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  • #1

    Dumb question time

    So I'm considering upgrading my laptop as the one I'm typing this on now is starting to have problems and costing more to fix. While most of the things I used my laptop for have been transferred over to my iPad, I still use my laptop to play DVDs, some old CD-ROM games (since our internet plan is shaped meaning that if I download too much, it slows the connection down to dialup speed) and for typing up uni stuff.

    I've found a few laptops that I like (not going to mention brands at this stage), but the problem is that they are all lacking optical drives (and they aren't netbooks either, we're talking 14" at LEAST). Is it possible to get an external optical drive or am I being a complete idiot?
    The best professors are mad scientists! -Zoom

    Now queen of USSR-Land...
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  • #2
    Sure. I have one here that's completely powered by USB.

    You can also get them where they need their own power source; those tend to run faster, but they don't fit as nicely into a laptop bag.

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    • #3
      It's really trendy to leave out any kind of removable-media drive from laptops these days - I blame Apple for the MacBook Air, Intel for aping them with the Ultrabook spec, and plain old money-grubbing tight-fistedness for everyone else. I have a number of other major problems with modern laptop design, mind.

      If you don't need the latest and greatest, but simply something that works, you might find a secondhand machine is easier to find with an optical drive fitted.

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      • #4
        Well to be honest I don't really dislike the trend. It does lend to a longer battery life for the device.

        and for other devices - such as my mac mini - it means there's more room for other stuff like another HDD if i chose to put one in.


        in fact, come to think of it… i think for the G4 laptop, that was an option - you could have the second bay for another HDD or an ODD. i think. been a while though.

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        • #5
          Quoth PepperElf View Post
          Well to be honest I don't really dislike the trend. It does lend to a longer battery life for the device.
          I kinda second this. I've got a nifty external Asus USB drive for work that's very plug-and-play friendly, so you could always go that route if you need one.
          The Rich keep getting richer because they keep doing what it was that made them rich. Ditto the Poor.
          "Hy kan tell dey is schmot qvestions, dey is makink my head hurt."
          Hoc spatio locantur.

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          • #6
            It seems the cd/dvd as a storage media is on it's way out period. Kinda makes me sad. But with everything being cloud based now or just downloadable or streamable I guess there is no point anymore.
            https://www.youtube.com/user/HedgeTV
            Great YouTube channel check it out!

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            • #7
              There's ALWAYS a point for backup media!

              .... I just use a second hard drive, or a thumb drive, more often than optical, now ...


              But to answer fireheart's question: if you have the money, go for a modern laptop and a usb-connected, plug-into-a-power-supply optical drive. That'll max the battery time of the laptop. And getting a modern laptop, you get all the bells and whistles you want to run modern software.

              Naturally, if maxing battery life isn't an issue, my advice is wrong. :P
              Last edited by Seshat; 03-21-2013, 06:30 PM.
              Seshat's self-help guide:
              1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
              2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
              3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
              4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

              "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

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              • #8
                I can see the charm of having a separate optical drive after having one fail along with a virus hitting the OS.. so no reformatting the drive! Of course, by this time, the laptop was a dinosaur of about 8 years old, so it became one of mid-raudf's "projects."
                If I make no sense, I apologize. I'm constantly interrupted by an actual toddler.

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                • #9
                  There's ALWAYS a point for backup media!
                  Yep. I usually have a backup drive somewhere. And usually give them weird names too. My current backup drive is "Zombiedrive". I pretty much never throw out a HDD unless it's actually broken to the point where it won't spin.

                  For the ODDs, i have an apple USB one cos my BF found out it won't work on his laptop (conflicts with his built-in drive), a LaCie (cos it has a firewire port), and an internal desktop ODD that I sometimes hook up with a HDD connector kit.
                  Last edited by PepperElf; 03-22-2013, 11:15 PM.

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                  • #10
                    I have a 500GB portable hard drive that is used for a combination of movies, TV shows and backup. I also have a slowly growing collection of flash drives (my mentor teacher joked that as a thank you gift, she should've given me a USB wallet instead of markers ) and my boyfriend can also backup stuff.

                    I use my iPad for a lot more stuff these days than my laptop, but battery life is still a concern. My main uses for the laptop are (current and future):

                    -Playing a few games (current ones are Super Meat Boy, World of Goo, Nancy Drew games by Her Interactive, some emulated games and a few older games)
                    -Typing up assignments, lesson plans etc.
                    -Running movies (PC does not always play some movies for god knows what reason)
                    -holding all of my music.
                    -talking to people via messenger (PC does not have Internet and is also a dinosaur: think XP )

                    My iPad at the moment is mainly used for note-taking, communication and whatnot when I'm out in public.
                    Last edited by fireheart; 03-23-2013, 06:01 AM.
                    The best professors are mad scientists! -Zoom

                    Now queen of USSR-Land...

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                    • #11
                      with the PC, try running VLC. it tends to play most media files

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