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Monday, September 12, 2011, 05:57 pm
Apple releases MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 2.1 with Thunderbolt Display support
Apple has issued an firmware update for new MacBook Air models that contains enabling support for the as yet unavailable new Thunderbolt Display.The update for mid 2011 Thunderbolt MacBook Air models "resolves issues" with the new Thunderbolt Display and improves the performance of notebooks when operating in Thunderbolt Target Disk Mode.
The update also "includes fixes that enhance the stability of Lion Recovery from an Internet connection."
Apple notes that "After this update has successfully completed, your Boot ROM Version will be: MBA41.88Z.0077.B08.1109011050."
Apple originally announced the Thunderbolt Display alongside the new Thunderbolt MacBook Air models in July.
The new 27 inch display is the first to incorporate Thunderbolt cabling, which it uses to provide a single signal cable that supports video, audio for its built in speakers, and a digital interconnect for the display's three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, one Gigabit Ethernet port and a Thunderbolt port for daisy chaining up to five additional Thunderbolt devices.
MacBook Air models support one Thunderbolt display, while 2011 MacBook Pro notebooks and other Thunderbolt-based Macs with discrete graphics can support two of the displays.
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Previous Comments View All
Hey Apple. Where the firmware fix for my MBP 2011 so it plays nice with my 2009 24 inch cinema display? A lot of us are still having random display problems and the Apple reps have been promising there's a fix in the works.
Well that's nice to know. My Thunderbolt display ships in three days and it would have been a surprise to say the least if something wasn't working quite right.
I'm seriously looking forward to trying this on my MBA!
Apple should stick a hard drive and video card into these displays. Say 1TB and high end ATI. That way, when MBA is connected you can do some crazy graphics processor intensive work and save it to the display, instead of being limited by Air's small storage and low graphics processing power.
Apple should stick a hard drive and video card into these displays. Say 1TB and high end ATI. That way, when MBA is connected you can do some crazy graphics processor intensive work and save it to the display, instead of being limited by Air's small storage and low graphics processing power.
Considering these displays already cost a grand, adding extra hardware like that gets you into iMac territory. A 27" iMac already doubles as a second display.
Considering these displays already cost a grand, adding extra hardware like that gets you into iMac territory. A 27" iMac already doubles as a second display.
I was actually thinking of keeping the price the same. A bit less than the iMac, but you don't get RAM, CPU and any radios (like wifi and bluetooth). Should also cut down on cooling parts. In other words, It's almost an iMac, but you still need a CPU and RAM in your AIR to run it.
I was actually thinking of keeping the price the same. A bit less than the iMac, but you don't get RAM, CPU and any radios (like wifi and bluetooth). Should also cut down on cooling parts. In other words, It's almost an iMac, but you still need a CPU and RAM in your AIR to run it.
Won't happen. Ever.
Do you really have to ask why? #1 it would be a monstrosity, a complete body without a brain. That is, it begs for customization at a level that Apple does not and will not provide. It would make Apple into a peripheral company, which it is not. #2 Apple is trying very hard to move storage OUT of your physical domain, and whatever need be kept near is ordained as UNTOUCHABLE.
And what do you mean in saying "keeping the price the same"? You mean you actually continued the mad fantasy to the point where you've convinced yourself it's worth contemplating? Sit back, look at Apple, ponder their product line, and you will see that you are "thinking different" than they are.
Won't happen. Ever.
Do you really have to ask why? #1 it would be a monstrosity, a complete body without a brain. That is, it begs for customization at a level that Apple does not and will not provide. It would make Apple into a peripheral company, which it is not. #2 Apple is trying very hard to move storage OUT of your physical domain, and whatever need be kept near is ordained as UNTOUCHABLE.
And what do you mean in saying "keeping the price the same"? You mean you actually continued the mad fantasy to the point where you've convinced yourself it's worth contemplating? Sit back, look at Apple, ponder their product line, and you will see that you are "thinking different" than they are.
I like the original thought..... And I don't think the writer is holding his breath for his vision to come to life.
But your absolutely right, not going to happen.
It's a niche of a niche
Won't happen. Ever.
Do you really have to ask why? #1 it would be a monstrosity, a complete body without a brain. That is, it begs for customization at a level that Apple does not and will not provide. It would make Apple into a peripheral company, which it is not. #2 Apple is trying very hard to move storage OUT of your physical domain, and whatever need be kept near is ordained as UNTOUCHABLE.
And what do you mean in saying "keeping the price the same"? You mean you actually continued the mad fantasy to the point where you've convinced yourself it's worth contemplating? Sit back, look at Apple, ponder their product line, and you will see that you are "thinking different" than they are.
Lol, well I wasn't exactly saying that I expect this to come true. A lot of people are floating apple TV (an actual TV) around, which is seems pretty crazy, but who knows.
Besides, you can't exactly edit a movie pulling things off idisk... so the need for local storage will always be there. Comcastic will never let you move enough data, even if the speeds caught up.
I got an 11" i7 MBA last week. Almost immediately after I got it the keyboard and trackpad stopped working. I went through through the usual troubleshooting steps (plugging in external input devices, reinstalling Lion, etc.) to no avail. Then I took it to an Apple Store, where they told me I'd have to exchange the MBA. Since they didn't have them in stock, I had to call Apple to get an RMA arranged, which they did. The machine is supposed to go back to engineering for further investigation.
Fast forward to today. I'm ready to pack this thing to send it off when I see the EFI Update. I install it and lo and behold - the keyboard and trackpad are now working! I'll work with this for the next couple of days and see if it sticks. If it does I'll cancel the RMA. Having worked in a support environment for years I understand the disconnect between engineering/QA and support, so I understand why there wasn't a suggested solution when I was discussing this with Apple last week. Hopefully this works and I won't have to send the machine back. A lot of other people are being affected by this too, so maybe it'll work for them as well.
EFI Update also may have fixed a syncing problem I had with the MBA and an external monitor connected through a third party Mini Displayport-to-DVI adapter. Previously when the machine went into display sleep it would wake up with "snow" on the external monitor. Not anymore.
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"...while 2011 MacBook Pro notebooks and other Thunderbolt-based Macs with discrete graphics can support two of the displays."
Only the 15" and 17" models support two displays. The 13" MacBook Pro supports a single display.