To install rssh

$ apt-get install rssh

By default rssh doesn’t allow anything, to allow only sftp modify the rssh.conf file.

$ nano /etc/rssh.conf

Uncomment the line for allowsftp and other transfer protocols you want to enable.

#allowscp
allowsftp
#allowcvs
#allowrdist
#allowrsync

To restrict a user to only allow sftp access, modify the /etc/passwd file

$ nano /etc/passwd

For example

ftp:x:100:100::/home/ftp:/usr/bin/rssh

Install the gnome-utils package

$ apt-get install gnome-utils

Then add Baobab to the desktop Panel.

• Right click on the Panel
• Add New Item
• Select launcher
• For the icon enter /usr/share/icons/hicolor/24x24/apps/baobab.png
• For Command enter /usr/bin/baobab

However, when I deployed the application on Tomcat 5.5 on Ubuntu 8.04 I got an exception: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.mysql.jdbc.Driver

I couldn’t find the reason which caused the exception, so I did a quick fix by placing the jar file into the Tomcat’s common lib directory.

$ cp mysql-connector-java-bin.jar /usr/share/java
$ cd /usr/share/tomcat5.5/common/lib
$ ln -s ../../../java/mysql-connector-java-bin.jar mysql-connector-java-bin.jar

To install unrar in Ubuntu

$ apt-get install unrar

The drawback with this utility is that it only supports the RAR and RAR2 format, but not the RAR3 format which can only be extract by RARLAB’s UnRAR which is not free.

To install a .deb file

$ dpkg -i filename.deb

Other useful option available for dpkg:

Unpacks the file but does not install it

$ dpkg –unpack

Display configuration options are available for the package

$ dpkg –configure

Removes a package

$ dpkg –remove

To display the information for filename.deb

$ dpkg-deb –show filename.deb

During my trip in Japan I was really attracted to the cars people drove there; they were small but could seat a family, looked very sporty, but at the same time cute.  When I saw the Honda Fit 2009, it was almost like love at first sight.  I recently came an owner of the Honda Fit 2009 sport, with manual transmission.  Here’s my first impression:  I’m no car expert, and I won’t talk about the features it comes with; those can be found in the Honda.ca website.  As well, most of my opinions are compared with the Honda Civic 2006, because it’s the only other manual car which I have driven before.

The exterior

The sport edition had everything which I wanted to give it the sporty look: alloy rims, spoiler, skirts, and fog lights.  The only thing missing was the tinted windows, but I resolved that the very next day.

The interior

The dashboard looked very sleek, and didn’t look cheap when compare to other cars in its class.   Unfortunately, there was no room in the instrument panel for me to put my Windows Mobile phone in (which I use for GPS navigation).  The same couldn’t be said about the side door panels, which looked very plastic and cheap.  The shift knob looked distasteful and felt like rubbery ball, but I can easily replace it.  The seats were comfortable and was able to provide me with the lower back support I needed, and the fabric was smooth.

The driving experience

The clutch for the Fit was very light, and virtually gave no resistant when stepping on it.  This made it harder for me find the right acceleration point when taking off from 1st gear, however made gear shifting to be less jerky.  When driving, the engine was really loud, and the ride was more bumpy than the Civic, as well gear shifting wasn’t as smooth and a clicking sound could be heard with each gear shift.  Of course, making comparison with the Civic was probably unfair since the Fit is a lower class car.  However, I found the Fit’s handling was better, and could turn the corners more tightly.  I haven’t tried doing any hard accelerations, since the car hasn’t run in yet.  Yes, I know I’m old school.

Intel Stock Fan

I opened the case and found out that Canada Computers only installed cheap Intel CPU fan that wasn’t PWM controllable. This meant the fan would always run at it’s top speed (approx. 2300 rpm) and was the reason for the loud noise. They also didn’t bother to install case fan. It was pretty obvious I needed to install a new cooling system for my Shuttle, otherwise it might die of overheat.

AF9225 PWM

I went with Arctic Cooling, (good reviews, and low cost). More specifically, I used the AF9225 PWM for the case fan, and Alpine 7 GT for the CPU.  The fan for Alpine 7 GT was actually smaller than the Intel stock fan, but it was also the only CPU fan which could fit inside the Shuttle.

Alpine 7 GT

With 2 fans installed the system was only making a humming sound compared to the preivous vaccum cleaner as the the CPU and case fan running at 1350 rpm and 800 rpm respectively.   Even with the slower rpm the temperatures for the CPU and hard drive still dropped to 42°C, and 36°C.  Considering that the cost was only $7.99, and $10.99 for the case and CPU fan, it was a well made investment.

Samsung 21.6" LCD Monitor

My first item was a Samsung 21.6″ Widescreen LCD Monitor from Futureshop.  It was glossy black and on sale for $200, and would replace the old Samsung 15″ LCD in my evening room.

Specifications:

• Model: SyncMaster 2253LW
• Resolution: 1680 x 1050
• Brightness: 300 cd/m²
• Contrast Ratio: 8000:1 DC
• Response time: 2ms

Dell Vostra 200 Mini Tower

To go with the monitor I got a new Vostro 200 Mini Tower desktop computer from Dell which I spotted on sale at RedFlagDeals.com.  I plan to use the computer as a media center and hook it up to my TV and home theatre system.  After doing a few customizations to the system the final price tag came to $359.

Specifications:

• Intel Core 2 Duo E4600
• Windows Vista Home Basic
• 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz
• 230GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
• Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
• Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW

Logitech 2.0 Stereo Speaker System

The Dell computer didn’t come with any speakers.  I wasn’t looking for something fancy since I already hook up the computer to my home theatre system, so I got the Logitech 2.0 Stereo Speaker System LS11 which was sale for $20 at Futureshop.  As expected the sound quality wasn’t that great but at least the glossy black face matched with my Samsung monitor.

Lacie 1TB External Hard Drive

I’m one of those people that collect a lot of stuff on my computer, and previously I owned 320GB external hard drive.  However, I constantly find myself burning DVDs because my hard drives are always running out of space.  Even though, my new computer had a 230GB hard drive, I knew it would not be enough, so I got myself another external hard drive:  Lacie 1TB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive.  There was no sale, but was $170 at Futureshop, which was a reasonable price compare other external hard drives, and it was glossy black as well.

Specifications:

• Interface: Hi-Speed USB 2.0
• Cache: 8MB or greater
• Transfer rate: Up to 480Mbits/s (60MB/s)

Shuttle KPC K45

Getting one new computer wasn’t satisfying to me.  I always wanted to replace the old IBM NetVista which I use as a server at home.   There is a saying that a server is suppose to be a “black box”, and that is exactly what I got from Canada Computers for $219; the small form factor Shuttle KPC K45.

Specifications:

• Intel Celeron Dual E1200
• 1GB DDR2 667Mhz
• Integrated Intel GMA 950 Graphics
• 80GB 7200rpm SATA

IOGear 2 port KVM

Finally, since I had two computers but only one monitor I needed to get a KVM.  I got the IOGear 2-Port Compact USB VGA KVM with Built-in Cables GCS42UW6, even though reviews say that people had problems switching from PC to PC.  I decided to take a chance and get it anyways because it was the cheapest KVM I could find: $20 at Dell and it was glossy black too :).  I had no major issues with it, however flickering can be seen in the monitor if the screen is displaying black.

Specifications:

• One USB keyboard, USB mouse, and VGA monitor control two computers
• Max resolution: 2048 x 1536, DDC2B

The two appetizers I made were Roasted Asparagus and Skillet Scalloped Corn, while the main dish was Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Onions (not found on the website).  After slaving myself in the kitchen for 1.5 hours I finally finish making the dishes.  Take a look to see if they look like the pictures in the website

My First 3 Course Dinner

Now I realized that cooking a real dinner is a lot of hard work, not to mention I needed to wash all the dishes and clean up the mess I made in the kitchen.  I think I won’t be doing this again for a quite a while.