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Quality control issues with new PowerBooks...particularly the 15"? - Page 4

post #121 of 590
10/4/03 at 10:24am
does anyone know if apple does silent fixes to a product line or would they wait till the next revision and then incorporate the fixes. in other words would they silently fix this white spot issue or would they wait and release the fix in the next powerbook update. have they done anything like this in the past?
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post #122 of 590
10/4/03 at 12:37pm
Quote:
Originally posted by booyaka
does anyone know if apple does silent fixes to a product line or would they wait till the next revision and then incorporate the fixes. in other words would they silently fix this white spot issue or would they wait and release the fix in the next powerbook update. have they done anything like this in the past?

I must assume that they are fixing this on the assembly line. Perhaps this is (a?) the reason PB shipping times suddenly jumped this week?

Mine's going back for repair Monday or Tuesday. I'm pretty bummed about it, but in the end it will be OK. You can bet I'll be checking it daily again when it comes back, though. It will suck not having it for two weeks, but my wife is letting me use her iBook while mine is away (yay?!).

I guess pscates and others were wise to wait a bit.
1.25GHz 15" SD PowerBook, etc. etc.
15G 3rd Gen iPod

Well i've said it now, nothing's changed
people are burnin for pocket change
and creative minds are lazy
and the big three killed my baby
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1.25GHz 15" SD PowerBook, etc. etc.
15G 3rd Gen iPod

Well i've said it now, nothing's changed
people are burnin for pocket change
and creative minds are lazy
and the big three killed my baby
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post #123 of 590
10/5/03 at 3:52pm
Just got my 15" powerbook back from a latch repair and it works great. Except I now have 4 white spots on the screen that weren't there before.

Has this problem got anythng to do with pressure on the back of the LCD, something that could have happened in transit?

Not happy.
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post #124 of 590
10/5/03 at 8:10pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally posted by machem I guess pscates and others were wise to wait a bit.



That's what I keep telling myself...
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post #125 of 590
10/5/03 at 8:58pm
Quote:
Originally posted by pscates


That's what I keep telling myself...

You must buy now! Now! Now!

Heh, my 12" PB is working awesome so far... buy the mini-PB
What the problem is?
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What the problem is?
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post #126 of 590
10/6/03 at 7:44am
How's it looking on the durability front? I love my TiBook, but it took about a week for it to start getting scuffed. Given that I am an 'enthusiastic user', and don't use white gloves when carrying my Mac around, it drives me nuts that the slightest thing can scratch it.

So how does the aluminum hold up?

kumrabai
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post #127 of 590
10/6/03 at 7:49am
The AL outer covering is more resistant to scratches but I always felt that if my notebook didn't have any scratches, I wasn't really using it that much. It's kinda like a good leather sofa/chair - the scratches are part of the outer 'decor...'

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post #128 of 590
10/6/03 at 7:59am
Have been using the new 15" for about two weeks now - it is a very fine piece of engineering:

- very solid feel (the case is bomb proof) and the keyboard is amazing
- backlighting OK - could be a little brighter on the right side of the keyboard
- speed is good (1GB RAM and 1.25Ghz)
- screen is superb - no dead pixels and terrific brightness/contrast
- speakers good (much better than the 12" PB)

No quality control issues with my PB - overall, a great package - well done Apple.
MacPro 2 x 3HHz, 8GB RAM, 4x1000 HD, 2x23" ACD
13" MacBook Pro; 17" MacBook Pro
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MacPro 2 x 3HHz, 8GB RAM, 4x1000 HD, 2x23" ACD
13" MacBook Pro; 17" MacBook Pro
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post #129 of 590
10/6/03 at 8:01am
Thread Starter 
Seeing my first 15" aluminum PowerBook this past weekend, I really dug the overall look of it. The aluminum has some texture to it (as does the 12" and 17"...I'd just never looked at them that close before) and the hinge spans nearly the entire width of the laptop. Just seems very sturdy and "put together".

The photos simply don't do it justice (as is the case with most Apple gear...it takes seeing them in person to get the full "wow!" effect).

Just a handsome, serious-looking computer all the way around.
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post #130 of 590
10/6/03 at 8:27am
They are sturdy alright. I fell down the last 5 steps of our stair case to I had to land on my back to save the powerbook (which was in my hands) so I hit hard and smashed my head but the powerbook survived the jolt. I did give with my arms when I fell to ease up on it. I just layed on the ground and responded to the IM I received while falling.

I also havn't noticed any BIG increases in battery life but I havn't been looking. Downloading files over wireless at 100k/s killed my PBook after 3hours exactly almost, but I don't recall what my settings were.
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post #131 of 590
10/6/03 at 9:05am
yeah, sometimes the negative posts in forums gets me down. then i go into an apple store and play with one of the 15" and i'm back in heaven. after using one for a while, i don't know how i could think of cancelling my order. they are just so sweet.
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post #132 of 590
10/6/03 at 9:17am
Quote:
Originally posted by ast3r3x
They are sturdy alright. I fell down the last 5 steps of our stair case to I had to land on my back to save the powerbook (which was in my hands) so I hit hard and smashed my head but the powerbook survived the jolt. I did give with my arms when I fell to ease up on it. I just layed on the ground and responded to the IM I received while falling.

Jesus man, is anyone else laughing their ass off right now picturing this? I can see ast3r3x falling and hitting his head and letting out a big yell. PowerBook goes over to the ground, display is adjusted, and he begins to type.

"OMG I just ****ing fell down the stairs, LOL."

"No way dude, lol, u break ur pb man?"

"no man i like totally broke the fall but hit my head, rotflmao"

"lmao"

"I better get up, brb"

"kewl"

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post #133 of 590
10/6/03 at 9:17am
Quote:
Originally posted by ast3r3x
They are sturdy alright. I fell down the last 5 steps of our stair case to I had to land on my back to save the powerbook (which was in my hands) so I hit hard and smashed my head but the powerbook survived the jolt. I did give with my arms when I fell to ease up on it. I just layed on the ground and responded to the IM I received while falling.

I also havn't noticed any BIG increases in battery life but I havn't been looking. Downloading files over wireless at 100k/s killed my PBook after 3hours exactly almost, but I don't recall what my settings were.

Just don't drop it. They dent very easily. More so than the TiBook. Battery life is so, so. Not as good as the TiBook.
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post #134 of 590
10/6/03 at 9:23am
This is why I am more of a desktop person.

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post #135 of 590
10/6/03 at 10:22am
I hope I'm not bringing anyone down I didn't mean to...There are just some major flaws with the 15-inch, one of them being the use of a 46-watt hour battery, instead of the 61-watt hour battery they once used in the TiBook.
You think Im an arrogant [expletive] who thinks hes above the law, and I think youre a slime bucket who gets most of his facts wrong. Steve Jobs
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You think Im an arrogant [expletive] who thinks hes above the law, and I think youre a slime bucket who gets most of his facts wrong. Steve Jobs
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post #136 of 590
10/6/03 at 11:03am
I was watching The Screen Savers on TechTV last week, Leo Laporte showed his new 12" Powerbook with a nice dent in one of the corners.

He said the Powerbook was in a laptop bag and he accidentally dropped it, the dent happened even though it was protected by the bag!
He made the point to be very carefull with the aluminum Powerbooks as the case is soft and can dent very easily as he proved by his own experience.
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post #137 of 590
10/6/03 at 11:08am
Quote:
Originally posted by coolmac
I was watching The Screen Savers on TechTV last week, Leo Laporte showed his new 12" Powerbook with a nice dent in one of the corners.

He said the Powerbook was in a laptop bag and he accidentally dropped it, the dent happened even though it was protected by the bag!
He made the point to be very carefull with the aluminum Powerbooks as the case is soft and can dent very easily as he proved by his own experience.

Don't get me wrong. I love my new 15"Al but I am very unhappy with the battery life. My TiBook had great battery life.
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post #138 of 590
10/6/03 at 11:39am
I am wondering how much space apple saved with the 46-Watt-h Al battery in comparision to the 61 Watt-h Ti's?
Are there any pictures comparing these two?
Greetings,

bka77

Regent Street, Bluewater and more
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Greetings,

bka77

Regent Street, Bluewater and more
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post #139 of 590
10/6/03 at 12:30pm
I think the savings is more weight oriented as opposed to size oriented. The original TI batteries came with 40-something W/Hr and they upped the power to 55 then to 61.

Here's hoping that someone comes out with longer lasting batteries (or other power producing tech.) soon.

Although I get right around 3 hours now, so the battery covers my needs for the moment.
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post #140 of 590
10/6/03 at 1:59pm
I figured better concussion then broken PBook. What does AppleCare (free 1 year) do about PBooks broken at the hands of their owners? Any diff from the 3year AppleCare?

Mihrbot that is almost exactly how the dialog went. Except they didn't ask about breaking the PBook.
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post #141 of 590
10/7/03 at 2:06am
Just picked up Rev B 17" today from my local apple dealer.

I live in New Zealand and this is one of the first machines to arrive in the country...

so far its perfect - no dead pixels, runs cool, around 3.5 hrs battery life and the latch works perfectly.

Interestingly the 15" which was in the showroom (an Australian one) had the latch problem being described in this thread and i could not get it to close properly.. no white spots on mine or the showroom models however.

Basically I couldnt be happier!!!

Go for the 17" is my opinion!!!!
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post #142 of 590
10/7/03 at 7:00am
Thread Starter 
The 15" combo drive model I played with at an Atlanta-area CompUSA last Saturday had the latch issue as well: I'd go to close the laptop and remove my hand and in about 2-3 seconds it would pop back open!

Also, I finally got to see what this "gap" thing was: when the lid was closed, you could pick the PowerBook up and look at it from the front (the latch release facing you) and on the left side there would be a nice, small clearance between the two halves, right? But as you scanned over towards the right, that little clearance gap got larger and larger to the right corner. Looked REALLY uneven and "off".

Quite glaring, actually. And I'm sure it plays into the latch thing because that means the entire display panel is somehow warped a tad and it's not lying properly flush against the bottom portion and seating firmly enough to fully engage the latch.

At least that's my take on it...

It was still GORGEOUS and I still want one. Just don't mind waiting a bit to see if this all gets addressed and shakes out a bit. I'm still a few hundred bucks shy anyway, so it's working out nicely...



I'd rather wait another month and give these latch/white spot/gap issues a chance to be addressed (I hope!) and increase my chances of getting a "perfect" model right out of the box.
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post #143 of 590
10/7/03 at 5:43pm
Well, I have a brand new pb g4 1.25, 5400 rpm, sd, and no latch, white spot, or dead pixels....but...since I started using airport, I've noticed a tick, tick, ticking...not sure it's related, but I didn't notice it earlier...more of an annoyance...

Anyone noticed this?
15" Al PowerBook G4, 1.25 GHz, 80GB (5400 rpm) HD, SD
PM G4 Sawtooth 450
Wallstreet II G4 500 MHz, 40GB, DVD
IIfx, IIcx, II, PB 180, SE/30
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15" Al PowerBook G4, 1.25 GHz, 80GB (5400 rpm) HD, SD
PM G4 Sawtooth 450
Wallstreet II G4 500 MHz, 40GB, DVD
IIfx, IIcx, II, PB 180, SE/30
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post #144 of 590
10/8/03 at 7:52am
Received the 15 incher yesterday. ordered 9/18, shipped 10/1, received 10/7.

Coming from a windows world, it is a pure joy to open the box and marvel at the attention Apple puts in the packaging.

No dead pixels or white spots or latch problems yet. battery life after calibration, set to automatic, bluetooth and airport off, medium brightness, the indicator is showing 99% and 1 hr 59 minutes. Which if accurate simply sucks.

Panther is my only hope to increase battery life now.

Tried syncing a T616 (also received yesterday) using bluetooth, worked marvelously.

watched a DVD, Very Nice!!

another wonderful touch, which no one mentioned before (i think), you can control the brightness of the keyboard backlights! 8)

They included a power cord in the box. Can't figure out why since the adapter works just fine.
iMac G4 800
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iMac G4 800
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post #145 of 590
10/8/03 at 8:11am
Slide out the 2 pins on the adapter and attach the power cord so you can sit further from the power outlet.
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post #146 of 590
10/8/03 at 8:35am
Quote:
Originally posted by jasonfj
Slide out the 2 pins on the adapter and attach the power cord so you can sit further from the power outlet.

A ha! thanks for the info.
iMac G4 800
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iMac G4 800
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post #147 of 590
10/8/03 at 10:03am
Quote:
Originally posted by Infoseeker
Well, I have a brand new pb g4 1.25, 5400 rpm, sd, and no latch, white spot, or dead pixels....but...since I started using airport, I've noticed a tick, tick, ticking...not sure it's related, but I didn't notice it earlier...more of an annoyance...

Anyone noticed this?

I notice this as well. I thought it was coming from the hard drive. I upgraded the stock 80 GB HD to the much faster 60 GB 7200 RPM drive - it's a little noisy.

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post #148 of 590
10/8/03 at 11:18am
my 15" powerbook just went back to Apple for the second time in the 2 weeks I've had it, this time to fix the blotchy screen.

I feel strangely calm in the hope all will be well in another week.
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post #149 of 590
10/8/03 at 11:47am
just got my 15" 1ghz yesterday and no issues except for 2 dead pixels.
"What does it profit a man to gain the whole world
and suffer the loss of his soul?"
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"What does it profit a man to gain the whole world
and suffer the loss of his soul?"
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post #150 of 590
10/8/03 at 11:57am
First, wow I never realised how small the 12" is until I had my friends sitting next time my 15" last night. It is simply amazing at how small it is!

One thing that bothered me is that my airport was getting 3 bars and his 12" 4 bars when they were 3feet away in my room (1 floor higher then my Dl-link and two or three walls in the way.)

Didn't have 10.2.8 on my machine long enough to notice, but with panther my battery indicator doesn't go over 99%. I haven't done any time trials with panther but it seems to last a bit longer.

Is there any way to, or any place that logs when the power supply was unattached and when it was reattached. I'd like to try different power saving options to see which works best. I am normally inside so I keep my brightness to 4 bars or under unless I'm plugged in.

Although my 15" display is viewable outside. Man I wish it looked as good as it does inside! Least it looks great in the shade still.
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post #151 of 590
10/8/03 at 12:41pm
Quote:
Originally posted by mac's girl
just got my 15" 1ghz yesterday and no issues except for 2 dead pixels.

So, how do the 2 dead pixels make you FEEL?

Rage,acceptance, understanding, peace?
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post #152 of 590
10/8/03 at 2:15pm
Quote:
Originally posted by kumrabai
So, how do the 2 dead pixels make you FEEL?

Rage,acceptance, understanding, peace?

well doc, i always have crappy luck. but judging from the likes of this thread, i guess it could have been worse. this is my third LCD and both of the previous ones also arrived with 2 dead pixels.


FOR SALE: two dead pixels. free s/h.
"What does it profit a man to gain the whole world
and suffer the loss of his soul?"
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"What does it profit a man to gain the whole world
and suffer the loss of his soul?"
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post #153 of 590
10/8/03 at 7:44pm
Quote:
Originally posted by mac's girl
well doc, i always have crappy luck. but judging from the likes of this thread, i guess it could have been worse. this is my third LCD and both of the previous ones also arrived with 2 dead pixels.


FOR SALE: two dead pixels. free s/h.

I don't wanna sound forward but have you tried massaging them? The pixels I mean, sometimes they are just stuck. I know, I know Captian Obvious to the rescue. I'll crawl back under my rock now.
-Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of...
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-Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of...
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post #154 of 590
10/8/03 at 8:16pm
well, I got my AlBook replaced from the Apple Store in Milwaukee today. NO white spots (for the time being), NO dead pixels...and even more unexpected...NO GAP!!! This is even better than I expected. Hopefully the issues have already been ironed out. I'll post again if I notice any recurring problems!
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post #155 of 590
10/8/03 at 8:55pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks, filmmaker. Let us know what's up. I know I'll feel better about laying out the cash for mine if it appears that perhaps things have been ironed out and that just an initial batch of questionable ones got out.

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post #156 of 590
10/8/03 at 10:27pm
Just ran Pixel Check, confirmed (heh, I never get to say that)...no dead pixels...no spots. No latch problem either. I definitely think all the kinks have been worked out...like I said, I'll keep you guys updated. I'm a very happy camper right now, especially since I signed up for the Panther upgrade this morning with my defected powerbook, and can do it again with this one
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post #157 of 590
10/9/03 at 3:14am
Quote:
Originally posted by cj3209
I notice this as well. I thought it was coming from the hard drive. I upgraded the stock 80 GB HD to the much faster 60 GB 7200 RPM drive - it's a little noisy.


cj3209,

What did you do with the 5400 drive? Did you put into an external enclosure? If so, does it still tick?

I opened up a case with Apple for this and my warped screen. I'll be taking it to a local Apple Genius to look at and determine if it's repairable or DOA. I'm afraid to give up my otherwise perfect computer...
15" Al PowerBook G4, 1.25 GHz, 80GB (5400 rpm) HD, SD
PM G4 Sawtooth 450
Wallstreet II G4 500 MHz, 40GB, DVD
IIfx, IIcx, II, PB 180, SE/30
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15" Al PowerBook G4, 1.25 GHz, 80GB (5400 rpm) HD, SD
PM G4 Sawtooth 450
Wallstreet II G4 500 MHz, 40GB, DVD
IIfx, IIcx, II, PB 180, SE/30
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post #158 of 590
10/9/03 at 7:35am
Hey FM, keep checking your screen for spots --- not that I suspect you will get them, but I am interested in seeing what happens longer-term. I'm not shipping mine back until tomorrow (forgot to bring my power supply to work - d'oh!), which means I won't have it back until at least a week from Monday.

I hope mine gets a full work-over.
1.25GHz 15" SD PowerBook, etc. etc.
15G 3rd Gen iPod

Well i've said it now, nothing's changed
people are burnin for pocket change
and creative minds are lazy
and the big three killed my baby
Reply
1.25GHz 15" SD PowerBook, etc. etc.
15G 3rd Gen iPod

Well i've said it now, nothing's changed
people are burnin for pocket change
and creative minds are lazy
and the big three killed my baby
Reply
post #159 of 590
10/9/03 at 9:14am
Quote:
Originally posted by machem
Hey FM, keep checking your screen for spots --- not that I suspect you will get them, but I am interested in seeing what happens longer-term. I'm not shipping mine back until tomorrow (forgot to bring my power supply to work - d'oh!), which means I won't have it back until at least a week from Monday.

I hope mine gets a full work-over.

machem,

What are they requiring you to ship back (cpu and power or everything)? Does Apple provide the shipping material, or do you have to do that?

Thanks!
15" Al PowerBook G4, 1.25 GHz, 80GB (5400 rpm) HD, SD
PM G4 Sawtooth 450
Wallstreet II G4 500 MHz, 40GB, DVD
IIfx, IIcx, II, PB 180, SE/30
Reply
15" Al PowerBook G4, 1.25 GHz, 80GB (5400 rpm) HD, SD
PM G4 Sawtooth 450
Wallstreet II G4 500 MHz, 40GB, DVD
IIfx, IIcx, II, PB 180, SE/30
Reply
post #160 of 590
10/9/03 at 9:27am
Quote:
Originally posted by Infoseeker
cj3209,

What did you do with the 5400 drive? Did you put into an external enclosure? If so, does it still tick?

I opened up a case with Apple for this and my warped screen. I'll be taking it to a local Apple Genius to look at and determine if it's repairable or DOA. I'm afraid to give up my otherwise perfect computer...

I put the stock 80 GB HD into an enclosure and it doesn't seem to tick at all. It's my 7200 RPM 60 GB HD that seems to tick.


Other than that, the screen is almost perfect, the latch seems to work OK (once in a while it snaps open but that's only if I don't press down securely) and I do have a gap but that's NORMAL - I'd had Dell Inspirons/Latitudes for years and they ALL have gaps.

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