[lazerbyte]

So is Apple gonna start removing optical drives now?

My mac mini does not have a optical drive in it!

I can use the one on my macbook to install software if needed or I can download it but if I have music on a CD I cannot play it on my mini!

Is this a trend Apple is going to continue to follow?

[Alli]

Most definitely. The next gen of laptops aren't expected to have drives either. The MacBook Pro will join the Macbook Air family and lose the drive.

But it's all good because you can get all your music from iTunes anyway - no more need for those pesky cd's.

[CG68]

I bought an external optical drive for my MacBook Air knowing that I will only use it for the occasional DVD movie. It's really something that I no longer have to have or need as in the past.