Do you use your computer's optical drive anymore?

[BarkingGhostar]

Optical media = extinct.

It's just a matter of time before it's completely unneeded.

Trying rolling back firmware without the ability to do it over a network or flash drive.

 

[jlee]

Yep, ripping & burning CDs.

 

[WelshBloke]

All the time. My computer is also my TV/Home Theatre, so my blu-ray drive is my player. I have a solid, ever growing collection of blu-rays, watch them fairly frequently.

I so need to build an HTPC. I've nearly got round to it for about 5 years now.

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

What's an optical drive?

 

[Mixolydian]

Once or twice a month at the most.

 

[GeekDrew]

I use the optical drives in my desktop computer often. I buy video content on DVD and BluRay fairly often; I usually bring them home, rip them, and then put the disc in storage. I *really* hope that optical media isn't going to be killed off any time soon - there is still a very significant amount of the USA that does not have broadband, and therefore can't download media. There are also the ISPs fighting for transmission caps... keeping optical media helps with that. I also burn music to CD on occasion, for those (fortunately increasingly rare) times when I want to listen to music and a CD player is all that's available. I still remember how awesome I thought CDs were back in the 90s. Times changed.

My laptop computer doesn't have an optical media drive built-in. There is a DVD-RW drive in one of its docking stations, but I haven't used the drive in a couple of years. I believe that the last time I did so was to burn photos to disc while I was out at some event taking pictures.

My work computers... fairly often. It's the safest way to share files with multiple computers that are not connected. Vendors have finally started providing downloadable content instead of discs most of the time, so no need for optical media there. We burn records requests onto DVD for the public. Occasionally we send files to vendors that way.

And for the people that keep saying that optical media is for installing operating systems... why? I haven't installed an operating system from optical media in a _long_ time. Aren't all modern operating systems installable from USB?

 

[Seriouz-Bizniz]

Almost never unless I am "distro-hopping" using a live CD for linux or OS installs. Its rare that I use my optical drive. It just sits there and collects dust.

 

[goog40]

I think I paid $25 for it 5 years ago, so that probably works out to $25/use.

 

[Jumpem]

I use the optical drives in my desktop computer often. I buy video content on DVD and BluRay fairly often; I usually bring them home, rip them, and then put the disc in storage. I *really* hope that optical media isn't going to be killed off any time soon - there is still a very significant amount of the USA that does not have broadband, and therefore can't download media. There are also the ISPs fighting for transmission caps... keeping optical media helps with that. I also burn music to CD on occasion, for those (fortunately increasingly rare) times when I want to listen to music and a CD player is all that's available. I still remember how awesome I thought CDs were back in the 90s. Times changed.

My laptop computer doesn't have an optical media drive built-in. There is a DVD-RW drive in one of its docking stations, but I haven't used the drive in a couple of years. I believe that the last time I did so was to burn photos to disc while I was out at some event taking pictures.

My work computers... fairly often. It's the safest way to share files with multiple computers that are not connected. Vendors have finally started providing downloadable content instead of discs most of the time, so no need for optical media there. We burn records requests onto DVD for the public. Occasionally we send files to vendors that way.

And for the people that keep saying that optical media is for installing operating systems... why? I haven't installed an operating system from optical media in a _long_ time. Aren't all modern operating systems installable from USB?

Windows 7 comes on DVD.

 

[Patranus]

People laughed when Apple killed the floppy drive even though people didn't use their floppy drives.

Now Apple is killing optical, people bitched and moaned at the time, but now are realizing they are essentially worthless.

 

[WelshBloke]

People laughed when Apple killed the floppy drive even though people didn't use their floppy drives.

Now Apple is killing optical, people bitched and moaned at the time, but now are realizing they are essentially worthless.

Who gives a shit what apple do or don't put in their PCs?

 

[Jumpem]

People laughed when Apple killed the floppy drive even though people didn't use their floppy drives.

Now Apple is killing optical, people bitched and moaned at the time, but now are realizing they are essentially worthless.

What format is software and media that you buy in a store? It sure doesn't come on a flash drive.

 

[irishScott]

People laughed when Apple killed the floppy drive even though people didn't use their floppy drives.

Now Apple is killing optical, people bitched and moaned at the time, but now are realizing they are essentially worthless.

Dare I ask... howTF is Apple killing optical?

 

[GeekDrew]

Windows 7 comes on DVD.

/me shrugs. I bought the disc and then downloaded it from somewhere, and installed from USB.

 

[GeekDrew]

What format is software and media that you buy in a store? It sure doesn't come on a flash drive.

Who the hell buys software from a retail store any more? Why?!?

 

[lxskllr]

It sure doesn't come on a flash drive.

It should. When the crappy software's obsolete you'd still have a useful flash drive.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Who the hell buys software from a retail store any more? Why?!?

*raises hand*
While I like Steam, nothing beats having a nice, shiny box and some physical material when you buy a game. I usually wait for specials on collector's / limited eds and snap them up

 

[slayer202]

I'd imagine there are plenty of people who would pay an extra $10 to get windows on a flash drive. Not sure if the added labor and production would be too expensive though

 

[Jumpem]

/me shrugs. I bought the disc and then downloaded it from somewhere, and installed from USB.

Downloading it from "somewhere" is illegal.

 

[Jumpem]

Who the hell buys software from a retail store any more? Why?!?

I like having the physical packaging and media. I don't like downloading it.

 

[WelshBloke]

Downloading it from "somewhere" is illegal.

Meh, he bought the disc, who cares? I'm sure MS doesn't.

 

[So]

Dare I ask... howTF is Apple killing optical?

Well, the Airs don't have opticals, and although netbooks already were going in that direction, the Airs made it 'cool' and high end PCs are dropping them too -- see the Ultrabook spec.

 

[lxskllr]

I like having the physical packaging and media. I don't like downloading it.

My software doesn't come packaged. I like it :^)

 

[gevorg]

1) One of my cars has just a CD player w/o MP3 support, so I still burn music on Audio CDs for it. Considered using an FM MP3 transmitter, but the audio quality sucks, and I don't really have time to do a proper audio-in connection.
2) The optical drive is useful when you give divx movies/etc for other people who don't have HTPC but have a DVD player that still supports common video files.
3) Some music CDs have very high quality audio recordings which are worth getting in lossless format after you acquire it via physical CD and properly rip it.

Nevertheless, optical will die eventually, mostly by cheaper, faster and easier way to transfer files by flash drives. Just give it time for older DVD/CD drives/players to go bad and people not bother to replace it.

 

[GeekDrew]

Downloading it from "somewhere" is illegal.

I actually know exactly where that "somewhere" was, and it was most certainly legal for me to do so.

I suppose if I didn't have a source to download it, I could have gone to any computer that *did* have both an optical media drive and a USB port, and copy the image from the disc to the flash drive. I *know* MS released a free utility that does exactly that.