This 101 comes courtesy of probigeorge11 and michaelwpg. 

Alright children, settle down, class is now in session. As of the update to version 5.0.1, we now have the ability to configure our BlackBerry as an IP Modem for tethering. Today's lesson will be based around how to set up your BlackBerry as an IP Modem, using the new version of Desktop Manager, referred to as DM for the purposes of this lesson.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: *Tethering is a service offered by your carrier. Tethering without a tethering plan can incur large costs. Make sure you consult with your carrier before using your BlackBerry as a modem*

We will attempt to make this as simple and straightforward as possible, walking through step by step.

Having trouble upgrading the new OS leak that you just downloaded for your device? Many users are beginning to see the error that states "Only active BlackBerry subscribers are entitled to install this upgrade". If you are killing yourself trying to install the OS and can't seem to be able to get past this stage, well we have a fix for you. Check out this quick walkthrough and you'll be up and running in no time.

BlackBerry Messenger has come a long way over the years. The latest version of BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 has tons of great features to make BlackBerry to BlackBerry messaging easier and more productive. Things like barcodes, groups, recent updates and avatars all add to the BBM flair and step up the game. Here we will take a cruise through all the aspects of BlackBerry Messenger 5.0 (keep in mind that some screens may vary, as this 101 is described using OS 5.0)

Today we are looking a procedure that most of us will do at one time or another while owning a BlackBerry which is unlocking. Keep in mind, this will only work on GSM devices, or "World Phones" like the 8830WE, Storm or Tour. If you are like me, you will sometimes want a BlackBerry from another carrier to run on your own carrier. Or maybe you want to sell it and increase resale value while opening yourself up to more potential buyers. All you need to do is get an unlock code and follow our quick session and your on your way!

[ Note from Kevin: We know a lot of you were excited to see the Facebook note and tweet from @BlackBerry today that Desktop Manager for Mac was now available. While that didn't pan out and it's not officially available yet, we figured we'd bring you a little DM for Mac fix via a BlackBerry 101 article. Our pal Gary Mazo, VP and Partner of Made Simple Learning put this one together, which will actually be a chapter in their future BlackBerry books. But you're getting it here first for free! Thanks Gary!! ]

For years, Windows users have enjoyed the seamless Synchronoization of their contacts, calendar, notes and tasks with their PC via the BlackBerry® Desktop Manager Software. Now, for the first time, this "piece of mind" that comes with knowing your data is fully "backed up" is available to the Mac® user.

If you are a Windows user, this will seem familiar, yet very much streamlined for the Mac. If you have never used BlackBerry Desktop Manager, you will now be able to not only synchronize your data, but you will be able to backup, restore, Sync your iTunes® playlists and more.

Brought to you by James Sanders of SLRJAM.COM - SLRJAM - is Photography in Action!

So you have this great idea to take some pictures and decided today is the day to get it right!

Ok what do I want to take a picture of and will it work? Hmmm - you have to decide on the topic and if its a moving object, person, animal, landscape etc. Why? Because the light is different with all of these topics and its important to qualify your subject.

And you have to decide on your weapon of choice. So lets see Blackberry 8300x series, 8900, 9000, Storm, Tour all have camera's and your hand dandy Pearl. For the most part you are going to be operating on a 2 mega-pixel base line here which will take a pretty great shot despite what all the camera manufacturers will tell you.

Now, lets make sure you have an SD Card inserted or enough room on your phone to get the job done (4GB card should do the trick, but there are bigger ones out now, like 8GB and 16GB) 

Ok Great! Now get out your BlackBerry and let's take some pictures!

Recently, UberTwitter launched their latest Beta which included the capability to upload videos taken on your BlackBerry Smartphone to a video hosting service called TwitVid. Now while I was rather glad to see the inclusion of such a service, the service is not really ready for full on BlackBerry usage in the fact the videos you upload and tweet to your Twitter account--are not even viewable on your BlackBerry. I'm sure you can see the problem here.

So in my venture to find a service which would indeed be compatible for both uploading--and viewing said uploaded videos on your BlackBerry, I was lead to MobyPicture. MobyPicture is a video, audio, image hosting service which is ever growing in popularity due to the fact it meshes with so many social networks and micro blogging systems it will make your head spin. Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Wordpress, Flickr, Youtube--really, I could go on but you get the point.

Your new BlackBerry Smartphone (maybe a Tour?!) is in your hand and you're ready to go. You want to check the weather, hop on Twitter, listen to streaming radio and play some games. Once you're initiated, getting apps onto your BlackBerry is an easy process, but if you're new to BlackBerry it's not quite as readily intuitive as it could be. Just how do you get all those apps installed and running? There are few good options out there for browsing, purchasing and installing applications. Two of our favorite one-stop browse/shop solutions are BlackBerry App World and the CrackBerry App Stores, and to stay on top of what's new and what's offered at the best price you'll want to have both installed on your device. Another option you'll often run into in the world of apps is downloading directly from independent developer sites. Below we'll take a quick run through these three options so you can start filing up your homescreen and folders with apps, apps, apps!

School is in session once again ladies and gents!  Today's lesson will be on "How to Setup your BlackBerry to Sync with Outlook."  I see this question come up quite a few times and I also see that this could have saved a lot of people from having to start from scratch with their contacts, notes, calendars and tasks.  I'm using a Bold on 5.0, but this shouldn't matter for all those with 4.2 or better.  For the desktop manager, I'm using 4.6.  The desktop manager may be slightly different depending on your version, but once you have 4.5 or better you shouldn't see too much variation.  What you'll need to get started: Your BlackBerry device, BlackBerry Desktop Manager and a USB cable.

Hello Class, today we're going to learn one of the most important procedures concerning your BlackBerry, but also one of the easiest. As CrackBerry Nation knows, RIM is constantly developing and testing new software for all of its devices. So as true CrackBerry addicts, we like to keep up with the latest and greatest. Today's lesson is another step-by-step guide on upgrading your device's Operating System(OS) using the Application Loader method. We already have a BlackBerry 101 that guides you through the upgrade process using RIM's BlackBerry Desktop Manager software, but for many new to BlackBerry owners the AppLoader method is a bit simpler with less chance for error. Let the lesson begin!

Class is in session... Today's lesson will be on how to downgrade the OS (operating system...aka firmware aka device software) on your BlackBerry. Some of you may have chosen to upgrade to 5.0 or some other OS that isn't just right for you. Luckily, BlackBerry smartphones are one of the easiest (in my opinion) to downgrade. I chose to upgrade to 5.0 on my Curve 8900 (using Desktop Manager 4.6) and I want to go back down to 4.6.1.168 (my favorite).

[ Editor's Note: Member pltaylor has been doing some awesome work in the forums helping out new Storm owners, so we thought we'd let him bring some of that goodness to the blogs. Big thanks pltaylor! Enjoy the lecture!! ]

Seasons Greetings CrackBerry Nation! As many of you now know the Storm 9530 has a North America:1900MHz and 850 MHz GSM/GPRS networks compatible radio and SIM card slot. This gives it the ability to be used solely on any GSM network once unlocked. The problem is North American GSM carriers do not have, or are not able to push the proper Provisioning, Browser and MMS service books to the device.

Basically what we will do is remove the native browser, embed your carrier's generic service books. And replace the browser. So if you've scored an early Christmas present and managed to get it unlocked, let's unleash the Beast! 

Wow! What a couple of weeks it has been in the BlackBerry world. If you are a brand new BlackBerry Storm user and new to the BlackBerry world - this article is for you. There has been so much written this past week - so many opinions, so much frustration, jubilation, anger and confusion that it is time for all of us to just.....relax and embrace the Berry.

So, get a cup of coffee, place your Storm in one hand and scroll slowly through this article and let's see if we can't clear up some confusion, provide some useful information and make your BlackBerry experience a more pleasurable one.

So you want to be a CrackBerry.com Power User do ya?  Well here is a quick lesson on how to get started registering for CrackBerry.com and setting up your personal @CrackBerry.com email forwarder so you can show off you true CrackBerry addiction.  It's pretty straight forward, but can be confusing to some - so this should help clear up some of the details in the process.

If you're a Mac user new to BlackBerry, or a PC user coming over to the Other Side, one of the first things you'll notice is that the BlackBerry Desktop Software on your CD is Windows-only. And while our pal Al Sacco dropped word a couple weeks back that new BlackBerry Tools for Mac users are on the way (you can hopefully expect to see them in the first half of 2009), until then you'll have to rely on 3rd party software. PocketMac and Missing Sync are the two common choices.

Rather than port their desktop manager over to Mac OS X from the get go, RIM instead opted to license PocketMac and offer it to Mac users for free. In most ways it's a solid, intuitive program, but there are some important limitations and some gotchas to look out for, and some things that might trip up the new user, so today I'm going to walk you through the basics of using it.