Apple Releases Mac OS X Lion, Updates Air 453
steffann was one of several readers to note that Apple has released OS X Lion for $30 available only through the Mac App Store. It's a 4 gig download so you better not be in a hurry. Lots of new stuff both cosmetic and functional. But if you're the sort of person who is going to install it today, then you already know what they are! They also updated the Air lineup, dropping the old white MacBooks entirely.
First Download? (Score:2)
Nah.
There's still value in solid media.
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That's why OS X Lion will be available on USB thumb drive for $69 next month.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20080981-17/mac-os-x-lion-pounces/ [cnet.com]
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Or just wait until August. Apple has already indicated they will release it on USB stick for a higher price ($59 if I recall).
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If you know what you're doing, you can create a recovery CD from the contents of the download; and in a month or so, they're going to release it on USB stick.
The download is an installer package. When you are done downloading, you have to launch the installer package to initiate the upgrade. You are also free to copy that installer package to any number of media devices that you own. It's just one file, drag and drop will do the trick.
No need to copy though... (Score:2)
You are also free to copy that installer package to any number of media devices that you own.
Although you are free to do so, it's not necessary - Opening up the app store on other computers you own will offer the ability to install it there as well (though each one would be a separate download, meaning if you knew what you were doing a copy operation would be better).
Re:First Download? (Score:5, Informative)
Mac .APP files are actually folders. The OS just visually packages them up to make it pretty.
Right-click on the Install App and choose Show Contents.
Inside the SharedSupport folder, there is a disc image called InstallESD.dmg
You can burn bootable discs or make USB sticks from that disc image. Enjoy!
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there is no "open" command on the Ubuntu CLI (on Apple's this is like a double click, it open the file with the program it is associated with), this is both obvious and easy (you already have the associations if you have a GUI double click);
yes, there is. It's called gnome-open
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xdg-open is the command you're looking for. It should be available on any modern distro. There are also desktop-specific tools (gnome-open, kfmclient, etc), but xdg-open is a wrapper that identifies your desktop environment and calls the appropriate tool.
Re:Powering your iMac during the download (Score:4, Insightful)
Not all Macs are purchased at an Apple Store; some are purchased at Best Buy or at independent Apple authorized retailers.
100% irrelevant. Apple Stores will help you in their stores no matter where you bought your Mac. Also, third party stores will be able to give you access to a locally cached copy of Lion once you've purchased it.
You keep acting like this is a common situation. It's contrived, solely to find some reason to bitch about something that won't be a problem for most people.
And for those whom it is a problem, that's the way their life is. They can't watch Netflix, they can't buy TV shows from iTunes or watch Hulu, or buy games on Steam. Even YouTube is a pain. And OS updates that can exceed 1GB? Same issue. It's not like they are exactly the sort of people who are champing a the bit for the latest and greatest anyway. They can make for for a few weeks until physical media is available, assuming they can't avail themselves of the many other options until then.
Apple has multiple solutions for the small minority who will have problems. You are exaggerating the issue.
Why? (Score:5, Funny)
It's a 4 gig download so you better not be in a hurry.
Yeah it takes a whopping 30 minutes. That's like...forever and stuff.
Not everybody has 18 Mbps (Score:2)
Yeah it takes a whopping 30 minutes.
4 GB/dl * 8000 Mbit/GB * 1 dl/30 min * 1 min/60 s = 18 Mbps. Not everybody has access to an affordable 18 Mbps connection at home. Or were you talking about a 10-minute drive to a local Apple authorized retailer, downloading Lion on a 54 Mbps connection (which incidentally requires 802.11n or wired Ethernet because it's past the practical throughput of g), and driving back?
Furthermore, even if you're willing to let a download run overnight, a lot of areas are still subject to single digit GB per month ca
Which "areas"? (Score:2)
I just have simple cable internet and the 4GB download would take about 30 minutes (from past experience with Apple's downloads).
What "areas" have single digit GB caps? That would pretty much be only wireless services. You know what, I probably would not downloaded it over a tethered connection...
Sat and 3G (Score:2)
What "areas" have single digit GB caps?
Places with no cable TV provider and which are too far away from the nearest DSLAM for DSL service.
That would pretty much be only wireless services.
Exactly: satellite and 3G.
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What "areas" have single digit GB caps?
Places with no cable TV provider and which are too far away from the nearest DSLAM for DSL service.
That would pretty much be only wireless services.
Exactly: satellite and 3G.
So between Apple soon offering a USB installer, and any number of places like Starbucks, McDonalds, Barnes and Noble, and a million Mom and Pop places with public WiFi, there's really NO way to get it? Or your office? Or a friend who can download it to a stick and mail it to you? Or the Apple Store itself which has free WiFi? Are there that many people who live near NO place with public WiFi, and have to have the latest Apple software on the first day of release?
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Get fixed wireless then. Service is usually pretty good until skybeam buys your provider.
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Places with no cable TV provider and which are too far away from the nearest DSLAM for DSL service.
I have a friend who lives out in the country, who was able to buy internet service over a direct wireless link until DSL finally arrived...
Even people in remote areas usually have better options. Yes there will be a handful that do not; trip to the city. You are not unused to having to go into town for some things when you live in a remote area.
Actually, unlimited systems "you own or control" (Score:4, Informative)
From the Ars review [arstechnica.com], the license reads:
(i) to download, install, use and run for personal, non-commercial use, one (1) copy of the Apple Software directly on each Apple-branded computer running Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server ("Mac Computer") that you own or control;
The installer doesn't check, any system that you "own or control" you have a license for. A company system might be a grey are (you control it but they own it, and also control to some degree) but the installer doesn't check and no-one really cares.
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For non commercial use... A company system would be used for commercial uses, and thus wouldn't be valid under these terms.
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A company system might be a grey are (you control it but they own it, and also control to some degree) but the installer doesn't check and no-one really cares.
Since you'd be prohibited from doing work (commercial use) after installing it, I doubt the company would approve. Unless you plan to argue that you don't actually work, you just surf slashdot so it's okay...
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That said, there is one reason not to upgrade to Lion: If you still use PowerPC based applications (like Quicken!), they won't work in Lion. Apple removed the compatibility layer and doesn't even offer a way
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What "areas" have single digit GB caps?
A lot of low-price packages in regional australia do. Low price here meaning $30/month or so.
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Took me about an hour on a cable line. :)
And that's with a 80g download going at the same time
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oh yeah, that guy should move. because you (some pimple faced teenager) TELLS him he should move.
asshat.
choice of internet providers is the LAST thing you control. so many other things trump the decison to 'move to find better net connectivity'.
again, you're probably some asshole teen who types first and then thinks afterwards. STFU and go back to class.
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Actually [gapminder.org] broadband is a good indicator of whether you in fact live in a backwater shithole.
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now, now. I'm sure he moved to his moms basement because the WiFi speed is better down there.
not just because it put him closer to where she keeps the hot pockets.
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Yep, us farmers should all move to the big city.
It's not like all this technology helps us farm more efficiently and keep your food prices down.
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Quick tip people, from the kind folk in #MacOSX on Freenode - after downloading from the Mac App Store, but prior to installing OSX 10.7, take a copy of the app file from /Applications and store it in a safe place because it won't be there after you install.
You will need to do this if you need access to the dmg for backup purposes.
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I can confirm this in the GM release, the installer is deleted after a successful reinstall. Make a copy of it, lock the original, and use the copy to install if you have multiple Mac's to put it on.
If you want to burn the installer to a bootable disk, then open the installer .App, right click it to show the pkg contents, expand the "SharedSupport" folder, and burn the InstallESD.dmg image to DVD.
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3 minutes here (college campus).
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Your college campus probably has it cached; that's why you're getting insane (3-digit) download speeds.
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I have cable internet with no download caps. However it's looking like my Lion download will be taking 5-6 hours.
Why?
Because Time Warner oversold my node. This became very apparent last week when a thunderstorm briefly knocked out power in my neighborhood my throughput speeds went through the roof - for a little bit. Speeds regularly dip into dialup threshold between 6-8 on weekdays.
Why don't I switch providers? Because they are my only option for internet access aside from dialup and I suppose satellite. S
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Download and burn (Score:2)
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So what's going to prevent this appearing on the famous p2p sites in 20 minutes?
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For an evening's beer money, it hardly seems worth the risk.
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So what's going to prevent this appearing on the famous p2p sites in 20 minutes?.
It'll be there (in fact it's there already since the GM version and this are the same). The only thing stopping you from using it is your personal sense of morals.
Isn't it better to have things that way than to have to maintain some kind of uber activation system that pirates just work around in 20 minutes ANYWAY, but that at some point mean you have to have a frustrating two-hour long phone chat because your activation is fai
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OS X 10.1 was a free upgrade from 10.0. All you had to do was visit an Apple retailer and supply your own CD/DVD.
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You can buy it in a store, on a USB drive, for $40 more.
Maybe include some details? (Score:5, Informative)
I'm not the sort of person who is going to install it today and I would like some actual details in the summary instead of links to a marketing page and a blog post about something unrelated. I do try to keep up to date even with things I have no intention of purchasing; I work in an industry where it is advantageous to do such.
For those who aren't able to psychicly deduce the details about something that just came out, here's the list of new features [apple.com].
Re:Maybe include some details? (Score:4, Interesting)
Auto Save: Lock documents You can lock a document at any time to prevent inadvertent changes. Two weeks after the last edit, Lion automatically locks the document for you. When you try to make a change, Lion alerts you and asks if you want to unlock or duplicate the file.
Having a lock feature is nice. But auto-locking the document seems like a nuisance. There are lots of documents that I edit on-and-off on a monthly or yearly schedule. I don't want to have an extra click just because I haven't touched that file in awhile. In fact, since OS X is pushing more and more for auto-backups and auto-versioning, auto-locking seems unnecessary. If you can always revert changes, then there's no need to give the user an extra 'are you sure you want to change this document' roadblock. To me, it's inconsistent for them to be pushing auto-saving/backup/versioning but also have auto-locking.
Full-Screen Apps: Go full screen Apps built to take advantage of the entire screen have a new full-screen button in the window title bar. Click it to expand the app window to fill the screen. Exit full-screen viewTo bring an app back to the desktop, move the pointer to the top of the screen to reveal the menu bar and click the “exit full-screen” button on the far right.
Apple's push towards full-screen apps seems like a small step backwards. They are basically expanding on the successful UI principles from iPhone and iPad and seeing if they work on laptops and desktops. This might be useful for some users, so as an option I think it's fine. I do, in fact, go to full-screen mode in Firefox sometimes, and I can see the benefit for other applications to really 'take over', even replacing the taskbar/etc. But the thing is that it breaks consistency. On iPhone/iPad, all applications behave a certain way, so it all makes sense and you can get used to it. But Apple machines now have too many kinds of applications (widgets, normal applications, maximized applications, these new full-screen applications, plus older 'full-screen apps' like front-row). It's becoming inconsistent, with a mixture of behaviors and UI conventions. This is the opposite of what Apple's nominal interface guidelines recommend. A full-screen UI also seems very inefficient on larger-display computers (desktops). It seems that Apple is optimizing the GUI for small form-factor devices at the expense of full-size computers. Optimizing for consumption over production of content. I worry that this is part of a larger trend to over-simplify desktop computing, making it less open, flexible and powerful.
Other Features: Overlay scroll bars The new overlay scroll bars appear when you need them and fade away when you don’t, resulting in a more streamlined experience.
I don't think that's a step in the right direction. Those little 'fade-away lines' make sense on a mobile phone, where space is at a premium. But on a desktop or laptop, I'd rather see the scroll-bars. It gives you something to mouse towards and grab. More importantly, it gives you constant feedback about where you are within a document, as well as information about the size of the document. This is useful information that you intuitively get when reading a book (you can see the thickness of the book and how far into it you are). Removing these subtle clues from applications reduces context and leads to user errors (e.g. thinking you've reached the end of the document when you hit some whitespace). The above complaints may seem nitpicky. Clearly there is a long list of very cool improvements. (Auto-saving and auto-versioning should be standard in any modern OS!) But as with any software/OS 'updrade' there always seem to be some things that get... worse.
Probably a good time (Score:2)
to pick up an only-slightly-used MacBook Air or Mac Mini on eBay, as some inevitably rush to upgrade...
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about time for the mini to get a REAL VIDEO CARD! (Score:3)
about time for the mini to get a REAL VIDEO CARD!
http://www.apple.com/macmini/features.html#graphics [apple.com]
only one TB port but that ok with HDMI and a HD 6630M in the $800 system.
But why not have a 7200 RPM hdd? the Server comes with dual 500GB 7200 disks? why just have 1 500 7200 HDD in the base systems?
and only 2GB in the $600 system? and $100.00 more to get 4 GB? better off paying $200 more to get a 4GB ram faster CPU and video card with it's own ram.
$150 to go from 500GB to 750GB? You can get a 3TB HDD for $150.
Re:about time for the mini to get a REAL VIDEO CAR (Score:5, Funny)
too. many. numbers.
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too. many. numbers.
Too many periods !
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It's like complaining the Toyota Prius can't go 0 to 60 in 3 secs and can't carry 8 people.
I think that the only vehicles that'd fit into those specs are called airplanes. Catapult launched carrier versions, to be specific.
In other news... Physical Media and Thunderbolt (Score:3)
(A) For the people moaning about no physical media, they have also announced [apple.com] that there will be a physical version available on a USB thumb drive next month (gives them time for the first patches!) albeit for a considerable premium ($70 vs. $30 for download).
(B) Also interesting is the new 27" Thunderbolt Display [apple.com] which includes webcam, microphone, a sound system, gigabit Ethernet, Firewire 800 and a thunderbolt daisy-chain port for additional peripherals and monitors - all via a single thunderbolt connection to a Mac (plus a magsafe power output to charge your laptop).
Its still "reassuringly expensive", and only really makes sense as a "if you need to ask the price..." Macbook Pro companion, but it could represent the first example of the sort of things that Thunderbolt can do that USB3 can't.
(Yeah, the USB ports are still only USB2, but Mac users are more likely to have an investment in FW800 while they wait for reasonably-priced Thunderbolt drives).
And the price of the monitor is... (Score:2)
Its still "reassuringly expensive", and only really makes sense as a "if you need to ask the price..." Macbook Pro companion, but it could represent the first example of the sort of things that Thunderbolt can do that USB3 can't.
It costs $999, which, based on a quick Google price check, is actually toward the low end for this size. There aren't that many out there; Dell's run $975 and up, and NEC's start at $1200. I don't know about DoubleSight; they claim to start just over $800, but I didn't find any re
Re:And the price of the monitor is... (Score:4, Interesting)
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And does that $329 monitor double as a docking station? (For what it's worth I wouldn't buy a Thunderbolt display, but you're comparing Apples to meatballs.)
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Not quite. Apple's 27" offering is a real monitor with real high resolution. The ones your local shop sells are just HDTVs. 1920x1080. Thus I can't see anything more on your average 27" HDTV than I can on a 20". Thunderbolt is 2560x1440. Quite a bit of difference. I used the older large apple screens (the ones that required a dual-link DVI video card), and have to say more pixels is very nice. Wish more companies would sell honest-to-goodness high resolution monitors. I type this on a 22" LCD that i
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Well here is a link to newegg for 27 inch monioors that support 2560x1440 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007617+600030620+600012694&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=20&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc= [newegg.com]
The cheapest is 839 not counting rebate but they all seem to be right around $999 with NEC at 1349 So with the display acting like a docking stati
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Almost?
All in all, it sounds pretty sweet. I had no idea thunderbolt could do all that. Color me impressed.
white? (Score:2)
They also updated the Air lineup, dropping the old white MacBooks entirely.
There was a white macbook air?
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They also updated the Air lineup, dropping the old white MacBooks entirely.
There was a white macbook air?
No. They dropped the lower end of the Macbook line (the white ones). Now it is just the air and the pro.
Comment removed (Score:3)
debian (Score:2)
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Hmm. So they still use nvidia gpus in the newer models?
The air is a sexy beast, and looking at laptops the other day in a store, I noticed that the low-end macbook air was actually very cheap -- cheaper than many roughly equivalent (but far more plasticy) models from other manuf.s.
BTW, do they give you a DVD with the OS on it or something? I don't really want to run macosx as the base OS, but it would be nice to have it running in a VM occasionally for testing etc...
Mac Minis lose their DVD drives! (Score:2)
Two major changes on the Mini front, available discreet graphics (at a cost) and no Superdrive.
If you want to use a DVD you have to buy an external drive now or map to a compatible system. Not a great change in my book and a backhand way of saving money on their side.
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same as GM release? (Score:2)
Is this the same as the GM release?
Macbook no longer available (Score:2)
This means the least expensive Macbook is the Air, which comes with SSD only, the $999 model has 64 Gb of storage. And you need a Thunderbolt adapter to connect Ethernet and monitor.
If you want more expandability (space for a HDD, DVD drive that can be replaced by a second HDD or SSD, ports) you need the Macbook Pro for $1199 or more.
While Thunderbolt is a nice addition, needing an adapter to do anything is not in favor of the Air. It sucks that the price for a Macbook with specs I can live with has just go
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Thunderbolt display (Score:2)
and here's another display that looks fabulous, but will only work with the latest Macs (unless someone comes up with a DVI/DisplayPort to Thunderbolt converter so we can at least use the display).
I should be used to Apple going whole hog for new standards every couple of years, but it's still annoying.
Thunderbolt KVM (Score:2)
Just in case a device manufacturer is reading /.:
What we need is a KVM switch that can handle all these display standards. I can hardly find DVI KVM switches, let alone Mini Displayport or Thunderbolt.
Confusing names (Score:2)
Is it just me or do the names for Apple's OS versions, hardware sound a lot like the name for sneakers?
Nike air, Apple, air, etc
Apple needs to license Magsafe (Score:2)
Thunderbolt is an ideal port for creating a docking station (as the new Thunderbolt display shows). But a docking station needs to be able to power the Mac as well, so it needs a Magsafe connector, and Apple has been a stick-in-the-mud about licensing that. Come on Apple! Don't shoot yourself and your market in the foot on this!
How the installer works without a disk (Score:4, Informative)
As pointed out in the Ars Technica review [arstechnica.com], the installer creates a small (1GB) new partition on your hard drive without destroying any existing data. It then uses this partition to bootstrap the remainder of the install process.
(That's just the sort of approach I took with a Linux system years and years ago, though my reward was a whole weekend spent trying to fix a broken system and finally just erasing the HD).
Ars Review (Score:5, Informative)
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That seems rather arbitrary. Why would they do this?
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That seems rather arbitrary. Why would they do this?
Snow Leopard was also $29. I don't think it's arbitrary, or unreasonable. They no longer charge $129, but they do release an OS every 12 to 18 months or so, and it's $29 to buy. If you skip one, it's $58. Or you can always do what I did and buy a new MacBook Air and get it for free. But then... I couldn't resist the allure of an i7 MacBook Air 11".
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They've made some truly bizarre decisions with Lion; pulled the Rosetta (PPC) support for no reason at all; failed to supply upgrade disks; borked the modal interface (not that the modal interface was a good idea anyway... it's a huge step backwards for a desktop... and only temporarily acceptable on the iPad because it's unable to realistically multitask applications) so that it doesn't work worth a darn with multiple monitors; provided no reasonable upg
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borked the modal interface
What do you mean by this?
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Yes.
"Apple are still fine with the 3 machine install for home use / application seat installed concurrently on both employees home and employer owned machines?"
You can install Lion on as many computers as you want. If you do it via the Mac App Store, I believe you're limited to 10 computers (you'd have to sign in with one account). If you
Yes (Score:2)
Can I drag and drop Lion from a net connected machine onto a USB drive and install it on a machine that isn't connected to the internet (eg: one I use for editing)?
Yes, follow instructions elsewhere for using the installer to create a bootable USB install device.
Apple are still fine with the 3 machine install for home use / application seat installed concurrently on both employees home and employer owned machines?
Up to five systems, basically tied to the AppleID you used to download Lion (though honestly I'
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to be fair, i've used the optical drive in my mini (2007) about 3 times. and one of those times was upgrading to snow leopard.
For the amount of use it doesn't get, I think its a smart move - considering in the AU market they've dropped the price by $200 in compensation. If you need an optical drive, a USB one will work for you to convert your media, or just play that using your existing player.
Ports on the back of a TV (Score:3)
i've used the optical drive in my mini (2007) about 3 times.
Other people's experience differs. They use the Mac mini as a home theater PC and use the optical drive to play DVD Video discs.
If you need an optical drive, a USB one will work for you to convert your media, or just play that using your existing player.
Somebody with a Mac mini, a cable or satellite box for sports, and a Wii console already connected to the TV might not have another available port on the back of the TV for an upscaling DVD player.
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the mini is about small size. HDD + SDD is BTO (Score:2)
the mini is about small size. HDD + SDD is BTO with the new mini and it still has Firewire, HDMI, USB + NOW with TB and a real video card in the $800 system.
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The external AIR DVD drive still will work, I guess.
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If an optical drive is so essential then either not buy the Mac Mini or purchase a external DVD drive. I've seen portable 2.5" ones for under $30 recently. Apple was the first major computer maker to do away with floppy drives (and now most people don't miss them) and add USB. I think moving away from any moving parts is a great trend that should increase reliability overall. We're moving beyond physical media. It can hurt some people in the transition period but we'll get throug
How can a DVD drive be 2.5"? (Score:2)
If an optical drive is so essential then either not buy the Mac Mini or purchase a external DVD drive.
Then I'll include the price of an external DVD drive whenever I quote the price of a Mac mini.
I've seen portable 2.5" ones for under $30 recently.
How can a DVD drive be 2.5" and still enclose the spinning disc? The disc is bigger than that. Can you quote a URL of what you're talking about? Google portable 2.5" dvd drive doesn't return anything relevant on the first page.
We're moving beyond physical media. It can hurt some people in the transition period
For example, people who live in areas with no cable or DSL rely on mailing DVDs around to send anything bigger than half the typical monthly transfer cap of 5 GB on a satellite or 3G plan, or
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Which is a bummer, because they removed the optical disk drive from all Mini models. It's a bummer; my uncle is looking to get a new machine, and was looking at a mac mini. Now it's off of his list, because much of his massive media (movies, music, etc.) collection is on DVD or CD, and purchasing an external ODD for any non-portable machine is just silly.
Use "DVD or CD Sharing" with a Mac or Windows PC with an optical drive.
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So you posted this over the 14K connection then?
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Actually, it still is.
Actually, no it is not.
You're so far outside what could be considered "normal society" that you really aren't one to talk about what is or isn't an insult in any century.
The remote South is not considered 'normal society' either.
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The remote regions of the South may not be 'normal society' (to you anyways), but gay as an insult is alive and well at least nationally in the US. See the guy lamenting the Xbox generation using gay as an insult still.The remote South isn't on XBL or your CS or TF2 server.
In any case, at least in my circle, gay can mean both "homosexual" and "lame." I have gay friends who use it in the same manner. Words change meaning, and the transformation of gay to "homosexual" from "happy" is just one example. Why can