7/30/99
Chuck Bouldin sent his thoughts on ROAM:
"www.xlr8yourmac.com has a benchmark page on ROAM. Most results, and my own experiences, suggest this utility has little effect on speed. Here, I think, is why: Modern Macs, especially G3 machines have large, fast cache memory. Any ROM code that is used much is going to get cached, so copying it to RAM is really only going to help you in the first call to a ROM routine or to multiple ROM routines that are called infrequently. In either case, this is going to result in a pretty minimal speed change.
Now, things like ROAM were used to very good effect in the old days of 3rd party 68020/030 upgrade boards. My Novy Systems 68030 board in my Mac+ had a "copy ROM to RAM" that worked just like ROAM, and the feature was good for a 20-30% speedup in lots of code. But, that was prior to big on-chip caches and backside caches, etc. Nowadays, I can't see much benefit to a scheme like ROAM. (But, I'd love to be proven wrong!)"
Al Pawlowski had a more positive experience on his Powerbook 2300C.
"I don't have MacBench so used a little program called Piper (available for free download, makes all possible cross-word like arrangements of an input string). It finished in 37 seconds without ROAM and 35 seconds with ROAM.
I also tried stopwatching a home page. Without ROAM it took ~35 seconds from the time the Navigator page went blank until it stopped loading. With ROAM it took about 24. Flushed cache in between each update and hit the "stop loading" after going back to the page I would start from. Did it 5 times with about the same results, +/- 1 to 2 seconds each time. Navigator's lower status displayed a high of 3.2kB without ROAM and 4.1kB with ROAM during the loads."
Arthur Flores can't explain this hack! 
"I did a ResEdit thing like I love doing (changing the desktop icon of my Hard Disk) and accidentally painted it brown. look what happened when I restarted my iMac."
Remember readers, always perform your edits on a copy of your computer! :)
While the vibe is definitely medieval, Desktop Gremlins has cursors, desktops, and Control Strip tabs for your viewing pleasure.
There was a flurry of email regarding yesterday's Extension Manager edit. Most readers wanted to change the choice of folders that they could control. Two additional options are:
cmnu Contextual Menu Items
cmnD Contextual Menu Items (Dis.)
amnu Apple Menu Items
amnD Apple Menu Items (Disabled)
If you have never been there, visit Flax Creations. It's a great looking collection of StartupScreens.
 Brian DePalo sent this AppleScript you can download that changes the creator codes of the files dragged on to it to Apple's Help Viewer. This could come in handy for 'Read Me' files and simple documentation.
By changing the code in the first line, the script can modify the creator codes for any application!
property ct : "hbwr" -- Help Viewer creator code.
on open (theList)
tell application "Finder"
activate
repeat with theItem in theList
set the creator type of theItem to ct
end repeat
end tell
end open
(Added to the Sloppy AppleScript Archive)
AppDisk is a small program I use from time to time that lets you quickly create and delete RAM Disks on your Mac. This little edit lets you change the icon for RAM Disk.
- I opened a copy of the System suitcase and copied the RAM Disk icon from the icl8 resources.
- Open a copy of AppDisk, open icl8, ID 128 and paste-in the replacement icon.
- Drag the new icon to the other windows to create the Mask and other bit-depths.
Save your work and quit. The next time you run AppDisk, the RAM Disk will have your new icon!
While it has never crashed, today I plan to take down the MacOS X Server that feeds all the graphics and file downloads for ResExcellence. Why? I can't find the depth of resources for OSX that I can for Linux. Yes, I know about the Apple's Discussion Forum and sites like Stepwise and Xappeal, but so often I have a problem or configuration question, and I can never get a timely answer.
While I reformat the drive and load Linux 1999, the files will be served from my Powerbook G3! Please forgive any momentary outages.
EZQuest 100GB FireWire hard drive only $399 at Smalldog.com
7/28/99
This is an interesting way to solve a problem. Chad Bergeron didn't like the default font in ZTerm and wanted to change it. (I don't have the program, but i assume there is no font preference).
I just figured out how to do it. I gave a copy of ZTerm the type/creator code of FFIL/DMOV (which is the codes for a font suitcase) and voil·! I was able to open it up like any font suitcase and pull the fonts out. I then copied another font, deleted the fonts out of it, renamed it, and put in my ZTerm fonts.
I played with this idea on several different applications and it worked. Be sure to work on a copy and write down the original Creator/Type codes!
Lee Jarrett wrote to ask what I thought of ROAM 1.5, the utility that copies the Mac's ROM into RAM, so I installed the package and ran a few tests.
The theory is that since RAM is a faster memory than ROM, some operations can be sped up by the move. In fact, the built in Benchmark utility claims my data throughput increased more than 56%. That would be worth the 8 meg worth of RAM that the extension allocates.
But unfortunately, I couldn't perceive any increase in the day to day use of applications. In fact, MacBench showed a very slight decrease in performance. If anyone can give me an example of a test, or application performance area where I can easily see a speed improvement, I'll post the comments.
Seeing how Jonathan Albers mixes Previous Edits, I bet he's a pretty decent cook too!
After seeing the edit on Platinumizing Open/Save dialogues, I thought back to the edit of turning the Remote Access Status window into a modal dialogue, and wondered if that could be made to look a little more current too. I changed the color of the window with the custom color radio button, just like in the open/save dialogue edit, but I also added a PICT of a platinum indented box (I'm not sure what the proper name for them is) over the black line box where the static text is normally displayed.
Proof that the smartest Mac users read ResExcellence: Two recent solutions posted in the User Forum involve AOL. Read how to change the default text in AOL Instant Messenger, or find out where the Splash screen and other tidbits are located in AOL 4.0.
A new section "Cursors" has opened today at Ilicon. Eight new fixed and animated versions are available for download. The animated previews make it easy to choose. Our friend the clown is even there for ResExcellence readers!
Add Font and Control Strip folders to Apple's Extension Manager. Conflict Catcher is a great utility, but if you would rather spend your money on something else, you can add a little more functionality to Apple's Extension Manager with this simple edit by Karl Baron. (Continued...)
"I tried User Contributions once. I did not inhale."-William J. Clinton
- Philip Dokas has submitted six sets of replacement icons. The first two for AIM and Control Strip Modules are ready for download. In the case of AIM, it's a full icon makeover.
- Just in time for LinuxPPC 1999, Andrew Arthur sends half a dozen 32 bit Linux icons.
- What did the 2000 lb. Canary say to the Cat? "Here kitty, kitty, kitty...". This MOSS by AEChadwick features one fat cat apparently named Henry.
- Based on the R.O.B.O.T. Kaleidoscope Scheme, Peter McHugh created a matching Giant MOSS.
- Here's our first MOSS for the new girl on the block - Oni, made by Kenneth Yan.
Ilicon Graphic Design
7/26/99
I've pedaled my way back from MacWorld! What a great show. New products like ViaVoice Speech Recognition, Lotus Notes, and Corel's prove the Mac platform is a force again!
 Last week's Polling results brought a tear of joy to my eye. All the Operating Systems you run on your Macs! Only 12% have only had the MacOS on your computer. My estimate is that everything after 4 means you've moved beyond emulators and have taken it to the next step by partitioning you disk and fully replacing the MacOS.
Which reminds me, at MacWorld, the gents from LinuxPPC were three of the nicest folks on the floor. For eight nonstop hours each day, they patiently answered the most ridiculous questions with the patience of saints. (of course, I can say that now that I'm so smart after asking those same ridiculous question two years ago!)
Here an iBook, there an iBook, everywhere an iBook...
This week's Polling Place asks for your gut reaction to the following question, "What do you think of the iBook?".
Team ResExcellence broke the 1000 barrier over the weekend. Since we're consistently near the 100 mark on daily totals, I'm sure a calculus major could prove that eventually the team will intergrate to that position. One or two more crunchers joining the team would assure us of a daily spot in the top 100 teams.
Tiger Technologies has released Menuette 3.0. This new version is crammed full of new features! Replace menu names with animated icons, change the menu font, and have WYSIWYG font listings. (ResExcellence has a previous interview with the owner of Tiger Tech, Robert Mathews)
Continuing the coverage on changing the creator/type codes of applications again, Jon Mircea recommends two utilities that work with the advanced file mappings in the Internet control panel.
ICTypeChanger will change the codes of items dragged onto it based on their extensions. For example, open the Internet control panel. Set the User Mode to Advanced. Under the Advanced tab, set your file mappings to match your favorite applications. Here you can assign MacAmp to open any file with the extension .mp3.
In addition, download the Space Aliens Contextual Menu, to make the same changes via a contextual menu.
Nathan Teske mentions that FinderPop also has the ability to change creator/type codes. Unlike the other software mentioned, it doesn't rely on the Internet control panel. While it's a little more cumbersome because you have to create an empty ResEdit document with the appropriate creator/type code, it offers more freedom to your assignments.
Whoa! The PseudoRoom sports a new look for the release of an icon set featuring Korn. While you're there, be sure to peek at the desktop pictures!
Amy from the most excellent Daily iMac needs a little help on a previous edit
I recently received my PBG3 '99/333 (Lombard), and I love it except for a few little things, and one of those happens to be the whole "enter key on the right of the spacebar instead of a command key."
I tried to use the similar hack for Wall Street Powerbooks listed on your site, but it didn't work, so I assume they use a slightly different key map.
Unfortunately, we don't know which key map it would be, as you know they are only defined by numerical IDs. I want to remap the Enter key on the right to Command, and the Option key to ITS right to Enter (I do have a use for the Enter key, no matter how obscure!).
If a reader with a Lombard can help out, please send me a copy of the response.
Remember that after remaping the Enter key, you can still create the key stroke with a fn-return (handy for AOL Instant Messenger).
Cliff Harris has a nice collection of freeware he has written. There are many FKey utilities, ROM Suckers, and other oddities that you won't see anywhere else!
"What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is a User Contribution."-Albert Pine
- Volume 2 of Brian DePalo's folder icons is here. This set has 22 new icons.
- Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to post these before going to MacWorld, though one of them did grace my screen while at the show. Here are two MacWorld MOSS by William Marler (remember, the winter show is in San Francisco!).
- Does Godzilla use a Mac? Take a look at this Netscape Splashscreen replacement by Marco Wessel to find out.
- Timothy Andres sent a smooth a silk About this Mac replacement.
Get OS X plus free Ben + Jerry's at Smalldog.com
7/21/99
 iBook: Yada-yada-yada.
At $1500, it's no eMate, and you could buy an iMac with an Epson printer for the same price, but Steve's been right before so we will have to wait and see how well the iBook sells.
If the intended market is geared towards students, I would question the choice of a white keyboard. Don't any of these people have kids! :)
For additional $500, elo TouchSystems will sell you an iMac with a built -in touch screen. The system they use places a transducer inside the iMac at each corner of the display. As your finger, or any pointer, moves across the standard screen, it disrupts the transducer waves like pebbles thrown into a pond.
 Emulators Inc. demoed their MacOS emulator that runs under Windows 95/98. Using a software tool that extracts the ROM file from a Mac, this emulator sports many of the features of VirtualPC under the Mac. It will share a Windows hard disk, save the memory configuration on quit, and operate in a full screen mode.
The current version, which seemed a little unstable, couldn't emulate a PowerPC chip, but the company states the next update will.
 Jason Hass and Hollis Blanchard are at MacWorld representing LinuxPPC 1999.
As last minute additions to the show, the two simply have a table and two Powerbook G3's running the Penguin OS. Despite this, they have had nonstop crowds that should make them the envy of many exhibitors who spent substantially more, yet stand alone!
Dateline New York: The city is huge and foreboding. The small boy from the country rides up on his bicycle; wagon in tow...
Who am I kidding. I'm from Chicago! :)
Find me in the Big Apple, answer a tricky ResEdit question, and I'll give you one of the 12 ResExcellence t-shirts I'm carrying! These questions won't be easy, but if you're a regular reader of this site you may find yourself looking trendy!
Look for updates throughout the day...
Let's say once upon a time, you used some AppleScripts to assign another email program to Netscape, but now you want to go back to using the built-in emailer! When this happened to me, I had to trash my "User Preference" and start over. This little script cleanly undoes the damage:
tell application "Netscape"
unregister protocol "CSOm" for protocol "mailto:"
activate
end tell
(Added to the Sloppy AppleScript Archive)
After discussing a quick way to change creator codes for MP3 files, David Krug from Palmac created a drag and drop AppleScript to do an entire folder at one time.
CaWakebdr offers another solution: Snitch. It puts the "Get Info" window on steroids.
And the option I most often use is a little application called Creator Changer. It has a "Make Like" feature that I like.
John Marstall has released two sets of 32 bit icons. The first set features a forest theme, while the second contains an assortment of new Mac models.
"The deepest experience of the creator is feminine, for it is experience of receiving and bearing User Contributions."-Rainer Maria Rilke
- Even though he owns a Mac, this MOSS by Paul Hollingsworth has a dim, but humorous view of the world after Y2K. In the bargain you also get an ATM replacement!
- Now that Eudora is finally out of beta testing, Peter McHugh created a dozen variations on a splash screen replacement. In addition, his slick looking Galactica MOSS has been updated.
- Michael Dicker sent a Devilish Hotline splash screen replacement
- Brian DePalo submits volume one of his 32 bit Copland Application folder icons. These will fit right in on a standard MacOS 8.x desktop.
- Knowing my weakness for all things "Trek", The Bach Man created this About this Mac replacement.
If you have used one of the fine User Contributions from ResExcellence and replaced the Splash Screen on Internet Explorer, the annoying white text box can cover up a beautiful graphic. Peter McHugh sent this tip to stop the text! (Continued...)
EZQuest 100GB FireWire hard drive only $399 at Smalldog.com
7/19/99
Back from a wonderful vacation, the staff is ready to give 110% this week - the week that includes a trip to MacWorld! The budget at ResExcellence is a little smaller than at some of the big Mac sites. So while O'Grady has his U-Haul truck, the best I could muster was the ResExcellence Comet!
Coming to a sidewalk near you on our MacWorld Tour 99, the Comet is outfitted with all of the amenities of home: a 40 Channel CB Radio, gas grill, deluxe folding lawnchair, a cooler full of assorted beverages, and the trusty Powerbook G3!
Click for a larger image
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As the Comet pedals its way to New York, it should pass through a small town near you! Stop me on the road and sing a few bars of AC/DC's hit tune "Apple's Back in Black", and you can treat to lunch at Wendy's! (I get the Johnny Bravo Toys.)
 15.85% of you should update those resumes and hunt for a better job with some vacation time!
The 25.20% of you that have more than four weeks off also need to find new jobs, but first let me know where you work, so I can send my resume there.
One of my favorite things to do while on vacation is to repartition the hard drive and install a new operating system. This past week, LinuxPPC 1999 took the place of MacOS X Server on my Powerbook. The new installer boasts a GUI Installer that simplifies the process by making all the Open Firmware magic completely invisible. If you would like to see a screenshot, take a peek at a new site called PowerPort.
By now, it should be obvious to readers that I install Operating Systems more often than most people install a new roll of toilet paper.
How about you? This week's Polling Place asks the question, "How many OS's have you had on your Mac hardware?". I want you to count emulators too, because I consider running PlayStation and Virtual PC viable under the MacOS.
When it rains, it pours! The Allegro Themes Project has released another original creation called, "Summer Tan" by Michael Daines.
Their previous release, Paper, has been tweaked to come in those five familiar iMac colors.
Guillaume Durr liked the ResExcellence previous edit to reduce the Swatch Control Panel logo. To make life easier for those who still cower in the shadow of ResEdit, he has created a patcher to do the job for you!
I'm sure I just haven't found the correct the URL yet, but it seems to me that in previous years, the good folks at MacHack simply posted the award winning hacks on their site for the world to download. The only way I can see to get them this year is by buying a CD.
Until an alert reader sends me the address, download from ResExcellence this year's winner by Lisa Lippincott called UnFinder.
Almost deemed too useful to be a true hack, the UnFinder extension records AppleEvents in the Finder. When the Undo menu command is selected, it plays the recent events in reverse order!
[Update:] Several readers sent the address of a MacHack page that contains the top five hacks for download.
"Creative minds have always been known to survive any kind of bad User Contributions!"-Anna Freud
- Eric Holtman has created a Mini-MOSS with a twist.
Instead of having the text fields show on the main MOSS, I created appropriate sized sequential MOSSs in place of the text fields (still miniaturized but I'm sure it would work for regular and giant MOSSs). It can have a nice effect if done properly. So basically instead of having just one MOSS, three are shown where the text fields would normally show on the original MOSS.
- If you liked his Green/Grey MOSS, Steve Wolf made this Netscape Splash to match.
- Peter McHugh has a new Giant MOSS for your PowerMac.
- Gary Larocque is chief iconist at IconHQ and he submitted to ResExcellence a great looking set of replacement document icons for ResEdit. Take a look at his site for the rest of his offerings.
- With a tip-o-the-hat to ResEdit, Scooter sent this MOSS with a Quicktime 4 look.
- Donald Tipton put together a collection of two dozen Copland Style folder icons.
Register to Win a iBook at Smalldog.com
7/9/99
Next week, the staff will be taking a much needed week of vacation. Unlike previous trips away from home, ResExcellence will not be published while we're away. (Awwwww......)
The next scheduled update is Monday, July 19th, just before I leave for MacWorld NY! Once at MacWorld, you can expect updates several times a day starting Wednesday through Friday.
In the meantime, please continue to send User Contributions, submit your thoughts, and if you're really suffering from ResEdit withdrawal, peek inside the forum to read how the wild side lives!
 I am truly floored by the percentage of readers who use Powerbooks. 10 to 15 percent was the response I was expecting, but I would never had guessed 47%!
While I take some time off, the next Polling Place survey asks, "How many weeks of vacation do you take each year?".
iTeen Online has posted instructions for booting the Mac directly into VirtualPC. The tip involves replacing the Finder with VPC which greatly speeds up the Windows emulator. While this trick has been around for a while, the detailed notes will make it easy for anyone to follow.
If hacking your Mac doesn't provide enough thrills for you, now you can hack your PalmOS using Hackmaster! Palmac has instructions and links.
Are you tired of downloading MP3 files made on PC's without proper creator codes? MacInstruct has posted a short tutorial showing how to use ResEdit to accomplish the feat.
"I was under medication when I made the decision to burn the User Contributions." -Richard Nixon, US President
- As a tribute to the first men on the Moon, Jean-Jacques Corte created a MOSS with matching ATM.
- I must confess, I lost the name of the artist who created this splashsreen for Internet Explorer. If it's yours, please email me right away!
- Darth Maul has converted all five of his great looking browser throbbers to ICQ format! (And you thought he died in the Movie!)
- Based on a Previous Edit, Peter McHugh submitted two replacement Help icons for the menu bar.
"Platinum" your Open/Save Dialogs
Until every application supports Navigation services, Mac users will have to deal with a hodgepodge of various Open/Save dialog boxes. This edit submitted by Ben Lukens can help add some consistency. (Continued...)
Ilicon Graphic Design
7/7/99
Whoa! There were over 67 User Contributions last month!
In the "Random Drawing of Appreciation", Joe Daniels was selected to receive the very first official ResExcellence T-Shirt! Stay tuned to this channel to find out how to get yours!
My favorite place for seamless desktop tiles, PROPAGANDA has released a new volume containing over 150 high quality images!
Opps, I was incorrect in stating that Jeremy Mates' Desktop Pictures were Bryce enhanced photos. The author states that they're made from 100% electrons (and still look great!).
Add another Appearance Theme to the short list. The Allegro Theme Project released "Paper". The theme is very well done, and I wish the group the best of luck, but after Apple recently stated at MacHack that themes were dead, I wonder what the future holds with MacOS X Client on the horizon.
Right now, Wendy's is featured Johnny Bravo toys in their Kids Meals! Take the night off Honey, and load the kids into the wagon! We're going out for dinner!
Dave Chapmon adds his comments to performing the PowerBook G3 Series Command Key Edit on a Japanese Powerbook G3.
This AppleScript by Ryan Colley is a great example of how to automatically download a data file via FTP and import the records into a FileMaker Pro database. The sample is set up to download the DVD List from www.thedvdlist.com, but you could modify it to grab any data file.
I found the URL and Stuffit code particularly interesting (what a geek I am!).
"Frankly my dear, I don't give a User Contribution"- Rett Butler
- Ben Fiess contributes another cool looking Falcon 4.0 MOSS
- This throbber by Ryan Schwartz for Internet Explorer is so nice, it's almost enough to make me switch from Netscape!
- Judging by the number of submissions based on "The Matrix", I've got to get out from under my Powerbook and see the movie! Cameron Junge created this matching Giant MOSS and ATM combo based on the flick.
- No matter which piece of Blue and White Mac hardware you own, Richard Key has you covered with this set of three Netscape Splash replacements.
 Change the WIND type in Quicktime Player 4.0
One of the biggest complaints against the new Quicktime Player is that it doesn't have the standard widow widgets. Using this edit by Patrick Kelleher, you can now add them! (Continued...)
Get OS X plus free Ben + Jerry's at Smalldog.com
7/5/99
 Ewwww... 57% of you actually like the look of the new Quicktime Player 4! I guess there's no accounting for taste. :)
A gazillion readers sent emails pointing to the Interface Hall of Shame article slamming Quicktime 4, but maybe Apple knows what they're doing if the majority of people like it.
The past several updates at ResExcellence have dealt with Powerbooks, and they certainly seem to sell well for Apple, so this week's Polling Place asks, "Do you use a Powerbook?
Do you run a computer lab? Matt Vaughn wrote an AppleScript to help you:
I know the subject of Browser cache has been beaten to death, but I thought a few ResExcellence readers may be in the same situation I am. I administer Macs that are shared by several people. Thanks to Netscape's User Manager, we can all have separate bookmarks, prefs, etc.
I hate having cache files sitting around and I hate cookies even more, so I wrote Netscrape to walk through multiple user folders and remove History, MagicCookie, and Cache folders from each. I have included both a script and a compiled version.. Now you can either run this as an app or with the new iDo script scheduler (8.6), you can run Netscrape.script every night!
After reading last week's post displaying backwards text, Jonathan Clarke sent this harmless little extension that reverses all the text on the screen. (Time to play a practical joke on the kids...)
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their User Contributions."-Eleanor Roosevelt
- Joe Daniels sent a great looking Giant MOSS featuring the new Sonata logo on a brushed metal background.
- Tomb Raider II is a favorite game of Ben Fies, who submitted this MOSS featuring Lara.
- Christophe Baron sent a MOSS featuring a young lady whode name I do not know!
EZQuest 100GB FireWire hard drive only $399 at Smalldog.com
7/2/99
A sampling from the User Forum:
Mike Hazlewood asked:
Is it possible to change the text of the shut down dialogue? (i.e. Are you sure you want to shut down your computer now?). I'm on a network at school, and all of us with Macs (all 4 of us) have "customized" our Macs w/ ResEdit, especially the "About This Mac" screen (now "About [Whatever the Computer's Network Name Is]"), but this last one eludes us..."
To which Dave Roesch responded:
In System 8.5.1, the resource you want to edit is ALRT id# -16500 in the System suitcase.
If your not reading the forum, you're missing some of ResExcellence's best stuff!
Jeremy Mates has put together an interesting collection of more than a dozen Desktop Pictures at his web site. Many are scenic nature photos that have been augmented with Bryce.
The 8Tuner Set Page has been updated with 4 new Iconsets
- Shaded K
- Goldband
- Ozmandias
- Beehive
Michael Dicker has also posted additional MOSS replacements - many of which are not available at ResExcellence!
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him User Contributions."-Abraham Lincoln
- Julien Neuschwander created a Bondi colored Apple Menu icon
- Kelly Westbrooks submitted an ICQ Throbber based on a heavy metal spinning hand (!)
- To prove the point that bigger is not always better, Eric Holtam sent a Mini-Moss! Smaller than your average MOSS, it contains enough room for a little message and the progress bar.
- Ya know that episode of Star Trek where the good and bad Lazarus fight for eternity in negative space? That's where this MOSS by The Apostate came from.
- .morf emac jnesdam yb neercs hsalpS rerolpxE siht erehw s'tahT ?eetaog a sraew kcopS dna esrevinu rorrim eht htiw kerT ratS fo edosipe taht wonk aY
PowerBook G3 Convert "Enter" to "Command Key" Edit
If you're used to the extended keyboards on desktop machines, you may be disappointed to find that your new PowerBook G3 Series computer has only a single Command key, and where there should be a second one, is just a useless Enter key. Thanks to Ryan Schmidt, here's how to make that Enter key into the Command key it should have been from the start. (Continued...)
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