No DVD burner?

[mikeberk81]

Hi I've just bought my first imac and i've got to say that over all, I'm pretty impressed.
There's just one thought that keeps cropping up:
If you want to use a lot of the pre installed software, you've got to buy extras that Windows would normally already have. I burn a lot of CDs and DVDs. I'm an impatiant so-and-so and didn't pay attention to the full specs when buying and now that I'm using it, I've just discovered that there's a CD burner but no DVD burner.
Now I've got to spend more money on that.:radioacti
imovie HD is so good but just when you've made your DVD, you can't save it onto disc!... doesn't seem right to me.

Likewise iwork is fantastic... so much better than microsoft works but it should be a free extra really.


It seems like Apple do this sort of thing a lot. I bought my girlfriend an ipod nano a whiile ago and had to buy the charger seperately.
It's a real pity that they do this because it's not indearing them to anybody and they really do have great products.

Am I the only one that feels this way?

 

[surfwax95]

The DVD player is your fault, not Apple's. They offer it, you didn't purchase it.

As for the iPod, it comes with a USB cable that attaches to the computer to charge it. It's not wise to own a Nano without a computer, so ,technically, it does come with a charger.

I've never felt jipped with Apple products.

Welcome to Mac-Forums.

 

[Crowe]

I'm with surfwax.

Sounds like pilot error to me.

 

[mikeberk81]

I hear what you're saying but PCs generally come with DVD buurners as standard these days... I aggree though- I should have ordered more carefully.
RE: ipod- the USB only chharges the ipod to 20% of it's full strength.
All th..e best

 

[mathogre]

Uh, MS Works isn't free. It's a commercial product for which you pay $50 or $100 retail, depending on the version. If you get it "free" on a PC, it's because the OEM probably has a better price for Works, but he passes the cost to you. In other words, you're still paying for it.

http://www.microsoft.com/products/works/order.aspx

As far as DVD burning s/w, I bought a Dell XPS400 tower a year ago with two optical drives, one of which burns all manner of DVDs. The s/w Dell provided was so limited in its capabilities as to be practically useless. I had to get s/w for burning discs.

 

[fleurya]

I don't understand. I thought all Macs (pretty much all computer of any kind) come with DVD-burning drives now. Was this a refurb or used older version?

Bill Gates didn't get to be the richest mane in the world by giving away one of the most widely used products. You paid for Word, you just don't understand that you did.

If you own a Nano, it's understood that you have a computer to put songs on it, and that's how it's charged. If someone owns a Nano with songs, but no computer, something illegal probably happened for that person to get those songs. (someone gave the person their music, or the person let someone rip their music to put it on the Nano.

 

[drewschlosser]

Get some Toast

Toast 7 that is. Or if you prefer NTI Dragon Burn is outstanding as well. Hint: sometimes things are free if you know where to look. Also you can usually find an open source version of any software there is. For instance instead of iWork you could have used Open Office for free which works with ALL formats known to man. Anyhow, External DVD burners are so cheap these days just run out and buy one. I think Comp-USA carries one for 45.00. Good luck. MACs rule. Seconded only by Linux. Vista is a joke.

 

[Tak]

An aftermarket USB 2 DVD Burner is cheap and a LOT easier than tearing into an Imac to change the drive, and if you need a charger go here.

http://cgi.ebay.com/AC-Power-Adapte...mZ120102841897QQcategoryZ129446QQcmdZViewItem

We have three of his chargers they run about $10 with shipping an they work fine.

 

[RNDdave]

I burn a lot of CDs and DVDs. I'm an impatiant so-and-so and didn't pay attention to the full specs when buying and now that I'm using it, I've just discovered that there's a CD burner but no DVD burner.
Now I've got to spend more money on that.:radioacti

Well as has been pointed out - the option of a DVD burner is there and pretty much all Macs have a DVD burner as standard anyway.
How long have you had your Mac for? perhaps you can return it and order a new one with the DVD RW upgrade or chose the next model up - I think it's only the bottom models that don't come with a DVD RW as standard.

I would agree however that pretty much all new PCs are now supplied with a DVD burner of some sort as standard now.

Likewise iwork is fantastic... so much better than microsoft works but it should be a free extra really.

I didn't actually try iWork my self I just removed it from my installation - so can't really compare the 2 products. As has already been mentioned - MS Works is not free - it just tends to be bundled with a lot of new PCs. You will have paid for it somewhere

You mentioned earlier that iMovie is good - Apple threw that in for free.

Garageband
iWeb (?)
Comic Life (?)

All good applications that Apple supplied as standard.

It seems like Apple do this sort of thing a lot. I bought my girlfriend an ipod nano a whiile ago and had to buy the charger seperately.
It's a real pity that they do this because it's not indearing them to anybody and they really do have great products.

The USB cable does the job - you mention in a separate post that the USB cable only charges to 20% - I've not heard this before. I have an iPod and I'm pretty sure I get the kind of usage out of it I'd expect from a full charge - and I only use the USB charger. (However I don't have a nano so not sure if anything is different).

What you have to remember is that with a Windows machine you might get certain things as standard - like a DVD burner & MS Works - but you also get several thousand security exploits and you'll be the number one target of every malware/spyware/adware piece of junk out there ...

Welcome to the forum.

 

[dadsgravy]

Jesus! I think you guys scared him away. Thou shalt not smote thy Mac!:bomb:

 

[mikeberk81]

Thanks guys for all the replies. I suppose thinking about it, Microsoft Works has probably always been and added expense onto PCs but you just never think about it bc it's been around for ever.
Just bought an external dvd burner 2dayy... you're right, the price of them's gone right down.

 

[DistantHoller]

btw If your nano is only charging 20% on the usb, there must be something wrong. Is it connected trough a UNpowered usb-hub? Could that be it?

 

[jacefox]

I don't understand. I thought all Macs (pretty much all computer of any kind) come with DVD-burning drives now. Was this a refurb or used older version?

Actually, fleurya, I just bought a 13.3 MacBook in February and it does not have a SuperDrive. Only ComboDrive. So it is possible to get a computer without a DVD-burning drive still. Now the next Mac we'll buy (for my wife) will probably have a SuperDrive. At the time of my purchase, I rarely burn DVD's. So I spent the extra money on some more RAM - which I thought was a wiser move for me. Most of my stuff is already backed up 2x - once to CD, and once to a file server at home (note - old Dell machine with 100GB of HDD storage).

 

[MacHeadCase]

You are absolutely right, jacefox.

ComboDrive = read DVDs, read/write CDs.

SuperDrive = read/write DVDs, read/write CDs.

I realized the full potential of buying a Mac with SuperDrive when on my old G4 iMac I got fed up of burning CD after CD of vacation picts. It just made no sense. Luckily I had the model with SuperDrive!

 

[dtravis7]

The iPod is made to charge from the USB cable. It does not need a charger for normal use. They were able to cut the price a bit because of that. You can get one but if you use it with your computer you do not need a charger.


Apple has different options. You could have gotten your Mac with a DVD burner. Not all PC have a DVD R but most do now a days.

 

[dtravis7]

I hear what you're saying but PCs generally come with DVD buurners as standard these days... I aggree though- I should have ordered more carefully.
RE: ipod- the USB only chharges the ipod to 20% of it's full strength.
All th..e best

My Ipod 4GB Nano charges 100% on USB. Never has had a problem, same with my iPod Mini. There is something wrong with either the battery in your Nano or your USB port.

 

[coach_z]

go pick up an external floppy drive
"i can store many dvds on 1 floppy so it's essential to me"

-chris