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.

Earlier this year, I found myself caught in a MacBook-induced conundrum. I had just rediscovered the late ’90s and early 2000s psychedelic progressive metal band Tool. In a music world gone totally ...

Optical drives no longer come pre-installed in most PCs and laptops, yet they’re still indispensable for many users. Whether for playing old DVDs, installing ancient software from CDs, or burning data ...

Q. Can you recommend a reliable, moderately priced external CD drive to install programs of the Epson Perfection V550 color scanner I'm thinking of buying? Apple's Aluminum Super drive is beautifully ...

The last Apple Mac to ship with an optical CD or DVD drive was a 13in MacBook Pro, originally released in June 2012, but on sale until October 2016, when Apple discontinued that model, more ...

Normally when you plug in an external hard drive to your Mac’s USB port you will see it appear on the desktop. You can also see it in a Finder window in the left ...