Have you ever had a CD or DVD stuck in your Mac’s optical drive? Depending on the Mac model you have, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to get the stuck disc out.

Or at least it seems that way. The problem arises because Apple has completely hidden the mechanical optical drive eject button on most Macs. Yes, that's right; Apple's desire for advanced design has meant that one of the most basic ways to eject stuck media is no longer an option for Mac users.

In the Windows world, you will find that the optical drives on most PCs have a small hole in the front. Insert a paperclip into the hole and the drive will eject any media that is in the drive; very handy.

On the Mac, the hole is missing and all ejection functions are performed electrically by sending an eject command to the drive. This shouldn’t be a big problem for Mac users as the result will be the same. Who cares if the ejection is performed by a paperclip or by the operating system sending an eject command?