When Apple launched refreshed hardware last week, it was no surprise that the ultrathin MacBook Air still does not have an internal DVD drive. Many were shocked to find out, though, that Apple has now also removed the DVD drive from the Mac Mini. But, Apple shouldn't stop there, and the revolution shouldn't be limited to Apple, or even just to PCs for that matter. It's time for discs to die.
Don't get me wrong, discs were great and contributed to the evolution of technology--I greatly appreciated when CDs came along to replace stacks upon stacks of floppy disks. We are now at a point, though, where discs are unnecessary and cause more problems than they solve.
Here are six reasons I won't be sad to see discs go:
1. Noise. The CD or DVD drive has mechanical parts that spin the disc at high speed while the data is read using a laser. Even if you can't obviously here it, the whirring of the drive adds ambient noise. In some cases--like my Xbox 360 drive--the spinning of the drive is audible and annoying from the next room.
2. Maintenance. Things with mechanical parts that spin at high speed eventually break. Disc drives can collect dust which can affect the ability of the laser to read the data. Looking back over the last decade, disc drives have been the number one cause of repair and replacement costs for me whether it's in a desktop or notebook PC, a game console like the Nintendo Wii or Xbox 360, or the variety of DVD and Blu-Ray players we have gone through.
3. Energy. It takes more juice to keep the disc spinning, and using a CD or DVD drive greatly reduces battery life on portable devices. Whether we are talking about an Xbox 360, a desktop PC, or a portable notebook, a disc drive consumes more energy than the alternatives.
4. Speed. Reading data from a solid state drive (SSD), or even from a traditional hard drive is exponentially faster than reading that same data from a CD or DVD. Your mileage will vary depending on the drives you're comparing, but you will get significantly better performance from data stored locally on a drive than you will reading it from a CD or DVD.
5. Media. This is the main reason I won't be sad to see discs go--the discs. The discs take up space. If you need to reinstall a program a year later, you have to try and remember where you stored the disc, and hope it is not unusably scratched or cracked. Hard drive capacity is cheap and virtually limitless, and it can be easily searched to find what you're looking for.
6. Convenience. I bought a Blu-Ray player over a year ago. I own one Blu-Ray movie and I can count on one hand the number I have rented. Why? The player also connects to my Internet connection and provides streaming media content--enabling me to choose and watch movies instantly rather than going to a video store or waiting for a disc to arrive in the mail.The same convenience applies with computer software, and with console games. Why deal with having to get or wait for a physical disc when the software can be delivered over the Internet in a few minutes?
I don't care that Apple ditched the drive in the Mac Mini, or that it only offers Mac OS X Lion as a digital download. I don't mind that Netflix seems to be intentionally driving customers away from using physical DVDs. I welcome rumors that Microsoft might develop a disc-less Xbox console.
Thank you for your service CDs and DVDs, but your time has passed. Buh-bye.
Comments
sirjohng said: I take HD video and share with many people none of whom would be able to sensibly download the huge files with their broadband connections To put it on You Tube reduces the quality considerably thus making a nonsense of HD I therefore send off discs either Blu-ray or DVD which can readily be upscaled according to the recipients kit and which can be kept indefinitely without the need for further backupI have noticed increasingly people taking singular and vociferous stands about a particular piece of technology or company often to the point of childish abuse against those who use alternatives If you prefer a particular item good for you but please have some respect for those who do not they are no more or less a person for their choice
Lochinvar said: What an absolute cods wallop Apple this or Apple that some of us are not daft enough to pay Apples prices or beleive their bullsh For goodness sake get in the real world reality is that the world still use discs and will for quite a while to come never mind what some little maufacturer with less than 5 of the market wants to do
May Dawes said: Agree that the number of situations in which the CDDVD is the best choice are reducing but there are still a number for which they are by far the best option Useing a video recorder or PC I can store a few hours of video or audio on a DVD blank for under 20 pence to take with me to use on holiday in places that may not have access to a PC but probably will have a DVD player Archiving cost is comperable to a hard drive and the media is well stored will be readable by many devices long after the more transient technology of HDSSD are unreadable by current devices The industrys failure to standardise on Panasonics direct acces DVD RAM rather than the semi-serial access of DVDor- R makes it an unlovely technology but its still got legs of a sort
Baynole said: Bollocks
St Bernard said: enabling me to choose and watch movies instantlyHe is so lucky it takes my connection all day to download a forty minute programme on I-Player
James Mccabe said: If I might offer a contrary opinion1 Fan noise for me exceeds DVD drive noise every time2 Never had a CD or DVD drive go Phut on me yet - lost a couple of hard drives though3 Agreed but all components are getting more efficient all the time so a minor point4 Speed Vs capacity frequency of use and transferrability Can you mail your hard drive to someone 5 This says more about your ability to store and handle media than the media itself6 Convenenience - If you cannot afford or obtain a high bandwidth internet connection - or have to share it with three teenage kids Streaming is a much less practical optionOpinions are like noses - everyone has one no two are identical and you only get to pick your own