Well, Apple probably wants to push Thunderbolt to external hub manufacturers and storage companies as the new I/O channels. In that case, Macsales.com's custom

Well, Apple probably wants to push Thunderbolt to external hub manufacturers and storage companies as the new I/O channels. In that case, Macsales.com's custom mod external e-SATA port will be an inferior solution. (10 Gbps vs 3 Gbps). Probably in mid 2012 we will see all new Thunderbolt based external drives and hubs for storage expansion of iMacs and MacBook Pros. But I agree, it is still a pain in ass for DIYers to replace hard drives when the disk is broken. And Apple will sell more Apple Care for iMacs and Macbook Pros. EDIT - It seems Macsales.com's custom iMac e-SATA is not in product page anymore. I remember they had the service before that you can send your iMac and they will drill a hole on case and put a SATA port to the unused SATA port on the motherboard.