Do you use your computer's optical drive anymore?

[GeekDrew]

*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

OK. Fair point, I suppose. That's one of the reasons I buy DVDs/BluRays, even though I generally only open them for long enough to rip them.

 

[Humpy]

Can't answer. Computer doesn't have an optical drive.

Downloaded Windows installs from a flash drive. Everything else is a download.

 

[CallMeJoe]

I have a large CD collection that I am ripping to FLAC (recent convert to Android phone). I also burn data backups to DVD for off-site storage.

At work there is a lot of aviation software and maintenance data that is still distributed by manufacturers via CD.
We also have a number of marginally computer-literate customers who like to get Jeppessen database updates via CD.

 

[CRXican]

only when Windows doesn't boot and I have to trick it with the CD

 

[pontifex]

very rarely any more

 

[vi edit]

Quite a bit for DVD ripping to home media share. Plus I have a few PC games and some legacy stuff I still use it for.

 

[TXHokie]

Anything with a moving part in a computer needs to go (beside cooling fans).

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

I prefer to buy games on disk just because I'd rather not download 10GB of files using a 1.5Mbps connection.

 

[Maximilian]

Hardly at all, its either internet or USB stick i use. OS installs seem faster with USB stick.

 

[exdeath]

Optical media = extinct.

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

Ditto for anything that "spins" or "rotates" to access data. I long for the day when it's ALL gone.

I use my laptop's built in optical drive to copy ISOs to my Patriot Supersonic 64GB USB 3.0 flash drive then install to my desktop writing to an SSD array as a last resort when no other source media is available.

I don't touch mechanical media of any kind unless I'm being paid good money for it. Even in cases where I need to boot a computer in an area where flash drives are not allowed, I make someone bring the computer out of that area so I can use my thumb drives.

I have other customers paying for my help, I'm not going to wait for a disc to burn followed by wasting 15 minutes listening to a plastic disc boot for someone who refuses to evolve and adapt their policies to the 21st century.

The only optical disks I voluntarily use are commercial BRDs in a set top player, and game console discs. Those are tolerable because the medium and presentation is optimize around streaming from their media limitations. Even then the first thing I do when I get home with an XBox 360 game is copy to HDD (which would be a SSD if not for MS being XBL mod Nazis even with HDD upgrades /spit).

For ripping for portable devices and media center, I either use the provided digital copy or torrent one that someone has already ripped and transcoded to an open format. My internet connection is faster than listening to my computer shake itself to death like a 1950s washing machine ripping from some crude plastic disc for 30 minutes.

 

[exdeath]

Anything with a moving part in a computer needs to go (beside cooling fans).

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[gevorg]

^^^

Cooling fans need to go too, at least on ultrabooks and simple family/client PCs.

 

[Engineer]

Rarely. Use USB stick far more than optical drive. Heck, half the time, I download the programs (legally) that I'm installing.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

I've gotten rid of permanent internal drives for the past few years now, an external drive comes in handy for the very rare occasion that I need it, which is mostly just to install a very old game or perhaps burn CDs for a road trip if I'm in a car that can't easily be hooked up to a portable media player. And as a bonus a single external drive can be used on multiple computers. Less clutter inside and outside of the cases

Burning DVDs for movies is no longer something I do anymore because streaming is easier. Its also just about as economical to tote around a portable HDD full of movies instead of a huge disc binder when streaming isn't an option.

 

[boomhower]

Nope, almost never. Drivers I download. OS's I download.(It's a Dell, so no not pirating OEM key). I don't really buy software as almost everything I do is online or has some free equivilant like open office vs MS Office. I did use it a month or so ago for an owners manual for a machine at work that didn't have a PDF online. I'll use it two or three times a year. With Windows 7 having a plethora of network drivers you can use that to get online and get the rest of them. Tons of companies are making their software available via download. They are on their way to meet their relatives the floppy disk in dodo bird land. If flash drives would drop a bit more to where they are cheap enough to be included with hardware for drivers. If a notebook was available with a quad and no optical I would go that route for a more compact machine but since they are geared towards low power battery life so I haven't seen one yet.

 

[MotionMan]

Not much.

MotionMan

 

[RavenSEAL]

Nope. I do everything via USB, including OS install. PS3 handles whatever.

I actually never bought one for this build.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Used one today to install Turbotax. And need to burn a CD to update my SSD's firmware.

 

[Thegonagle]

I still use mine to watch DVDs, burn stuff for friends, and reinstall Windows.

Anything with a moving part in a computer needs to go (beside cooling fans).

I could definitely live without the need for cooling fans. Most electronics are designed for passive cooling. My ideal computer would be as well.

 

[RavenSEAL]

I could definitely live without the need for cooling fans. Most electronics are designed for passive cooling. My ideal computer would be as well.

Are you sure we're using computers in the same level of complexity? I'm pretty sure my whole machine would melt down without fans...even at stock clocks.

 

[busydude]

I could definitely live without the need for cooling fans. Most electronics are designed for passive cooling. My ideal computer would be as well.

It all depends on the TDP.

 

[Vic Vega]

...

 

[Thegonagle]

Are you sure we're using computers in the same level of complexity? I'm pretty sure my whole machine would melt down without fans...even at stock clocks.

It all depends on the TDP.

I know all that. Note I said without the need for fans, not without fans.

I'm dreaming of an as-of-yet unattained ideal.

 

[lothar]

Used one today to install Turbotax. And need to burn a CD to update my SSD's firmware.

Which SSD is this? D:
Is this the normal updating procedure for all SSD's or is your manufacturer just being lazy?

/shrugs
I don't own an SSD yet, but I'm thinking about getting one this year. Your answer to my question will either tell me which manufacturer to completely avoid, or let me know that I have no choice in the matter.

 

[busydude]

You need to have a floppy drive to perform their diagnostic tests. /facepalm