A Farewell to Optical Media

When Apple finally released OSX Lion last week, they also announced some new hardware. We will most likely get back to Lion at a later stage (it is starting to grow on me the more I use it) but if there is one thing that we learn from the hardware releases, one clear message Apple are sending to the public at large, it has to do with optical media. 

First of all we got the updated MacBook Airs. I happen to be a MacBook Air user myself, the 13 inch variety from late 2010, and for those of you who are familiar with that machine, you will remember that it comes with no optical drive whatsoever. When I ordered the machine I automatically included the external DVD drive in the purchase. My thinking was: I am going to need a drive to put discs in. Logical right ? Well, here's the thing: more than 7 months have gone by and I have yet to attach that drive to the computer. 

The Mac mini was updated as well. Did you happen to see that little beauty ? Great looking machine. Notice something different on this new arrival ? You got it: no optical drive.

Anyone remember the introduction of the first iMac in 1998 ? Remember what was missing from that machine ? Apple dared introduce a new computer "sans" floppy drive. Everybody said they were crazy. How could people possibly use a computer without a floppy drive ? Well, they're at it again. It is no coincidence that the new Mac mini has no optical drive. The same goes for the MacBook Air. And I will go as far as venturing that pretty soon the new MacBook Pros won't have any either (in fact I am fairly certain that the next iteration of the 15 inch MacBook Pro will look a lot more like the Air than like the current Pro). 

How have I been living without an optical drive ? Very simple really: everything gets downloaded. Between the App Store, iTunes, Amazon mp3, Netflix, Apple TV, Hulu, Dropbox and soon iCloud, there is no point to burning shiny little discs anymore. Let's not even talk about more questionable methods like peer to peer services. Everything is a lot more instantaneous. Lion doesn't come on a disc. Apps get updated over the internet. And now with Lion's cool new AirDrop feature, even the old sneakernet method is "out the window". 

So my advice is: embrace this brand new world of discless machines. One day we will look back on a past in whcih we carried around these shiny little things and smile at how primitive they were.

It was so long ago. It was only yesterday.

They're just selling Air

A few weeks back I posted the TV commercial for the new MacBook Air on this site. It was shortly after I got my own 13 inch model (and for the record I still think it's THE COOLEST MAC I have EVER owned). Now an Israeli comedian called Pini and his mates have produced a very funny parody of that commercial selling....nail clippers. The Nail Clipper Air. The actual video it spoofs can be seen here. 

Travellin' Light

I have just spent a week traveling with a MacBook Air 13 inch in my bag. For those of you unfamiliar with this little beauty, we are talking about one of the lightest, thinest laptop computers ever created as a consumer product. Leaving beauty and elegance aside for a moment, what is amazing about this baby is that you don't even notice you have a computer with you until the moment you need it. The machine weighs about 1.3 kg, is super thin (1.7 cm at its thickest point) but once on you notice that the screen real estate is identical to the MacBook Pro 15 inch. The fact that it only contains flash storage means your bootup time is cut to a minimum and starting Word or Excel, which can otherwise take forever, is now a matter of a couple of seconds. No compromise as far as the keyboard is concerned: we're talking full size here. I won't attempt to edit a movie or do much music production on this baby, but that's not the purpose it serves either. 

So far I am having a ball. I'll occasionally dip back in and let you know how I make out with this little gem.