Bare Feats continues to pit Macs against each other in a no-holds-barred, up-against-the-wall benchmarking breakdown, and this time around it's the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air in the octagon together. And things go about as planned -- while the solid state drive in the MBA has its advantages, the processor and GPU (what little there is of it) in the MBA don't even really compare to the MBP. Sure, it's a small, super thin, super portable computer, but not only are you paying in cash for the portability, you're paying in performance, too.

This doesn't mean the MBA is a bad computer at all -- for most tasks, it'll work just fine. But complicated 3D graphics (both Halo and Unreal Tournament 2004 were tested) will be almost unplayable in games, and there will be a substantial wait, sometimes up to minutes more, for certain processor intensive tasks. If speed is a high priority (at least higher than portability), the MBA isn't for you.

I would like to see how the MacBook compares, though. It's not surprising that the MBP is a fast machine, but where does the MBA line up compared to the cheaper model?

[Via IMG]

Friday I found myself doing what anyone who was soon to be flying across the country to cover Macworld would be doing : replacing the hard drive in my MacBook Pro. A smart idea? Well, considering that my old drive was making some not so good noises I thought it better to replace the darned thing before it failed during the Expo.

I headed over to Other World Computing and ordered this drive. OWC is great because they offer up many of the same parts that Apple uses in their machines (in fact the drive I bought turned out to be the exact model drive that was already in my MacBook Pro, though the new one has twice as much space). And no, I am not getting paid by OWC in any way, shape, or form. I just have had several excellent experiences with them.

One thing to keep in mind is that the hard drive isn't classified as 'user replaceable' in the MacBook Pro, unlike the MacBook (replacing a hard drive in a MacBook is very, very easy). That didn't stop me because I've swapped out countless drives. I followed iFixIt's great guide to disassembling my MacBook Pro, but one word of caution: be sure you have a T6 Torx Screwdriver before you start. I have access a large number of computer tools, so I didn't think that would be a problem. However, after sifting through 4 different toolkits with no success (most tool kits have a T8 Torx as the smallest screwdriver), I thought I was in trouble. I finally found one in a very large, very expensive set of tools, but the screwdriver itself isn't pricey. Make sure you know that you have one before starting this process because there are 6 Torx screws that need to be removed (2 holding the keyboard to the base of the machine, and 4 holding the hard disk in place), and it is much much easier with the right tool.

Overall, this is something I would recommend that only people who are comfortable cracking open a laptop should do. There are lots of little screws and wires one has to move out of the way to replace the drive and a certain level of comfort with a computer's innards is required.

If you're the happy owner of a 2.2/2.4GHz MacBook Pro then Apple has a present for you: MacBook Pro Software Update 1.2. What does this update do you ask? Well, curiosity killed the cat which is why Apple keeps the release notes about this update terse. I'll reproduce them in their entirety for your enjoyment, "This update improves graphics stability and is recommended for all MacBook Pro (Mid 2007, 2.4/2.2GHz) computers running Mac OS 10.4 Tiger."

That's all she wrote, folks.

Switch to a Mac has performed the old Macrumors trick of predicting Apple releases based on when the product was last updated, and according to their research, we're supposed to see new MacBooks and MacBook Pros before the holidays. On average, they're seeing just under 200 days between releases for both, and so they expect updates to the line before the end of November.

If you want my professional opinion (and I'll assume you did because you came here to read it), that's all bunk. I waited months and months while Macrumors' page said "don't buy - updates soon" on the iPod, hoping against hope that I would be able to get an iPod with a touchscreen, and it was just days after I finally broke down and bought a Video iPod that Apple announced the iPhone. I have no doubts that there will be a portable update soon over at Apple (in fact, I know that someone over at our sister site Engadget is waiting until January to buy an iPhone just in case there's a new revision announced soon), but I would say that before the end of November is a little too soon.

Still, if you're planning to buy a new MacBook or Pro and can stand to wait a few weeks, you just might want to. As usual, we guarantee nothing, and personally I doubt it'll happen, but if Switch's reasoning seems sound to you, give it a week or two and just maybe you won't be left out in the cold if Apple launches new MacBooks in early winter.

Thanks, Robert!

Update: Figures. I have to wait months for a new iPod, but when I post my doubts about using the same system to predict a MacBook update, I'm way wrong. And the Pros got updated, too. Good times.

Apple has released Battery Update 1.3 for the following Macs:

• MacBook Pro (15-inch)
• MacBook Pro (15-inch Glossy)
• MacBook Pro (15-inch Core 2 Duo)
• MacBook Pro (15-inch 2.4/2.2GHz)

According to Apple, the update "...addresses battery performance issues with the 15-inch MacBook Pro." You can read all about it here.

Thanks, Stu!

If you have recently bought a MacBook or MacBook Pro you should check Software Update posthaste. Apple has just released MacBook, MacBook Pro Software Update 1.0 which corrects an issue with Journaling on those machines. It would seem that a number of MacBook and MacBook Pros left the factory without Journal turned on. This update simply enables Journaling on your Startup volume.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.