Isn't it time we say goodbye to the CD/DVD drive?

disks look a lot like wheels

What if in 100 years someone tries to do something with a USB drive, and people say "he is just trying to reinvent the disc"

 

Don't know what you're going on about... but if you missed my point that blu-ray isn't dead because there is nothing to replace it yet then I don't know how much simpler I can state it.

 

Yep, that about sums it up!

 

It's been over 2.5 years since I owned a laptop that had an integrated optical drive, and I sure don't miss it. I use my external drive one day per month, to rip CDs.

 

And that's all fine and dandy, but I have literally hundreds of DVDs. How else would I be able to watch them? My point is, that your scenario doesn't work for everyone.

 

I use the same configuration in my 8150, and use an external ODD if I need to burn or install. I don't use the ODD much. But it is pretty cheap, and very useful when I need it.

As for the usb stick, I bought a 32gb sandisk today at office depot for $29. I use them a bit in my work.

Disclaimer: If I want to watch anything on my laptop, I put it on my large HDD before I need it, otherwise I watch on my online Directv app. But I spend a lot more time doing work than watching anything on my lappy. Everyone has their needs. Mine are speed and storage, but yours may vary. Use what you need, but don't discount other peoples needs. I haven't used an internal ODD in about 2 years, that has nothing to do with someone else using theirs everyday. It is all about what YOU need.

 

Not trolling, but I also have hundreds. I watch them on my big screen and my home theater player. I don't buy dvds with the thought of how gret they will look on my 15" lappy.

 

I watch them on my 64-74 inch projected screen, and I can honestly say they look great.

 

I need the CD/DVD drive for installing software, installing various operating systems (Linux flavors) and ripping/burning CD's. I COULD live without my CD/DVD drive, but it would be rather cumbersome because I use it so much.

Besides, the day CD/DVD drives get taken out of most laptops, is the day physical media distribution/manufacturing dies. I'll keep mine for sure. I even thought about buying a portable CD player just a while ago.

 

Copy them to an HDD and use an app to duplicate it to another HDD. Sooner or later those DVD's will fail.

 

Problem with that is it is **illegal**. Yes I do it, everyone does it, but it's illegal. So that is a kink in that thought, and there's nothing in the works to change that.

I've started ripping my blu-rays to HDD. I have a 15TB server with probably 100 movies, most DVD quality, started ripping HD quality and wow have I seen my space drop drastically. 8-10GB is a small size for 1080p with 7.1 audio. A straight rip will run 30-40GB usually. Then I have to spend the time to crunch it a bit to save space.

Plus I rent blu-rays a lot, so what am I supposed to do then? I watch quite a few on my desktop's 24" LCD, sometimes stream from my laptop to my 36" HDTV or 60" rear projection HD.

And again, it gets back to streaming video. It sucks, plain and simple. What they consider HD is really DVD quality, and what is SD is really just crap, like a 320p YouTube video expanded full screen, pixelated, banding, a total wreck.

I hate the cloud. Call me paranoid, but the cloud is just one step closer to Big Brother, or worse an avenue for hackers to score big time. Plus things like Dropbox, etc cost a lot of money if you need more than a few GB. Can't see storing 6TB of videos on Dropbox.

 

The cloud is awesome, so long as you never experience periodic interruptions in internet service, which would cut you off FROM EVERYTHING YOU OWN.

 

What I want is a USB 3.0 flash drive that has a capacity of what the external portable on the go drives have now.

If that becomes the norm then it would be great since we no longer have to use and bring the stupid usb cable to connect the external hd to our computers. All you gotta do is plug drag/drop unplug VOILA..

120gb usb flash drives are now available widely but still expensive and some places sell 256gb. Future plans to make 1tb-2tb.

 

You do realize how many hundreds of hours that would take??? That's just not realistic for me.

 

I hate the "cloud". The "cloud" is a fantastic way to eradicate every last bit of privacy, force DRM down our throats, and abolish the usage of our media devices when we are not connected to the internet.

Plus, HDD's do fail, and so do SSD's. SSD's might last a bit longer, but buying a $600 SSD to back up $150 of physical media is cost ineffective. Using loseless audio on an SSD is painfully expensive. Also, it'd cost me roundabout $300 in flash drives to have a flash drive for each OS. I can buy a stack of like 80 DVD's for my operating systems for ~$30.

And 95% of distributed physical media is still on optical disks.

(Hopefully I didn't sound rude here.)

 

I'm in 100% agreement with you lupusarcanus.

 

Time to say goodbye on a notebook... I would rather have an extra battery or HDD/SDD instead of an ODD.

For movies and console games, ODD is going to be around for a while but I do think they will eventually get replaced by either flash memory or online solutions. SD cards are getting pretty cheap and eventually something in that form factor will replace the optical disk.

 

Again, choice of customer. Make the ODD bay modular for an extra HDD/SSD, battery, or ODD, or any number of other things, like additional cooling, add-in GPU, etc.

 

^^BTW, BigNerd, the Sony Z is for you

 

Not liking the keyboard layout... just like the previous Z. I prefer dedicated Hm/End/Pg keys (I've tried to get used to it with an MBA but it just makes me miss them more).

I'm waiting for the Sammie Series 7... which incidentally HAS an ODD drive... but if someone can make a ubook with 1080p... I'll jump on that instead.

 

USB storage devices, bluetooth, streaming through the internet, etc etc yeah, CDs deserve to die. DVDs and bluerays on the other hand can never die. How boring would it be to showoff your collection with "Yeah so here is my enormous movie collection. It`s in these three 64GB USB plugs"....
Same with music too. Software and stuff like that on CDs could just die if you ask me. We have internet and clouds with software available for the public, plus all the other things mentioned above is enough to take over for CDs.

 

Lol, is your own personal data THAT incriminating that you would need some sort of a padlocked, super secure bomb proof safe? If not, I find google docs QUITE useful for putting work docs and presentations... and dropbox to be quite nice at putting some of the small files that I would like to sync to other computers/share with friends quickly.
...not to mention, if you're a gamer, STEAM has basically taken over the pc gaming market with its digital copies and steam cloud, which saves your configuration, savegames, and other settings into the Steam user data cloud.

TELL ME how that is "trying to force drm down our throats" and "forcing us to use internet". Nobody's forcing you to use it, it's just a convenience.

I don't know about you, but I have ONE operating system... Windows 7 Ultimate X64. I don't need 256GB of flash drives to store my operating system, nor do I need 80x4gb=320gb of DVDs to store my operating systems. You must be running some sort of operating system collection, collecting every version AND REVISION of windows, mac, and linux known to man.

 

- Hmm, I have 20 DVDs in my OS disc case. Say 10 of them require a 8GB USB stick (DVD OS, like OpenSUSE, Fedora 4.7GB releases), and the other ten require a 1GB USB stick (CD OS like Arch, many others at700 MB). 8GB USB stick locally = $30. 1GB USB stick locally = $5. So, (30x10) + (10x5) = 350. 20 operating systems is not ridiculous. I am a Linux geek who likes testing different operating systems out. Plus, I am studying many operating systems in school (A+, Network+, MSCDT/MSCE, Linux+, contemplating Novell/Red Hat certs), and getting comfortable with many versions of each OS so that I can work a job as a sysadmin for ANY of them.

- DRM Ex. Official explanation of controversial Assassin's Creed 2 DRM

- Media devices w/o 'net Ex. Chromebook
(Maybe a bit of an extreme accusation, I admit, but I feel it WOULD happen)

- "Lol, is your own personal data THAT incriminating that you would need some sort of a padlocked, super secure bomb proof safe?"

I have no personal data that is that incriminating, but that doesn't mean I WANT EVERYONE IN THE WORLD TO SEE IT. It doesn't mean I want the U.S. government TO KNOW EXACTLY WHERE I AM, WHO I KNOW and IF STAR WARS IS MY FAVORITE MOVIE. Thats for me to know and crazy stalkers to ponder.

"Oh, everyone goes to the bathroom. It's not incriminating, so why can't I STARE AT YOU while you do #2?"

I am tired, as such this post is quite scatter-brained. Points however remain intact. Once again, not trying to be rude (I often come off as such.)

 

I said goodbye looong time ago. not ever really used it for anything except ripping dvds or cds.

i now use one drive to rip blurays, that's the last use for it.
os installation from usb or over network
everything else over network
faster, silent, save. oh, and cheap.

 

+1. A modular ODD is a great solution. One other important point is that 7mm optical drives exist. In the PATA form, they were used in a Lenovo X300/X301 and Toshiba R500/R600. Given that HDD/SSDs are now 7mm, manufacturers could use these thinner optical drives to give the the desirable thinner system chassis.

 

or having none at all for even thinner chassis

ever used an odd on your phone? that's how often it's needed on your laptop: never.

 

Who would want to watch a 1080p movie on a 4" screen?

 

I use the optical drive in my notebook to burn CDs a few times a month. When not needed, I swap out the optical drive for a second hard drive.

That said I am indifferent about manufacturers removing them from notebooks as long as I can get an external one. The slim ones are pretty easy to transport.

 

Well yeah, but again, you swap it out for a second hard drive, which is what it should be, modular. They used to do that not sure why it isn't pretty much standard. Make modular battery, ODD, or HDD.

 

How much would having a modular ODD increase price/weight/thickness and decrease solidity compared to a built-in ODD? I'm guessing there's a reason most manufacturers don't already use a modular, swappable ODD, and it's not because They Hate Freedom (TM).

I'd love the idea of a modular ODD/HDD/battery bay, IF it didn't come with some other severe compromises. But I just feel that if it was really that easy, everyone would already be doing it.

 

Only business notebooks have dedicated modular bays most of the time, there is of course some cost involved in implementing that feature. What compromises are you talking about?

It's not necessary to have a dedicated modular bay in order to switch the optical drive out for something else (in most cases) however; nearly all of the notebooks I handle can have their optical drives removed easily - just a few screws. You can get HDD caddies on eBay. Just swap the faceplate over from the ODD.

 

Yeah ODD and HDD are pretty common swappable, but things like extra battery or even innovative things like additional cooling and/or add-in video card would be nice. Having it easily swappable too would be even better, instead of having to remove screws, etc. Just eject whatever's in there and swap with something else. But my point being is that with larger laptops it's space that could be utilized for something other than an ODD if the user doesn't want an ODD.

 

the idea is great, there is one major flaw in it, we only see that kind of swap in enterprise class laptops, it was always restricted to those.

for consumer type the added cost is going to lead this to be only possible in the 1k+ pcs. But as I said the idea is great

 

Yeah I guess always wanting what makes sense for the masses companies aren't willing to invest the few bucks to make it happen.

 

They are. You just have to "upgrade" to the business class notebooks to get it...

 

No, simply because OS' still come in optical disc's and don't try to be smart and say you can image the disc onto a flash drive because you'll still need a optical drive to read to disc for imaging.

The fact is optical drives are getting much less usage these days but it's not going to become obsolete until Windows (9) and yes I'm talking about CD/DVD's drives.

 

Um no, with Microsoft's ISO tool you can download an iso, and have it copied directly to flash drive, no ODD needed.

Where did you get that windows 9 will make them obsolete?

 

I'm trying to say that much time...hence Windows 9.

Anyhow, I stand corrected with the above statement on ISO's.

However, I still do not think CD/DVD's drive are obsolete.

 

I completely agree. Until some company offers a DVD to whatever trade-in program, I'm hanging on to optical drives.

 

I'm not saying it should be completely abolished, I'm just saying I won't miss it.

 

Just to make sure there isn't something I missed, what MS ISO tool? And for what OS?

FWIW, on Win 7, I had to go to MagicISO

 

Microsoft Store Online
...

 

It seems like this is the direction that Apple is heading. Considering that they refuse to adopt BluRay and have just released the new Mac Mini sans an optical disc drive.

 

I just find it comical they Apple keeps doing this, despite a new standard not being implemented fully yet. Like not including Flash in their devices. They claim HTML 5 is the answer, yet nothing is using HTML 5 yet. Putting the cart before the horse I think. If there were legal and affordable ways to transfer user's entire collections of CD's, DVD's, and Blu-Ray's to an electronic format, plus most every other available song, movie, TV-show, etc to be made readily available (and affordable) then I'd say ok, no problem. If Apple were to offer every media you have for free through iTunes if you bought a Mac then I could easily swallow that one.

And using ultraportable notebooks as an example is not a good one. 13" and under laptops are not really designed to be multimedia powerhouses due to the screen and performance typically. If you do use it for multimedia, likely you will hook it up to an external monitor and at the time have access to an external blu-ray player.

 

Both modern netbooks and even cell phones are capable playing 1080p movies today. Trend is that computers are getting smaller. 30 years ago they filled an entire room, today you have them in your pocket.

You can even hook up your cell phone to an external monitor today and use it as a desktop.

Trend is and also goal is to make computers smaller and the optical disc isn't suitable anymore for that purpose.

 

I agree with you completely. Notice I mentioned the mac mini though, a device which many people use as a HTPC due to it's miniscule size and unobtrusive appearance. ODDs have been included in them up until this year. It makes no sense to remove it from such a device.

 

Show me the phones that can play 1080p.

1080p on a 5-7" screen is not fun. No phones have a native 1080p screen, and it's so small 1080p is not important, heck 720p is overkill. iPhone is only 960x640.

What am I supposed to do with all my DVD's and Blu-Ray's? Buy them again digitally? No thanks. Don't tell me to rip them because technically this is illegal.

30 years ago computers did not fill an entire room. Supercomputers did, but not home PC's. I owned this one in 1983: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_MC-10
Dimensions: 8.5" x 7" x 2" less than 2lbs.

Commodore 64, also released in 1983, was basically the size of a keyboard but much thicker, but not nearly size of a room, lol.
There weren't many portable computers, but heck you could just lug your C64 wherever you went and hook it up to any TV.

Heck, handheld PDA's starting coming about in 1990 with the Psion.

Computers are getting THINNER not necessarily SMALLER. Laptops are wider now thanks to implementing the stupid 16:9 form factor on laptops. No everyone wants an 10" laptop. People still desire 15"-17" screens. HP was lambasted for removing the DVD drive from their Envy 15, hence it was added back when they released the Envy 14. There's no doubt digital is the way of the future, but until there's a replacement or legal way to freely convert your existing collection to another media, it's not going away.

 

As it stands, "no one" will ever "legally" "adapt" their DVDs for "a portable medium."

So we'll keep DVD drives. I think they should be gone from laptops, in particular the smaller ones (=<14"). Larger ones, I could care less about, especially if they are 15"+, as they are too large to be really portable, IMO.

 

In my case the answer was "yes." Aside from burning OS recovery and OEM software reinstall discs, I have hardly used the DVD-RW drive on the Samsung notebook I bought about six weeks ago (on which I am typing now).

I have an external, USB optical drive available, for those rare occasions when I absolutely must get something off a DVD or CD-ROM.

What I needed much more than an optical drive was a way to quickly move data to and from an external hard drive. So I removed the ODD and replaced it with an internal SATA to eSATA adapter. It works OK, but is not very elegant. I would have preferred something like an ExpressCard USB 3.0 adapter, but this notebook does not have an ExpressCard slot or any other means of expansion.

Blu-ray discs and DVDs are still the cheapest, fastest means for one-way data distribution, e.g. movies and TV shows. So I don't think optical discs will be going away anytime soon.

 

The galaxy S2 can output 1080p video from it's USB port with the USB to HDMI converter (it's a special USB port with the ability to do it).

Heck the onboard camera can record at 1080p 30fps.

Would I have taken a better cooling system and an external optical drive instead? yes.