I'm from the 'old school'. Thumb drives and memory cards are great. And I use them all the time. Can't do without them. But I WANT and NEED an optical drive. Yes, the MBAs are thin and sexy. But as far as I'm concerned, not sexy enough.

I remember when Apple introduced a new machine and it came without a floppy. Boy did that cause quite a stir. If one was able to purchased a PC today with a floppy, that would be shocking. Only because who in the heck uses a floppy? But I can't, just won't, do without an optical drive. And that is why I bought a MBP. That and the fact you can upgrade it. The Air just doesn't do it for me. Not enough there. I just hope that Apple, in the future, doesn't drop the optical drive for their new MBP. And I don't want to hear about an external drive. Not what I want.