This is a PSA for all current and potential iMac users. There is high probability to deeply scratch/ruin a DVD or CD using the built in media slot on the side. I've had my iMac for a couple of months now and I guess I have been unconsciously very careful in the insertion/removal of the CDs since I haven't experienced what happened today.
Today I inserted the a DVD into the iMac. After a few minutes I decided to watch the instructional DVD on my TV in the other room so I ejected the DVD. Playing it back on my Panasonic BluRay it started to skip and ultimately froze. Checking for dust I discovered a 1 inch wide pattern of parallel deep scratches on the bottom. Of course I was surprised since I had just opened this sealed DVD before playing.
I knew that the slot for the superdrive on the side of the imac is extremely crisp in appearance--it's part of the Apple industrial design language. As a test I grabbed an old CD and intentionally was not careful during the insertion of the CD--not rough or clumsy, just making sure there was a slight angle during removal. That causes the disc to touch the very sharp outer edge of the slot, resulting in scratching. This can occur on disc insertion or removal. The rear enclosure of the imac is metal and the slot edge has a zero radius, therefore extremely sharp.
After a quick web search, I found (many) reports of disc scratching as far back as 2007 on multiple mac forums. the slot design has been the same since those versions.
My MacBook Pro 2,2 (non-unibody) is also metal but has a small step around the slot opening, slightly reducing the chance for scratching. But likely still possible, I do not recall any discs being damaged due to scraping. My old Powerbook had a small plastic ring around the slot-this completely prevents damage.
As an industrial designer who has designed products with disc slots this situation makes me mad. When I run into one of the Apple ID folks, down the road, I am surely going to ask what they were thinking--I hope they don't say Steve made me do it. Especially knowing that iMacs are typically family computers with a good chance that kids of all ages will be users, having to carefully align a DVD/CD into the slot to prevent scratching is an unrealistic usability scenario.
The good news is that my iMac played most of the deeply scratched DVD which caused the BluRay player to choke. But thanks Apple for damaging my $30 DVD.
So be careful with your rare CDs if you are using an iMac as a music server.
