Apple has removed their DVD drives from Mac Mini computers, and MacBook Airs already didn’t have one.  This means that if you want to play a CD or watch a DVD, you will need a separate SuperDrive to do so.

Some believe Apple did this to cut costs, and others think it’s because Apple is simply just retiring discs all together.  But what are the pluses and minuses about this, and is it really necessary to outdate CDs and DVDs?

A few arguments for the upgrade are that discs make noise, they can get scratched, they use more battery power on a computer, they’re slower, and they’re less convenient.  The internet has made sharing files easy as pie, but do we really want to convert everything to just computer files?  It seems like Blu-ray players just came out for goodness sake! What am I going to do with all those Blu-ray DVDs now???!

Apple’s iCloud is making moves like we never imagined and is changing our technology and world as we all know it.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but how are we all suppose to keep up?!

Whaddyathink?

The first new product coming from Apple today is what TechCrunch calls “the next decade of OS”.  The new version of Mac OS, Mac OS X Lion, is now available only through downloading from the Mac App Store.  It costs $29.99 and with a 4 GB size, can be expected to be a pretty long download.  With over 250 new features, OS X Lion is being said to combine some of the best parts of OS X and iOS.

Apple also announced the new updates of both the 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch MacBook Air.  Both models feature the new Intel Core i5 and i7, and a Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor.  The MacBook Air also uses all flash storage, making the notebook super  fast and able to remain in standby mode for up to a month!  The new models also have a backlit keyboard, as older models did.  Both sizes have a Thunderbolt port, offering speeds up to 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and 20 times faster than USB 2.0.  The larger, 13.3-inch model also has a slot for SD cards.

Coinciding with the release of the new MacBook Air is the demise of the white MacBook.  Since the new MacBook Airs are out and the starting price is the same as those for the MacBook, it makes sense, especially since customers still have the collection of MacBook Pros to consider.  The last new release of the day (so far) is the 27-inch Thunderbolt I/O display.  If all these new goodies aren’t enough for you, there is still iOS5 and iCloud hopefully not too far away.

Well this is what Apple has done today, and it’s not even lunchtime.  How much have you done?

The Basics

• Available: July
• How to get it: downloadable from the App Store, approximately 4GB in size (around the size of an HD movie)
• Cost: $29.99

New Features

1. Multitouch gestures: the gestures you use on iPhones and iPads, such as pinching and swiping will be brought to your computer’s trackpad
2. Full-screen apps: you can run multiple apps full-screen and swipe back and forth  between them, as well as your desktop
3. Mission control: gesture to see a bird’s eye view of all of your open apps and windows
4. App Store: built into Lion, now has push notifications, delta updates, in-app purchases, and sandboxing
5. Launchpad: interface of app icons that you can rearrange and organize into multiple pages and folders
6. Resume: now when you restart your computer or launch an app, it will take you back to exactly where you left off
7. Autosave: your work is automatically saved in the background
8. Versions: browse all past versions of a document, revert back to a different version, lock to prevent accidental changes and create templates from documents
9. Airdrop: a peer-to-peer, Wi-Fi based network for sharing documents that shows people around you using Airdrop and allows you to drag documents to them
10. Mail: completely redesigned with full-height messages, snippets, conversation view, improved searching, favorites bar, and more

Stay tuned for similar summaries of the iOS 5 and iCloud parts of the keynote!

Many websites had live feeds and live blogs coming from the event, and you can now watch the keynote on Apple’s website.

One trend in the features of OS X Lion seems to be making use similar to that of mobile devices such as the iPhone and the iPad.  The new appearance of the Mail application, notifications, and the multi-touch gestures feature (more info on these later) are very similar to features of iOS.  Another big game-changer is how you can update your Mac to OS X Lion when it is released in July: it is only available to download from the Mac App Store, and for a much lower price than past updates.

Some of iOS 5’s most exciting new features include a major change in the notification system, the integration of Twitter into the operating system, and the introduction of iMessage, a message service supported by iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.  iOS 5 will be available in the fall, supporting the same devices as the previous update.

Finally, Apple announced iCloud, which will store all of your content and wirelessly syncs it to all of your devices.  Apple has taken what they learned from MobileMe, worked out the bugs, and expanded the list of applications that can be used with it.

This, of course, does not begin to cover the exciting features Apple customers will soon be able to take advantage of, so stay tuned for more articles about WWDC.

eZanga would like to send our congratulations to Dawn from New Jersey, for winning our first raffle drawing for a MacBook Air.  Stay tuned and continuously check in to hear about up coming raffle prizes.  Remember, staying active on HopOnThis will give you a greater chance to win cool prizes!