• MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.6 "This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of MacBook Pro (Late 2008) computers."
  (FYI: reportedly this update negatively affects performance of some eSATA express34 cards such as the common SiL3132 chip based models)
  
  
• MacBook Pro 15-inch SMC Firmware Update 1.2 "This SMC Firmware Update improves the sensing and accuracy of the MagSafe Power Adapter indicator light, and the battery charge indicator lights on MacBook Pro (Late 2008) computers."
  
  
• MacBook EFI Firmware Update 1.3 "This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of MacBook (Late 2008) computers."
  
  
• MacBook SMC Firmware Update 1.2 "This SMC Firmware Update improves the sensing and accuracy of the MagSafe Power Adapter indicator light, and the battery charge indicator lights on MacBook (Late 2008) computers."
  
  
• MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 1.1 "This update fixes several issues to improve the stability of MacBook Air (Late 2008) computers"
  
  
• MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update 1.1 "This SMC Firmware Update improves the sensing and accuracy of the MagSafe Power Adapter indicator light on MacBook Air (Late 2008) computers."
  
  Related Apple Docs:
• About MacBook EFI Update 1.3, MacBook Pro EFI Update 1.6 and MacBook Air EFI Update 1.1
• About the SMC Firmware Updates

I had a couple readers w/recently bought MacBook/MacBook Pros report they already had the updated firmware (Installers said they were not needed.) If anyone that had a problem with system freezes (often blamed on ram upgrades) finds these updates help, let me know. (FYI: On Dec. 11th, one user has said Mac firmware upgrades do NOT fix the 4GB RAM problem. Reference links for freeze problems: Late 2008 MacBook Pro - Random Freezing (Apple forums), Late 2008 MacBook - Unstable after RAM upgrade (Apple forums) and MacBook fussy memory situation)
BTW - a reader also said he hopes these updates help with some other issues he's seen such as Battery draining completely when in sleep mode overnight, warm to touch when in sleep mode and bluetooth mouse input causes wake even though clamshell is closed (ref: this apple forum thread) and occasional flickering screen/screen lines with external monitor connected/dark screens when waking from sleep w/external monitor connected (ref: this apple forum thread). He promised to report back if the updates helped.

I doubt he'll be switching machines (although a MBP can run windows, nothing with those features/screen size, and a 17in MBP is much more expensive) but it made me wonder how the LED backlight MacBook Pros compare. If you have one, let me know what you think of the backlight uniformity, any bleed seen, etc. Thanks.
Update - here's the first reply:

" LED Macbook Pro, 17" hi-res matte screen, march 2008, penryn. (hi-res 17in models had LED backlight)
Much, much, much, much, much better than my old Macbook core duo or my sister's core 2 duo Macbook Pro with ccfl backlight, in every single way. The fact that every laptop screen didn't immediately become LED is AMAZING to me. It's a huge difference. It's as killer a feature as wifi first was.
Colors are brighter and more accurate, less power, much, much, much more uniform (really astonishingly so). White for instance, actually looks white.
(I asked about any backlight bleed)
No bleed, at all. I just tested three times.
-Daniel A."

And a couple later mails from LED backlit MBP owners:

"I have the first MacBook Pro with LED backlight, the Santa Rosa 15" model, and there is no bleed at all. That was one selling point for me on this machine. Having experienced bleed on iMacs and iBooks alike, having no bleed at all is like night and day.
The color uniformity is also pretty stellar, though like any LCD, the center seems brighter simply because you view that at a true 90 degree angle and the corners are viewed at an off angle, letting through less light.
-Mike K"

"I have the early 2008 penryn 2.4GHz 15in. MacBook Pro (LED backlight) and I see no signs of Backlight 'Bleed'. With a black background in DVD Player, the display is very uniform. In fact, it is much more uniform than my 17in C2D Intel iMac under the same conditions.
-Wayne"

BTW - The backlight bleed issue I'm referring to is generally related to how well the display/backlight panel is assembled. Earlier this year there were some issues reported with LED backlit Early 2008 MacBook Pros (15in and hi-res 17in models w/LED backlight) that was addressed in an OS X 10.5.3 update. (There were some posts in Apple's forums on that issue (seen by some after waking from sleep IIRC, fixed by a reset) and Apple posted a Kbase doc w/sample photo titled MacBook Pro (Early 2008): Dark bands showing intermittently on built-in display.

Hard Drives:
• SATA Samsung 500GB M6 in MacBook Pro (OS X 10.5.x)
  (bought a Kit with the HD + USB 2.0 case for reusing the original HD in the ext. case)
• SATA Seagate 1.5GB (firmware SD17) in (AL) iMac Intel-CPU (OS X 10.5.x)
  (He had missed all the reports on 1.5TB Seagate periodic I/O stoppages (prior to SD1A firmware update) here in Oct. and Nov. (see links down the recent articles page. Past posts include notes on workarounds prior to SD1A firmware update. He just wrote he's updated to SD1A firmware.)
• SATA Seagate 500GB ST3500320AS (firmware SD15) in G5 Tower (OS X 10.5.x)
• SATA Seagate 400GB ST3400620AS (firmware 3.AAK) in G5 Tower (OS X 10.5.x)

You can read full reports (latest shown first) by searching the database by drive type/brand/interface/mac models. Includes reports on Optical Drives (Blu-Ray, DVD, CD/CDR, etc.), Hard Drives, SSD, Tape drives, Removable media (ORB, ZIP, MO drives), NAS (Network Attached Storage), in all interface types (IDE, SATA, Firewire, SCSI, USB, adapters). To widen search results you can leave drive brand, OS version (or other fields) blank.
If you've added/upgraded a drive in your Mac send me the details (drive info/speed rating/mac model/OS version used, etc.). Note: Please use the drive for at least a week before reporting on it and test for booting from Disc with Optical Drives (as well as burning discs). Thanks.

• Review: Apple's LED Cinema Display a boon for (late 2008) Mac laptop users (computerworld)
• SlingPlayer 1.0.7
• Path Finder 5.0.4
• Adobe After Effects CS4 9.0.1
• NTFS-3G 1.5130 update 1 (Freeware Read-write NTFS filesystem driver. See list of known issues)
• A Better Finder Rename 8.0.5
• Video Out on the iPhone
• Sweet Home 3D 1.5 (Freeware)
• Posterino 1.4.1
• Intel completes 32-nanometer chip development
• Rumor: Zune Phone is Coming to CES 2009
• Microsoft Fixes 28 Security Bugs For Patch Tuesday