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>> the biggest difference is that those technologies were all on the downward slope of their popularity when Apple made the move > Were any of them? MacBook Ai

>> the biggest difference is that those technologies were all on the downward slope of their popularity when Apple made the move > Were any of them? MacBook Air released in 2008. DVD media sales rose YOY 2005 => 2009. Flash video did not decrease in popularity pre-iPhone, it decreased because of the iPhone. And yet most people still need to buy external DVD/Blu-Ray drives. It's been 7 years, and not having DVD drives built into Mac hardware is still incredibly inconvenient. >> The headphone jack is just as popular today as it has ever been > "DVDs are as popular today as they have ever been" - someone in 2008 I'm sure someone said that, but I think most people were already moving on to Blu-Ray.

cloudjacker 10y ago
and not having a dvd drive built in is incredibly convenient for the form factor and durability of the machine
- pritambaral 10y ago
  That gain in form-factor is not comparable to the removal of the 3.5mm port though.
  - cloudjacker 10y ago
    As someone that has been using noise cancelling wireless headphones for 3 years, sorry I can't relate. I'm considerate of the price premium this represents, and how Apple's new buds unfortunately only offer 5 hours of charge. But I just want you to know there is another perspective.
    - anonred 10y ago
      Given your usage patterns, what sort of battery performance do you normally expect from wireless earbuds? 5hrs with a 24hr+ charging case seems decently long to someone who only uses wired earbuds.
      - georgespencer 10y ago
        Bose QC-25 give me 35 hours of active noise cancelling on a single AAA battery.
jmtorresg 10y ago
> And yet most people still need to buy external DVD/Blu-ray drives. I don't agree with you on that point, and that's coming from someone who has a computer which came with a DVD drive. I've literally used it maybe, what, twice since I got it? And honestly I can't find an example off the top of my head of a mac-owning friend of mine who'd complain about not having a optical drive on their machine.
flukus 10y ago
DVD media sales don't mean much because most of those would be watched on home entertainment centers, not MacBook. My ~5 year old laptop came with a blue ray drive. It has never held a blue ray disc and only once held a DVD. I wish other manufacturers were quicker to follow suite.
oldmanjay 10y ago
I'm not sure most Mac owners are buying external DVD drives. Do you have any reason for believing that? It's possible my experience isn't representative but I do know hundreds of Mac owners and DVD drives aren't very evident. Nor are any discs, generally. It seems to be a very networked subculture.
georgespencer 10y ago
You've said "most people" twice here and I think it's wrong both times. No, most people who buy Mac laptops and iMacs do _not_ buy an external DVD or Blu Ray drive. Apple is not shifting Macs:Drives in a 2:1 ratio or anything even approaching that. > I think most people were already moving on to Blu-Ray In 2008 Blu Ray vs HD-DVD was only just coming to an end. It's extraordinary to claim that "most people" [who had a DVD drive] were transitioning over to Blu Ray. If anything, I'd argue that a huge chunk of people who had DVD players flat-out have not transitioned to BR at all. Either way "most people" is an insane number.

cloudjacker 10y ago

and not having a dvd drive built in is incredibly convenient for the form factor and durability of the machine

pritambaral 10y ago
That gain in form-factor is not comparable to the removal of the 3.5mm port though.
- cloudjacker 10y ago
  As someone that has been using noise cancelling wireless headphones for 3 years, sorry I can't relate. I'm considerate of the price premium this represents, and how Apple's new buds unfortunately only offer 5 hours of charge. But I just want you to know there is another perspective.
  - anonred 10y ago
    Given your usage patterns, what sort of battery performance do you normally expect from wireless earbuds? 5hrs with a 24hr+ charging case seems decently long to someone who only uses wired earbuds.
    - georgespencer 10y ago
      Bose QC-25 give me 35 hours of active noise cancelling on a single AAA battery.

jmtorresg 10y ago

> And yet most people still need to buy external DVD/Blu-ray drives. I don't agree with you on that point, and that's coming from someone who has a computer which came with a DVD drive. I've literally used it maybe, what, twice since I got it? And honestly I can't find an example off the top of my head of a mac-owning friend of mine who'd complain about not having a optical drive on their machine.

flukus 10y ago

DVD media sales don't mean much because most of those would be watched on home entertainment centers, not MacBook. My ~5 year old laptop came with a blue ray drive. It has never held a blue ray disc and only once held a DVD. I wish other manufacturers were quicker to follow suite.

oldmanjay 10y ago

I'm not sure most Mac owners are buying external DVD drives. Do you have any reason for believing that? It's possible my experience isn't representative but I do know hundreds of Mac owners and DVD drives aren't very evident. Nor are any discs, generally. It seems to be a very networked subculture.

georgespencer 10y ago

You've said "most people" twice here and I think it's wrong both times. No, most people who buy Mac laptops and iMacs do _not_ buy an external DVD or Blu Ray drive. Apple is not shifting Macs:Drives in a 2:1 ratio or anything even approaching that. > I think most people were already moving on to Blu-Ray In 2008 Blu Ray vs HD-DVD was only just coming to an end. It's extraordinary to claim that "most people" [who had a DVD drive] were transitioning over to Blu Ray. If anything, I'd argue that a huge chunk of people who had DVD players flat-out have not transitioned to BR at all. Either way "most people" is an insane number.