Software

Software is the last vital component of a computer. Without software, a regular human being would be unable to understand the information that the computer is outputting and the computer would not be able to understand the human. Software is the part of the computer that is often the most variable of all the other components. A piece of software can smoothly on one computer and can be complete inoperable on another. Software is limited by the hardware but the software can tax different parts of the computer more heavily than others. Some applications rely on the CPU more than the RAM and that affects the capabilities of the software. There are also pieces of software that are designed to run on older computers and that cannot run on a more modern computer without modification.

The most obvious and common software is the operating system (OS). The OS is what separates the use from all the machine code that the computer is doing underneath. The OS also manages the programs that are being run and controls the hardware so that the programs that are being run get the memory they need. This prevents one application from overtaking the entire computer and makes it do nothing else. The OS also provides the environment for all the user’s interactions to occur, such as using the mouse and keyboard.

The most common OSs are Mac OS and Microsoft Windows. Linux is also notable operating system, but fewer than 2% of users are recorded using it. Most users use Windows 7 or Windows XP. The next is Mac OS X. Followed by Mac OS X is Windows Vista and Windows 8. Linux has such a large array of versions because of the customization that Linux allows. Computers are often shipped with these OSs and because of that, they have become the most common OSs in the world. Because they are the most common, most programs are designed with these OSs in mind and are made to work with them. Each of these OSs have their own particular benefits and it is also a matter if personal preference and familiarity that causes people to choose their operating systems. I have not extensively used enough OSs to make a judgment of which one I like.

Software also has limits that the user may not even be aware of. A common one is the limits is the amount of binary digits (bit) that an application can process. This affects the total memory and speed of the application; often most applications are 32-bit and that has reached its limits. A 32-bit OS or program can only use 4 GB or RAM where 64-bit OS can currently hold 192 GB of RAM. This is important when running programs and understanding why there are slow and where it can potentially be improved. Common examples I can think of are web browsers. Most web browsers are 32-bit in order to be the most compatible. This causes the web browser to be limited at 4 GBs of RAM and heavy Internet users will easily go beyond that. High quality images or videos can easily cause a computer max out the 4 GBs of RAM. There are newer web browsers that support 64-bits and will support more RAM, but most people are not aware and are bottlenecked by the software that they use.

There is no real way to know if the software that the person is using will be optimal for their computer, but someone can do their research and find out how well it can work. This can be as simple as distinguishing what programs are 32-bit and what are 64-bit. People can open the Task Manager and see what programs take more memory and which ones use more of the processor. Users on the Internet measure their programs performance and will post it on the Internet. There are programs made specifically to tax the computer and measure each components performance. Software is one of the most crucial parts to a computer and often it is what decides whether it is slow or not.

http://www.netmarketshare.com/ – Percentage OS of Users

http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/37167/64-bit-computing – Quick bit about 64 bit computing

http://www.howstuffworks.com/operating-system.htm – Operating System overview

2013
06/07
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Power Supply

The power supply unit (PSU) is the heart of the computer providing the energy for it to do all of it work. Usually it is not covered when mentioned when looking at a computer, but has been listed when buying a laptop or tablet. However, having a good PSU can enable the computer to be more efficient and more powerful. It is often neglected because computers usually come with power supplies, so there is no need to replace it or it is just not discussed. Hopefully I can provide some groundwork for people to understand what it does to the computer.

The PSU powers all of the components of a computer. Each PSU has a myriad of connectors that plug into various parts of the computer in order to feed the components. If a person is building a computer, it is important to know which connector goes to where and how many connectors there are. Even if someone is just upgrading a part of their computer, it is important to know if the additional card or hard drive needs a power connection. Modular power supplies allow users to pick which cables they want to attach, making the process cleaner, but most power supplies are non-modular, resulting in a chaos of cables. When buying a PSU, a good retailer will list the connectors that their unit has. Most PSUs have enough for a simple home user, but if someone is making a specialized computer, such as one with multiple hard drives or multiple cards, they will need to pay attention to the amount of connections.

The primary concern for the PSU is the wattage output. If this number is not high enough, then the computer components will either not run or it will. Although the power supply doesn’t seem like a bottleneck for the computer, it is one of the most important. All the functions of the computer rely on the PSU, much like the motherboard. The more components draw more power and each component has its own power requirements. There are recommended wattage calculators online and there is one list below.

Another big factor in the PSU is the efficiency. PSUs cannot output the maximum amount of wattage because some of that energy is lost in the unit itself. This causes the PSU to waste power and may bottleneck the computer without the user knowing. 80 Plus is a certification program that measures PSUs and gives them an appropriate rating on their efficiency. These tests running the PSU at various loads to measure how efficient it is. There are multiple ratings and the specifics can be seen on their website. Having an efficient PSU can save on power bills, especially if that computer is used often. Large companies such Google or IBM have efficient PSUs because of their server’s constant use.

Another concern for computer users is the degradation of the PSU. Over the course of a computer’s lifespan, the use of the computer components begin to fail or degrade. For the PSU, the maximum wattage output will drop the longer the PSU is in use. This rate of degradation depends on the frequency of use, wattage load, and the total time that it has been used. If a computer is going to be used for a long time, then the PSU should have a high wattage output in order to account for this degradation.

I hope that you the reader have learned a little bit more about what matters inside the computer and I hope that you would appreciate how complicated the computer is. I also hope that you know what happens when someone says that their computer is slow.  I also hope that you learn more about the aspects of these components make these components valuable and how you can improve your own system. Please feel free to follow the links to lean more or read my previous blogs about other components. Please enjoy the rest of the day.

Sources

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp – Calculator

http://www.plugloadsolutions.com/80PlusPowerSupplies.aspx – PSU ratings

http://www.newegg.com/Product/CategoryIntelligenceArticle.aspx?articleId=199 – Consumer Rundown

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/324368-28-computer-power-supplies-guide – In-depth Expert

http://www.computershopper.com/feature/2010-ultimate-guide-how-to-buy-a-pc-power-supply – If making a computer, mentions size

2013
06/01
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Input and Output

There are a myriad of input devices that a computers uses. This includes the keyboard and mouse, touchpad, or a touchscreen. There are also more specialized input devices such as a stylus based tablet, or a screen tablet hybrid. Other input devices might be a microphone, or camera. More recently, motion tracking devices for the consumer such as the Microsoft Xbox Kinect or the Nintendo Wii. These devices use infrared sensors and/or accelerometers to determine movement of their users. At its base, these input devices are used to communicate human input to the computer so that the computer can run that information through the computer’s software.

The information that is received relies entirely on the software; the operating system provides the context for the input from the keyboard, mouse, touchpad, or touchscreen. An example is the Windows 8 operating system; the Windows 8 operating system has been designed to use a touchscreen as the main input device but can also use a mouse and keyboard. The previous Windows operating systems, such as Windows Vista, cannot use a touchscreen as effectively because Vista’s software is not as fully implemented compared to Windows 8.

If the software does not exist for the input device, then it will either not register and be unusable or not work correctly. The same applies for output devices. A graphics processing unit requires the software in order to utilize the full potential of the unit. These pieces of software are often called drivers and they are often installed without the customer when the customer buys a pre-built computer from a retailer. If someone has built their own computer, they are probably aware of the drivers that come with the motherboard on a CD or have downloaded these drivers from the Internet. If a computer component comes with a CD, it most likely contains the drivers to that component so that it will run effectively.

One of the key drivers installed in the computer is the graphical drivers that were mentioned before. Without these drivers, the operating system will try to display what it can, often it is a stretched image or it lacks all of the colors available. This is especially noticeable on widescreen monitors. If you are brave enough and have a Windows based operating system, you can try out what happens without these drivers. If you feel like trying, you will need administrative privileges. Go the Control Panel and go to the Device Manager. If you are in category view, Device Manager is under the Hardware and Sound category and is under the Devices and Printers subcategory. Under display adapters there are the drivers for the drivers. If you access the driver properties, you can disable them to see what it would look like without that layer of software by clicking the Disable button on the Driver tab on the tops. When you are ready to stop, you can simply click enable to turn them back on.

This driver helps control the most common output device which is the LCD display. This display is designed to help communicate what is going on with the computer. However, the computer also outputs audio and information for printers to operate. There are also more sophisticated outputs that robots are capable of doing such as the manufacturing or there are some devices that simulate touch as the output. All these are used to help communicate the information from the computer into a form that people can understand.

All these devices are used as a layer between the user and the computer so that the computer can understand what the user is doing and vice versa; the operating system and the software that is installed helps that communication and what is capable with that interface. This blog was meant to examine the hardware in the computer that a person does not see because of the software layer that masks it. The speed of a computer relies on the software, not entirely on the hardware. These pieces of software are the things that make the statistics that have been mentioned previously not matter as much. The efficiency of the software matters when describing the speed of a computer. There is no real way to measure this, but this is probably the most important when a person wants a fast computer.

Image

Sources:

http://uwf.edu/clemley/cgs1570w/notes/Concepts-6.htm

http://homepage.cs.uri.edu/faculty/wolfe/book/Readings/Reading06.htm

http://www.howstuffworks.com/graphics-card.htm

http://www.isfh.org/haptics.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Operating_system_placement.svg – Image belongs to Golftheman under Creative Commons 3.0

2013
05/25
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Graphics Processing Unit Part 2

There are 3 main GPU manufacturers, which are AMD/ATI, Nvidia, and Intel. Almost all the GPUs that will be used come from these three manufacturers while the rest of the competition has faded away or does not try and compete with these giants. Many customers have purchased products from these companies and will vouch for them. On top of that, these companies usually do not make their components, only design them. Manufacturing comes from other companies that are given the schematics and are then tweaked by each individual manufacturer, except for Intel. This causes the same model to have different specifications depending on the manufacturer. Despite that, a reliable retailer will have the specification numbers listed so that the consumer knows what he or she is purchasing. The primary manufacturers also have official specifications.

Before diving into the particular numbers that retailer give, I feel that it is necessary to give a background on these companies. Intel is not one of the primary producers of discrete graphics cards, but I feel as if it was necessary because their integrated GPU is one of the most widely used. AMD was another microprocessor manufacturer, but they acquired ATI and now make both. Before the acquisition, ATI was Nvidia’s rival in GPU manufacturing. Nvidia is the leading GPU manufacturer, with their products often being considered top of the line.

The truth about what graphics processor a person should have always relies on what they want to do with it. That same rule always applies to any computer and therefore any computer component. The computer is always built around the purpose and the GPU has become so specialized, buying the wrong GPU can make it nearly ineffectual for other purposes. A professional workstation graphics card can draw models, but it will not play a video game as well as the price point would make someone believe. The same applies conversely as well.

A good graphics card is fast, the clock rate of the core is what is important. This is the speed at which the graphics cards will operate. There is also the number of cores and streams that the computer can process at the same time. Think of this as a massive multicore CPU. The next thing that matters is the memory. The size of the memory does not matter as much as the actual speed of memory. The amount of memory only corresponds to the how much data can be held. Speed is much more important when deciding on a graphics card. The size of the memory matters depending on the application and the screen, the larger the screen, the more memory that is required. This includes multi-display setups. When purchasing, retailers often advertise the memory, even though it is not the most essential part of the component.

As reiterated by my previous posts, the speed of a computer is measured by the slowest component. This applies to the video card especially. Most people do not compensate for their graphics card; they spend less money on the other components and they do not fully realize the computer’s potential. There is no real way to measure bottlenecks that occur within a computer, most people use benchmarks by playing video games and testing on that. However, making informed decisions about what is being purchased and how it affects the computer is the most important.

Tyson, Jeff, and Tracy V. Wilson.  “How Graphics Cards Work.”  16 March 2001.  HowStuffWorks.com. 12 May 2013.

Atkin, Denny. “The Right GPU for You.” ComputerShopper.com 12. May 2013.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_AMD_graphics_processing_units — All AMD/ATI card specs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Nvidia_graphics_processing_units — ALL Nvidia card specs

2013
05/18
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Graphics Processing Unit Part 1

The graphics processing unit (GPU) is the part of the computer that renders all the colors and effects that are seen on the monitor. This component is required in order to display anything on the monitor. It is often used to do simple operations like loading the images on a monitor or running applications. However, there are more specialized graphical uses to a GPU that include rendering models and shading or it can also be used to process equations just like a regular CPU. They are often used when playing video games, rendering movies or movies, scientific research, or simulations

Rendering graphical work is often quite intensive and requires more than what the regular CPU can output. Because there is so much work, a GPU is required to display anything. There are two different forms of the GPU, the integrated graphics processor and the dedicated (sometimes called discrete) graphics processor. The dedicated graphics processor is more powerful than the integrated solution, unless the graphical processor is old. Despite that, the average user will not have a use for a dedicated graphics processor because the average user will not be running graphically intensive applications.

A simple analogy of a GPU is that it is a collection of slower CPUs. A CPU is capable doing a single task, but is able to do that task quickly. If a CPU has multiple cores, then it can do more than do one task. A GPU usually has a high number of cores so that it can do a large number of tasks, although not as fast as the CPU. This makes it suitable for tasks that include using multiple processors. Algorithms for graphical rendering rely on this method of graphical computing and have written their computer drivers so that it takes full advantage of the GPU. There is also a myriad of applications for a computer built this way. Folding@home is an application that simulates the way proteins fold. An animal’s proteins fold when they are not in use and unfold when they are. Knowing what the folded protein shape is can be used when making treatments for diseases, but the only way to find these shapes is either through an exhaustive search or to have a person fold these shapes manually through trial and error.

When making a purchase, this component is often determined by what the user wants from their computer. An average internet user usually does not have to worry about this because the integrated graphics is enough to handle those tasks. A person who plays video games will usually have a fast computer because modern video games require a relatively capable GPU. People who do professional graphics work such as Photoshop users, movie editors, or 3D animation and modeling. Pixar is a good example of these users.

There are a multiple factors to consider when purchasing a GPU, which will be covered in another post. The most important factor in having a fast GPU is having a fast computer. A computer that communicates well with the GPU makes sure that the GPU is not bottlenecked by the other parts of the computer. The CPU should always be faster than the GPU. My rule of thumb is that the price of the GPU and CPU should be similar or the same. It all depends on the applications that are run.

 

Tyson, Jeff, and Tracy V. Wilson.  “How Graphics Cards Work.”  16 March 2001.  HowStuffWorks.com. 12 May 2013.

Atkin, Denny. “The Right GPU for You.” ComputerShopper.com 12. May 2013.

2013
05/13
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Storage

Storage is often advertised with the RAM, and sometimes it is the most obscure information. When a retailer sells a computer, this number is often displayed as the amount of data the computer can old. This number is usually numbered in gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB). I will not cover that information in this post because people have different requirements for storage space, and most people have a general idea what these numbers represent when they use a computer. I will be talking about the other side of storage and that is the data transfer rate and what makes that transfer rate fast.

The component to having a fast storage system is the speed that the hard disk drive (HDD) spins, usually measured in rpm (rotations per minute). Solid state drives (SSD) do not have moving parts, so they do not include this information if the computer is using a SSD. HDDs store data through the alignment of small magnetic materials that are coated on physical disks. These materials represent the binary digits of 1 and 0 that the computer uses for storage. This is reason why computer manufacturers tell their users to keep magnets away from the computer, a quick swipe of a magnet can misalign the data and cause corruption, potentially losing all of the data. A HDD requires these disks to physically move in order to write and store data, so the faster the disks spin, the faster these disks can have data read or written. In fact, this component was the only part that slowing down the average computer while the rest of the components were being improved faster.

Most computers usually have 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm HDDs, some consumer HDDs run up to 10000 rpm, with industrial HDDs going up further to 15000 rpm. These speeds are all mean a difference in performance, but it is not the only factor in a fast HDD, but serves as a good baseline. Most laptops are fitted with 5400 rpm HDDs because they use less power than the 7200 rpm HDDs. However, this reduces the performance of the computer and slows it down, especially from a cold boot (starting up the computer when it is completely off). When starting up a computer or application, this is the component that takes the longest and is the bottleneck of the system.

The new form of computer storage is the solid state drive, and in order to explain, I am going to grossly over-simplify it by calling it giant USB flash memory. This type of memory is completely electronic; it has no moving parts compared to HDDs which gives it a great advantage over HDDs. Because there are no moving parts, it uses less power, is less prone to failure, is significantly faster, and is less prone to magnetic interference. Although it seems obvious that that SSDs are superior to HDDs, SSDs are a recent technology compared to HDDs which means that they cost more and are still being developed. SSDs do not have the same capacity or cost effectiveness that HDDs do. SSDs also have different benchmarks for speed, often shown as random read and write speeds.

I personally think that SSDs are the future of computing, but I believe that there is a more relevant form of storage and those are hybrid drives. These hybrid drives use SSD technology with HDDs. Both forms of storage have something called a cache where things go before being written on a computer; think of it as miniature RAM. This cache allows computers to write data faster than writing directly to the storage unit. An example of this system has been provided below. Hybrid drives use the SSD as this cache, allowing files and applications to live on the SSD before it is written on the HDD. Hopefully this information can guide your next computer purchase and will bring you one more step closer to know what a computer is.Image

Source: Author

2013
05/05
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RAM

The last component to make a computer usable is the Random Access Memory, more commonly known as RAM. This component is used to hold the data in the computer while the data is in use. This data is usually an application including the operating system. Whenever someone opens a word document, that document lives here. When a person saves their document, it goes into storage, which are usually hard drives or solid state drives (more on that later).

RAM is considered to be volatile memory, meaning once the power is gone, the memory within the stick of RAM is also lost. This is why people should save their documents every couple sentences. Once the power goes out, the computer cannot access the memory that was once there and needs to start over from the previous save. Smart application design has made it where Word automatically saves changes to a temporary folder so that if the computer does crash, it can reference those saved files.

When buying RAM the number that is usually displayed is the amount of memory it has, usually in gigabytes. People can easily double the amount of RAM they have in their computer because it is usually inexpensive compared to the other components. However, having a large amount of memory will usually not affect performance at all. Having a large amount of RAM does not make the computer go faster, it can make the computer be able to do more work, but faster is different. The speed of RAM depends on a different number.

The clock speed of RAM determines how “fast” it can operate. This number is usually measured it megahertz and it represents how fast the RAM can communicate with the rest of the computer. This communication is what determines the speed of a computer and is what makes a computer fast, not the amount RAM that is available to a computer. This number is usually marked next to the type of RAM, for example “DDR3 1333” is a certain type of RAM that is clocked at 666 MHz (half of the number in the designation).

There is one more consideration when being advertised RAM when buying computer, that fact is that a fair number of applications can only use a limited amount of RAM. Although 64-bit processing, which is just the ability to handle more data, has been around for over a decade, some developers still create programs for 32-bit computers. This is simply a backwards compatibility choice, but it prevents most of the RAM from ever being completely used. A 32-bit program can only use 3 GBs of RAM. A 64-bit program can theoretically use a million times that, but it’s going to take a while for that to happen.

The difference between 32-bit and 64-bit computing is important because the majority of programs that are used are 32-bit. This includes Chrome, Firefox, and most other software unless the customer specifies the 64-bit version. The impression of getting more RAM to make a computer faster is simply not true. There is no advantage to having more memory unless the computer can properly utilize it.

2013
04/27
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Motherboard

Every electronic has a circuit board, and a computer is no different. However a standard computer has so much more equipment on it’s circuit board that it has several functions and does not just hold all the computer components on it. Although that function of it is very important and is probably the most important of all the board’s functions. It also manages everything that is connected to it and actually starts up the computer. The basic functions of a computer such as sound, Internet and storage support such as USB all come from the this board.

This board is called the motherboard and it is required for every computer. When people turn on or boot their computer, they will usually see a black and white screen that quickly says their manufacturer, and then their operating system loads such as Windows or Macintosh. That splash screen is the motherboard doing it’s job where in the very start of the computer, it looks for all the devices that are connected, such as any storage. After that it loads those devices, there is an order to how it loads them, one at a time. After this is when the operating system loads and people start using their computer.

The motherboard also monitors the heat that comes from the components and shuts down the computer if any of the components exceed the limits that the motherboard sets. This prevents components of the computer from melting and irreparable damage to other components inside the computer. More sophisticated motherboards allow their users to change the limits so that they can tweak the performance of their computer. These motherboards also allow their users to overwork certain components of their computer, but at the cost of the life of the components and the risk of damaging the computer.

However to the average user, this information is not useful without context of why it is important. The motherboard is the basis of the computer, all information goes through the motherboard. Because of this, a computer is limited by the capabilities of the motherboard. If the motherboard cannot handle the information being sent through it, then the computer might not be running at optimal efficiency and is losing a potential performance increase. It is important to know about the motherboard because computer users need to understand the relationship between the various parts of a computer in order to fix hardware problems that come up.

This component will almost never be listed when a person is purchasing a prebuilt computer; computer retailers have their own custom motherboards. However, depending of the quality of the computer, the power of the motherboard can be the bottleneck or the component that slows down the rest of the computer. Because of the role of the motherboard, if the motherboard is bottlenecked, then the rest of the computer is most likely bottlenecked as well. The effects of a slow motherboard are larger than a single slow component.

The motherboard is one of the components that is not advertised because a normal consumer would not look into it because other components are much more appealing. A motherboard does not have the numbers of a CPU or the massive storage space of the memory. Despite the fact that it is not advertised, it is one of the most important components and understanding it makes it easy to see why. There is no computer without the motherboard. Nothing would work without that circuit board as the base.

2013
04/19
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Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The Central Processing Unit(CPU) is the brain of the computer, it makes all of the decisions. The computer simply cannot run without it. Usually you would see Intel or AMD here because they are the primary manufacturers of CPUs. Intel often labels their CPUs with i3, i5, and i7, while AMD has another numbering system. Usually, when you see these numbers on a computer, people assume that the higher is better, but don’t understand how it is faster.

The first number that people usually see when looking at the CPU section of their computer is the amount of cores that it has. This usually is equivalent to how many actions a computer can do simultaneously. I say usually because the software also needs to support multiple cores, it may simply not benefit the program or it might actually be detrimental to your program’s operation. However, because multiple core CPUs are the norm this is not much of a problem. This is accompanies advertisements when we buy computers because it is reasonable to say that four cores is twice as fast as two cores, and in most cases it is.

The second number we usually see is the clock speed, which is usually measured in Gigahertz(GHz). This is how fast your CPU can process the information that you send to it. This is what we often compare when we are buying computers. It’s obvious that a CPU running at 3.2 GHz is faster than a CPU at 2.4 GHz. Because of this fact, this is often advertised to us when we buy a computer. I certainly based my purchases off of this information.

Then there is one more, the CPU cache. The CPU cache is like filing system for the CPU to know where things are in the rest of the computer. So instead of looking for a certain file in the computer, the cache keeps a little record of where it is so that the computer can get to the file quickly. This works for commonly used files so that the CPU doesn’t have to look for where the is after it has used it, but can always reference it quickly, sometimes it takes the files itself. When buying a computer, they will be called the L2 or L3 cache. If it is not shown, a quick Google search of the CPU model will usually tell you what the cache is.

I would argue that the cache is the most important part of a fast CPU. Although the number of cores and the clock rate clearly have an effect on the computing speed, The most important part of having a fast computer is having the best communication between all the parts in a computer. The speed of a computer is based off of the slowest part. Having a fast CPU does not compensate for the other components. The CPU cache is used to communicate to the other parts of the computer and this is what is important for choosing a fast computer. So next time you buy a computer, don’t be fooled by the number of cores or the clock rate, look at the CPU cache and look at the other components.

Sources:

Jon Stokes. “Understanding CPU caching and performance.” arstechnica.com. 7 July 2002. Web. 11 April 2013.

Marshall Brain.  “How Microprocessors Work.” HowStuffWorks.com. 1 April 2000. Web. 12 April 2013.

2013
04/12
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