An external disc connected to a laptop. - Nor Gal/Shutterstock If you were to buy a new laptop, you'd have a hard time finding one with a built-in disc drive that can read CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs.

In this increasingly digital era, physical media has become a thing of the past in most circles. There is, however, sustained interest in such supposedly antiquated tech. Some examples of this include ...

Apple's old Mac Pro, with two optical drives. It now has zero. (Credit: Apple) The disc drive is dead -- or it's at least issuing a triumphant death rattle. The disc drive is dead -- or it's at least ...

Here at Ars, we’ve been publicly musing about whether the world was ready for a disc-free game console since as far back as 2015. Now, though, the better question might be whether the world ever needs ...