This is a known issue for users of Apple Mail on the Snow Leopard OS. We are working with Apple on a resolution to the issue. In the meantime, there are a few workarounds to reduce the likelihood of hitting the bandwidth limit:

1. Do not sync attachments.
2. Reduce the number of folders you sync by using the Advanced IMAP Controls tab in Gmail.
3. Close your email client when you are not using it.

• Restarting
• Quitting unused apps
• Installing updates
• Re-installing a misbehaving app

I'll open this Friday Favorite with a caveat -- Mac HelpMate is not an app that just anyone is going to want to license. However, if you're a Mac consultant and/or do system support for many Mac users, this is an application you should consider.

Mac HelpMate is the brainchild of Dean Shavit, an Apple Certified System Administrator based in Chicago, Illinois. Dean's goal in producing Mac HelpMate was to eliminate many of the issues that Mac support professionals deal with when trying to perform remote support tasks for their clients. What are those issues? Usually, they consist of trying to reach the end user's network through a maze of firewalls and routers. For example, one of the major issues with Apple's Back To My Mac remote access and control technology is that it doesn't work with many cable or DSL modems that don't support UPnP (Universal Plug-and-Play) or NAT-PMP (NAT - Port Mapping Protocol).

Mac HelpMate provides zero-configuration remote access through a proxy server run by Shavit's company, eliminating the hassles of trying to talk clients through configuration of their Macs and network hardware.

A heads-up for those who are struggling to get iPhones updated: If you've tried upgrading your iPhone or iPod touch to 1.1.3 and are getting mysterious errors that keep you from finishing the upgrade or restore process, make sure you're already running iTunes 7.6. I'm hearing reports from various parties that pre-7.6 iTunes installations will may fail to properly upgrade iPhones and touches. After installing the newer software, the upgrades begin to work properly.

Update: It looks like there are 1.1.3 successes on both Mac and Windows without 7.6. If you do get the update error, go ahead and upgrade but as reader responses are showing, you may not need to upgrade beforehand.

Update 2: The specific errors you may encounter are 1603 and 1604. If you get these errors, update to 7.6, and if possible reboot both iPhone and your computer.

• Restart your iPhone: Most people probably already know how to do this, but just in case, you can simply hold the sleep/wake button on the top for a few seconds to bring up a red slider at the top of the display which allows you to power off the phone.
• Quit a frozen iPhone app: I know it's a crazy thought, but it is entirely possible that Apple's wondrous iPhone apps can lock up from time to time. In this case, simply hold the Home button when in the app for about 6 seconds to kill the app. You should be able to jump back into the app without restarting the phone itself.
• Reset your iPhone: Note that this is not Restoring your iPhone; that's the button in iTunes that wipes the iPhone and all your information on it. Resetting an iPhone is nothing more than a hard reset or a forced reboot - you're simply cutting the power and making it reboot. To do this, hold the sleep/wake button and Home buttons simultaneously for a few seconds; the display will quickly wipe itself and you should see the black background and white Apple logo, signifying a reset well done.

Dr. Macenstein suggests that now is the time to act. He writes (and he is a he, right--it's not a Frau Doctor Macenstein?) that Apple Store Genius say there's currently no official stuck pixel policy for iPhones (while there are official policies in place for monitors and laptops). If your iPhone suffers from a bad pixel or two, you'll want to bring yours in and get a replacement asap, i.e. before an official policy rears its ugly head. The article tells you how to check your iPhone for pixel problems by adjusting your iPhone display brightness.