Well, gang, this is the last post to appear on BBHub. We're closing shop at Midnight tonight, ET.

That's the not-so-cool news.

But are you ready for some cool news?

As a result of the corporate strategies that have led to the closing of this, as well as several of our other "niche" blogs, I am pleased to tell you that our BlackBerry coverage will continue, and I will be a big part of it.

Over the last several months, I've noticed from our server logs that our posts about third-party BlackBerry software -- productivity utilities, downloadable games, even stuff you never would have dreamed of -- has garnered (Yes, I just mind-associated Jennifer, too) significant amount of page views. In my new role handling BlackBerry, Palm and Symbian OS for Download Squad, my mantra will be, if its downloadable, and is compatible with any of the OS' I just named, it is a candidate for coverage.

And coverage it will be. I'll be blogging for Download Squad on a daily basis.

But that's not all.

I'll also be covering the mobile scene-and especially BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion- for our exciting Blogging Stocks site. And no, these posts won't be a dry recitation of how RIM and its mobile competitors did on the NASDAQ or New York Stock Exchange that day. If RIM (actually RIMM on the Nasdaq) inks a pact with a major carrier, or we hear of an official (or even unofficial) release date for the BlackBerry 88xx series most everyone in the know is coming soon, I'll write a post about that. Why? Because while one Ms. Lohan's BlackBerry use won't really impact RIM financially, a new contract or even whispers of a new device most certainly will. I know it did with the Pearl.

I'd also be remiss if I failed to mention that our sister sites, Engadget and Engadget Mobile also have great BlackBerry-device centered coverage. You'll find Engadget Mobile's coverage here. And I happen to know there have been those folks who have kept up with my own writings by using AOL Search. I can't quarrel with that.

Readers, I remember the factory that my Mom worked, and how she described what it was like when they turned the lock for the last time. Now -- more years hence than you want to know -- I am the one turning the lock.

But on second thought, maybe not exactly.

BBHub and our nearly 5,000 posts will live as an accessible archive of our last two years of coverage. That'd be coverage over one of a device that has found its name into our culture. Just as "to Google" as become a verb, "I Blackberry-ed (him, or her)" surely is too.

So follow me along as I cover BlackBerry, and lots of aspects of the beats I started and now close, on BBHub.

That's the title of a new document the BlackBerry Technical Knowledge Center posted today.

Linked via the Read prompt below this post, this involves several steps. Each of these has their own steps-with-steps.

I'll tell you the major steps for Windows XP. Follow the link I just mentioned for Windows ME or 98 machines.

1. Close BlackBerry Desktop Manager.
2. Open the Control Panel and double-click Add/Remove Programs.
3. Select BlackBerry Desktop Software and click Change/Remove.
4. On the InstallShield Wizard window, click the Remove option, followed by Next.
5. On the Confirm Uninstall window, click OK.
6. On the InstallShield Wizard window, click Finish.

Follow along, now:

Talented and brainy performer John Mayer and his girlfriend, non-talented and apparently non-brainy performer Jessica Simpson have two things in common.

One? We won't go there.

Two, they both have BlackBerrys, and like to check their messages.

Even when they are on dates together.

Have you ever been on dates when she or he checks their cell phone regularly?

Strikes me as a bit discourteous. How do you feel about it?

On Tuesday, wireless enterprise solutions developer Flowfinity Wireless Inc., announced the availability of French support in its wireless smart client (the Flowfinity Client) for BlackBerry/.

Now, all menus and on-screen user prompts are also available in French.

Given that French is one of the two national laguages in BlackBerry-maker Reearch In Motion's home country of Canada, this is not an insignificant development.

Flofinity terms the significance in two ways:

1. In Canada, companies or government organizations can now access and use Flowfinity Applications in the official language of their choice.

2. Companies in France, whether headquartered there or with branch offices of multi-national companies doing business there, can now use Flowfinity Applications in French.

The warm temperatures in Chicago earlier this month belied the truism that the earth is getting warmer.

A BlackBerry Pearl-using BBHub reader took advantage of that relatively calm day to take a photo of the Chicago skyline from the vantage point of a nearby park.

You're looking at the photo now.

I've just received my monthly copy of BlackBerry Connection.

This issue's lead article is about Smart Card security, as practiced by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Inside, there are pieces about ensuring your BlackBerry changes its time settings to Daylight Savings Time, BlackBerry solutions for various industries, and even how to play Tetris on your BlackBerry.

For a variety of strategic reasons, AOL is consolidating several "niche," topic-specific blogs into some of its most popular blogs with daily readership totals that would make your eyes pop.

BBHub is one of those blogs.

Effective at the end of the day tomorrow, BBHub will cease publication of new entries. But we are not going away. The full, nearly 5,000-post BBHub archive will still be readily available at BBHub.com. Additionally, AOL will certainly will not be slacking off on our coverage of BlackBerry, the exciting new models on the way, the third-party BlackBerry software we know you are interested in, as well as what the company that makes BlackBerry- Research In Motion- is up to.

I'm not going too far either. More details tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, we'll have several posts, catching you up on where things stand and also giving you something to remember us by.

You know, it's been a bit more than two years since I ran into then-Weblogs CEO Jason Calacanis at the Consumer Electronics Show and sounded him out about launching BBHub. Over this time, we've become part of AOL, have broken lots of stories and have become a destination for readers interested in BlackBerry. In the last severalmonths,it hasn't only been me, the original BBHub blogger and still as of now, the lead blogger on BBHub. I am proud to have recruited Melissa Oxendale and Dave Mabe to blog here as well. They've added lots to our site.

I thank all of you readers for your interest, participation, and dare I say,devotion to our BBHub brand.

We'll have more posts today and tomorrow. Can't wait for your clicks then, as well as in the future!

Dusk in New York City, the city that never sleeps.

BBHub reader and BlackBerry Pearl user Austin comes out, and finds a suitable vantage point to take a pic of the Empire State Building.

BBHub lead blogger Russ (that's me) receives this photo from Austin and posts it here.

Boy Genius came up with this. It's on his site (link below) as well as our fellow site Engadget Mobile.

Caveat,though. Got a magnifying glass handy?

I say this because this is a grab apparently from a scanned document. The print is tiny, but can be read with some artful squinting, a magnifying glass or perhaps some of both.

In between convention attendance and vacation (which I am supposed to be on now), I've been Photoshopping in a major way to get this image right for you. But you should be able to make some of this stuff out.

The grab is after the jump.

Hey there from a place really, really close to a subtropical beach. Rather than in my customary Pacific Northwest ocean hangout, I am at the Atlantic. Whilst (not a Brit, just love that word whilst, heh heh) I prefer the Pacific, here the beaches are warmier and sandier.

Sandy enough to bear witness to beach volleyball. But it is not only here where the game is played.

You can play beach volleyball on your BlackBerry. That'd be via RESETGames' Beach Volleyball for BlackBerry.

Wanna see pic?

Then clic.

Did you happen to see The Wall Street Journal's piece today entitled "Apple iPhone Is No ReasonTo Hang Up on RIM Shares?"

I'd link to it except the article is subscriber-firewalled.

Anyhow the gist of the piece is that BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion's Pearl and forthcoming devices are priced far below the iPhone (think $199 and $299 vs. couple hundred dollars more), so that the Pearl has a leg up.

The piece also points out that BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion is "cozy" with more than 225 carriers worldwide.

The iPhone? They are cozy with one- Cingular, now being rebranded as AT&T.

Note: This post is now updated with corrected details.

Ever wonder what a "Donaldson acoustic membrane vent" is?

Sounds kind of science-tech. Well matter of fact it is. This is a technology that allows for transmission of sound from handheld devices while keeping the case sealed.

In this, uh, case, the cases we are talking about are the new OtterBox 1930 and 1931.

Just received an email from them, noting that these cases are now available for the BlackBerry 87xx series (1930) and the 72xx family (1931).

Specs, pricing and pic available after the jump.

I drink wine, and use a BlackBerry. Usually not at the same time, but I find both wine-drinking and BlackBerry use to be positive enablements.

You too?

Salud.

If so, you may be interested to learn that the wine reference site Winezap now has a BlackBerry-compatible version.

Everything you would want to know about wine regions, type, food pairing, price and user ratings.

Just don't spill any wine on your BlackBerry keys, K?

Sorry to be a little late on this but I have been on planes most of the day.

Seems like Boy Genius' server logs revealed a couple of accesses to his site from a BlackBerry 8820.

Rather than within RIM- where tracks-covering would surely be implemented- I guess this one's coming from a third-party testing site, a carrier, or both.

What's your bet on?