14 DAY TRIAL // Early Mac Pro adopters have long complained about this sleep issue they've been experiencing with their systems. Apple's discussion forums were filled with complaints of a reboot-on-wake issue that bugged Mac Pro owners who were desperately looking for a fix. "Folk medicine" worked for a while, but the bug was still alive and kicking. Then, out of the blue, Apple locked the discussion thread, but most recently, the problem has been fixed. The latest update issued to Mac Pro owners is the only possible thing that could have delivered the fix. The only thing is Apple hasn't said a word about it.
"For the past three months, Apple support has told many Mac Pro owners ... they knew nothing of widespread sleep issues. I suppose it would be bad form to admit you solved a problem that you previously refused to acknowledge," writes baltimoresun.com's David Zeiler on March 31, 2008 (yesterday).
Mac Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.3 "fixes several issues to improve the stability of Mac Pro (Early 2008) computers," Apple said. "After the firmware is successfully applied to your computer, your BootROM Version will be: MP31.006C.B05," the company informs Mac Pro users. "You can confirm the version of the Boot ROM installed on your computer using System Profiler."
Apple also advised, concerning the Mac Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.3 again, that users should not unplug, shutdown, or restart their computer while the update is taking place, as interrupting a firmware update can render the machine "unusable," as the company claims.
That's pretty much it as far as the Mac Pro EFI Firmware Update is concerned. I believe it is safe to assume that, yes, Apple might just be a tad bit embarrassed of being prompted to roll out a fix for an existing, widespread issue after failing to acknowledge the fault.
There is another explanation to this, however, not changing the situation by much: Apple's well known secretive attitude may have worked as a back-up plan here, therefore enabling them to wash their hands of the whole deal, without even having to say a word about it.
What are your impressions on this (as a Mac Pro owner perhaps...?).