SuperDrive Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Use the MacBook Air SuperDrive with (almost) any Mac

by TJ Luoma (Apr 2nd, 2012)

The Apple MacBook Air SuperDrive is only officially supported on the MacBook Air or Mac Mini, but what if you have another Mac that you want to use it with? Turns out you can make it work by editing one text file and then rebooting your Mac. The MacBook Pro shown above is mine. The story ...

On re-purposing the increasingly useless eject key

by Steven Sande (Jul 1st, 2011)

The eject key sits in the upper right corner of most modern Apple keyboards. On my big iMac with its SuperDrive, it occasionally gets pressed when I need to kick out a backup DVD, but the rest of the time it sits alone. It's even worse on a MacBook Air. With no SuperDrive to speak of, the eject ...

In defence of the SuperDrive

by Richard Gaywood (Mar 1st, 2011)

Echoing our own Michael Grothaus last year, MG Siegler hopes Apple drops the DVD drive from future Macs: "Just like the floppy disk before it, the optical disc will fade into irrelevance. And now you see why Apple has never included a Blu-ray drive in any of their machines." Erica Sadun wrote a ...

Software Reinstall USB drive comes with new MacBook Air

by Aron Trimble (Oct 20th, 2010)

During today's "Back to the Mac" event, Apple announced a brand new MacBook Air that comes in two screen sizes and features a bevy of upgrades. However, one similarity that the new Air has with its lineage is the lack of an optical drive. For the purpose of re-installing the software that comes ...

Apple stores pulling SuperDrives, new MacBook Air imminent?

by Steven Sande (Oct 6th, 2010)

We received a heads-up from an Apple retail insider that Apple Stores are pulling all of the MacBook Air SuperDrives from shelves. These drives are exclusive to the MacBook Air and Mac mini Server, and the removal of the drives could be a sign that the long-awaited refresh of the MacBook Air is ...

Sixteen new Apple patents, from CoverFlow to iDVD

by Mike Schramm (Apr 8th, 2010)

The USPTO published a whole slew of new patent applications from Apple today, covering everything from iChat to some CoverFlow animation. Patently Apple has the whole writeup as usual. Probably the most interesting thing among them is a "virtual keyboard for media players" that uses a modified ...

Apple releases updates for AirPort software, MacBook and MacBook Pro EFI

by Joachim Bean (Dec 8th, 2009)

Apple today released several updates today including AirPort client software, and EFI firmware revisions for some MacBook and MacBook Pro models. First, the AirPort Client Update 2009-002 update fixes the following issues: An Inability to turn AirPort on or off in some cases after ...

Apple posts three new updates

by Joachim Bean (Aug 31st, 2009)

After the big upgrade to Snow Leopard last weekend, Apple has posted three new updates, fixing various OS and firmware issues. The first is Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2. This update "improves compatibility with the latest Apple memory kits on Mac mini computers." This update is only needed ...

Mod: use your MacBook Air Superdrive on any machine

by Brett Terpstra (Jun 24th, 2008)

If you've got a MacBook Air SuperDrive and you've been hankering to use it with other computers (Mac or PC), tnkgrl over at tnkgrl Mobile has a solution. With a $9 part and some intestinal fortitude, you too can make your MBA Superdrive universally compatible. Using the drive with other computers ...

Mac 101: Get that "stuck" disc out of your Mac

by Cory Bohon (Jun 23rd, 2008)

Welcome to another Mac 101 here at TUAW. Mac 101 is our recurring feature where we point out some tips and tricks for folks new to the Mac. Remember, if you're a Mac expert this post isn't for you. Have you ever tried to unmount a disc in Mac OS X, but it simply wouldn't come out of your Mac's ...

Hack your Mac Pro SuperDrive for fun and profit

by Dan Lurie (Oct 7th, 2006)

It's not uncommon for computer manufacturers to swap and switch out various components for similar or near-identical parts during a production run, and Apple has been known to partake in this practice in the past. That being said, occasionally a manufacturer will use a part which has a slightly ...

SuperDrive Firmware Update v2.0 for some PowerPC-based Macs

by David Chartier (Jun 1st, 2006)

Apple has released a firmware update for SuperDrives in a variety of PowerPC-based Macs, including: PowerBook G4 (12 -inch 1.5GHz) PowerBook G4 (15-inch 1.33GHz, 1.5GHz, or 1.67GHz) PowerBook G4 (17-inch 1.67GHz) iMac G5 (17-inch 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz) iMac G5 (20-inch 1.8GHz) Mac mini ...

Apple introduces 17-inch MacBook Pro

by David Chartier (Apr 24th, 2006)

At least the Apple Store wasn't down this time for too long: today, Apple introduced the 17" MacBook Pro with an Intel Core Duo processor. It's lost .1 lb, now weighing a mere 6.8 lb, and also features a built-in iSight, Front Row and MagSafe - just like its 15" little brother. The ...