

- #EXTERNAL DISC DRIVE FOR MAC SOFTWARE INSTALL#
- #EXTERNAL DISC DRIVE FOR MAC SOFTWARE PORTABLE#
- #EXTERNAL DISC DRIVE FOR MAC SOFTWARE SOFTWARE#
Also worth considering: Verbatim External CD/DVD Writer.
#EXTERNAL DISC DRIVE FOR MAC SOFTWARE PORTABLE#
#EXTERNAL DISC DRIVE FOR MAC SOFTWARE SOFTWARE#
Up until now, the vast majority of software (at least the legal variety) has been distributed by way of CD or DVD. What there won’t be are any optical discs. While Apple didn’t give a ton of details yet, it appears that this store will work pretty much just as their App Store does on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The other half is a potentially much bigger announcement Apple made today: the Mac App Store. I suspect we may see more drives like this one (which use much less plastic than typical USB flash drives - and appear to even use less plastic than optical discs). They may still be more expensive to produce, but Apple has clearly figured out a way to make it work. But flash memory cards, such as the one Apple includes with the Air, are already blowing DVDs out of the water when it comes to storage. CDs were replaced by DVDs because they offered a lot more storage. This stick, packed in with your manual, is all you need to reinstall your system now. But now, that has been replaced with a super-slim USB stick. Normally, Apple includes at least one back-up DVD to reinstall OS X and other software if your computer fails. When you get your MacBook Air and you open the box, you will find exactly zero optical discs inside. That is also no longer the case (though both still exists).
#EXTERNAL DISC DRIVE FOR MAC SOFTWARE INSTALL#
Second, they required some convoluted desktop computer CD syncing system to be able to install something from an optical disc to the Air (or an optional USB add-on).

That’s true, but a couple key ingredients were missing the last time around.įirst of all, the first-generation Airs were a bad combination of underpowered and overpriced. Now, I know what you’re thinking: but the MacBook Air has been around for a couple of years and it hasn’t killed off the optical disc yet. And I’m not going to be the only one that does. I wanted to replace it with a MacBook Air. I came to the realization that I had never once used the optical drive in my current MacBook Pro, and it was simply taking up a lot of space and was making my computer unnecessarily bulky. Last week, I wrote a post laying out what I hoped Apple would bring with a revamped MacBook Air. Soon, it will go the way of the floppy disk. But make no mistake that today, with two unveilings, Apple has effectively sealed the fate of the optical disc in the computer industry. The CD and other optical discs, like DVDs and Blu-rays, are obviously going to live on for a while as a way to transport media. Before my headline gets you all worked up, consider what I’m saying here.
