> Optical drives are still available of course, but they are now rarely standard with a new PC or laptop, and soon will become specialist components, and then it won’t be long before the drives become a greater limit to longevity than the media.
IMO, the #1 use case for optical drives is probably playing music in the car. For anything old enough that it doesn't have an aux port, it's the best solution.
* Tape adapters add a lot of noise. Maybe different drives work better than what I've got, but I tried and it's totally unworkable
* Short range FM adapters are terrible. Similar noise to tape adapters and the quality is really prone to degradation depending on the EM environment.
The stock of older, working cars is quite large. Eventually it'll get used up (outside of enthusiasts), but that'll probably take a few decades longer.
And as long as people are listening to CDs in their cars, there'll be a demand for the ability to burn them.
If you’re in the US, try Crutchfield. Not the best prices if you happen to own an audio shop and already know how to do everything, but they include instructions on how to do everything (including take apart your dash) and phone support for the lifetime of the product, and for little or no extra include all the pieces needed to interface your aftermarket system with the stock harness.
I have a 2001 car that has been using a Bluetooth audio and hands-free setup from them for over ten years. (It’s old enough that “you can control your iPod with it if you plug it it” was a selling point.)
> IMO, the #1 use case for optical drives is probably playing music in the car. For anything old enough that it doesn't have an aux port, it's the best solution.
Not even that old. A friend of mine bought a BMW MY2020 and it still has a CD-player (it was an extra, but it was at least still available in 2020).
I wouldn't be surprised if you could still order new car, today, with a CD player.
But I have to imagine that people who have a choice between AUX/bluetooth and CDs, and choose CDs are in the minority.
It's kind of a pain to install a CD burning app (which has long since atrophied from most music programs), plug in a removable drive, etc. I only do it because the alternatives are much worse.
My 2012 car supports reading mp3s off a CD which greatly improved the utility for me.
I kind of prefer it over the AUX jack since I hate messing with a touchscreen phone while driving. The radio has actual buttons and since it only does one thing it doesn't need to be messed with much to begin with.
IMO, the #1 use case for optical drives is probably playing music in the car. For anything old enough that it doesn't have an aux port, it's the best solution.
* Tape adapters add a lot of noise. Maybe different drives work better than what I've got, but I tried and it's totally unworkable
* Short range FM adapters are terrible. Similar noise to tape adapters and the quality is really prone to degradation depending on the EM environment.
The stock of older, working cars is quite large. Eventually it'll get used up (outside of enthusiasts), but that'll probably take a few decades longer.
And as long as people are listening to CDs in their cars, there'll be a demand for the ability to burn them.