Maybe Apple was a little ahead of their time to remove the optical drive, and maybe they are with the headphone jack too. So far the more level headed of the user base don't seem to give too much of a shit.
Maybe Apple was a little ahead of their time to remove the optical drive, and maybe they are with the headphone jack too. So far the more level headed of the user base don't seem to give too much of a shit.
The headphone jack is different, because it isn't being replaced by convenient online services. Sure there are wireless alternatives, but the cost increases, difficulty of pairing, and the fact that 3.5mm is a standard across a huge range of devices from simple headphones to complex audio recording/mixing/playback setups means it just cannot be replaced. They could remove the optical drive without including the external drive because most people wouldn't need it, they definitely could not have removed the headphone jack without including an adapter in the box because of how popular the jack still is.
Edit: It worked! (I used the cut stem of a q-tip instead, wasn't brave enough to try a paperclip; lots of lint)