Mentions
124
Overview
Location
Australia, New South Wales, Sydney
Employees
11-50
Founded date
1995
Mentions in press and media 124
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| Oct 4, 2010 | The collapsing business walls | Last week I had the privilege of holding a business internet marketing workshop for 50 people with fellow SmartCompany blogger Lara Solomon and Marketing Angels’ Michelle Gamble in Sydney. The day showed just how comprehensively business ba... |
| Aug 24, 2010 | The new accountability | The distrust and disengagement of voters in last weekend’s election holds valuable lessons for business. As the politicians have found, the days of empty slogans are over. If you say “people are your most important asset”, “service with a s... |
| Aug 17, 2010 | Freeways of the future | “I don’t see why the internet is important to me” said Maggie, the first caller to our “is the internet the ultimate consumer’s revenge “ radio program a few weeks ago. Maggie’s comment is a very good one at a time when governments, busines... |
| Aug 9, 2010 | Failing fast: Google Wave’s real business lesson | A key philosophy underlying much of Silicon Valley’s successful companies is the “fail fast” concept – where a business releases a rough version of a new idea and asks the world what it thinks. Should people like the idea, it gets developed... |
| Aug 2, 2010 | Asking the tough questions | Last week saw three challenging questions cross my desk – “What on earth is cloud computing?”, “Can you explain the National Broadband Network?” and “Why does the internet matter?” All the questions ended up being rolled into an article tha... |
| Jul 26, 2010 | Beware so-called savings in the clouds | “Billions of IT savings in the Clouds” trumpeted the Australian Financial Review a couple of weeks ago, in a front page article on cloud computing that went on to claim moving services online could “slash technology costs by up to 80%”. If ... |
| Jul 19, 2010 | The collaborative economy | “I couldn’t help her, she might become a competitor!” said Nick* when I asked if he’d been able to help Angela* with a business idea. That response, and the murmured agreement of everyone around us, broke my heart, as Angela’s business expe... |
| Jul 13, 2010 | Preparing for the industries that don’t exist | In 1999, the then Clinton administration Education Secretary, Richard Riley, said: “We are currently preparing children for jobs that don’t yet exist…” Last week’s COSBOA conference in Brisbane showed another aspect to that statement; in th... |
| Jul 6, 2010 | The perils of social media marketing | Until last Sunday, Facebook was working well for jeweller Victoria Buckley; the page for her store in Sydney’s upmarket Strand Arcade was generating sales and had a rapidly growing fan base from around the world. One of the key parts of her... |
| Jun 28, 2010 | Finding a consultant | As much as we’d like to think we can do everything, the truth is we can’t. Even the biggest organisations don’t always have the right skills for a task that needs to be done. Enter the consultant. Consultants have had bad press in recent ye... |
| Jun 23, 2010 | The war for talent just went global | Over the weekend the New York Times looked at the day in the life of Yuan Yandong, a Chinese electronics factory worker. The implications of that article illustrated why Australian business owners need to start investing in training and equ... |
| Jun 14, 2010 | Choosing a website content management system | Last week I was asked by a business owner what is the best open source Content Management System for their website. Like many questions in technology, the answer was “it depends”. Discussing open source and CMS in the one sentence is danger... |
| Jun 7, 2010 | Every business is a people business | Facebook’s problems with privacy shows how all business are about people. When managers and business owners forget, their businesses are heading for trouble. When you’re running a web based service, it’s easy to forget those valuable views ... |
| May 31, 2010 | The crowd sourcing revolution | Matt Barrie, CEO of freelancer.com proclaimed at last night’s Getting Results from Crowd Sourcing event that “outsourcing and crowd sourcing are revolutionising business”. This is true and we need to keep in mind revolutions result in some ... |
| May 24, 2010 | You are what you tweet | “This software you recommended doesn’t work. I want a refund!” “Sorry, but I wouldn’t dream of recommending that product.” “It’s on your website! I trusted your company to give me the right advice. Are you telling me now I can’t believe wha... |
| May 17, 2010 | Is Microsoft Office 2010 suitable for your business? | Last week Microsoft launched Office 2010, the latest version of their business software suite, promising to “redefine how Australian businesses can use technology to save, innovate and grow.” We’ll be seeing the new version appear on store ... |
| May 11, 2010 | Five ways to manage information overload | In a speech to university graduates over the weekend, President Obama described some of the problems we face with information overload. That the US President struggles with this despite his army of secretaries, assistants and advisors shows... |
| May 4, 2010 | How to deal with the next 20 years of change | Last week broadcaster Tony Delroy celebrated 20 years of hosting the ABC’s Nightlife spot. The Gadget Guy, Peter Blasina and myself joined Tony to look at where technology has changed over the 20 years he’s been on air. One of the things th... |
| Apr 26, 2010 | A question of innovation | Since the iPad was announced there’s been much talk about how Apple is the world’s most innovative company. Is that true and if so, what lessons does that have for other businesses? There’s two schools of thought about what innovation is; t... |
| Apr 19, 2010 | Ten tips for conference organisers | The conference industry is going through a time of massive change. Last weekend’s National Speakers Association of Australia conference showed how you can make business events more compelling in a crowded and difficult market. The events in... |
| Apr 12, 2010 | Is your business dying? | At the release of a report into technological change and the accounting profession a few weeks ago, Melbourne University’s Professor Colin Ferguson said “I could see as many as 25% of companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) ... |
| Apr 5, 2010 | Why I won’t be buying an iPad for now | This week the internet is alive with tech journalists and Apple fans breathlessly describing how the iPad is going to change business and the world. All of their predictions may well be true, but it’s best holding off buying an iPad until t... |
| Mar 22, 2010 | Are AdSense right for your website? | Yesterday’s SmartCompany article on DealsDirect being blocked by Google shows why it’s important to understand the purpose of running a business or private website and whether showing adverts on it is appropriate. DealsDirect’s problem alle... |
| Mar 15, 2010 | The cloud of capitalism | Red Laser is one of over one hundred iPhone barcode readers available in the iTunes store. This seemingly ordinary application shows how freely available information over the internet is changing markets and the way we do business. We discu... |
| Mar 8, 2010 | The lost generation of computers and Microsoft’s new opportunity | From March 13 Google ceases support for older browsers like Internet Explorer 6. This presents a great opportunity for Microsoft to grab the lost generation of computer users. The lost generation are the computer users who’ve skipped the la... |
| Mar 1, 2010 | The company you keep | It’s an old but true saying that you’re judged by the company you keep and this applies online as much as anywhere else in personal and professional life. Last week I was reminded of this three times. Early in the week I was asked if connec... |
| Feb 22, 2010 | The youngster myth | Last week SmartCompany looked at Domino’s successful iPhone application which over 12 weeks has generated more than two million dollars in sales. Asked about the app, Domino’s chief executive Don Meij said: “the company saw it mainly as a m... |
| Feb 15, 2010 | Balancing risk and safety in the cloud | Cloud computing, where data and applications are accessed through the internet and stored on remote computers, is one of the concepts that’s dramatically changing business. Like all changes that disrupt existing ways of working, it comes wi... |
| Feb 2, 2010 | The coffee revolution | One of the great misconceptions about the internet is how it isolates people from society. The truth is the net is a window on the real word that allows you to discover the networks that can help your business. A good example of this are th... |
| Jan 18, 2010 | Making use of GPS equipped smartphones | Since Global Positioning System (GPS) equipped smartphones arrived on the market, we’re seeing all kinds of location based phone applications springing up. Recently I’ve been playing with two of these services – Foursquare and Urban Spoon t... |
| Jan 11, 2010 | The life cycle of hype | Last week’s Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show we discussed just before the Christmas break. If there’s one thing for sure, we can say tablet computers, 3D televisions and the Google phone are racing to see which will be the first to the “... |
| Jan 4, 2010 | Lessons from the Googleplex | This article first appeared September 22, 2009. The classic entrepreneur’s dream is to take a business from four people operating out of a spare room into a worldwide success. A start up map application founded on Sydney’s North Shore is on... |
| Dec 21, 2009 | Harness the power of new media | Probably the biggest highlight of a fast, hectic 2009 was November’s X Media Labs in Sydney which illustrated just how the world is changing as a result of new media channels, faster internet and more powerful computers. The organisers of X... |
| Dec 14, 2009 | Riding the wave of hype | Despite the Google Phone only existing in a couple of photographs, the device is making headlines as the new “iPhone killer” and there’s no doubt early adopters are asking: “should I wait for this new phone?” It’s a tough life on the bleedi... |
| Nov 30, 2009 | The basics of service | Last week I wrote about the things you should look for when choosing an IT service provider. Shortly after writing that column I caught up with Cathy (names changed to protect the guilty) and found out what happened in her search for a tech... |
| Nov 23, 2009 | Saving your technology relationship | Like it or not, your businesses is married to technology and often that marriage is not a happy one. Tech support is like a counsellor to your IT relationship; a good one will save you a lot of drama, stress and tears. When a friend asked a... |
| Nov 9, 2009 | Twenty three great ideas | A few weeks ago more than 40 of Australia’s most exciting innovators showed off their products at Tech23. Twenty-three of those business were selected to give a four minute pitch to industry leaders in front of several hundred spectators at... |
| Nov 2, 2009 | Four reasons to delay a Windows 7 upgrade | Last week’s column looked at Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system, how it stood up against the previous Vista program and what businesses should do about incorporating it into their networks. For businesses in need of a computer upgra... |
| Oct 26, 2009 | Is Windows 7 for you? | “From today, when we say Windows we’re talking about Windows 7,” announced Jeff Putt, Windows Consumer Lead of Microsoft Australia last week. And with that, Microsoft formally buried Windows Vista at their Sydney Windows 7 launch. We won’t ... |
| Oct 20, 2009 | It’s all about trust, baby | Imagine losing all your contacts, emails and calendars – you know you have a meeting with an important client next week but you can’t remember which day and you can’t ask the customer because their contact details are gone. That’s been the ... |
| Oct 12, 2009 | The importance of community | Sydney’s Growthtown evenings are an irregular gathering of entrepreneurs discussing challenges facing fast growth businesses, and always a stimulating night with founders telling how they dealt with issues as diverse as setting up US operat... |
| Oct 5, 2009 | The new global businesses | It’s old hat to point out the internet is changing business and globalisation is making the world smaller. But last Tuesday I saw three businesses that showed just how profound these changes are. That Tuesday morning Mark Fletcher’s Austral... |
| Sep 29, 2009 | Protect yourself against Conficker | Nearly a year after it was identified, the Conficker computer worm continues to plague Windows users, infecting systems controlling everything from fighter planes to bus lane fines. The problem has become so great, a consortium of vendors h... |
| Sep 22, 2009 | Lessons from the Googleplex | The classic entrepreneur’s dream is to take a business from four people operating out of a spare room into a worldwide success. A start up map application founded on Sydney’s North Shore is one of those stories. Where 2 Technologies went fr... |
| Sep 15, 2009 | Grow your business with “tweet ups” | It’s hard to resist the offer of a free sandwich in Sydney’s Hyde Park on a beautiful spring day, so a “tweet up” offering was always going to be successful. Like most social media meetings in any big town these days, people from all walks ... |
| Sep 7, 2009 | You really can’t buy friends | At school, kids who tried to buy friends always found it ended badly. There is little reason to believe things are any different for grown ups running a business. Over the last few weeks we’ve been treated to the running saga of a Brisbane-... |
| Sep 1, 2009 | The five stages of product recall | Today’s column was going to be about the recent reports from Europe on a certain brand of mobile phone exploding, but despite a weekend of digging around on the topic, I’ve no idea if those allegations are true. What did come out from that ... |
| Aug 17, 2009 | What Microsoft’s Word woes mean to business | Barely two weeks after eBay revealed they may be forced to close down Skype, Microsoft has been ordered by a Texas court to cease selling Microsoft Word and pay more than $290 million in damages. The court action was brought by Canadian com... |
| Aug 11, 2009 | Your first venture | “My friend cannot find work so he wants to start a computer repair business. Do you think this is a good idea?” When a taxi driver or anyone else asks me this, my reply is: “Why does your friend think it’s a good idea?” Most people think co... |
| Aug 3, 2009 | Skype’s unstable future | Last week’s story of how Skype may be forced to shut down is straight from the Bill Gates textbook on how to do business. In late 1980, IBM were casting around for an operating system suitable for their new line of personal computers. The o... |
| Jul 27, 2009 | Twitter 101 guide reviewed | To help businesses establish themselves on Twitter, the service has released a free guide to show companies how to use it, to help them build relationships, along with some of the best practice tips and case studies. Twitter 101 opens with ... |
| Jul 14, 2009 | Why the battle of the behemoths is good for business | We haven’t had a good stand-up fight in the computer industry for years; however it appears we now have the biggest ever as Google and Microsoft clash. This is good news for computer users. In the last few weeks, Microsoft have announced th... |
| Jul 7, 2009 | How the net is changing business | We often talk about how the internet is changing marketing and distribution, but we often overlook just how fundamental the basic ways we do business are changing. Internet tools like social networks and the web itself are forcing us to be ... |
| Jun 29, 2009 | Avoiding the cheap look with your security | A few days ago I received an email boasting how the message had been scanned by a popular free antivirus program. No big deal, except it came from someone working for a big corporation. While it’s encouraging they care about the security of... |
| Jun 22, 2009 | The real value of Twitter | Last week thousands of Iranians used Twitter to organize demonstrations, Tech Crunch founder Mike Arrington announced Twitter is his third highest traffic source and Dell reported $US3 million dollars in sales through Twitter. Over the last... |
| Jun 15, 2009 | Watch out for that automatic subscription | Yesterday’s Smart Company story about antivirus vendors unfairly debiting service subscribers is a timely reminder to check exactly what services you’re signed up for as the end of financial year approaches. Automatic renewal programs are g... |
| Jun 8, 2009 | Less Bing for your buck? | When I was a kid I wanted to be Alex Jesaulenko, flying high above packs, kicking a hundred goals a season and beating Collingwood in Grand Finals. As it turned out, I have the athletic ability of a three-toed sloth, so it wasn’t to be. Mic... |
| Jun 2, 2009 | Why Australia needs more heretics | An offer to visit the Australian Davos Connection’s Future Summit last week was too good to pass over. With the speakers list reflecting the cream of corporate Australia, it was an opportunity to hear where the country’s establishment sees ... |
| May 25, 2009 | Why IT upgrades matter | During my radio show a few weeks a lady asked me about using an antivirus on a Windows 98 system. My first response was to say get rid of the thing and buy something new, as the box is at least 10 years old, which is about 100 in computer y... |
| May 19, 2009 | Do you want wi-fi with that? | Thanks to a series of unfortunate events, I had to rely on wi-fi hotspots for internet access last weekend. One of the things I quickly discovered was McDonald’s restaurants are a good bet for a reliable connection. As somebody who rarely g... |
| May 11, 2009 | Buying a new computer | After discussing tech purchases in this column two weeks ago, a few readers have asked what they should be looking for in a new computer. The answer, like everything in IT, is “it depends”. While computers are a tool, they are unique in the... |
| May 4, 2009 | The value of trust | Many say the most valuable business and personal asset is your reputation. But even more fundamental than reputation is trust. Trust is the basis for all business dealings. We all have to trust our suppliers will deliver products that are f... |
| Apr 27, 2009 | Smart year-end hardware buys | Because IT equipment is one of the most important business tools, some smart purchases are always a good idea. Now that we’re almost into the last two months of the financial year it’s time to consider what last minute purchases you can mak... |
| Apr 20, 2009 | Share, link: It’s good for business | Why would you invest a chunk of your wealth in a risky start up company when you can get 7% by sticking it in the bank and just sit on your bum? This was a point raised in a discussion on angel investors. The questioner couldn’t understand ... |
| Apr 13, 2009 | Big hairy broadband | Jim Collins in his book “Good to Great” coined the phrase BHAG, or Big Hairy Audacious Goal. Few goals are bigger or more audacious than spending $43 billion to run fibre to every house, office, school, farm and factory in Australia. My fir... |
| Apr 6, 2009 | Tech favours small business | The world is changing. The end of the cheap credit era coupled with fast communications and affordable technology are tilting the playing field towards nimble entrepreneurs and away from big business. Microsoft’s latest advertising campaign... |
| Mar 30, 2009 | Don’t be a fool for the tool | When asked for product recommendations, the prudent first response is “why?” or “what for?”. Which was my reply last weekend to someone who asked about tablet PCs. Tablet PCs are a laptop with a swivelling touch screen. They are a kind of e... |
| Mar 23, 2009 | Keep them in the loop | Keeping your customers waiting for you to do your job is bad business. With mobile communications there’s no reason for not keeping your customers in the loop. They say it never rains, but it pours – and it never comes down heavier then whe... |
| Mar 16, 2009 | Don’t assume yourself out of a market | I’ve blogged before about how dangerous it is to make assumptions about people, particularly when those people are your customers. A great example is seniors and computers. I’ve mentioned before about the fallacy of assuming over 55s are no... |
| Mar 2, 2009 | IT outsourcing trap | Six years ago the writer Nicholas Carr stated: “IT doesn’t matter“. His point was that IT is becoming pervasive, just like electricity and running water. So businesses wouldn’t need full time IT staff any more than they need full time plumb... |
| Feb 23, 2009 | Consumer power | It’s always been important to deal with customer complaints quickly and politely. But with the ease that bad news can travel across the web, you need to be even more on the ball. Last February, I wrote that it’s roughly once a year we see a... |
| Feb 9, 2009 | Tools of your trade | An interesting divide is beginning to appear between businesses using technology well and those that don’t. This was bought home to me last Friday after an ABC Radio discussion on finding work using social media. A lot of the follow-up emai... |
| Feb 2, 2009 | Email credibility | One of the great things about writing this column is the feedback – the positive is nice for the ego and the negative is a valuable reality check that highlights where I can do better. Effective criticism is constructive while an ill consid... |
| Jan 26, 2009 | Happy new virus | While we’ve all been occupied with the summer holidays and the global economy collapsing like a soufflé, one cunning little virus has been quietly infecting millions of computers around the world. The Downadup virus may not be the fastest s... |
| Jan 16, 2009 | The technology opportunity | There is one area in which these tough times will be very efficient – sorting the businesses that will be set for success in the next boom. Make sure your’s is one of them. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank As the downturn bites we’re starting... |
| Dec 15, 2008 | IT checklist for the Christmas break | The internet bad guys never take a break (because they don’t deserve one). Here’s what you need to do before heading off. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank Get daily business news. The latest stories, funding information, and expert advice. Fr... |
| Dec 9, 2008 | Focus as a survival strategy | Word is Apple are about to release a new cheap laptop. Why is this a bad idea? PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank Speculation is mounting about Apple releasing a cheap netbook. The idea is Apple needs to compete in the ultra cheap sector and th... |
| Dec 1, 2008 | Does Gerry have a point? | Online retailing simply has no black-or-white future, but one thing is certain – smart companies need to get their online strategy right. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank Gerry Harvey certainly stirred things up last week with his comments on... |
| Nov 25, 2008 | Respect your network | Email newsletters are a terrific marketing tool and good manners and common sense help their effectiveness. There’s even some legal requirements to watch. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank Australia’s Spam Act is just over five years old, and ... |
| Nov 17, 2008 | Why internet filtering is bad for business | The Federal Government’s proposed internet filter will be a tax on Australian business and do little to fix the problem of online nasties. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank As reported in SmartCompany last week the Federal Government is procee... |
| Nov 10, 2008 | Exploding the jargon | SaaS, web 2.0 and cloud computing explained. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank So the attraction of SaaS is it gives software developers a steady cashflow rather than just big lumps of money coming in at irregular intervals. For the buyer, thi... |
| Nov 4, 2008 | Wireless cheaper, but mobiles still in the cold | With wireless internet prices dropping it’s time to ask your mobile phone provider some hard questions. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank Last week Telstra BigPond joined Virgin Mobile in introducing shaped plans to their wireless internet ser... |
| Oct 20, 2008 | Six tips to toughen your business | I know of a lot of business owners who have drawn down on their home equity to keep afloat. Big mistake; smaller businesses are going to have to fend for themselves, but here are six better tips to help your business through the coming bad ... |
| Oct 13, 2008 | Choosing a new computer | My quarterly survey on what’s available, and which is best, has revealed some interesting trends. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank Get daily business news. The latest stories, funding information, and expert advice. Free to sign up. Apple wil... |
| Oct 6, 2008 | Slash and burn | Just keep getting your message out there. Otherwise you’re at risk of being forgotten when the turnaround comes. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank Gerry Harvey’s plans to cut 20% of Harvey Norman’s marketing spend as reported in SmartCompany l... |
| Sep 30, 2008 | Choosing a strong password | Your passwords are like gold. Protect them. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank A start is to make them long. Ten characters is a good start. I use the word “characters” deliberately because a password shouldn’t be just a single word, passwords ... |
| Sep 22, 2008 | Stay connected | Businesses have enough to contend with without compounding problems with inefficient online practices. Here’s some solutions. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank Last week I was in the central west of New South Wales giving a NSW Small Business ... |
| Sep 15, 2008 | Web warps convention | The IT sector has known for years what the internet is proving now – the demand/supply equation has been turned on its head. Where does your business sit? PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank Get daily business news. The latest stories, funding i... |
| Sep 8, 2008 | The tyranny of titles | Overblown business titles are more than annoying, especially if the ‘titled’ one can’t deliver. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank Get daily business news. The latest stories, funding information, and expert advice. Free to sign up. A good exam... |
| Sep 1, 2008 | 10 tips to avoid PowerPoint disasters | With presentations, tech hiccups happen; but there are a few surprisingly simple safeguards that everyone can take. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank This blog first appeared 2 September 2008 Paul Wallbank is Australia’s most heard computer co... |
| Aug 25, 2008 | e-nabling the future | Parroting data is no sign of intelligence, but using that data effectively will make our future entrepreneurs. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank When I first read the story of a Sydney school allowing kids to use the net and call friends durin... |
| Aug 18, 2008 | Spams, scams and suspicions | I decided to have a look at some of the rubbish in my spam folder… there are some pretty nasty traps for the unwary. Don’t be one of them. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank In a classic case of “practice what I preach, not what I do”, I read t... |
| Aug 11, 2008 | Commander out of command? | The customer may not always be right, but treat them with contempt at your peril. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank When floated in January 2000, Commander had over 100,000 customers and an unassailable position in the small and medium sized b... |
| Aug 5, 2008 | The value of good web design | Even scammers know that websites need to ‘look convincing’. Is your website lacking credibility by dint of bad design? PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank It’s 15 years since the “on the internet, no-one knows you’re a dog” cartoon appeared in T... |
| Jul 28, 2008 | Know your network | Your tech network is an essential tool for your business, and needs to be protected. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank Every business owner should note the mess San Francisco city council finds itself in after a dispute with a system administr... |
| Jul 21, 2008 | Age or beauty? Sometimes it’s both | Employers shouldn’t be so determined to miss out on some business solutions. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank Get daily business news. The latest stories, funding information, and expert advice. Free to sign up. Given the opportunities out th... |
| Jul 11, 2008 | The rules of the name game | Your business name can get your ahead or get you in trouble. Here are the tips and traps. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank I’d barely finished last week’s blog entry on how important it was for entrepreneurs to protect their business names wh... |
| Jul 7, 2008 | Forget the domain name hype; just protect your name | Domain name gold may be more raucous than rush. But it highlights your real priority. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank Last week the proposal to allow a new breed of internet domains triggered talk of another “internet gold rush”. I’m not sur... |
| Jun 30, 2008 | The end of Windows XP | Microsoft is turning off the XP tap, but there’s no need to panic. PAUL WALLBANK By Paul Wallbank As of this morning Microsoft and the major PC manufacturers will be no longer selling Windows XP. While the older operating system will be ava... |
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