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Tonya Engst

Tonya Engst

Tonya Engst co-founded TidBITS with Adam Engst back in 1990 when publishing on the Internet was either strange or revolutionary, depending on your viewpoint. Since then, along with performing nearly every imaginable role involved in running TidBITS, she has worked at Cornell University's academic computer store (selling Macs, PCs, and NeXTs), worked at Microsoft as a technical support person, written and co-written several books, written oodles of articles for the likes of MacWEEK and Macworld, become a parent, edited various books, and worked as editor-in-chief for the Take Control series of electronic books through 2017.

Tonya Engst 6 comments

iOS 6 to Ship 19 September 2012

The next version of iOS arrives on 19 September 2012 for the iPhone 3GS, 4, and 4S, plus the iPad 2 and third-generation iPad, and the fourth-generation iPod touch.

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Prep for Mountain Lion with New Take Control Ebook

It’s nearly time for another upgrade to Mac OS X, and to help you prepare for a trouble-free experience, we’re pleased to bring you Joe Kissell’s “Take Control of Upgrading to Mountain Lion,” the latest version of a book he has written for every big cat since Panther. It’s available now with a $5-off introductory price, and will receive a free update with all the details once Apple lifts our non-disclosure agreement. You can also pre-order Matt Neuburg’s “Take Control of Using Mountain Lion,” again with a $5-off introductory price.

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Find Your App, and Keep It Found

Do you find yourself launching apps on your iOS device by searching for them in Spotlight because you can’t remember where their icons are on your Home screen? Read on to learn how to sniff out wayward apps scattered across your iOS device, and keep them found.

Tonya Engst 23 comments

Strategies for Switching from Word to Pages

Switching from one word processor to another, from Word to Pages in this case, may sound easy, but it’s anything but, especially when you’re dealing with long, complex documents and a workgroup of authors and editors. Tonya Engst shares some of the strategies we picked up while making the switch for Take Control.

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iBooks 1.5 Refines the Reading Experience

Apple has updated the iBooks iOS app with a white-on-black theme, new fonts, a full-screen mode, and a few other tweaks. Tonya Engst goes beyond Apple’s release notes to show off the new features.

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Dragging School Papers into the 21st Century with a ScanSnap

Frustrated by the pile of paperwork that accompanies having a 7th grader in the public school system, Tonya Engst turns to technology for the solution, in the form of a Fujitsu ScanSnap document scanner.

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Tonya Talks about the Geek Generation Gap

Tonya Engst made a video appearance as the Op-Ed guest in last week’s “Your Mac Podcast Now” episode. Tune in for a review of recent news and then watch Tonya (at 3:30 in) talk about the geek generation gap and how she thinks there’s an important change on the horizon.

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Microsoft Word 5.1 Returns… to the iPad

Microsoft Word 5 for the Mac was abandoned long ago, giving way to more feature-laden versions of the program, but now Microsoft has revived the software, realizing that the smaller code base is fairly easy to port to iOS, as compared to its later, larger versions.

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Wrangle Windows on a Mac with New Take Control Ebook

If you’re trying to determine the best way to run Windows on a Mac, or if you have Windows running but need help with problems like printing documents, backing up Windows data, sharing files with Mac OS X, or running anti-virus software, Joe Kissell’s new “Take Control of Running Windows on a Mac, Fifth Edition” has the answers.

Tonya Engst 21 comments

iOS 4.1: Does it Work? Should You Install It?

iOS 4.1 is out, and Tonya Engst installs it to see if it fixes performance issues with the iPhone 3G. The good news is that it appears to, while simultaneously bringing useful features to all iOS 4-capable devices.

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iTunes 10 Goes “Ping!”

Apple can't resist updating iTunes whenever new iPods come out, but this time the changes are fairly minimal other than the addition of the Ping social networking service, aimed at making it easier to discover new music by connecting you to your friends and favorite artists.

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Speed Up Your iOS 4-Based iPhone 3G

If your iPhone 3G is running at a snail's pace under iOS 4, speed it up with these tips.

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MobileMe Mail Adds Server-side Rules, SSL, and More

Tonya Engst gives a first-look assessment to the new enhancements in MobileMe Mail and lets you know how they stack up.

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Reading Take Control Ebooks on an iPad (or iPhone or iPod touch)

With the release of the iPad, many have been asking how they can read the Take Control ebooks on Apple's new device, or on the iPhone or iPod touch. We explain the best approaches (and even give a nod to the Kindle).

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How to Choose Your Ideal iPad and Accessories

You've seen the reviews and decided you want an iPad. Read this article to get specific advice on which model to buy and how to pick among the accessories offered by Apple.