Optical drives are still practical for many users, whether to play old CDs and DVDs, install software, or create backups—especially with modern laptops, which are usually supplied without a drive.

Optical drives were once so common that virtually every computer came with one, or even two. Now this storage solution is quickly becoming obsolete — it's increasingly rare to find a mainstream ...

A lot of people these days are streaming movies and watching content online via the internet. Even the process of installing popular apps has changed to involve downloads rather than box-based CDs.

In this increasingly digital era, physical media has become a thing of the past in most circles. There is, however, sustained interest in such supposedly antiquated tech. Some examples of this include ...

It's the early 2000s, and you're tired of listening to random songs on the radio while driving. The iPod was just invented, MP3 players are still in their infancy, and cars don't support auxiliary ...

A decade ago I got my first Mac without an optical drive. So I got an external USB "superdrive" (CD/DVD writer). But that one now no longer works. I don't really need an optical drive, as I've copied ...

Recently I had a conversation with a coworker who asked me about CD-ROM drives. They purchased a new PC a year or so ago and it does not have an optical drive. This wasn't a problem until they came ...

Not entirely certain this is the appropriate forum, but I'm looking for a good/reasonable quality enclosure to repurpose one of the optical drives (CD/DVD RW) I saved from previous laptops. A quick ...

WTF?! PC users rarely rely on optical media anymore, and when they do, it's usually through an external USB drive – particularly on laptops. Most notebook manufacturers phased out built-in disc trays ...

One of the most interesting parts of the recent Apple Mac Mini and MacBook Air refresh is that Apple is moving away from optical drives. Apple isn't the only company to do so, raising the question "Is ...