02/10, 12:35pm
Apple sues Samsung twice in one week
Apple scaled up its legal attacks late this week with lawsuits against Samsung both in the US and in Germany. The American complaint, details of which were filed in a Northern District of California court in San Jose on Wednesday and published on Friday, accuses Samsung of violating two patents that it had only just obtained in December. Samsung was accused of copying iOS' techniques for heuristic information finding as well as its method of suggesting a replacement word when a misspelling is highlighted.
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02/09, 1:40pm
Motion, sunlight could affect appearance
Apple has been exploring the idea of a 3D iOS interface that reacts to its surroundings, a newly-published patent application reveals. Called Three Dimensional User Interface Effects on a Display by Using Properties of Motion, the document notes that products like the iPhone have the benefit of numerous different sensors, such as accelerometers, compasses, cameras, and GPS receivers. "However, current systems do not take into account the location and position of the device on which the virtual 3D environment is being rendered," Apple writes. The company also mentions "physical and lighting properties of the user's environment" as factors that could be taken into account for presenting "a more interesting and visually appealing" interface.
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02/03, 7:00pm
Offers reviews as well as link to download
Yahoo has launched an app filtering tool to its search engine. Yahoo's main page now gives a user a tab for Apps as well as the traditional Web, Images, Video, Local and More. With it, users can get app only search results and filter them for either iOS or Android apps.
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02/02, 6:30pm
Skeuomorphica aesthetic for audio, video apps
The US Patent and Trademark Office today granted Apple a patent on the idea of a "virtual knob" that could show an on-screen knob with an active "slider" type control that appears underneath it only when a mouse, stylus or finger moves to control it. The idea would allow for skeuomorphic design of traditional knob controls (particularly widely used on real-world audio and video equipment) that overcomes the flat dimensionality of screen displays.
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01/27, 5:45am
HTC Sense 4.0 leak gives details of revamped UI
HTC’s forthcoming Sense 4.0 interface overlay has been leaked ahead of its expected unveiling at the Mobile World Congress. The team at Pocketnow have given HTC’s latest user interface a preview, although they did not have photos to share at this time. Instead, some of the new features and UI elements have been plausibly described and suggest that HTC’s latest skin may have more going for it than in the past.
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01/24, 11:25pm
iOS hits 315m devices so far
Apple as part of its fall fiscal results revealed that a total of 315 million iOS devices had been activated in the platform's 4.5-year history. The marker included the over 62 million devices shipped just in the fall alone. Total 2011 iPhone sales by themselves were strong enough to outsell those from the previous four years combined.
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01/18, 6:00pm
Custom v3.1.3 replicates look, some features
One of the lesser-known iPhone "teams" dedicated to hacking and modifying iOS devices has released Whited00r 5.1, a heavily customized and modified version of iOS 3.1.3 that brings the look and feel of iOS 5 to all iOS devices, all the way back to the original first-generation iPhone and iPod Touch. The team have added features from iOS 4 and iOS 5 such as folders, custom backgrounds and reminders and made them work under the "iOS 5" style v3.1.3.
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01/13, 10:00pm
Low-cost way to meet Apple lovers
A unique online dating site intended for men and women who already have one thing in common -- a love of Apple products -- has expanded to provide its own iOS app for its users. Cleverly called Cupidtino, the site (which launched over the summer) allows Mac and other Apple users to browse profiles of other users and send messages, pictures and other info to each other. The company, which is not affiliated with Apple, allows users to start browsing profiles without charge immediately.
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01/13, 9:00pm
We player does end run around pulled apps
Rogue music service Grooveshark is attempting to do an end-run around apps that have been pulled from both the iOS App Store and the Android Market by posting a "web app" version of the player in pure HTML5, which should work with most smartphones and tablets as well as most web browsers. In a blog post, the company says it is trying to "reach as many mobile music listeners as we can" but already faces lawsuits from all of the major labels, who accuse the company of illegally misusing rights to the music.
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01/12, 3:35pm
Would cope with issues of using 3D on handhelds
A newly-published Apple patent application suggests the concept of a motion-controlled 3D interface for iOS devices, namely the iPhone, notes AppleInsider. Titled Sensor Based Display Environment, the filing claims that implementing 3D polygonal interfaces on a touchscreen device can be difficult, owing to factors like screen size, and the need to both hold a device and change perspectives in the interface.
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01/11, 7:30pm
Subscription brings Sony, CDBaby music, more
Sony has announced today that it will bring its Music Unlimited subscription service to iOS devices, seven months after the Android app version and a year since its US debut on PlayStations, Bravia TVs, PCs and other connected devices. Sony Entertainment Network head Tim Schaaff told reporters a free universal iOS app would be available this quarter, and that the iOS app will offer up to 5GB of offline caching for premium subscribers to compete with other services like Spotify, reports MobileBeat.
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01/10, 7:00pm
Kodak Playfull Dual with 1080p/60FPS video at CES
We stopped by Kodak's booth at CES to take a look at the company's recently unveiled EasyShare M750 and the equally new Playfull Dual. The former has been documented, and can upload photos to a Kodak's gallery or Facebook or upload videos to YouTube once the Share button is pressed. It also selection of social networks or e-mailed to a preset address. Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi wasn't working and we weren't able to check this feature out.
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01/10, 2:00am
Timing of final 5.1 still unknown
[Updated with Siri Dictation info] Apple has posted a third developer beta of iOS 5.1, reports say. The firmware is identified as build 9B5141a, and includes a variety of bugfixes and minor improvements over beta 2. One major change, though, is the reappearance of the "Enable 3G" toggle, which Apple inexplicably removed with the advent of iOS 5.0.
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01/09, 10:00pm
Can program without Objective-C or a Mac
Texas-based Genuitec has released a new version of MobiOne, an iOS programming environment that now lets users create and test native iOS apps without needing to purchase or use a Mac, and without needing to learn Objective-C. Previously limited to creating web-based apps only, version 1.4 features a PowerPoint-like design studio that lets inexperienced developers assemble native iOS apps using drag-and-drop elements, and tested in the cloud or on actual iDevices.
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01/06, 11:30pm
Products for home, portable and live events, more
Consumer electronics manufacturer Behringer has introduced its 2012 lineup of products, many of which are aimed at iOS devices under the umbrella moniker of Eurosound. Offerings in the 50-product lineup include a sound-bar-and-subwoofer set, a wireless iPod sound system, a portable Bluetooth speaker, a PA system with an iPod dock built-in and more. The company has brought its notorious iNuke and its new lineup to the CES show.
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01/06, 12:30am
Uses IR adapter, app for maneuvers
Security and RC product maker Swann has debuted three new RC helicopters, including two that can record videos or still photos while in flight and one model, the i-Fly Micro Lighting, that includes a three-channel infrared adapter and companion app (free) to allow iOS devices to control the helicopter either by using on-screen buttons or the iDevice's tilt controls. The helicopter also comes with a full IR dual-joystick remote control.
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01/05, 7:30pm
Popular game spawns knock-off in App Store
The success of Infinity Blade and Infinity Blade II, both games exclusively for iOS that leveraged the Unreal Engine to bring much greater realism to the platform have grossed more than $30 million in revenue in just the first year, according to a statement from Epic Games and its development studio ChAIR Entertainment. The company has recently been licensing other related merchandise, including a digital novella and a full-size coin-op version for arcades.
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01/04, 8:00pm
Award for using iOS device as flash drive also
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has given Apple a total of 13 patents today, covering a wide range of topics from the design of the Thunderbolt Display to the (at the time) revolutionary interface for managing lists in iOS. The latter is an important patent that may be leveraged in future litigation, as most other smartphone competitors have copied it fairly closely in their own implementations. Apple was also given a patent for its now-discontinued Bluetooth headset.
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01/02, 7:00pm
Using iPad apps at 720p, more possibilities
Using a scratch-written replacement for the normal iOS launcher known as "Springboard," developers Steve Troughton-Smith and a Canadian colleague known as TheMudKip have moved forward from their discovery that iOS apps can be run inside Apple TV's version of iOS and have now gotten full-screen iPad applications (that are normally landscape in orientation) to work at full 720p resolution. The find opens the door to eventual native Apple TV iOS apps.
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01/02, 6:00pm
20 million new iOS, Android devices now active
Application analytics service Flurry, following up on its report that 6.8 million Android and iOS devices were activated on Christmas Day, now reports not only a record-breaking 20 million new devices total over "Christmas week" (the period beginning with and including Christmas and running to New Year's Day), but a 60 percent increase in apps downloaded, pushing the combined iOS and Android app total to over 1.2 billion apps in a week, a new record.
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12/30, 9:45pm
Adds abilities but can cause issues, void warranty
[Updated: video of Troughton-Smith demonstrating Mudkip's iOS window manager and apps on Apple TV] The untethered jailbreak for some iOS 5.0.1 devices has migrated into Seas0npass, a tool for jailbreaking the black (current model) Apple TV, resulting in the option of extra abilities on the $99 device, including the potential to run some iOS apps as demonstrated by hacker Steve Troughton-Smith. The updated Seas0npass works even with Apple TV software version 4.4.4, and third-party options give users the ability to play other video formats, implement custom Bluetooth options and more.
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12/28, 4:45pm
Glitch affected some apps for jailbroken devices
The unofficial iPhone Dev Team has posted a minor update of redsn0w, its popular jailbreaking utility for iOS devices. The v0.9.10b2 update incorporates a launchctl-related fix on top of the base v0.9.10 release, which was published earlier this week as one of the first tools allowing untethered jailbreaks for iOS 5.0.1. Mac and Windows distributions are available.
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12/28, 1:55am
Also Photo Booth and YouTube app icon
Apple has won patents on a wide range of endeavors, from an important patent covering the recognition method used by the multi-touch screens on iOS devices to a design patent covering the look of the YouTube icon in iOS. Among a total of 18 patents awarded earlier today, Apple also scored a design patent on its own brand of battery charger, as well as patents on the Photo Booth application for Macs as well as an as-yet-unreleased app tailored to fitness centers.
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12/27, 9:40am
iPad 2, iPhone 4S still excluded
Hacker pod2g has released the first public version of an untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.0.1, according to the unofficial iPhone Dev Team. The Dev Team has built the technology into redsn0w 0.9.10 and PwnageTool. A separate team, Chronic, has meanwhile implemented it into a Cydia package. The pod2g technique involves "two separate exploits and a few other 'tricks'," the iPhone Dev Team explains.
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12/23, 2:00pm
Spend more on average than Android, desktop users
Apple mobile device users have accounted for more than 90 percent of online retail purchases originating from a mobile device so far this month, reports market analysis firm RichRelevance. The company collected data from 3.4 billion online shopping sessions from online US retailers between April and December of this year. The percentage is actually up from 88 percent at the start of the survey in April.
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12/20, 11:15pm
Issues with download buttons, layouts resolved
User who, for the past few days, have been having issues with updating apps using iOS 3.1.x (the last version, 3.1.3, is the maximum possible with first-generation iPhones and the first- and second-generation iPod Touch) are now finding that the issue has been fixed on Apple's end, giving such users back the ability to update apps and buy new items from the App Store while still on their devices.
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12/20, 1:00pm
Mainly hurts users of first-, second-gen hardware
People still using versions of iOS 3.1.x on an iPhone or iPod touch have begun encountering problems with the App Store, according to threads (1, 2) on Apple's support forums. On a basic level, pages on the store may contain broken layouts and missing content. More serious are problems with actually downloading apps, such as having to use the Update All command, instead of having the flexibility of updating apps individually.
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12/19, 6:30pm
Lapland Studio's China event invitation cancelled
Finnish phonemaker Nokia has used its influence to cancel the participation of iOS game developer and fellow Finnish company Lapland Studio in a Santa Claus Foundation delegation that raises money for children's charities. The delegation consists of a number of Finnish tech companies and will take place in Wanda Plaza in Beijing, China, TechCrunch reported. Lapland Studio founder Ilkka Immonen was invited and aimed to demonstrate the company's latest iOS game, Elf Rescue, only to be dropped at the last minute.
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12/15, 11:00pm
Could open door to new hacks, jailbreaks, more
The custom-built version of iOS 5.0.1 re-released for the iPhone 4S earlier today by Apple features an accessible encryption key, allowing hackers the ability to browse the file system and examine code without pirating the software. A tweet from iOS hacker MuscleNerd revealed that the file system could be easily perused from a Mac or PC, calling it "wide open" (though he later qualified that he meant for examination rather than security).
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12/15, 3:05pm
Changes so far unclear
Apple has released two minor firmware updates for iOS devices. The first is v4.4.4 for the Apple TV, which implements unspecified bugfixes. The update can be installed automatically via an Apple TV's normal update functions, or manually by technically savvy users with access to the IPSW file.
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12/15, 6:10am
Microsoft releases another cross-platform app
Microsoft has announced a mobile version of its Lync application for both its own Windows Phone 7 platform as well as Android. The WP7 version (Free, Windows Marketplace) and the Android version (Free, Android Market) are now available for download, while a version for iOS has also been submitted for approval. Formerly known as Office Communicator, the app brings a combination of VoIP, instant messaging and conferencing.
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12/14, 7:45pm
Android expected to rebound
Microsoft's Windows operating system has experienced a slight surge in usage share from October to November, according to recent numbers published by data analytics company Chitika. The 1.4-percent gain negates Windows' slight slide in share between August and September, while pushing down competing desktop platforms and mobile operating systems.
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12/13, 10:15pm
Files sent to or from home NAS drive
Users of iOS devices and LaCie network-attached storage (NAS) units can now have their own personal "cloud" to pull files and media onto their mobile devices using the company's new MyNAS iOS app (free), which allows them to access files stored on a compatible LaCIE NAS drive such as the Network Space 2 or Network Space Max drives. Users can download, upload, manage and even stream certain file types from their home network.
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12/13, 9:20am
Apple choice of Cart hints at design expansion
Apple has shown signs it might expand iOS' notifications or other areas after Jan-Michael Cart revealed that he had been hired as an intern at the company. The University of Georgia student in Mass Media Arts will work at Apple for seven months starting in January. While his exact tasks at Apple likely can't be mentioned, Cart is best known for concept design videos (below) showing how he would improve iOS, such as third-party notifications or using the center for incoming calls.
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12/12, 9:00am
Storefront less than a year old
(Updated with clarifications from Apple) Over 100 million downloads have now been made at the Mac App Store, Apple has announced. The online storefront has only been accessible since January of this year, and is limited to Macs running Snow Leopard or Lion. Apple is not offering a specific count of apps available, except to say there are "thousands of free and paid" titles.
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12/09, 1:20pm
Public release still in wings
The Chronic Dev Team has managed to achieve an untethered jailbreak for devices running iOS 5, according to team member pod2g. A video produced by the hacker shows an iPhone running Cydia, a major distribution service for jailbroken apps. Untethered jailbreaks allow users to avoid connecting their device to a computer every time they boot it.
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12/08, 5:30pm
Halo ATLAS companion app brings maps, live stats
Microsoft revealed on Thursday that it will bring out its Halo ATLAS game companion app to users on December 10. The Assisted Tactical Assault System will give Halo Reach and Halo Anniversary gamers the ability to watch real-time data from live matches. The app can be had for Windows Phone, iOS and Android devices and was created in conjunction with Brady games.
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12/07, 11:30am
Google chair sees flip on iOS-first development
Developers will finally start focusing on Android first instead of iOS in the next half a year, Google chairman Eric Schmidt said in his presentation at the Le Web conference Friday. When asked by an Android user frustrated that developers still preferred the iPad and iPhone, Schmidt expected Android 4.0 to reverse that trend. "My prediction is that six months from now you'll say the opposite," CNET quoted him as saying.
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12/06, 8:35pm
Windows 8 store to let devs skip Microsoft systems
Microsoft in a presentation providing further details on the Windows Store in Windows 8 positioned it as the antithesis of Apple's own App Store. Web Services VP Antoine Leblond made clear that while the Windows Store would have in-app purchase and subscription systems, these would be strictly optional. Apps like an instance of The Daily Telegraph could use their own back-end systems, something which Leblond was keen to note could show on a Windows 8 tablet but not an Apple device.
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12/06, 5:05pm
Amazon Price Check users get 5 percent savings
Amazon has promised shoppers up to $5 in savings for using its Price Check app on December 10. The potential 5 percent savings applies on up to three qualifying items in the toy, electronics, sporting goods, music and DVD categories. The Price Check app is available for iOS (App Store) and Android (Market) devices and allows shoppers to compare prices while shopping in malls and stores.
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12/05, 9:00pm
Later code names suddenly excised from book
A new edition of a book entitled iOS Forensic Analysis by Sean Morrissey reveals the secret code names of the various versions of iOS, including the as-yet-unreleased iOS 5.1. Unlike the code names of OS X, which have been generally made public since v10.2, iOS code names have been kept unpublicized and are generally used only by Apple. The code names, most of which appeared in the original edition published a year ago, seem to be based on a theme of skiing areas.
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12/05, 1:55pm
iPhone 4S not yet supported
An updated Windows utility, iFaith, promises to let iPhone owners to downgrade to earlier versions of iOS 5, according to famous iOS hacker iH8snow. With the advent of iOS 5, Apple changed the code in such as a way as to prevent normal downgrading methods. iH8snow says he has discovered a way around the obstacle, enabling dumped iOS 5 SHSH blobs to accept unsigned restores.
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12/05, 11:15am
Touch cross-platform communication app launched
Enflick, developers of the cross-platform PingChat! IM app and TextNow, has now launched an app simply dubbed Touch. It can be downloaded on its own, or existing PingChat! users can upgrade to it and retain their existing contacts. The app is available for iOS, Android, and BlackBerry devices.
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12/02, 3:10pm
Smartphones to reach one million app milestone
Real-time app tracker and analytics engine Mobilewalla believes that the number of mobile apps for smartphones will reach the one million milestone sometime next week. Between iOS, Android, BlackBerr, and Windows Phone 7 devices, there are now 987,863 unique apps available, the company reckoned. An average of 2,000 new apps are added to the marketplace every day.
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12/02, 11:20am
Software still to blame, analyst suggests
The iOS 5.1 beta is still failing to resolve battery drain some users, according to complaints received by Ars Technica. Battery problems are one of the main targets of v5.1, but while improvements are occurring in some cases, some users are even seeing the situation get worse in early testing. Only one v5.1 beta has been seeded to developers so far.
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11/30, 9:25pm
Limited LG and Box offer good until March 31
Cloud content storage provider Box has detailed another smartphone partnership. LG will be offering free lifetime 50GB Box Personal accounts to its Android phone and tablet owners. The time-limited promo is available for all owners of devices running Android 2.1 or higher.
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11/30, 10:50am
Feature may go back to being jailbreak-only
The iOS 5.1 beta disables the ability to use homescreen shortcuts to jump to system settings, reports say. The unexpected feature was introduced with iOS 5, and is enabled by adding specially-formatted web links to a device's homescreen. Users can, for instance, jump directly to Bluetooth control without having to navigate through submenus in the Settings app.
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11/29, 4:55pm
Microsoft reaches out to competing platforms
Microsoft has published a new HTML5 website meant to demonstrate Windows Phone 7.5 on iOS and Android devices. The page is located at aka.ms/wpdemo, and simulates many of the features of Windows Phone, mainly ignoring things that won't easily work in a web browser, such as voice recognition. A blue dot guides visitors around in a restricted tour.
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11/28, 5:15pm
Different metrics affecting projections
Apple could hit as many as 280 million iOS devices by the end of 2012, depending on which metrics are called on for the projection, says Asymco's Horace Dediu. Just using market data predicting that smartphone and tablet sales will reach 6.2 billion within the next five years, Dediu remarks that an assumption of Apple growth from 17 percent in 2011 to 20 percent in 2016 would put the company at 225 million iOS units in 2012.
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11/25, 10:00am
Might also see better peripheral support for iPad
A newly-published Apple patent application suggests several potential interface changes to iOS. The greatest of these is the "persistent overlay," to which users could add things like photos, music from iTunes, and links to web content. Patently Apple suggests that some descriptions appear to associate the overlay with the multitasking feature in iOS 4 and 5. Conceivably, recent or favorite media could become quickly accessible in the same way as recent apps.
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