH! It probably will mean greater profits for Apple.
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Not really, they 'replaced' the optical with another HD as the standard rather than an option. On the previous mini, the only way to get a dual HD configuration was on the server. The sever of the last gen also didn't have an optical.

So personally if I had to choose between 2x HD's or an HD and a DVD-drive, I'd take the 2x HD's for this particular application.

I would also dare to say that a harddrive is significantly more expensive than a DVD-drive and Apple is selling the new Mini at the same price points as the last one.

Additionally I don't see why everyone is accusing Apple of trying to corner the market on digital distribution. A reason to use iTunes and iCloud? The truth of the matter is all professional products are down direct to drive downloadable. Microsoft Office, the Adobe suite, Quarkxpress... etc... This is discounting all the freeware I use all the time like Transmission, Adium, Firefox, etc. Steam and games have moved to digital distribution (Battle.net and direct2drive being other examples). Hulu and Netflix for media streaming has replaced the DVD in-so-far-as physical rentals.

There are tons of pieces of software and media that can and usually are obtained digitally rather than with physical copies. MOST of which aren't things that Apple profits from. The only exception to the rule is the Appstore, but that has nothing to do with the change to a optical-less system.
 
its because of the "cloud." it's the future.

really.

Not saying Apples "cloud" is the end-all be-all, but companies are shying away from physical media, and internet speeds are getting faster and faster, allowing large content to be downloaded or streamed. Apple is eliminating the optical drives on their smallest models (the air, which never had one, and the mini) because they aren't really NECESSARY anymore. It helps them keep size and costs down. If you really need an optical drive, then those computers simply aren't made for you. :)

And in situations where you can't connect to the net, or need to do an emergency restore, thats what the larger and larger flash drives that are hitting the market are for...

I haven't put a CD/DVD in my MBP for months...
 
Grentz said:
The hilarious part to me is that Apple is supposed to be the "artsy" platform.

How are you supposed to Author DVDs?
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I haven't authored a DVD since 2006. All new portfolio content goes to my website, potential clients aren't at all interested in viewing DVDs.
 
UnknownSouljer said:
Not really, they 'replaced' the optical with another HD as the standard rather than an option. On the previous mini, the only way to get a dual HD configuration was on the server. The sever of the last gen also didn't have an optical.
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This in itself is not enough to convince you Apple is doing it for more profit? WHo makes profit if you buy an OS upgrade CD for Mac? It used to be the retailer selling it. Now it's all Apple making the profit because the only way you can get it is through itunes.

Additionally I don't see why everyone is accusing Apple of trying to corner the market on digital distribution.
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Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean others do not. Fear not: They are not going to either, the market is much bigger than Apple and itunes.
 
Nobody uses optical drives much anymore, no one used floppy drives for a long time either. Apple figured they can save some money by doing it and charge the same price so they make more profit, and they can also claim they are "progressive" as the excuse. But at the end of the day it seems to me like it is kinda stupid to cheap out on very small priced items in a device. Kinda like skipping a DVI connector and so on. It costs all of what $1 to include that and floppy drives were like $5 and at OEM capacity a DVD drive has to be like $15. When you are paying hundreds of dollars for an item what is an extra $25 to have the options if you do need it? They also know that most of their customers will over pay for the Apple branded USB or thunder bolt device so they can make even more profit.
 
rudy said:
Nobody uses optical drives much anymore, no one used floppy drives for a long time either. Apple figured they can save some money by doing it and charge the same price so they make more profit, and they can also claim they are "progressive" as the excuse. But at the end of the day it seems to me like it is kinda stupid to cheap out on very small priced items in a device. Kinda like skipping a DVI connector and so on. It costs all of what $1 to include that and floppy drives were like $5 and at OEM capacity a DVD drive has to be like $15. When you are paying hundreds of dollars for an item what is an extra $25 to have the options if you do need it? They also know that most of their customers will over pay for the Apple branded USB or thunder bolt device so they can make even more profit.
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So say that extra dvi connector costs them one dollar to put in. Stretch that over 10 million units sold and the company has essentially just made a free $10 million dollars. That's why "extras" get cut out.

Does anyone know why there's no blu-ray on macs yet?
 
shoota said:
Does anyone know why there's no blu-ray on macs yet?
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low adoption,
few want to watch blu-ray on a computer,
apple views appletv as their htpc instead of the mini,
it's sony's tech,
digital distribution is going to kill it before it kills dvd,
cost,
better aesthetics (form and noise) without it
iTunes has 720p content and the vast majority of computer monitors are too small to tell difference between 720 and 1080

i think that's probably enough reasons...

there are people here who love blu-ray, but for your average joe with a desktop, blu-ray is not a priority.
 
interesting...my only guess is that rudy hasn't actually done his research on the innards of Apple branded hard drives.
 
Apple is cutting costs and saving money by cutting the optical drive from the Mac Mini. Theyve really been pushing the Apple Mac App store and losing the optical drive is the next logical step.

I never use the optical drive in my MBP. I think i've used it maybe once since I got it.
 
becand75 said:
Apple is cutting costs and saving money by cutting the optical drive from the Mac Mini.
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They save a few bucks per unit, sure. The Mac Mini's production volume is low enough that the savings aren't even a drop in their cash bucket, though. They have nearly $80 billion on hand. Cutting a $5 component out of the Mac Mini isn't that big a deal to them.

But it's definitely telling how little anyone uses optical drives these days.
 
Money wise, youre right...for a company like Apple.

But if Apple is any indication of where technology is headed, I can see the optical drive going the way of the floppy in the not too distant future.
 
Agree'd with just about everyone in the thread so far.

I replaced my ODD with an 750gb HDD in the optibay, and I haven't missed it. The 2x I've needed a DVD, I've got an external I can plug in.

Meanwhile, when walking around on a daily basis, I have an SSD boot/app drive for speed, and 750gb of HDD storage goodness for papers, research, music, movies/etc.

DVD's really aren't needed anymore, for the vast majority of people. That does not mean there aren't people who need it, but for those, you can buy an external. Meanwhile, the majority of people get more value (be it in smaller footprint, lower power usage, better graphics, or the option of more storage, whatever) in a computer w/o a disk drive.

The Mini's gained a Sandy Bridge processor, but also gained the capability of a dedicated graphics card, and that graphics card will be more useful, for more people, then a ODD would be.


shoota said:
Does anyone know why there's no blu-ray on macs yet?
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That one's easy actually, Sony and Apple do NOT get along with each other, and Apple refuses to pay a licensing fee which in any way, shape, or form, goes to Sony.

Of course, all the other reasons mentioned are true as well!
 
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Zumino Zufeilon said:
That one's easy actually, Sony and Apple do NOT get along with each other, and Apple refuses to pay a licensing fee which in any way, shape, or form, goes to Sony.
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Not true, Apple is actually on the Blu Ray consortium. It is a myth that Sony is the sole beneficiary of Blu Ray licenses, many other companies are as well.

The answer is simple: optical media is a technological dead end.

Now, Blu Ray makes sense in my living room on the 60" plasma, and this is only because I am very sensitive to video compression and want the best possible image quality when I watch a movie I really love. On a laptop or desktop it really doesn't make as much sense when people are more concerned about convenience. The convenience of not managing physical media and instead having a downloaded copy that looks or sounds almost as good as a Blu Ray on a little laptop or desktop display far outweighs the cost and added weight of a physical drive.

My full tower Corsair 800D PC case has a Blu Ray drive in it. I have used it maybe four times in two years, and most of that was towards the beginning when I just wanted to check it out. I'm a major tech lover and videophile, I bought Laserdiscs way back in the day, so for me to say that means that normal people really don't care about that.

Most people don't care about Blu Ray on their computers, so why spend the cash on it?
 
ryken said:
i've posted that before but no one responded. if you give it a shot, be sure to let us know how it works!
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Well for $9 it sure seems like it's worth a shot. Maybe you could order one too and see if it works :)
 
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