The answer is obvious, he should simply use silver duct tape and stick that external DVD drive on the back of the iMac!
I used double sided sticky tape to stick a small hard drive for my time machine back ups on the back of my iMac. Even if you it was there it was impossible to see unless you turned the iMac around.
To everyone complaining about 5400 RPM drives in the new iMac...
1. Rotational speed affects rotational latency: time required for the disk to spin to position the desired data under the read/write head. This is only one factor in performance. You also need to account for transfer rate, seek time, buffer size, cacheing algorithms, command queueing, etc. Advances in all of those areas have made today's 5400 RPM drives much faster than those of the old days.
2. If you are really concerned about performance, order with a Fusion Drive. SSDs are so much faster: orders of magnitude for some work loads. For the times the system needs to access the HDD, I suspect the rotational speed won't make much of a difference in overall performance. (Someone could do a HDD upgrade to 7200 RPM to benchmark this, assuming we can even open the darn thing...)
3. For low noise and low power consumption, 5400 RPM is definitely the way to go.
That's rather insultingly dismissive of people who still have perfectly valid reasons for using optical media, including convenience, compatibility and even influences outside their direct control (eg. clients, employers, family).
It's understood that optical storage is less critical now than it once was, but that doesn't mean people who need or choose to use it are making a mistake. Dropping optical drives isn't the same as dropping floppy drives was because optical discs aren't just file storage media, they're still the most common delivery medium for both audio and video material. Obviously CD use is declining rapidly and we're now a couple years into getting rid of DVD/Blu-Ray, but to dismiss their still-dominant status as of right now is either disingenuous or ill-informed.
I agree that optical discs will eventually join floppies on the pile of obsolete media, and for some they already have. That doesn't mean they're irrelevant NOW.
That said, it doesn't strike me as a terrible hardship to use an external burner.
Totally agree. There are still many valid uses for optical media in 2012.
I plan to strap a USB powered slimline external DVD writer under my desk at the front. Tray will eject with just enough room to comfortably insert discs. I already have the drive, so no additional cost to me. I actually think it will be more convenient in this position than the vertical slot at the side of the previous generation iMac.
Really? For a DESKTOP computer that I just spent $1200+ for? So I bought this beautiful all-in-one computer only to have to make it ugly by buying an external burner? Look, I get it. Apple has decided that the optical drive is obsolete. I understand eliminating it on a laptop, but not on a desktop. I'm not a fan of losing the FW ports either. Yes, yes, I can buy an adapter, but again, why? Apple declaring something obsolete doesn't necessarily make it so.
That's all I'm saying. I bought the previous generous iMac with optical drive, and I'm quite happy about that. If you don't need one, cool. But, I would venture to guess I'm not the only person who will be unhappy to see this gone.
For the five days in a year that you actually use the drive, you pull it out of the drawer and plug it in, use it, then put it back in the drawer. It causes ZERO clutter 99% of the time.
I used double sided sticky tape to stick a small hard drive for my time machine back ups on the back of my iMac. Even if you it was there it was impossible to see unless you turned the iMac around.
Too redneck?
AppleInsider Fanbois can't comprehend that simple concept...
What's all this 'Fanbois' crap. You aren't happy about no optical drive, OK, go and buy some POS then. There's no optical drive, you don't like it, most people prefer it. Methinks you're just a bit angry at the world.
Comments
I used double sided sticky tape to stick a small hard drive for my time machine back ups on the back of my iMac. Even if you it was there it was impossible to see unless you turned the iMac around.
Too redneck?
To everyone complaining about 5400 RPM drives in the new iMac...
1. Rotational speed affects rotational latency: time required for the disk to spin to position the desired data under the read/write head. This is only one factor in performance. You also need to account for transfer rate, seek time, buffer size, cacheing algorithms, command queueing, etc. Advances in all of those areas have made today's 5400 RPM drives much faster than those of the old days.
2. If you are really concerned about performance, order with a Fusion Drive. SSDs are so much faster: orders of magnitude for some work loads. For the times the system needs to access the HDD, I suspect the rotational speed won't make much of a difference in overall performance. (Someone could do a HDD upgrade to 7200 RPM to benchmark this, assuming we can even open the darn thing...)
3. For low noise and low power consumption, 5400 RPM is definitely the way to go.
tzb
Quote:
Originally Posted by v5v
That's rather insultingly dismissive of people who still have perfectly valid reasons for using optical media, including convenience, compatibility and even influences outside their direct control (eg. clients, employers, family).
It's understood that optical storage is less critical now than it once was, but that doesn't mean people who need or choose to use it are making a mistake. Dropping optical drives isn't the same as dropping floppy drives was because optical discs aren't just file storage media, they're still the most common delivery medium for both audio and video material. Obviously CD use is declining rapidly and we're now a couple years into getting rid of DVD/Blu-Ray, but to dismiss their still-dominant status as of right now is either disingenuous or ill-informed.
I agree that optical discs will eventually join floppies on the pile of obsolete media, and for some they already have. That doesn't mean they're irrelevant NOW.
That said, it doesn't strike me as a terrible hardship to use an external burner.
Totally agree. There are still many valid uses for optical media in 2012.
I plan to strap a USB powered slimline external DVD writer under my desk at the front. Tray will eject with just enough room to comfortably insert discs. I already have the drive, so no additional cost to me. I actually think it will be more convenient in this position than the vertical slot at the side of the previous generation iMac.
tzb
Originally Posted by bigdaddyp
Too redneck?
Your iMac would have to have Truck Nutz hanging from it to be considered close to that. And even then, less 'redneck', more 'phenomenally stupid'.
What would the difference be between an iMac (2011) with SSD and the new iMac (2912) with Fusion Drive?
Apple suggests boot times of 4x an HD with Flash, 1.7x with FD. Would launching other apps also take a hit?
When I moved up to the SSD iMac from a MacPro (2009) with a regular hard drive the difference was night and day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hentaiboy
"We all get thicker in the middle as we age"
- quote Fastflyer
I think that was meant for humans..lol
Anyway just little disappointed, but not unexpected, since the technology is way too expensive to make such a machine for desktop at moment.
For the five days in a year that you actually use the drive, you pull it out of the drawer and plug it in, use it, then put it back in the drawer. It causes ZERO clutter 99% of the time.
Not at all ... Sounds very tech savvy to me
Fluffy Dice ... then I'd worry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hillstones
AppleInsider Fanbois can't comprehend that simple concept...
What's all this 'Fanbois' crap. You aren't happy about no optical drive, OK, go and buy some POS then. There's no optical drive, you don't like it, most people prefer it. Methinks you're just a bit angry at the world.