Now, on the Mac that has the media drive (ie. To begin, your two Macs must be on the same local network. In such a situation you can use the power of DVD or CD Sharing if you want to install software (other than the Mac OS) or copy files from a disc.

If you have access to another Mac that does have a media drive, your options expand a bit. Go to Amazon and search for External USB DVD Drive and you’ll find several external drives that are compatible with your Mac (and most costing quite a bit less than Apple’s drive). Of course Apple’s isn’t the only solution. With it you can play DVD movies, play and rip CDs with iTunes, and install software if it’s compatible with your Mac. Just jack it into your MacBook’s USB port and shove your discs into it as needed. Apple makes such a thing in the form of its $79 USB SuperDrive. The easiest option is to simply purchase an external USB DVD drive.

I just purchased a MacBook Air and really like it, but I still need to occasionally use DVDs for installing software and watching movies. Reader Steven Lange loves his new MacBook Air except for one little thing.