Ain't that the truth. I use the optical drive and Handbrake far too often to load our dvd collection on the kids/wife's iPads and iPhones, so a usb port is mandatory. And those rare times when only target disk mode and DiscWarrior will fix it, what then, with no firewire or thunderbolt port?
This MacBook is not intended for people who use their computer for that kind of work.This is more of a portable traveler's computer. . . and most people are not going to be ripping DVD's on the road. However, it does have a USB port which is doubled as the power port, and if you need to do that you can take a drive with you along with the USB adaptor which allows the power pass through. Problem solved. . . but a bit awkwardly. It's not the solution I would select. There is no Mac made today with an optical drive included.