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Received a notice to upgrade to Android 2.2 Froyo for my HTC Aria device this morning. Spent the day trying to figure out the upgrade. I have a rooted HTC Aria and I was stuck upgrading for a while. The device would reboot, the installation start, and then stall shortly after forcing me to pull out the battery to reset. I tried a hard reset and I tried flashing the ROM using ClockWorkMod, both with little success. I ended up doing it the hard way by fully restoring to the original unrooted ROM and going from there… Here’s how.

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Got a new phone. The HTC Aria (thanks WL). It’s an android based phone. A mini, lower spec version of the HTC Desire. The choice was between these two and the Aria won out because of the size and form factor. While I was tempted by the Desire for its superior processor, memory and touch screen, I didn’t want a bulky phone. So far so good, I’m happy with the choice. The phone together with cover, 4GB memory and screen protector came up to RM1850.

The interface is smooth and Google Market is cool. In the process of rooting the phone. Instructions to follow shortly. All in, a nice new toy :)

From the title, you must be thinking WTF? Believe me, it’s not all that uncommon once you understand the scenario…

The Problem
You have a secure server. You need run an X-terminal from the command line console as a user other than yourself. You only have ’sudo su’ permission to the other user but not the actual user login credentials. One common scenario where you’ll hit this problem is if you’re trying to deploy a piece of software as root via X-Terminal and you have to su over. I know I’ve hit this often enough. So what do we do?

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Yes! It is here! Already! The thrice annual PIKOM PC Fair! First of 2010! Why am I shouting?! Started last week at some places no one ever goes to in minuscule (yes, been there, nothing to scream about) and growing peaking at KLCC next weekend before tapering off again (been there too!). So pack up your notebooks and head on out.

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After a month of open exhibitor registration, the final list of venues and dates are up. Literally just around the corner as it’s a week away in some locations. The week of 4th December if you’re in KL. A week earlier than usual which is probably due to the year end December holidays (practically every Friday’s off for the remainder of December!). Here’s the usual list for your perusal and planning.

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For security purposes, most servers are usually locked up to allow access only via SSH. Setting up ssh-key for remote access to servers without password is simple. But what if you want to set up ssh-key access with user apache which is a pseudo user on most Linux installations and doesn’t have shell access? Ever tried to set up your webserver so it could run some automated scripts on a remote server via a web interface? If yes, then here’s the answer.

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Round two upcoming at the end of the month. Too bad I’ll be missing it since I’m away on vacation. That makes two in a row. Oh well, there’s always the year end.

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These days, about the only thing worthwhile checking out at the PIKOM PC Fair are the promo girls for major computer manufacturers and the freebies given out with annual magazine subscriptions. Notice that I put both of them in the same sentence. That says alot about the quality of the girls. It’s become relatively sleazy over the last few cycles. Anyway, on to the freebies you’ll get for subscribing to either PC.com, CHIP or HWM/GameAxis. As usual, the gifts are on a first come first served basis and limited to the first 100 subscribers each day.

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It’s hard to believe that we’re half way through the first quarter of 2009. Time is really zipping by. Perhaps it’s the sheer number of holidays that we’ve been having since December 2008 through January 2009. This also means that the first installment of PIKOM PC Fair 2009 is also just around the corner.

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PC.com will be having a promotion during the PIKOM PC Fair 2008 (III) period @ KLCC. During this period, PC.com will be giving away free gifts with every 12 month subscription. This promotion is valid while stocks last. To take advantage of this subscription offer, visit the PC.com’s PC Fair III Promotion Booths 519 and 520 @ Hall 5. There are three packages available. Free gifts for each package as follows.

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