There must be jobs in which things actually slow down toward the end of the year, but the reverse seems true for Tonya and me - we always find ourselves pushing hard to publish TidBITS each week, herd the last few Take Control ebooks out the door, and lock down plans for Macworld Expo in January. And that's before planning and executing Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations, shopping for presents and embarking on construction projects for friends and family, and attempting to keep up with the rest of the holiday season logistics.

As always, the things we accomplish each year are possible only thanks to the utterly capable assistance of Glenn, Jeff, Joe, Matt, Mark, Rich, and Doug, along with the many Take Control authors and editors. We're also indebted to digital.forest for hosting our Internet servers, and to our TidBITS corporate sponsors for helping us keep the lights on. And, of course, we owe huge thanks to the writers who have contributed articles to TidBITS throughout the year, to the volunteer translators who make TidBITS available in other languages, to the individuals who keep TidBITS Talk going strong, and to everyone who carves out precious time to read what we write.

Thank you, one and all, and may all your holiday wishes come true.

We're taking the final two weeks of the year off, so we and the rest of the TidBITS staff can spend time with our families, reflect on the past year, and prepare for Macworld Expo and everything else 2009 will bring. Be sure to check the TidBITS Web site for news, links, tips, and other articles we can't resist posting. We'll continue to moderate TidBITS Talk discussions as well, though undoubtedly at a more relaxed pace. The next email issue of TidBITS will come out on 05-Jan-09, just as we're gathering in San Francisco for the annual Macworld Expo.