Back to that Firmware Update we so utterly forgot to install before subjecting our PowerBook to the rigors of Mac OS X... As it turns out, we don't appear to have needed it, because luckily, OS X seems to be running fine. In fact, we really don't need it, because we've already got as little RAM as we want-- our 192 MB is little enough for our modest needs, and we don't feel any particular desire to drop down to 64 MB. But it was nice of Apple to give us the option.

We're sorry, are we confusing you? We should clarify. Apple PowerBook Firmware 4.1.8 (just like its non-PowerBook firmware brethren) claims to improve "FireWire target disk mode, network booting, gigabit networking (on systems with gigabit hardware), and system stability." In addition, though, also like its brethren, in some situations it apparently disables third-party RAM modules. As the Mac Observer notes, not all non-Apple RAM is affected, but if you've got some aftermarket RAM purring under the hood of your Mac and you install Apple's latest firmware, the odds are decent that after restarting you'll find your extra memory has vanished. Hey presto, instant RAM reduction!

We'd like to thank faithful viewer William Carlson, who was the first to point out this handy undocumented feature. If we someday discover that elves have done a phantom upgrade on our Pismo and we suddenly have too much RAM installed-- perhaps an unseemly 512 MB or so-- now we know how to remedy the situation. Why flip back the keyboard to remove the RAM manually and risk damaging vital components, when Apple's firmware update can accomplish much the same thing with a minimum of muss and fuss?

Of course, some people are never happy, and instead of thanking Apple for relieving them of their excess RAM burden, they're crying bloody murder. Word has it that Apple's official response to these incessant whiners is that there's no way to "downgrade" to an earlier firmware version, and that it's "up to the third party RAM vendors" to make the memory magically reappear. Our interpretation of this stance is that Apple's firmware update only eliminates "evil" RAM, whereas all the RAM sold via the Apple Store is in fact Certified Good™ and blessed by a bevy of holy personages representing a wide cross-section of the world's religions before it's factory-installed. (Why do you think Apple charges so much?) They're just looking out for your karma, man.