No more hard drives or DVDs

As predicted Apple's plans for the future are starting to influence the computer hardware manufacturers. As Apple moves away from using hard-drives to flash storage (e.g., the new MacBook Air has no hard drive), manufacturers of hard drives are recording a 20% fall in demand. Apple is also ditching the DVD for USB flash drives for its operating system.

Why is this important? Well remember that Apple were the first PC manufacturer to ditch the floppy drive. Where they lead the rest of the industry follows. Now not only does removing hard and optical drives increase battery life and reliability (no moving parts), but it is a step towards the future.