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<div class="center_top">Thoughtful, detailed coverage of the Mac, iPhone, and iPad, plus the best-selling <a href="http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/?pt=TB-TAGLINE" style="color:yellow">Take Control</a> ebooks.</div>
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<h5>Author Biography</h5>
<p class="tearoffbox_text"><a href="http://www.tidbits.com/adam/">Adam C. Engst</a> is the publisher of TidBITS and Take Control Books. He has written numerous books, including the best-selling Internet Starter Kit series, and many magazine articles - thanks to Contributing Editor positions at MacUser, MacWEEK, and now Macworld. His innovations include the creation of the first advertising program to support an Internet publication in 1992, the first flat-rate accounts for graphical Internet access in 1993, and the Take Control electronic book series. His awards include the MDJ Power 25 ranking as the most influential person in the Macintosh industry outside of Apple every year since 2000, inclusion on the MacTech 25 list of influential people in the Macintosh technical community, and being named one of MacDirectory's top ten visionaries. And yes, he has been turned into an action figure.
Want more? <a href="http://twitter.com/adamengst">Follow Adam on Twitter</a> for 140-character musings on a variety of topics.</p><p class="tearoffbox_text_email"><span class="shift_down"><img src="/images/gettb_button_email.gif" height="12" width="12" border="0" alt="Send Email to Author"></span> <a href="javascript:void(0)" onClick="document.check_human_6.submit_type.value='email'; document.check_human_6.author_id.value='6'; ShowTipBox('hc_6', 'hc_recaptcha_6', 'cb_item_add')">Email the author</a></p>
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<h6>Always Show Recipient In iChat</h6>
<p><p>In iChat under Snow Leopard, choosing View > Always Show Recipient Bar puts a buddy's status message and color at the top of any iChat window. It can also be used to select among multiple open iChat logins you have to send a message to that buddy, or to select among multiple accounts you have registered in Address Book for that buddy.</p></p>
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<div style="padding-bottom:35px"><div class="tip_display" style="float:left"><p><br><a href="/tipbits/196">Link to this tip</a></p></div><div class="tip_display" style="float:right; width:150px">
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11274" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11274">Apple has updated a Knowledge Base article about iPad Wi-Fi troubles with a few more suggestions and a note that additional problems will be fixed in a future iPad software update.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=17" class="category">iPhone iPad iPod</a> | by <a href="/author/Adam%20C.%20Engst">Adam C. Engst</a> | 12 May 2010 | <a href="/article/11274#comments">7 comments</a></div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11275" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11275">Engadget explains how documents revealed in an ongoing class-action lawsuit against Apple confirm that Apple and AT&T signed an exclusive five-year deal for AT&T to act as the U.S. carrier for the iPhone, starting in 2007. But contracts are easily broken or renegotiated - is the deal still in place?</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=21" class="category">External Links</a> | 12 May 2010</div></div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11269" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11269">The iPad is obviously not a Mac, but less obvious is the fact that it's not simply a scaled-up iPhone. Usability guru Jakob Nielsen has now released initial results from the Nielsen Norman Group's first iPad usability tests. Criticisms raised by the tests include inconsistent app interfaces, low discoverability of interface elements, and an over-reliance on a print metaphor. We're not surprised; the iPad's combination of a multitouch interface and large screen size make it significantly different from any previous device, and iPad developers didn't even have access to physical units for their initial designs. (Although it's too soon for a complete list of design guidelines, iPad developers would also do well to read the full 93-page PDF report, in addition to this executive summary.)</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=21" class="category">External Links</a> | 10 May 2010 | <a href="/article/11269#comments">2 comments | Comment on this link</a></div></div></div>
<a href="/article/11270"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('11270', 'show')">New Take Control Ebooks Offer Mail Help for Mac, iPad, and iPhone</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11270" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11270">Apple Mail and the Mail app are among the most commonly used applications on the Mac, the iPad, the iPhone, and the iPod touch, so we're especially happy to bring you three ebooks that provide comprehensive guidance, spam prevention advice, and troubleshooting help for these programs.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=14" class="category">Inside TidBITS</a> | by <a href="/author/Adam%20C.%20Engst">Adam C. Engst</a> | 10 May 2010</div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11257" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11257">Cleans up some naming messiness, introduces new User's Guide and User Forum, enhances Recent menu, and fixes a variety of bugs. ($20, free update, 2.7 MB)</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=22" class="category">Watchlist</a> | by <a href="/author/Adam%20C.%20Engst">Adam C. Engst</a> | 05 May 2010</div></div>
<a href="/article/11255"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('11255', 'show')">Old Info-Mac Digests Come Back Online</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11255" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11255">Thanks to the new Info-Mac folks for bringing nearly all the old Info-Mac Digests back online for historical reference.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=2" class="category">Opinion</a> | by <a href="/author/Adam%20C.%20Engst">Adam C. Engst</a> | 04 May 2010 | <a href="/article/11255#comments">2 comments</a></div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11246" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11246">Nancy Gohring of IDG News Service writes that HP plans to buy Palm for $1.2 billion, potentially rescuing Palm's webOS from obscurity. The Palm Pre and Pixi smartphones, which run webOS, haven't competed well with the iPhone or smartphones based on Google's Android operating system, and Palm has been looking for a buyer. HP hopes to use Palm's technology to power both smartphones and a new generation of tablet-sized devices. Despite its size, HP hasn't been a significant player in either market, and however good webOS may be, it wasn't enough to slow the adoption of iPhone OS- and Android-based devices.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=21" class="category">External Links</a> | 03 May 2010</div></div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11249" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11249">In the continuing story of the lost iPhone prototype purchased by Gizmodo, Wired has tracked down the person who found the prototype, a 21-year-old who "regrets his mistake," according to a statement from his lawyer.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=21" class="category">External Links</a> | 03 May 2010</div></div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11250" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11250">Adds automatic resumption of stalled and failed downloads, provides additional detail in the Fetch Transcript, and fixes a number of bugs. ($29 new, free update for purchases after 28 January 2009; otherwise $10 upgrade, 17.4 MB)</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=22" class="category">Watchlist</a> | by <a href="/author/Adam%20C.%20Engst">Adam C. Engst</a> | 03 May 2010</div></div>
<div class="link_hover" id="link_box_full_11254" onMouseOver="blurb_slide('11254', 'show'); link_hover_swap('11254', 'in')" onMouseOut="link_hover_swap('11254', 'out')"><div class="link_hover_title"><a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/04/30itunesfrance.html" id="link_hover_title_11254">iTunes Store Now Offers Movies in France and Ireland</a></div><div class="link_box_right" id="link_box_right_11254" style="visibility:hidden"><img src="/images/external_link_arrow.gif" height="15" width="15" border="0" alt="arrow"> <img src="/images/favicons/apple.png" border="0" alt="favicon"> </div></div><div class="spacer"></div>
</h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11254" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11254">Apple has announced that movies from major film studios are now available for rent or purchase in the iTunes Store in France and Ireland. Purchases start at Γé¼7.99 for older titles, Γé¼9.99 for recent releases and Γé¼13.99 for new releases. Rentals cost either Γé¼2.99 for older titles or Γé¼3.99 for new releases; add Γé¼1 for high definition versions. With this move, France and Ireland join the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to have movies available in iTunes (outside of the United States). The delays in adding additional countries are no doubt due to content license restrictions from the major studios.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=21" class="category">External Links</a> | 03 May 2010</div></div></div>
<a href="/article/11244"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('11244', 'show')">New Take Control Ebook Explains Permissions in Snow Leopard</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11244" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11244">Little is more perplexing than permissions problems, especially for those of us who didn't come to Mac OS X from the Unix world. If you're having trouble with permissions, or would just like to understand how they work, you can now turn to Brian Tanaka's "Take Control of Permissions in Snow Leopard" to learn how to use permissions to keep files private, work with files on servers and external hard disks, solve screwy problems, and delete files that just won't die.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=14" class="category">Inside TidBITS</a> | by <a href="/author/Adam%20C.%20Engst">Adam C. Engst</a> | 30 Apr 2010</div></div>
<a href="/article/11245"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('11245', 'show')">TidBITS Now on Facebook Thanks to dlvr.it</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11245" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11245">If you're a Facebook aficionado, you'll be happy to discover the opening of the TidBITS Facebook page, which you can connect to your Facebook account so new TidBITS headlines show up in your news feed.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=14" class="category">Inside TidBITS</a> | by <a href="/author/Adam%20C.%20Engst">Adam C. Engst</a> | 30 Apr 2010 | <a href="/article/11245#comments">20 comments</a></div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11247" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11247">Want to create an iPhoto book for a Mother's Day gift? Apple notes that the deadline to order a book and have it delivered in time is either May 2nd (for standard shipping) or May 3rd (for express shipping). And speaking from experience, it takes some time to choose and lay out all those photos, so you'd best get started!</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<a href="/article/11248"onMouseOver="blurb_slide('11248', 'show')">InterviewBITS with John Miller</a></h4>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11248" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11248">"Who's John Miller?" you ask. He's the guy who won our drawing for $200 towards an iPhone or iPod touch in the recent TidBITS 20th Anniversary drawing. Rather than just announce him as the winner, we wanted to learn a little about who he is, what he has done, and how long he has been reading TidBITS.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=14" class="category">Inside TidBITS</a> | by <a href="/author/Adam%20C.%20Engst">Adam C. Engst</a> | 30 Apr 2010 | <a href="/article/11248#comments">2 comments</a></div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11233" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11233">Princeton University's Office of Information Technology is now suggesting that the iPad's DHCP lease renewal problem may be related to the iPad's screen being locked, either manually or automatically. The best workaround seems to be to disable automatic screen locking and avoid locking the screen manually; the downside to this is of course reduced battery life. Other (but worse) possibilities include turning off Wi-Fi or the entire iPad at the end of each session.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11220" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11220">BBEdit 9.5, the latest version of Bare Bones Software's powerful text editor, adds a few interesting and useful features and a vast number of smaller changes and bug fixes.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=7" class="category">Business Apps</a> | by <a href="/author/Adam%20C.%20Engst">Adam C. Engst</a> | 27 Apr 2010 | <a href="/article/11220#comments">7 comments</a></div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11227" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11227">Could the story of the iPhone prototype get weirder? Police have obtained a warrant to search a Gizmodo editor's home, and the legal speculation is running rampant as to whether Gizmodo is protected by reporter shield laws, or if California's laws regarding lost property will instead take precedence. Declan McCullagh and Greg Sandoval cover recent events for CNET.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11230" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11230">The end of an era is approaching. In March 2011, Sony will discontinue sales of 3.5-inch floppy disks in Japan; apart from a few niche markets, worldwide sales of floppy disks were halted in March 2010. It's not really surprising, and one friend noted in Twitter that it was more interesting to realize that Sony has still been making floppies all this time (other manufacturers have already left the market). The last Mac to support a floppy drive - the PowerBook (FireWire) via a media bay - debuted in February 2000 and was discontinued in January 2001.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=21" class="category">External Links</a> | 27 Apr 2010 | <a href="/article/11230#comments">2 comments | Comment on this link</a></div></div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11228" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11228">Scott Adams of Dilbert fame has released two comic strips that deftly summarize the entire Gizmodo stolen iPhone prototype story, with the addition of Wally. Since the story will undoubtedly be old by the time these could hit newspapers (there's a one-month lag time, apparently), Adams decided not to submit them.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
<div class="featured_meta"><a href="/index.cgi?tbcat=21" class="category">External Links</a> | 26 Apr 2010 | <a href="/article/11228#comments">1 comment | Comment on this link</a></div></div></div>
<div class="article_preview" id="blurb_11213" style="display:none"><div id="popup_inner_11213">TidBITS isn't the only Mac publication that's been around for a long time, and the venerable MacTech Magazine is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. To help them commemorate the occasion, Adam reached far back into the depths of time - well before TidBITS! - for some of his most-cherished stories of Mac hacking and usage in the days of the Mac Plus and SE.</div><!-- blurb inner --></div><!-- blurb outer -->
