EFI update preps MacBook Airs for new displays
In conjunction with the impending release of its new Thunderbolt Cinema Displays, Apple's pushed out a software update to its latest MacBook Air models that gets them ready to plug in to the new hardware, while fixing a handful of bugs in the process.The EFI update, versioned 2.1, comes in at 3.9MB and promises to fix issues that arise when recovering Lion using the new Internet Recovery feature. The update is also aimed at improving performance in target disk mode when plugging in via Thunderbolt. Of special note is the fix of an issue with plugging in to Apple's yet-to-be-released Thunderbolt Display, which has been marketed as a docking station of sorts for late-model MacBook Air owners.For instance, those users can plug in to the display to get a Firewire 800 port, FaceTime HD camera, Gigabit ethernet and three USB 2.0 ports, extending the I/O that ships on Apple's smallest notebook, and demoing some utility for the computer's Thunderbolt port, which currently has just a handful of third-party accessories to make use of it.Apple introduced its Thunderbolt Display alongside new versions of the MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and its Lion OS software update in late July, saying only that it would be launching that new display hardware "within the next 60 days." A report in MacRumors last week suggested that Apple was already in the process of shipping its $999 Thunderbolt Displays to stores. However, Apple continues to list it as shipping within the next "2-3 weeks" from its online store.
