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WattsvilleBlues posted:For those who are sticking with WP that could easily leave, what's keeping you there? I'm actually asking, not being a dick. Android is convoluted and Apple is for children. My interactions with WP are all drastically more meaningful than with any other platform for being in step with a lot of what my computer is doing, and itself offering me customization on par with its simplicity. As I don't buy a new computer and believe it has all the software it should out of the gate, or anything even resembling such, I've bypassed all the bellyaching this thread is full with by never bothering with X-Box Music and whatever else terrible stock apps, so my experience has been a delight from day one.
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Dec 16, 2014 19:26
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soapgish posted:Android is convoluted and Apple is for children. My interactions with WP are all drastically more meaningful than with any other platform for being in step with a lot of what my computer is doing, and itself offering me customization on par with its simplicity. As I don't buy a new computer and believe it has all the software it should out of the gate, or anything even resembling such, I've bypassed all the bellyaching this thread is full with by never bothering with X-Box Music and whatever else terrible stock apps, so my experience has been a delight from day one. The app thing is the only problem I've ever had with the platform, and that was only because of Audible I'm getting sad in this thread again
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Dec 16, 2014 19:29
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ElGroucho posted:The app thing is the only problem I've ever had with the platform, and that was only because of Audible I hate the audible app. I really wish they'd fix it. I hate having to fight to resume playing half the time after I pause it. I'm guess it's related to them not updating the app for the current resume function or whatever it's called.
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Dec 16, 2014 19:35
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The Audible app really needs some fixing yeah, but I have listened to 34 books this year on it, so it ranks more as an annoyance than something that keeps me from using it.
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Dec 16, 2014 19:43
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.Tim posted:I hate the audible app. I really wish they'd fix it. I hate having to fight to resume playing half the time after I pause it. I'm guess it's related to them not updating the app for the current resume function or whatever it's called. I had a ticket in with their support, they said my issue was something to do with the 8.1 update, they were "actively working on the issue"  Ended up cancelling my subscription, too bad that probably meant dick all to them
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Dec 16, 2014 19:43
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soapgish posted:Android is convoluted and Apple is for children. My interactions with WP are all drastically more meaningful than with any other platform for being in step with a lot of what my computer is doing, and itself offering me customization on par with its simplicity. As I don't buy a new computer and believe it has all the software it should out of the gate, or anything even resembling such, I've bypassed all the bellyaching this thread is full with by never bothering with X-Box Music and whatever else terrible stock apps, so my experience has been a delight from day one. Oops, really misread. sourdough fucked around with this message at 20:23 on Dec 16, 2014 |
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Dec 16, 2014 19:45
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soapgish posted:Android is convoluted and Apple is for children. My interactions with WP are all drastically more meaningful than with any other platform for being in step with a lot of what my computer is doing, and itself offering me customization on par with its simplicity. As I don't buy a new computer and believe it has all the software it should out of the gate, or anything even resembling such, I've bypassed all the bellyaching this thread is full with by never bothering with X-Box Music and whatever else terrible stock apps, so my experience has been a delight from day one. What do you use for music, podcasts, etc. or are those not things you care about?
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Dec 16, 2014 19:57
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I use my phone for:
I really like the WP UI design and aesthetic, and the default apps for all of these are good enough that I don't find myself wishing I had another phone. Also, to be honest, WP was my first smartphone platform back when I got a Focus. I'm also heavily invested in the overall Microsoft ecosystem (I own a 360 and a Bone, I use Outlook for email, One Note, etc.), so having my phone tie into that is important to me. I don't use a lot of apps on my phone so the utter lack on WP doesn't bother me, though I admit if I did I'd be left wanting. *I have a tiny music collection which is mostly: 'During Christmastime I listen to Christmas music'
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Dec 16, 2014 20:07
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WattsvilleBlues posted:I think the only day I don't get app updates on Android is a Sunday. I really want WP to get out there and be a viable 3rd platform, but it's been 4 years and even though there are decent sales in some countries, it's remained an afterthought for everyone except its fans. I've had my Lumia 920 for a year and a half now. I bought it because the main board on my Galaxy S3 kept crapping out (I still have that phone as a backup, by the way). I love the glance screen and the camera, and the battery life is great. Some times android felt like a convoluted mess (especially when setting it up for the first time), but I do miss the customization and (app) features of android. On my old phone I had Tasker set up to automatically switch my phone to silent when in range of my company's wifi (and back again when I got in my car). As far as I can tell, that's completely impossible on windows phone, even with the geofencing stuff. As I've mentioned previously in the thread, after 8.1 I've experienced times when all phone sounds disappear completely, including alarms. That's terrible. And it can't be overstated how lovely the xbox music app is. Recently it's started to forget my "currently playing" list, so I have to recreate my playlist or just play all songs and wait for the shuffle function to start working. This is extra annoying since it won't actually let me save playlists (when I try, nothing happens, it just keeps throbbing until the screen goes dark). Oh, and the "Playlists" heading wraps around to two lines in Danish ("afspilningslister"), which results in the song list showing a total of four loving songs at a time:  When I buy a new phone it's not gonna be a windows phone, but until then I'm gonna keep enjoying the great battery life and the glance screen.
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Dec 16, 2014 20:20
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So a friend of mine directed me eariler today to a new WinRT Control Library set, that just so happens to include Pull to refresh. I forked the repo, did some clean up work on it (And submitted a pull request) and got this. It also means (Potentially, at some point), I can add this to Awful Forums reader, so you won't need to push that refresh button anymore. Oh, and I started working on a new PlayStation app, mostly because I finally figured out how to authenticate a user with just a Username and Password (so no need to direct you to their web page first, which let's me make apps in C# outside of mobile devices).
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Dec 16, 2014 20:22
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NFX posted:Oh, and the "Playlists" heading wraps around to two lines in Danish ("afspilningslister"), which results in the song list showing a total of four loving songs at a time: Sometimes I get tired of throwing xbox music under a bus (people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones) but it really is the worst app 
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Dec 16, 2014 20:33
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WattsvilleBlues posted:For those who are sticking with WP that could easily leave, what's keeping you there? I'm actually asking, not being a dick. I've said before that the fact that they're taking out things I really liked about 7/8 is what annoys me most about 8.1, but those features were never in Android or iOS anyway. I've never really done much on my phone besides the basic smartphone stuff so the whole app situation rarely bugs me. Maybe every now and then there a big app craze going on and I miss out on that, but that's happening far less frequently than it used to. I still really love the UI, which is what's keeping me on the OS. I also used to love the idea of rooting for the underdog, but it feels like during the half-time pep talk the coach told the team "eh whatevs it's not that important anyway".
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Dec 16, 2014 21:05
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Personally the only thing I find really discouraging is, shockingly, the only thing I've been posting about in this thread for quite some time -- the lack of a new flagship device. My 920 still works just fine, though, so it's more of an academic grievance than a pressing one. If my phone starts to age really noticeably and there's still no new flagship, I guess that's when I'll jump ship. Man, this is a depressing conversation. 
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Dec 16, 2014 21:18
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Just FYI, if anyone really likes the WP UI but has other things that are deal breakers, unsurprisingly (given Android's customizability) you can ape the homescreen UI in Android. Here's a simple app, Launcher 8, that looks like it does a decent job, though I haven't used it. If you care, you can also spend hours customizing your home screen theme using some simple tools and get it exactly how you want, though again, I don't do that and can't say for sure you can make it identical to WP.
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Dec 16, 2014 21:33
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loquacius posted:Personally the only thing I find really discouraging is, shockingly, the only thing I've been posting about in this thread for quite some time -- the lack of a new flagship device. My 920 still works just fine, though, so it's more of an academic grievance than a pressing one. If my phone starts to age really noticeably and there's still no new flagship, I guess that's when I'll jump ship. Man, this is a depressing conversation. Yeah, as I keep posting about this is the main issue for me as well. Starting a new job in the beginning of January, and they'll pay for a new phone, and I either delay that offer or drop over to the iPhone 6, as getting a 930 just isn't a solid upgrade in my eyes. Ironically if OneNote and Onedrive wasn't available on the competitors platforms I really could not imagine switching, but Microsoft is ever so kind about those matters 
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Dec 16, 2014 21:53
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For some reason, there's something satisfying about the tidal change in opinion even the devoted WP fans are having against the platform. Not just here, but I see people getting fed up on other forums, Tom Warren is ditching it, Ed Bott. I'm in that group myself, having been a fan since WP7.0, so maybe I'm just glad to know I'm not alone in my exasperation. I guess on a subconscious level I'm kind of hoping that everyone turning their backs on it will be the wakeup call MS desperately needs and will give them some much needed clarity. Maybe sacking Joe Belfiore. Even the faithful aren't willing to put up with another round of "wait for it...." BS. Nothing will change, of course, but somehow it feels good to see people dumping it, something I wouldn't have said 1 and 2 years ago when I still believed.
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Dec 16, 2014 23:04
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soapgish posted:Android is convoluted and Apple is for children. Windows Phone fans, ladies and gents.
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Dec 16, 2014 23:09
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LifeSizePotato posted:Nothing will change, of course, but somehow it feels good to see people dumping it, something I wouldn't have said 1 and 2 years ago when I still believed. Well it was a better platform 1-2 years ago.
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Dec 16, 2014 23:09
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Maneki Neko posted:What do you use for music, podcasts, etc. or are those not things you care about? Currently, MixRadio to load from my phone, goon creation Harmony to stream, and OneMusic as an alternative. Podcast Lounge for podcasts. In general I pay every chance I can for an app itself, additional features, and ad removal, which factors greatly into my happiness.
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Dec 16, 2014 23:12
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LifeSizePotato posted:For some reason, there's something satisfying about the tidal change in opinion even the devoted WP fans are having against the platform. Not just here, but I see people getting fed up on other forums, Tom Warren is ditching it, Ed Bott. I'm in that group myself, having been a fan since WP7.0, so maybe I'm just glad to know I'm not alone in my exasperation. I know what you're thinking, but somehow I doubt thinking "everyone that liked our platform has left" is going to be something that spurs lots of investment and development 
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Dec 16, 2014 23:26
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RVProfootballer posted:I know what you're thinking, but somehow I doubt thinking "everyone that liked our platform has left" is going to be something that spurs lots of investment and development It may spur some staffing changes, Win8 certainly did. You know, that's why the WP team now works on...er never mind
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Dec 16, 2014 23:33
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It wouldn't surprise me if Microsoft abandoned WP altogether within 3 years and just concentrates on its own ecosystem on Android and iOS. If they made a WP launcher for Android and released Cortana (would the APIs exist for this on Android?) they'd potentially have the remaining WP fans switch. Microsoft just seems to have got so many things wrong this past few years. Dragging its feet on mobile, having a separate OS for phones and tablets, the Xbox One debacle, Metro on desktop etc. Such a pity. It's like they overthink things and work on esoteric stuff that doesn't work great, while missing obvious stuff.
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Dec 17, 2014 01:33
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WattsvilleBlues posted:released Cortana (would the APIs exist for this on Android?) Motorola put their own voice thing on top of Android, but it just acted as a front end for Google Now and they control the hardware/OS on a level that a regular app wouldn't have access to. I don't think there is a way for an app to supplant Google's search on the home screen either. I think Samsung has done it, but, again, on an OS level. They could definitely make Cortana as a stand alone app with voice search, but it wouldn't be be launched from a voice command. They could make a custom launcher that could come with a widget to hide the Google search bar and replace Google Now from the left hand screen. That would get kind of close. Edit, I think you can use Google Now to pass commands to your app, so you can be all "OK Google, search Cortana for xxx". Uthor fucked around with this message at 01:58 on Dec 17, 2014 |
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Dec 17, 2014 01:45
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Uthor posted:Edit, I think you can use Google Now to pass commands to your app, so you can be all "OK Google, search Cortana for xxx". This would be the saddest state of affairs.
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Dec 17, 2014 02:12
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Uthor posted:Motorola put their own voice thing on top of Android, but it just acted as a front end for Google Now and they control the hardware/OS on a level that a regular app wouldn't have access to. Or MS could make their own phones on AOSP and do whatever they want. They could make a launcher that's identical to WP, they could have voice search go to Cortona and have Bing be the search. They could even point to their own store (they have one for Nokia X). MS could do everything on Android that makes WP unique and have access to the entirety of Android apps (granted like Amazon you have to get developers to resubmit them). Or you could even make it a store with Google Play and get everything from Google + add all of whatever they want to do (like Galaxy phones).
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Dec 17, 2014 18:26
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That totally worked for the Amazon Fire Phone! But if they did an inexpensive phone with a nice camera, people will snap it up. The only Android phones with decent cameras are the most recent high end flagships.
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Dec 17, 2014 18:36
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Uthor posted:That totally worked for the Amazon Fire Phone! The Fire Phone was asking a premium price for bad hardware, bad software, and no Google apps or Play store. If Microsoft cared to do so, they could easily put out a more compelling Android phone than that. However, I'm not so sure Microsoft actually cares about selling hardware if it doesn't have their OS on it, right? Like, continuing with Windows Phone with moderate losses is probably preferable to doing Android and potentially making slight profits.
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Dec 17, 2014 19:01
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Can't Microsoft allow the Google play store on Windows without using Android?
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Dec 17, 2014 19:51
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The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Windows Phone - Less Less and Less
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Dec 17, 2014 19:53
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wookieepelt posted:Can't Microsoft allow the Google play store on Windows without using Android? No, Google does not allow that. Amazon cannot put Google Play Store on its Android phone/tablets. Blackberry cannot put Google Play Store on its BB phones. E: Here's an Ars article that includes some info about making forked versions of Android, as well as showing the difference between AOSP and Android-proper. sourdough fucked around with this message at 20:09 on Dec 17, 2014 |
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Dec 17, 2014 19:56
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wookieepelt posted:Can't Microsoft allow the Google play store on Windows without using Android? The Play Store is how Google controls Android. The OS is open, but the store is not and more and more of their apps are becoming Play Store apps. That means they can update the apps without updating Android (yay!), but also means that you have to meet their criteria to get access to the Play Store and the Google apps (boo!).
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Dec 17, 2014 20:10
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Microsoft will never do a variation on Android, they are not incompetent in that way. In the unlikely event that they give up on WP they'd continue the path they are on, building an integrated enterprise software stack on both iOS and Android. They are already running both strategies in parallel, and I would not expect them to stop. There is no money in being a me-too consumer Android vendor, but there is money to be indirectly made in controlling a consumer mobile platform, and there is money in being the at the backbone of enterprise IT. The latter is currently looking more successful than the former, but becoming an Android vendor wouldn't improve either.
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Dec 17, 2014 21:51
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Uthor posted:The Play Store is how Google controls Android. The OS is open, but the store is not and more and more of their apps are becoming Play Store apps. That means they can update the apps without updating Android (yay!), but also means that you have to meet their criteria to get access to the Play Store and the Google apps (boo!). I keep waiting for the EU to act on that deal considering they same to enjoy targeting Google at the moment. My old 7.8 phone is starting to act up. Does anyone have any experience with the internet connection becoming unstable? Every instance of an app that needs internet needs to be refreshed before it can access it and it's really starting to interfere with Whatsapp.
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Dec 17, 2014 21:55
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Cybernetic Vermin posted:Ironically if OneNote and Onedrive wasn't available on the competitors platforms I really could not imagine switching, but Microsoft is ever so kind about those matters OneNote is actually really nice on the iPhone. OneDrive isn't half bad, but it doesn't look like "download this to my iPhone" is actually a possibility like (I think) it was in WP.
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Dec 18, 2014 10:03
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Uthor posted:The Play Store is how Google controls Android. The OS is open, but the store is not and more and more of their apps are becoming Play Store apps. That means they can update the apps without updating Android (yay!), but also means that you have to meet their criteria to get access to the Play Store and the Google apps (boo!). As a follow up to this: Android has a series of tests in what's called the Android Compatibility Test Suit or CTS for short. These tests are ran on a build of Android and every single one of the 20,000+ (as of 4.4.2) must pass for a device to be certified for google play. There is also a small handful of manual CTS tests you have to pass as well. And even after passing the tests google may not certify you for whatever reason they come up with. So it's a crapshoot for smaller companies to become CTS certified.
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Dec 18, 2014 18:13
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Great. Microsoft Mobile's North America support page no longer shows the status of firmware launches quote:Previously, the site listed the status of firmware updates such as Lumia Black and Lumia Cyan as " Available", "Under Testing", or "Under Development" for Microsoft's Windows Phone devices. Now that has been changed to simply showing the currently available firmware release for each device. I speculate that most of the WP team is on holiday vacation, so they only had capacity to reduce functionality on their website rather than reduce functionality in the OS itself.
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Dec 18, 2014 19:33
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Denim is rolling out right now in Europe though 
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Dec 18, 2014 20:28
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Factor Mystic posted:Great. To be fair, "Under testing" becomes contemptuous at a point.
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Dec 18, 2014 21:46
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Mecca-Benghazi posted:Denim is rolling out right now in Europe though My 920 just popped the notification saying welcome to Denim. I'm on AT&T, but I had a preview build cause of the Band. Not through the official developer preview app, mind you, but via the Health app.
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Dec 19, 2014 15:44
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Weird! Anyway, download that gestures beta app, it's pretty cool and it does work even with the 1020's enormous camera bump. 
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Dec 19, 2014 15:49
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