MC2 Post 2048 Google Chrome to block auto-playing Flash ads starting September 1

Video players will still work; non-essential content— 

like ads—will be blocked.

From:   http://arstechnica.com

Google has a set a date of September 1 for when its Chrome browser will block all Flash content that isn't "central to the webpage." Flash content, such as ads or auto-playing videos on non-video websites, will be automatically paused by default—but you can click to play them if you wish. Embedded video players on sites like YouTube and Vimeo will still work, of course.

The Flash-blocking feature was initially rolled out to a beta version of Chrome earlier this year. At the time, Google's Tommi Li claimed that the reason for the blocking was battery life, thanks to auto-playing Flash ads consuming a large amount of CPU time.

 

The move could also help stop the spread of malware via malicious Flash ads. Flash has had a long history of security exploits, with the most recent exploit being uncovered in July, which potentially allowed hackers to remotely execute malicious code.


The vast majority of online advertising still makes use of Flash, even on mobile, where Flash has never been fully supported. A recent report by mobile ad management firm Sizmek (PDF) claimed that advertisers tried to deliver more than 5.35 billion Flash ads in Q1 2015—which ended up defaulting to static images—versus 4.25 billion HTML5 ads.

Link:   http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/08/google-chrome-will-block-auto-playing-flash-ads-from-september-1/

TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/o4emdme

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Link:  http://arstechnica.co.uk/security/2015/07/two-new-flash-exploits-surface-from-hacking-team-combine-with-java-0-day/

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Keeping Up With This Week in Enterprise Tech HARDWARE:

 

This Week in Enterprise Tech
Hosted by Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ, Brian Chee, Curt Franklin

This Week in Enterprise Tech explores the complex, cutting edge world of enterprise technology. Hosted by Father Robert Ballecer, TWiET features IT professionals explaining the ins and outs of enterprise solutions.

Even at BLACKHAT...



Records live every Friday at 4:30pm Eastern / 1:30pm Pacific / 20:30 UTC.



Link:   https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-enterprise-tech


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This Week in Computer HARDWARE:


 

Link:   https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-computer-hardware/episodes/330?autostart=false

 

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MC2 Post 2047 Tesla Gets Highest Ratings From Consumer Reports

Tesla's Model S P85D Gets Consumer Reports' Highest Rating Ever




From:   http://www.nbcnews.com


  

Tesla just made Consumer Reports history.

The product testing agency on Thursday gave the new high-performance P85D version of the automaker's Model S a rating of 100 — a perfect score — calling it "the best-performing car that Consumer Reports has ever tested."

"It really blew up our system," said Jake Fisher, the head of automotive testing for Consumer Reports. "It actually scored above 100 in our system before we had to make some changes to account for this car."

Link:   http://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/teslas-model-s-p85d-gets-consumer-reports-highest-rating-ever-n416961

For Tesla, the review is further validation of CEO Elon Musk's drive to build an electric car that can also deliver an incredible driving experience. Critics scoffed at Musk's vision as he was building the Model S; but Fisher said the team at Tesla deserved credit for delivering a car with very few flaws.

 

"Let's be frank, this car is $130,000," he said, meaning that a lot of people won't be able to afford it. "But this is a glimpse into the future of the automotive industry. A glimpse where cars can be extremely efficient, and extremely fast, and extremely comfortable."

TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/nrklkld

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Probable Note 5 Design Flaw Can Cause S Pen To Break Pen 

Detection When Inserted Backward, 

Or Get Hopelessly Stuck

From:   http://www.androidpolice.com




On the Note 5, inserting the S Pen the wrong way provides exactly as much resistance as inserting it the right way. Which is to say: basically none at all. Once you insert the pen far enough in the wrong direction (again, which causes no strange resistance or feel than putting it in the right way), it will get stuck. It doesn't even have to "click" in. At this point, of course, you will panic. And you will try to get it out - and most likely, you'll succeed. The problem is that if you do succeed, there's a very real possibility you'll break whatever mechanism the device uses to detect whether the pen is attached or detached from the phone. Which is exactly what happened to our review unit.



Link:   http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/08/25/video-probable-note-5-design-flaw-can-cause-s-pen-to-break-pen-detection-when-inserted-backward-or-get-hopelessly-stuck/



TinyURL:    http://tinyurl.com/ownawxo




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MC2 Post 2047 Dow Metrics Do a REAL Number on Wall Street Open

U.S. stocks suffered its worst week since 2011 last week. Now what happens? Adam Shell reports. USA TODAY

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Stocks plunge but cut losses after Dow 

drops 1,089 points

From:   http://www.usatoday.com




NEW YORK — Stocks plunged Monday as the market downturn showed no signs of letting up with the Dow tumbling as much as 1,089 points in the opening minutes of trading.

Sharp early losses were pared in later morning trading but stocks were still down substantially. The Standard & Poor's 500 index plunged as much as 100 points as it dipped into correction territory before cutting its losses to about 50 points, or a drop of 2.5%.

The Dow was down about 350 points, or 2.1% and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 100 points, or 2.1% after being down as much as 5% earlier.

Aug. 24 -- Bloomberg's Julie Hyman examines the markets 

at the start of today's trade.

She speaks on "Market Makers." Bloomberg

Link:  http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2015/08/24/stocks-monday/32254435/

TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/onzgkft

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Who Do You Call to Offset Negative NEWS?

Steve Jobs used Walt Mossberg at the WSJ.

Tim Cook emails CNBC's Jim Cramer...

 Technology

Tim Cook of Apple Seeks to Quell China Fears in 

Email to Jim Cramer

From:   http://www.nytimes.com

In the email, Mr. Cook said iPhone activations had accelerated recently, and that Apple’s App Store in China had its best performance of the year in the last two weeks.“I get updates on our performance in China every day, including this morning, and I can tell you that we have continued to experience strong growth for our business in China through July and August,” Mr. Cook said in the email to Mr. Cramer.

Link:    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/25/technology/tim-cook-of-apple-seeks-to-quell-china-fears-in-email-to-jim-cramer.html?_r=0

TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/oegk4pa

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Part TWO:

Apple CEO Tim Cook may have violated SEC rules with  

Jim Cramer email

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook’s decision to give a rare mid-quarter update on the company’s performance in a private email to CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday may have violated federal disclosure rules, lawyers said Monday.

Link:   http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-ceo-tim-cook-may-have-violated-sec-rules-with-jim-cramer-email-2015-08-24

TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/ptyrq32

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Google Pay reminder  in  two Days 
(Samsung Pay is doing the same tomorrow)

What Timing! 

and Google Still Wants you to take more pictures of your FOOD...

Google wants to help you post food photos on Maps

If you can't help but take photos of your food before you chow down, you'll be glad to hear that Google might be ready to fuel your habit. Months after shutting down its experimental food shot app Tablescape, Google is testing a Maps feature that would notify you when a photo was taken at a restaurant and give you a chance to attach it to a Maps location in "just two taps.

Link:   http://www.engadget.com/2015/08/23/google-maps-food-photo-testing/

TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/q42lt2t

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MC2 Post 2046 When You're Hot You're HOT

And that can be Dangerous, especially in the Pacific Northwest...

Way too Many Fires This Summer of 2015, 

as the map clearly shows us.

Link:    http://www.smokeybear.com/wildfire-map.asp

TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/58le4p

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MC2 Post 2045 All The NEWS that's Fit to Curate

The Filter Bubble: What The Internet Is Hiding From Us

From Amazon:

The Filter Bubble: How the New Personalized Web Is Changing What 

We Read and How We Think Reprint Edition

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See, Even Book TItle's Can Be Edited....But By WHO?

 

An Editor or an Algorithmically, tailored driven version?

The Newspaper, the single greatest source for News important to us, is Dead.  The Network news, which pretty much served up what was in the newspapers, is on Life Support.  But it too, sooner than later, will die too.

The Internet's social networks:  Facebook, Twitter and Google will serve up a New, pretty Much Pasty White Curated Version of the News,  That will pretty much be what

Alogorhytms "think" we want to hear.

Give Me the Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth.

Yeah, Like that's going to just Happen...

Wingman 8-16-2015.

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From:    http://www.amazon.com

In December 2009, Google began customizing its search results for all users, and we entered a new era of personalization. With little notice or fanfare, our online experience is changing, as the websites we visit are increasingly tailoring themselves to us. In this engaging and visionary book, MoveOn.org board president Eli Pariser lays bare the personalization that is already taking place on every major website, from Facebook to AOL to ABC News. As Pariser reveals, this new trend is nothing short of an invisible revolution in how we consume information, one that will shape how we learn, what we know, and even how our democracy works.



The race to collect as much personal data about us as possible, and to tailor our online experience accordingly, is now the defining battle for today’s internet giants like Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft. Behind the scenes, a burgeoning industry of data companies is tracking our personal information to sell to advertisers, from our political leanings to the hiking boots we just browsed on Zappos.

Link:   http://www.amazon.com/The-Filter-Bubble-Personalized-Changing/dp/0143121235

TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/pr52v4j

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While not bursting with activity like Saturn's moon Enceladus, the surface of Dione is definitely not boring. Some parts of the surface are covered by linear features, called chasmata, which provide dramatic contrast to the round impact craters that typically cover moons. More  http://go.nasa.gov/1TMPPYx


From:  NASA at Google+

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MC2 Post 2044 Samsung's Ludicrous 16 TB Hard Drive

The Drive Is the Biggest in the World

Samsung's newest SSD could store some 15,000 movies

So how much is 16 TB really? It's enough to store:

    18070 pirated copies of the action film classic Die Hard
    10971 copies of the Beatles full discography (at 320 kbps)
    279 installed copies of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
    One and a half copies of Wikipedia, or 153 if you compress it.

That is to say, more than you could ever possibly need. That said, this is aimed squarely at the enterprise market.

From:    http://www.popularmechanics.com

Link:   http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/news/a16884/samsung-16-tb-ssd/

TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/pdaswlg

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Link 2:   http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/08/samsung-unveils-2-5-inch-16tb-ssd-the-worlds-largest-hard-drive/

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I set a Goal of reading at least 3 Books

Each Month, this Summer

2015

How am I Doing?

JUNE

William Gibson's 2 of the 3 Bridge Trilogy

Books (About VR)

VIRTUAL LIGHT

ALL TOMORROWS PARTIES

still working on IDORU, off and on.

JULY

William Gibson's

Spook Country

William Isaacson's

The Innovators:

Dan Brown's

Inferno

William Gibson's

Neuromancer

AUGUST

Eli Pariser's 

The Filter Bubble:

What the Internet is Hiding from You

(Chapter 3)

Michael Crichton's

Jurassic Park

(about 100 pages in...)

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As you can see, I'm quite a fan of  William Gibson and
enjoy His Take on Virtual Reality (VR) much more
than Neal Stephanson's in Snow Crash. 
and had to re-visit him...

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 Not so much Physics, Mathematics and Science
this year in the Non Fiction category.

The Wingman

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MC2 Post 2043 Google is testing drones in US airspace by piggybacking on Nasa exemption

From:    http://www.suasnews.com

Google has been quietly testing its drone delivery program in US airspace and is planning further tests in rural California after striking a deal with Nasa, the Guardian has learned.

Documents seen by the Guardian also reveal technical details of Google’s drone, which is capable of speeds of up to 100 mph and weighs less than 25kg (55lb). The papers also reveal Google’s safety plans should a drone lose contact with its operator.

Link:   http://www.suasnews.com/2015/08/37778/google-is-testing-drones-in-us-airspace-by-piggybacking-on-nasa-exemption/

TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/pb393o6

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Samsung Unveils 2 New Jumbo Phones

From:  http://dfw.cbslocal.com

The new phones from Samsung have screens measuring 5.7 inches diagonally, the same as last year’s Note 4, yet both are lighter and thinner. They are comparable to Apple’s 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, the larger of the two new iPhones. Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge phones, which are closer in size to the regular iPhone 6, came out in April.

 

Samsung Electronics Co. also said its Samsung Pay mobile payment service will debut in its home country of South Korea this month. Testing in the U.S. will begin then, with a formal launch in September.

 

Although there’s competition from Apple Pay and Google’s upcoming Android Pay, Samsung is hoping its payments system will catch on with the inclusion of a technology that mimics the old-school, magnetic signals from credit-card swipes. That allows it to work with a wider range of merchants.

Link:  http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2015/08/13/samsung-unveils-2-new-jumbo-phones/

 

TinyURL:  http://tinyurl.com/ous5anp

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The Roomba has a New Friend   OUTSIDE!
 

iRobot's robotic lawn mower gets U.S. regulatory approval, brings grass cutting to new heights

A robotic lawn mower seems like a thing of the future, but for the American 

consumers,  the future is closer.


iRobot Corp Inc is a robotics company based in Bedford, Massachusetts. It's most popular product yet is the Roomba, which is a robot vacuum cleaner. Automated lawn mowers have become a trend in Europe, but iRobot's new design brings this technology to a new level. The Federal Communications Commission was even prompted the company to make sure that the transmission between the machine and its antennas wouldn't interfere with other important devices with similar frequencies.



Link:   http://www.moneytimes.com/articles/3526/20150813/irobots-robotic-lawn-mower-gets-u-s-regulatory-approval-brings.htm





TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/nqapzdu

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MC2 Post 2042 Facebook reveals ‘written laughter’ data: Haha trumps, I Prefer Beats LOL

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It's a Numbers GAME.  Just Like Baseball.    Wingman.

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From:    http://venturebeat.com

Do you “LOL” to reveal your jovial side to the online masses? Or do you “HA HA” to extol your peers’ social smack-talk?

Facebook has just published some interesting data on the myriad different types of “written laughter,” from “haha” and “hehe” to “lol” and emojis.

Facebook’s muse, on this occasion, was Sarah Larson, a reporter for the New Yorker who recently penned an article called HAHAHA VS. HEHEHE, which explored the growth and social nuances of “written” laughter in the digital age.

“The terms of e-laughter — ‘ha ha,’ ‘ho ho,’ ‘hee hee,’ ‘heh’ — are implicitly understood by just about everybody,” opined Larson. “But, in recent years, there’s been an increasingly popular newcomer: ‘hehe.’ Not surprisingly, it’s being foisted upon us by youth. What does it mean?”

Link:   http://venturebeat.com/2015/08/07/facebook-reveals-written-laughter-data-haha-trumps-lol/

TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/oah29g3

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Black Hat, DefCon Put Car Hacking, 

Web Privacy on Center Stage

From:  http://www.eweek.com

LAS VEGAS—For more than a decade at the Black Hat USA and DefCon security conferences, researchers have studied and hacked computing technology. At the 2015 events held here from Aug. 3 to 9, a key theme was the growing world of the Internet of things, particularly the connected car. A highlight of the Black Hat USA 2015 event was a session detailing how two researchers found flaws that led to the recall of 1.4 million Chrysler vehicles. DefCon housed a whole car hacking village, including real cars like the Tesla that attendees could touch and attempt to hack. As the world moves to the Internet of things, the need to keep things open, while still being secure (a theme that Jennifer Granick, director of civil liberties at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society, discussed in a Black Hat keynote). While breaking things is part of the Black Hat experience, so too is fixing them. Google announced at the conference that it was issuing the largest update ever for Android in an attempt to fix the Stagefright flaw that affects 950 million Android devices.

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For a look at highlights of the Black Hat USA and DefCon 2015 conferences, follow the

Links Below.

Wingman.

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Link:  http://www.eweek.com/security/slideshows/black-hat-defcon-put-car-hacking-web-privacy-on-center-stage.html

 

TinyURL:  http://tinyurl.com/ogupk9l

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MC2 Post 2041 Gaming Still Moves the Needle Money Wise

A shocking Quote I heard recently was that  Gaming (Platform and Desktop) Makes More Money than the Music Industry and Hollywood Movies combined...

Wait until Taylor Swift hears about This...

Intel  Still In The GAME,  Folks.....

From:    http://www.pcper.com

Link:   http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Processors/Intel-Core-i7-6700K-Review-Skylake-First-Enthusiasts

TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/psos7mr

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Yeah, Even Forbes is talking about USA's Mr. Robot and 

Hackers that Use

Kali Linux, for pete's sake...

Wingman.

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Humans As Exploits: 'Mr. Robot' Episode 5 Reality Check


Now five episodes into its debut season, USA Network’s rookie hacker drama, Mr. Robot, has failed to disappoint even the most skeptic of viewers when it comes to the show’s portrayal of cyber crime and security. 

Led by director Sam Esmail, the Mr. Robot team has dedicated itself to creating an authentic representation of modern hacking with intense scrupulousness. As a result of Esmail and company’s efforts—rather than throwing myself into the debate over Elliot’s delusions and what is reality—I have tasked myself with explaining the onscreen hacks. To do so, I have enlisted the help of Mr. Robot’s technical consultant and cyber crime expert, Michael Bazzell.

Proximity Card Clones

Early in the fifth episode of Mr. Robot’s first season, “Exploits” (S1.E5 eps.1.4_3xpl0its.wmv), Mr. Robot bumps into a fellow customer at a coffee shop in an almost cringe-worthy fashion as Elliot and FSociety crew members Mobley and Romero watch in anticipation. The impetus of this interaction is so that the FSociety can clone the man’s security badge and ultimately use it to gain access to Steel Mountain, E Corp’s data storage facility. These types of employee security badges—also known as proximity cards—are ubiquitous and countless companies rely on them as a security measure.
From:  http://www.forbes.com



Link:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/abigailtracy/2015/07/22/humans-as-exploits-mr-robot-episode-5-reality-check/

 

TinyURL:  http://tinyurl.com/okhjjeg


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MC2 Post 2040 Privacy Badger 1.0 Is Here To Stop Online Tracking!

From:    https://www.eff.org

Privacy Badger 1.0 – New Ways to Stop Sneaky Trackers

EFF is excited to announce that today we are releasing version 1.0 of Privacy Badger for Chrome and Firefox.  Privacy Badger is a browser extension that automatically blocks hidden trackers that would otherwise spy on your browsing habits as you surf the Web.

More than a quarter of million users have already installed the alpha and beta releases of Privacy Badger. The new Privacy Badger 1.0 release includes many improvements, including being able to detect certain kinds of super-cookies and browser fingerprinting—some of the more subtle and problematic methods that the online tracking industry employs to follow Internet users from site to site. Other enhancements in Privacy Badger 1.0 include: significant UI improvements, translation into 4 different languages (with more on the way), easier customization of your Privacy Badger settings, improvements to stability, and support for Version 1.0 of EFF’s recently announced Do Not Track Policy.

Link:   https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/08/privacy-badger-10-here-stop-online-tracking

TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/o4ycbsy

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OffBeat     

This music video is a glorious tribute to Clippy

From:  http://venturebeat.com

Link:  http://venturebeat.com/2015/08/07/this-music-video-is-a-glorious-tribute-to-clippy/

 

TinyURL:  http://tinyurl.com/plesg27

Clippy is arguably the most beloved and hated animated character that Microsoft has ever come up with. We can’t think of a better way to pay tribute to the little paperclip than a whole music video.

That’s exactly what the U.K. band Delta Heavy has done. Their song Ghost doesn’t mention Clippy by name, but in this video clip, he’s clearly the main character.Fun fact: Clippy is the nickname for the official assistant in Office for Windows (versions 97 to 2003), Microsoft Publisher (versions 98 to 2003), and Office for Mac (versions 98 to 2004). The little guy was actually officially called Clippit in the English Windows version.


In any case, here is Clippit/Clippy as you’ve never seen him before:

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https://youtu.be/b4taIpALfAo

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How DID FOX Blow Last Night GOP Debate's MOBILE Opportunity?

Fox News web stream and mobile app fail during GOP debate



By Christina Warren
2015-08-07 03:09:21 UTC
 

If you were hoping to settle in for Thursday's second GOP debate online or in the Fox News app for iOS, you were out of luck.

For most of the debate, the live stream was unavailable through official Fox sources. Users attempting to login on mobile or the web were greeted with errors or pages that never loaded correctly.

Link:   http://mashable.com/2015/08/06/fox-news-gop-debate-stream-fail/



TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/py3unuy


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Christina is Friday's Tech News Today Co-Anchor.

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