We love that modern laptops have become so slim and light, but we aren’t happy about the disappearance of ports and features.

Optical drives are still practical for many users, whether to play old CDs and DVDs, install software, or create backups—especially with modern laptops, which are usually supplied without a drive.

Q. Can you recommend a reliable, moderately priced external CD drive to install programs of the Epson Perfection V550 color scanner I'm thinking of buying? Apple's Aluminum Super drive is beautifully ...