Todays & Tomorrows Technology

You will need to know your IMEI number (found in Options->Status). Most carriers should give you your unlock code, but you may have to purchase a code from a vendor.

BlackBerry 8300 / 8800 Curve
1. Go to Settings Menu -> Options
2. Select Advanced Options -> SIM Card
3. Type MEPD on the keyboard (you won’t see the text)
4. Type MEP then [ALT button] then 2 (again you won’t see the text)
5. A prompt should come up “Enter Network MEP Code” Type in your unlock code then press the track wheel to confirm.
6. The phone is now unlocked.
BlackBerry 8100
1. Insert SIM card and power phone on.
2. Make sure the radio and wireless are turned off.
3. Go to Options -> Advanced Options -> SIM Card
4. Type MEPD on the keyboard (you won’t see the text)
5. Type MEPP then [ALT button] then 2 (again you won’t see the text)
6. Enter the unlock code and press enter
7. Reboot. Device is now unlocked.
BlackBerry 8700
1. Follow steps 1-4 from above.
2. While holding the ALT key type MEPE
3. A prompt will appear. Enter your unlock code and press in the jog dial to confirm.
4. Device is now unlocked.
BlackBerry 6xxx, 7xxx
1. Go to Options -> SIM Card
2. Type MEPD for all models except 7100 in which case type MEPPD (you won’t see the text)
3. Usually you will see “active” NET lock. Disable by typing MEP2 or MEPP2 for the 7100.
4. You should be prompted to enter your unlock code. Enter it.
5. Device should be unlocked

Come along with us and peer into the guts of the new MacBook Pro 13" as only the boys at ifixit can do.
Apple recently introduced a 13" variation into its MacBook Pro line and from the outside, it looks much like its 15 and 17 inch cousins. But how about from the inside? Not trusting ourselves with a warranty-voiding screwdriver, we decided to leave things to the ifixit crew to do our investigating for us.

If you're not much for reading - first of all, they have lots of pictures. But if that still can't convince you to click the link, we'll just tell you things are pretty much the same. You have FireWire now and an SD slot, and the battery is just as not-officially-but-it's-really-just-a-few-screws replaceable.

We've already gotten word of a few Windows 7 upgrade plans, but it looks like things are now really starting to get fleshed out, even if nothing's quite official just yet. According to PC World, at least some PC vendors will be kicking off a coupon program on June 26th, which will let folks that buy premium versions of Windows Vista upgrade to Windows 7 when it rolls out this fall. As you might expect, however, things won't be completely consistent across the board, and it won't be a free upgrade in every case either. That's partly because vendors will reportedly have to shell out between $9 and $15 per PC to include the upgrade coupon, although at least three unnamed Taiwanese PC makers will apparently be taking a hit on that cost and offering a free upgrade coupon to anyone that buys a laptop or desktop loaded with Vista Home Premium, Ultimate or Business. HP is also said to be participating in the upgrade program, although it says it won't be revealing any details until Microsoft itself officially announces the start date for the program.

In the Universal Century, we suppose this sort of thing will be rather blasé. But until then, there's really no better way to get our geek hearts a-flutter than some up close and personal pics of this 1:1 scale model of the classic RX-78-2 Gundam mecha, built to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the franchise. We've been watching the construction of this thing rather closely and we're proud to announce that the finished product is every bit as badass as we'd hoped. If you're not planning on making the trip to Tokyo any time soon, feel free to take a gander at the thing in the gallery below. And our thanks to blogger Punynari for the awesome pics!

It's been some time since we've heard a word about Samsung's enigmatic QWERTY slider, the B7610 Louvre. Now it looks like we've got on our hands a new, decidedly more clear pic of the phone care of GPSAndCo, along with a list of technical details. According to the site, we're looking at a quad-band Windows Mobile 6.1 device (upgradable to 6.5) with 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 3.5-inch WVGA AMOLED touchscreen, 5 megapixel camera, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, FM radio, miniUSB, 1GB built-in memory, and a microSDHC slot. Still not official, but should this pan out, Orange and SFR business customers can look to it sometime in July with the price lining up somewhere between €250 and €500.

If you haven't been following this phenomenon in geek culture, you've truly been doing yourself a grave disservice. Not quite an Obama-level disservice, but we digress. Just a few months after refreshing its SATA HDD dock to bring along multicard support, the outfit has done the multimedia crowd one better by offering up an HDMI-equipped version. As expected, the device supports 2.5- and 3.5-inch SATA hard drives and can connect to one's PC via USB 2.0; from there, just hook up your component jacks or HDMI cable and enjoy crystal clear playback of whatever content you've got slammed in there. Too bad all this fun will set you back $79, but we suppose it's still a wee bit cheaper than an unadulterated media streamer.

Last week all the Nikon fanboys supporters were out in full-force critiquing the D5000, so we couldn't let another week slip by without giving Canon advocates (and haters, we don't discriminate) a similar chance with the T1i. Hitting the market at just about the same time, this well-specced entry-level DSLR packed a few niceties than alternative units simply did not: 1080p video, a 15.1 megapixel sensor and a price tag below $1,000. That said, there are still some areas that we reckon Canon could've improved upon, and if you feel the same way, we'd love to hear about it. Are you kosher with the 20fps 1080p mode? Is the image quality up to snuff? How's that stock lens treating you? Cut loose, won'tcha?

This one's been making the rounds in Europe for some time now, and finally passed through the FCC late last year, but it looks like Sonoro's Eklipse iPod dock / CD player / clock radio has only just recently gotten fully official in the US, and given a price. Unfortunately, while it has dropped a bit compared to the Euro conversion, it is still a fairly hefty $550, which will buy you 7.5W of power output, a nice little OLED display, a compact remote, and an auxiliary jack in case the iPod dock and slot-load CD player aren't enough options for you. There's still no official word on a release date, however, but it looks like at least one retailer is now taking pre-orders for it.

We'd be careful about putting too much stock into an admittedly far off rumor, but the gang at 1UP claim they've heard from those in the know that Microsoft's set to release a new Xbox console in Fall 2010, and that current media darling Project Natal is "the cornerstone" of that evolution. Specs-wise, it's suggested we're looking at only a marginal boost analogous to Nintendo's GameCube-to-Wii transition -- place your bets on how long it'll take to "max out" this time -- as well as a rebranding (Xbox Natal, anyone?) aimed at attracting the highly coveted, more mainstream / casual audience, before Mario and the crew catch a second wind with the oft-rumored Wii HD. There's nothing unbelievable about these whispers, but again, Fall 2010 is quite a ways off and anything can happen in the meantime. First unveiling will allegedly be the 2010 Game Developers Conference in early March, so your best bet for now is to hold tight and keep a close eye on who gets a primetime slot among that event's keynote speeches.

The Xbox 360 will be receiving some scheduled maintenance on June 16th. Xbox.com and Xbox Live will be shut down for a bit, but this will also make Netflix streaming to your Xbox 360 unusable for a period.

The maintenance period will start on June 16th at 12:01 a.m. and last until 11:59 p.m. PDT. Since you won’t be able to access Xbox LIVE or Xbox.com, the Netflix streaming function will be disabled as well.

Specifically, you won’t be able to log into your My Xbox section of the website. Plus, the Xbox forums will be locked for that period of time, meaning you can only read posts, not make new ones. This is merely a maintenance effort. No upgrades are expected.

It seems a day doesn’t go by without some new technology rumor. But hey, it keeps things exciting. Today, there’s a rumor going around on the Pentax Forums that Samsung will be releasing the GX-30 very soon.

The GX-30 is set to be the successor to the GX-20, a DSLR camera. The suspected launch date is July 7th. Interestingly enough, we heard last month that the GX-30 would be launching in June but nothing has come of that yet.

However, not everyone thinks it’s the GX-30 set to launch. Others are set on the idea that the NX-series will be making it’s debut next month. Of course, nothing official has been revealed by Samsung just yet, so for now all we can do is speculate.

Eizo announced a new LCD monitor today called the FlexScan EV2333W-H. Measuring in at 23-inches and sporting a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, this 1080p display supplies an eco-friendly and practical monitor solution.

What makes this display unique is that it has both a HDCP-protected DVI port and DisplayPort. Other inputs include VGA. With 300cd/m2 brightness and a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, it’s equipped for a decent quality picture for everyday use.

Other specs include a 7ms pixel response time, a FlexStand with vertical adjustment and swivel capability and EcoView Sense, which is an infrared sensor that detects the brightness in the room and whether or not you’re sitting in front of the computer, adjusting the screen’s on-status and brightness accordingly. You can get the Eizo FlexScan EV2333W-H LCD monitor starting on July 16th in Japan for the equivalent of $560. There’s been no word on a U.S. release just yet.

Shure is most known for their in-ear headphones, but it seems the company is venturing into the over-ear headphones nowadays. The first model to introduce the new line is called the SRH240 and they’re a lightweight and stylish entry-level addition.

Weighing just 6.4oz, these headphones are portable and feature padded cups that are sealed for blocking out external noise. They’re pretty comfortable and support good high and low frequency response.

Many of the specs are not yet available, but we do know the SRH240 headphones will be available in the U.K. starting in July for the equivalent of $114. It’s not yet known if these headphones will be available in the U.S. but we’ll keep you posted.