Apple might be looking to phase out DVD drives and other optical media from its next-generation iMac and Mac Pro computers, according to reports.
Tom’s Hardware notes that currently unreleased iMac and Mac Pro model numbers are listed alongside disk-free systems, such as the Mac Mini and MacBook Air, in hidden OS X Mountain Lion configuration files. The hidden Boot Camp configuration files list current iMac and Mac Pro models as being capable of booting an operating system other than Mac OS X, for example Linux or Windows, from a DVD disk.
Meanwhile, the unreleased iMacs and Mac Pro computers are listed in the same file (alongside Mac Mini and MacBook Air models without DVD drives) as supporting booting other operating systems from USB.
The news has fuelled speculation that Apple might be looking to replicate its decision to drop floppy disk drives in its original iMacs during the 1990s.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
