Computerworld recently published an article suggesting that Apple’s decision to add an SD card slot to the Macbook and Macbook Pro range was the beginning of the end for the optical drive in Apple’s laptop range. I strongly disagree however. I don’t think the optical drive is going anywhere anytime soon. Every time Apple does something different people start looking for hidden meaning and conspiracies to their decisions, and the recent addition of the SD slot is no exception. When it was discovered that you could boot from the slot these theories jumped into over-drive with people suggesting that the next version of OS-X will be shipped on SD card. Of course the far more logical reasoning for the SD card slot and the decision to add it should be taken at face value, that Apple is simply making it easier for people with digital cameras to access their memory cards without requiring a third party reader. Given that the majority of PC laptops have shipped with card readers for some time, it would seem logical that Apple are simply giving in to consumer demand, rather than developing some super secret strategy to replace the DVD.
Still, people will argue that Apple did a similar thing with the floppy drive when the original iMac shipped, while many were still using floppy disks. On face value that seems like a valid point, but if you look at the details that argument quickly falls apart. For a start, when Apple introduced the floppy drive-less iMac, the vast majority of software was being shipped on CD-ROM and the iMac included a CD drive. As far as I know, no major commercial software has ever shipped on SD card. And then there’s the simple matter of cost. When companies moved from floppy disks to CD-ROM’s as a method for distributing software, the cost of producing a single CD versus the numerous floppy disks made it advantageous to deliver on CD. The same can not be said for SD cards. Compared to mass produced DVD’s the cost of SD cards is way to high. DVD’s cost cents to make, and even less if the volume is high enough. The wholesale cost of an 8gig SD card is currently around $14 when buying in bulk. Even if you were buying millions at a time, the cost is no where near that of DVD production which is very inexpensive at this stage. The cost of SD cards is unlikely to come down to the levels needed in the near future so on this point alone it’s a non starter.
And then there’s the Blu-Ray factor. I know lots of people believed the Apple line literally that Blu-Ray is a “bag of hurt” and it won’t be coming to the Mac any time soon, but the format continues to gain momentum, and Apple will not be able to ignore it forever. The argument against blu-ray of course is that downloads are the way to go for high-def movies. Unfortunately downloading, at least legitimately, has a long way to go before it can compete with the optical disk. For a start there are very few countries offering legitimate downloading of movies and tv-shows. Even in those that do, the market is extremely fragmented. Although hardcore Apple fans like to think of iTunes as the be all and end all for content, it unfortunately hasn’t made much of a dent in the video space which it shares with many other competing formats, none of which hold enough market share to be considered a standard. The only one that seems to be gaining traction above the others is Netflix and that is a rental only streaming service. Until broadband speeds are increased universally, and until broadband providers provide better monthly download allowances (most broadband companies outside the US cap their customers monthly download allowance around 50GB) legitimate movie download services will not take over as the primary form of movie distribution.
If you consider that the iTunes store is over 5 years old yet only recently have legitimate music downloads passed CD’s as the primary source of music distribution. When you read about the success of the iTunes store and how the record labels are reeling from the “death” of CD it’s hard to believe that, and yet only in the last 12 months have downloads passed the 50% market share for music. DVD still accounts for over 75% of video content sold, and while DVD sales have declined this year, which is hardly surprising considering the global economic climate, Blu-Ray sales have increased over 230% year on year, and this is in the middle of a recession. The optical disk is far from dead. Also consider this: the iTunes Store has been around for 5 years and yet all Apple computers (with the exception of the macbook Air) still ship with the ability to read CDs then why should we expect that the DVD will disappear overnight when there is no clear replacement. It’s just not going to happen in the near future. The optical disk will probably eventually go away, but it has a lot of life left in it yet, and it’s highly unlikely Apple will replace a still popular and relevant format to push a far more expensive alternative.
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The big deal with the SD slot wasn’t the slot itself, it was the removal of the Expresscard slot. That’s a HUGE problem for a lot of people, and they need to bring that kind of expandability back – otherwise the ‘Pro’ moniker is looking like very shady branding indeed.
Yeah, that was a bit silly all right.
I hope you are wrong. While I need a DVD drive, an external USB is fine. If I could get a 13″ Macbook that had a complete complement of ports but without a built-in DVD, that would make me happy.
I use the DVD drive to rip music from CD and movies from DVD. But I have never done that on the road or when running on battery power. Getting more battery life and/or a thinner Macbook would be worth removing the internal DVD to me. I will probably wait for several years to update my unibody 13″ MacBook until that happens.
How many people need a DVD drive on the road? Not many I suspect.
I rarely use my optical drive in my MacBook. I’d just as soon have an external one at home, keep the HDD, and add a small, _fast_ SSD for apps, and the OS including virtual memory so the HD might sleep more. The external could be included to drive the price up, or people could buy/make their own to get the speed they want.
SD cards are expensive but reusable, easy to use, durable, very small. DVD are easily scartched, bulky and need a burning software etc.
SD card would be easily compatible with laptops, smart phones and other gadgets like mp3 players,GPS..
New SDXC cards will be able to hold upto 2TB.
Higher price of SD card is definitely worth it…
“SD cards are expensive but reusable, easy to use, durable, very small. DVD are easily scartched, bulky and need a burning software etc.”
Which is fine for individuals backing up or moving data (mind you – why not use a usb key which will go into anything) – but for companies distributing software it’s a non starter at the moment.
SD cards are slow right now…at least the reasonably priced ones are.
I made a bootable SD card for my new MBP – and it is as slow as booting off the optical drive.
I’ve seen no evidence that the current SD slots support SDXC – I bet they’re limited to 32GB.
I wish Apple shipped better optical drives – they’ve pretty much put in the cheapest DVD burner you can buy.
Great article, with some great points. However, I did want to point out one thing: it is not generally considered correct for the plural acronyms to be formed with apostrophes. I know a lot of people still do it, but a lot of people do a lot of incorrect things with apostrophes.
HTH!