Laptop without DVD-player

I have now for about a month used an ultra portable laptop without DVD-player. And I don’t need it. I installed windows 7, office 2010 with a DVD-player in the docking… but since then haven’t there been any need for it. I have an USB 2.0 disk with my backup (including basic software for work (VPN, anti-virus etc.), and I download the rest from an internal software server. Probably the next time I’ll need it is when I want to make a backup of a DVD, or want to play a DVD on the laptop when traveling. The second is an issue – as the point of an ultra portable is not to bring anything else but the small computer. So I’ll need to plan for my “movie needs”. But what else isn’t needed anymore? When did you use the modem-port on your laptop? And as most 3G-cards (if you haven’t 3G available on the motherboard) is an USB device, what do you use the PCMCIA slot for? I used to connect the memory card from my Nikon in the PCMCIA-slot, but after I got a 10cm USB cable, I just connect the camera directly to the laptop. More and more of the content and software is available online, and we (almost) don’t use cables to connect to the net anymore.