“Apple Computer issued a software update Thursday to fix a problem that caused hundreds of newer MacBook laptops to shut down suddenly — but one longtime industry analyst suspects Apple’s solution might force the computers to run more slowly,” Jon Fortt blogs for Business 2.0.

Fortt reports, “Rob Enderle, principal analyst with Enderle Group, said that based on user comments in Apple’s online support forums he suspects the laptops have been shutting down because of overheating problems with the main logic board and ‘heat sink,’ a device that’s meant to cool the machine. ‘What they appear to be doing is doing a firmware update to step down the processor,’ Enderle said. ‘If you can step down the processor, say, 5 or 10 percent, you can lower heat dramatically.’”

Fortt reports, “But if indeed Apple is doing that, another result is decreased laptop performance. Enderle likened it to throttling back a V8 engine to make it behave like a V6. It won’t get as hot, but it won’t go as fast either. ‘It would be really good to see if we can find someone who’s gotten the problem and measure the performance before and after the firmware update,’ Enderle said. Unless support forum users are misinformed about the logic board and heat sink being the issue, ‘the only way you can fix a problem like this without physically taking the machine apart is to step down the processor.’”

Full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Darkness" for the heads up.]

MacDailyNews Take: Anyone who uses Rob Enderle, principal analyst (and only analyst, unless, for some reason, you count his wife Mary) with Enderle Group, as an expert in basically anything except the act of talking out of one’s ass is seriously unwise. You’d get sounder advice asking Rob Glaser how to finish a marathon than you would asking Rob Enderle what a specific Mac firmware update accomplishes. Our sources tell us that the firmware update issued by Apple yesterday does not step down the MacBook processor, it corrects an issue with the MacBook’s temperature sensor that caused some MacBooks to shut down too early when protecting against thermal damage.

If Rob Enderle isn’t on a mission to spoof the term “tech analyst” in an effort to expose the total lack of qualifications necessary to become one, he should be.

Related MacDailyNews articles:
Apple releases MacBook SMC Firmware Update 1.1, addresses issues with random shutdowns – October 26, 2006
What is Apple doing about MacBooks suffering from ‘Random Shutdown Syndrome?’ – October 21, 2006
Apple to repair ‘random shutdown MacBooks’ free of charge – September 08, 2006

Enderle: ‘4th quarter will be Apple’s hardest since the first iPod Christmas’ – September 18, 2006
Enderle spouts some incredible nonsense about Apple iPod+iTunes – July 07, 2006
Enderle: If Apple can’t double market share it will abandon Macs – May 02, 2006
Big surprise: Enderle was wrong about Apple’s holiday quarter Mac sales – January 19, 2006
Tech pundit Enderle: ‘Microsoft wrote the first Mac OS’ – September 28, 2005
Tech Pundit Enderle: ‘fourth quarter should be ugly for Apple’ – August 09, 2005
Enderle: ‘Surveys indicate demand for Apple’s products is dropping like a rock’ due to Intel switch – August 01, 2005
Tech Pundit Enderle: ‘This year will be more difficult for Apple Computer’ and iMacs in earthquakes – January 24, 2005