In a recent episode of the Macworld video podcast, Editorial Director Jason Snell described how the MacBook Air turns off one of its processor cores when the temperature goes up to a certain level, effectively making all the running applications slow as molasses. He noted that it was such a severe annoyance that he’d seriously been considering ditching his beloved notebook.
Now, however, he may not have to. Apple released an update for MacBook Air users yesterday that “addresses issues with with video playback and processor core idling” (emphasis added). Hopefully, by “addresses”, Apple means “fixes”, and this issue has now become a moot point. Hopefully.
Weighing in at only 368KB, it’s a tiny little update, and that’s all there is to it. Oh, except for the part where Apple warns that “third-party software that modifies processor operating characteristics such as frequency and voltage is not supported and should be removed before installing this update”.
So get rid of whatever Processor Operating Characteristic Modifier you have and grab this update, either through Software Update or from Apple’s support website. Ah, choice, the rare oasis in the tightly controlled Apple desert—good times!
