Ejecting Discs The Mac Way [Update]
October 31st, 2006 by Joen mac, operating-systems, usability, windows
Eject
I criticize because I love.
Yesterday, I discussed functional design with my better half (read: girlfriend) while driving home from IKEA. She uses Mac at work and mentioned how a new colleague who was used to The PC Way had trouble ejecting a disc on her new Intel Mac Pro Quad Xeon.
A little back story: On most PCs, consumer devices such as DVD players, CD players and other disc handling devices, there’s an “eject” button next to the tray / slot-loading mechanism. On the Mac, however, there isn’t. The Mac Way of ejecting discs is threefold: you can drag the disc into the virtual trash bin1, you can press the “Eject” button on the keyboard (top right corner), or you can press the “Eject” button next to the disc in the Finder device list (the Mac file explorer).
Now Apple makes beautiful and functional hardware. Whenever someone asks me what laptop they should buy, I say “buy a Mac”. I say this because they’re functional pieces of work. Except of course, for the mystery of the missing Eject button. Can someone please explain, using puppets if necessary, why Apple hasn’t included an eject button next to disc trays yet! To me this seems like another doomed-to-fail Apple crusade like the decade-long lack of right-click mice.
[Update]: Okay fine, so an eject button might not make so much sense on a Mac laptop, but I stand by what I said with regards to the non-portable macs, mainly for the reasons Brian mentions.
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Some good replies here.
First, though:
b,
I discussed this with a colleague at work (Peter, also commented in this thread), and we both agreed that on the portable edition macs (ibook, powerbook, etc) this was fine. Maybe not as logical as could be, but nothing to fuss about either. So yeah, I'll give you that.
Listen, this is not a damn pissing contest, "b". You assume I'm a Windows fanboy because I criticize a single feature about the Mac, when in fact I bitch about Windows daily at work. I just so happen to have to use Windows only applications. Plus, a few tidbits here and there keep me from going OSX w. Parallels. I've even tried to migrate to Ubuntu, so far without success. So relax and read my comments as a "could eventually switch to Mac, but wants Mac to be better first" sort of guy before you go all batshit-loco Mac-zealot on me.
Scott,
Hmm. Do you think it's a per-drive "feature"? As you know PC hardware is a moving target as opposed to the latest macs. I know my DVD+R drive won't eject while I'm burning. In fact, my burning app crashed on me one day, and I couldn't eject the CD until I had rebooted.
Vuong,
Are you absolutely sure? Because I'm almost positive my drive doesn't bypass the OS.
Wow, that sucks bigtime. Can't you program one of the redundant PC keyboard shortcuts to eject? Like the "shopping" button we talked about? :)
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Fact is, there is a number of ways to eject discs on a Mac. That's just how Mac works. It may not make sense to a PC guy like yourself but the way PCs work tend to leave most Mac users puzzled as well, to say the least... this is why some of us are Mac people, some are PC.
We can sit here and argue all day on something as irrelevant as which is the best way to eject a disc, but in the end you won't learn anything if you keep your mind closed. Also, I don't recall anyone ever forcing you to use a Mac ;)
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To answer one of the early questions (apologies if I missed it when skip reading).
If you have a machine with two optical drives, the OS in the menu bar eject area gives you the option of the two drives with slightly different symbols.
Or, if you press the eject key usually does the top drive, option:eject key usually does the bottom drive
Or you just just the little eject button next to the media you want to eject and the system knows which drive it is in.
In the words of Darth.... All too easy.....
Some of the above may vary slightly depending upon version of OS and machine. Haven't got a new Mac Pro but assume it is similar to G4 dual optical drive machines.
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I think you have too much spare time
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Someone smart please tell me this:
How do I eject the CD tray on my mac, when there is no disc in it and I don't have an apple keyboard?
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Having never owned a Mac, can I just ask out of curiosity, how does the eject button on the keyboard work on a Mac desktop system which has two optical drives?
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Brian,
From Apple's Help (from the Finder's Help menu):
"On keyboards with no Media Eject key, the F12 key performs two functions. If you press it normally, it performs the action selected in the Dashboard & Expos? preferences. (By default, that action is showing Dashboard.) If you hold it down until the Eject icon appears on your screen, it ejects your disc."
I've seen it work, so I can testify. Testify!!
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Cyrris,
To open multiple optical drives with the default OS X configuration, you can use iTunes 7?s eject button in the lower right corner. I think there must be an easier, built-in way, but I don't know what that is.
Personally I use Ardiem, a lovely, small menu bar utility that provides a menu which lists all optical drives (and possibly others, but I?m not sure).
You can also assign keyboard shortcuts to any given drive in Ardiem?s Preferences. Very handy.
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It's the "Mac way". Just get used to it and quit the "gnashing of teeth". Only people in Microsoft hell do that...
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Star Traveler, I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or not.
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Here's my argument FOR the hardware button:
The hardware button is a thing people are used to from dedicated devices, so it shouldn't be hard for that many to understand.
It's always the same, no matter what program you are using or state your OS is in.
Instructions are like this:
1) If you want to eject, press the eject button on the drive
Meanwhile, the eject mechanism on my mac, I need to know the following:
1) Drag to trash to eject
2) or use the eject icon in finder
3) ... except if you are ejecting the tray to put something IN to it
4) or use the eject button on your keyboard
5) ... except when you aren't using an Apple keyboard
6) then you press and hold F12 (unverified)
7) but none of the above if you are in the process of booting your computer
8) then you press and hold the left mouse button to eject the drive
Somehow, summing all that up in my head, it just seems like it would be a nicer idea to have a hardware button, which would always be there and not preclude any of the other options, plus it would make PC people happy, because it's less adjustment, and when they run boot camp, it also works in windows.
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I didn't know criticizing details of the Mac was cause for so much alarm! I'm not saying Mac is the vile waste of the earth... if you read what I'm actually saying you'll see that I kinda like the hardware and aspects of what they've got going on, while I in fact dislike Windows in a number of ways. No reason to wave crosses at me.
That said, I'll admit the choice of omitting an eject button on the mac laptops was probably an informed choice and good idea. Fine, PC laptop makers can learn from this.
Even so, omitting an eject button on standalone macs, the Mini, the Mac Pro, etc. I still think is a huge mistake and a case of "aesthetics over user-friendlyness". Particularly comments like those of Brian reinforce this belief (see right above).
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That (and the similar sentiments expressed earlier) is the stupidest thing I've ever heard, if serious. Just because Apple do something a certain way doesn't mean it's the best way, or can't be criticised, examined or reviewed. I like my mac but don't think it's perfect - not by a long way. The eject button, or lack thereof, is one of many things wrong with the mac. It's still far better than my old Windows machine, or my Linux box, in many ways, but that doesn't mean that computer design and development has reached its peak and should stop. Just because OSX has a far better GUI than Windows doesn't mean everyone should just stand in awe of the majestic "Mac way" and never question it. There are always improvements to be made (as Apple themselves regularly demonstrate).
Amazing how people respond to criticism of their chosen OS.
Imagine if Macs had had an eject button since the very beginning. Would anyone be arguing for it to be removed? If so, on what grounds? That it makes a mac slightly prettier? That it makes more sense to only have the eject button in software? That it is wrong, or problematic, to have a hardware eject button?
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The comment above this one by Dave Child described my exact sentiments.
Dave, I couldn't agree more on your statement if we shared the same brain.
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It might be a bit deeper that just style or looks, eg linux would lock the cd rom once the drive was mounted, makes sense so the os doesn't panic if you open the cd tray whilst the os thinks it has a logical files system connected.
I checked my mac pro (my first mac too!) and yer if all else fails there is provision to use a paper clip (not a silly virtual one) to manually extract the media.
no button, it's different but it's the same for network, memory devices and cd/dvd etc so it's consistent.
looks, I like it with out an eject button.
my 2 bobs worth ;o)
Robert
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Guys doesn't xp do the same as Mac OSX because when the cd has been written the cd or dvd is ejected automacatlly so xp is no different to Mac OSX,I know this as my mechine ejects cds dvds execpt for floppys as soon as they are written
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Read this one, you'll know why:
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=876627
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Different products are designed differently ok!
Mercedes Cars have knobs on the doors to unlock them, Peugeot cars on the other hand have a button kinda thing on the door handle that you use to unlock. No one bitches about those differences, accept the difference in products OK we dont want to have all manufacturers making the same bloody thing...
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