Apple has posted a firmware update for its MacBook consumer-oriented laptops, the latest in a series of "fan behaviour" adjustments made to the company's Intel-based computers. The patch adjusts the machine's System Management Controller (SMC), a device that monitors and manages Intel-based Macs' power-related functions.

Apple provided just such an update for its 17in MacBook Pro in June, a month after it posted similar updates for the 15in MacBook Pro, the iMac and the Mac Mini. All these fixes, and the MacBook version, are believed to adjust the systems' cooling fan speed to eliminate or at least reduce the noises some users have complained that their Macs make.

Last week, Apple offered a patch to improve the MacBook and MacBook Pro machines' ability to operate with ExpressCard devices.

The MacBook download can be found on Apple's support website here. More information on the ExpressCard patch, along with the fix itself, can be found here. ®