WOW!...will be interesting going forward with MAC....No more DVD's to load on your computer...can't wait till we can order all the Stones concerts {open the vaults} with a one-click on your computer...bring on the future...

Bit of a pisser if you want to watch your Gimme Shelter DVD in your laptop though.

i think mac has a deal with most of the major studios...hopefully over time, you will be able to order it...

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David Neal
i think mac has a deal with most of the major studios...hopefully over time, you will be able to order it...

Yeah. that was just a facetious comment. Downloading is obviously going to be the way forward. I love Macs, but I'm holding out on getting the super skinny laptop for now. I AM very interested in the Time Capsule though. You heard about that?

By the way, David? I take it you're a Mac user. If so, do you use any anti-virus software? I'm binning Norton soon, and I've tried ClamX, but it just tales way too long to scan anything.

i am a new mac user and one of their selling points {that got me} is that you don't have to worry about virus's...took me a while to get used to the mac, but it's been great so far....i like the fact that in the future you will be able to rent a movie for 3 bucks and it will be on your computer for 30 days..no discs to deal with...would be GREAT to order hampton '81 with a click...hope that day comes soon

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David Neal
i am a new mac user and one of their selling points {that got me} is that you don't have to worry about virus's...took me a while to get used to the mac, but it's been great so far....i like the fact that in the future you will be able to rent a movie for 3 bucks and it will be on your computer for 30 days..no discs to deal with...would be GREAT to order hampton '81 with a click...hope that day comes soon

It will. For now you can get it for free. That's a myth about Macs not getting viruses. Given Mac's increasing popularity, I wouldn't be surprised if some teenager from Lithuania won't come up with a killer virus before long.

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David Neal
WOW!...will be interesting going forward with MAC....No more DVD's to load on your computer...can't wait till we can order all the Stones concerts {open the vaults} with a one-click on your computer...bring on the future...

This skinny notebook is meant for "on the go" use. As was clearly pointed out it is not meant to replace your home machine. The reason, for now to not include an optical drive is the space that it would occupy. In order to achieve this slim design, components and features had to be compromised.

Still a new innovation for users.

cd's and dvd's will be gone soon enough...bring it on apple ><

Pro - optical disc side :

I hope that the optical disc does not disappear and I doubt that it will even if they do get over-taken by digital files.It is not very hard to deal with a small disc.

For one thing,I'm pretty sure that (to date) there are no digital files that you can store and play on your PC or Mac which can match the quality of a SA-CD (or vinyl) for audio or HD DVD or Blue Ray Discs for video.That alone is good enough reason to keep optical discs.

Secondly,it is a plus - not a minus to have,for example,a Blue Ray Recordable drive on your computer as you can back up large amounts of data on a conveniant disc which,in many cases and applications are easier to deal with than an external hard drive and you can fit much more than you could with a USB drive.

Thirdly,I would rather watch movies on my HD TV than on a small computer screen and I would not want a computer screen over 24" tops.I know that you can stream some material to a network capable audio/video receiver but,will the quality acheived using that method ever be the same as some of the discs that I have mentioned?If it gets to that point,how long might it take for that to happen?

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David Neal
i like the fact that in the future you will be able to rent a movie for 3 bucks and it will be on your computer for 30 days..no discs to deal with.

I like Macs too but don't like the 'no disc' idea at all. Why should I pay (rent) for something I already own. And it wouldn't suprise me if the rentals are exclusively available at some Apple service (Itunes?). Be carefull Steve Jobs, before you start to look too much like Bill Gates.

Apple was also the first to not include a floppy drive anymore in their Macs.

The floppy disc is obsolete as it has no advantages over a CD-R or even a USB flash drive.The optical disc,certain kinds at least,have advantages (mainly quality) over today's digital files.

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Theif in the Night
Pro - optical disc side :

I hope that the optical disc does not disappear and I doubt that it will even if they do get over-taken by digital files.It is not very hard to deal with a small disc.

For one thing,I'm pretty sure that (to date) there are no digital files that you can store and play on your PC or Mac which can match the quality of a SA-CD (or vinyl) for audio or HD DVD or Blue Ray Discs for video.That alone is good enough reason to keep optical discs.

Secondly,it is a plus - not a minus to have,for example,a Blue Ray Recordable drive on your computer as you can back up large amounts of data on a conveniant disc which,in many cases and applications are easier to deal with than an external hard drive and you can fit much more than you could with a USB drive.

Thirdly,I would rather watch movies on my HD TV than on a small computer screen and I would not want a computer screen over 24" tops.I know that you can stream some material to a network capable audio/video receiver but,will the quality acheived using that method ever be the same as some of the discs that I have mentioned?If it gets to that point,how long might it take for that to happen?

Hear here.

no forthly?.....cmon!