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2013 Elite Mobility APU - Temash
AMD has a lot to say today. At an event up in Toronto this month we got to sit down with AMD's marketing leadership and key engineers to learn about the company's plans for 2013 mobility processors. This includes a refreshed high performance APU known as Richland that will replace Trinity as well as two brand new APUs based on Jaguar CPU cores and the GCN architecture for low power platforms.
Josh has put together an article that details the Jaguar + GCN design of Temash and Kabini and I have also posted some initial performance results of the Kabini reference system AMD handed me in May. This article will detail the plans that AMD has for each of these three mobile segments, starting with the newest entry, AMD's Elite Mobility APU platform – Temash.
The goal of the APU, the combination of traditional x86 processing cores and a discrete style graphics system, was to offer unparalleled performance in smaller and more efficient form factors. AMD believes that their leadership in the graphics front will offer them a good sized advantage in areas including performance tablets, hybrids and small screen clamshells that may or not be touch enabled. They are acknowledging though that getting into the smallest tablets (like the Nexus 7) is not on the table quite yet and that content creation desktop replacements are probably outside the scope of Richland.
2013 Elite Mobility APU – Temash
AMD will have the first x86 quad-core SoC design with Temash and AMD thinks it will make a big splash in a relatively new market known as the "high performance" tablet.
Temash, built around Jaguar CPU cores and the graphics technology of GCN, will be able to offer fully accelerated video playback with transcode support as well with features like image stabilization and Perfect Picture enabled. Temash will also be the only SoC to offer support for DX11 graphics and even though some games might not have the ability to show off added effects there are quite a few performance advantages of DX11 over DX10/9. With more than 100% claimed GPU performance upgrade you'll be able to drive displays at 2560x1600 for productivity use and even be able to take advantage of wireless display options.
Continue reading our preview of the new 2013 mobility platforms featuring AMD APUs!!
Introduction and Design
While Lenovo hasn't historically been known for its gaming PCs, it's poised to make quite a splash with the latest entry in its IdeaPad line. Owing little to the company's business-oriented roots, the Y500 aims to be all power—moreso than any other laptop from the manufacturer to date—tactfully squeezed into a price tag that would normally be unattainable given the promised performance. But can it succeed?
Our Y500 review unit can be had for $1,249 at Newegg and other retailers, or for as low as $1,180 at Best Buy. Lenovo also sells customizable models, though the price is generally higher. Here's the full list of specifications:
The configurations offered by Lenovo range in price fairly widely, from as low as $849 for a model sporting 8 GB of RAM with a single GT 650M with 2 GB GDDR5. The best value is certainly this configuration that we received, however.
What's so special about it? Well, apart from the obvious (powerful quad-core CPU and 16 GB RAM), this laptop actually includes two NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M GPUs (both with 2 GB GDDR5) configured in SLI. Seeing as it's just a 15.6-inch model, how does it manage to do that? By way of a clever compromise: the exchange of the usual optical drive for an Ultrabay, something normally only seen in Lenovo's ThinkPad line of laptops. So I guess the Y500 does owe a little bit of its success to its business-grade brethren after all.
In our review unit (and in the particular configuration noted above), this Ultrabay comes prepopulated with the second GT 650M, equipped with its own heatsink/fan and all. The addition of this GPU effectively launches the Y500 into high-end gaming laptop territory—at least on the spec sheet. Other options for the Ultrabay also exist (sold separately), including a DVD burner and a second hard drive. The bay is easily removable via a switch on the back of the PC (see below).
Introduction and Technical Specifications
Courtesy of MSI
With the Z77A-GD65 Gaming motherboard, MSI takes is award-winning Intel Z77-based board design and melds it with a Killer - a Killer NIC that is. MSI integrated the Killer e2205 GigE NIC into the board's design for the ultimate solution for online gaming. The Killer NIC is well known in gaming circles for its superior hardware-based network traffic prioritization engine, making it a natural integration choice for a top-end gaming board. We put the MSI Z77A-GD65 Gaming through our rigorous suite of tests to measures is performance and were not disappointed. At a retail price of $179, this board is a steal.
Courtesy of MSI
In designing the Z77A-GD65 Gaming board, MSI provided a total of 12 digital power phases for the CPU. MSI packed this board full of features: SATA 2 and SATA 3 ports; a Killer e2205 GigE NIC; three PCI-Express x16 slots for up to tri-card support; and USB 2.0 and 3.0 port support.
Courtesy of MSI
Continue reading our review of the MSI Z77A-GD65 Gaming motherboard!
Today, Gigabyte unveiled their Intel Z87-based board lineup to select members of the press at a live event from their headquarters in City of Industry, CA. Their Z87 boards are broken down into four series - the Extreme OC series, the Gaming Series, the Thunderbolt series, and the Standard series.
Intel Z87 motherboard lineup
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
New Features
Gigabyte includes both a new interface for their UEFI BIOS and a new power paradigm, dubbed Ultra Durable 5 Plus, into each of their Intel Z87 boards.
UEFI BIOS Enhancement
UEFI BIOS explanation
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
They also fully redesigned their UEFI BIOS interface to make it more customizable, easier to use, and to allow real-time feedback for settings changes.
Continue reading our preview of Gigabyte's upcoming Z87 motherboards!!
Today, ASUS introduces their Intel Z87-based motherboard lineup with board refreshes across all of their product lines: ASUS (mainstream), Republic of Gamers (ROG), The Ultimate Force (TUF), and Workstation (WS). With the exception of their TUF and ROG board lines, ASUS decided to introduce a new and improved color scheme for their boards - black and gold. The motherboard surfaces are black with gold colored heat sinks. While black and gold may not seem like the best match-up, don't judge the boards until you have seen them first hand - the black and gold go very well together.
ROG Motherboards
ASUS Maximus VI Gene
Courtesy of ASUS
Their ROG line will include the Maximus VI Extreme, the Maximus VI Formula, the Maximus VI Gene, and the Maximus VI Hero. All ROG boards feature the standard red and black color scheme common to that brand. Additionally, ASUS includes SupremeFX audio standard with all ROG boards and their Sonic Radar on-screen overlay technology. Sonic Radar is an in-game overlay that can be used to accurately pinpoint game-based sound sources. For powering these boards, ASUS includes 60amp-rated blackwing chokes and NexFET MOSFETS with 90% power efficiency operation. Use of these power components was seen to reduce on-board temperatures in the ASUS labs by as much as 5 degrees Celcius.
ASUS Maximus VI Extreme
Courtesy of ASUS
ASUS upped the ante even more with their Maximus VI Extreme board by including the ASUS OC Panel. This panel includes a display and can be mounted in a 5.25" drive bay or used externally for real time voltage and temperature monitoring as well as tweaking of various frequency and voltage BIOS settings. The ASUS OC Panel is supported on all ROG boards and will be available for after-market purchase for the non-Extreme boards.
ASUS Maximus VI Hero
Courtesy of ASUS
The Maximus VI Hero motherboard is the newest member of the ROG line, branded as a more affordable solution for the gamer. This board is marketed as a head-to-head competitor for MSI's MPOWER board.
Continue reading our preview of the ASUS Z87 motherboard lineup!
Seagate recently announced and released their third generation of laptop Solid State Hybrid Drives. Originally thier hybrids carried the Momentus (laptop HDD) name forward, tacking on 'XT' to denote the on-board caching ability. The Momentus XT was intriduced in a 500GB (1st gen) and 750GB (2nd gen) model. The new line gets a new and simple title - Laptop SSHD.
In addition to the new name, we now have two capacity points available. The 'Laptop SSHD' retains the old 9.5mm form factor and now pushes a full 1TB of capacity, while the 'Laptop Thin SSHD' drops a platter and reduces availabile capacity to 500GB. The bonus with the 500GB model is that it maintains similar performance yet shaves off some thickness, making it Seagate's first 7mm Hybrid.
Today we will take a look at the new Thin SSHD, comparing it to the performance of the older generation Seagate Hybrids, as well as to Intel's RST caching solution:
Power and Value
We have seen our fair share of mini-ITX cases and system builds over the last six months, including rigs from Digital Storm and AVADirect. They attempt to offer a balance between performance, power, noise and size and some do it better than others. With the continued development of the mini-ITX form factor more users than ever are realizing you can get nearly top-end performance for gaming in a smaller package.
Today we are taking a look at the iBuyPower Revolt, in particular the Revolt R770, the highest end base offering of the system. Built around a small, but not tiny, PC chassis iBuyPower is able to include some pretty impressive specifications:
- Intel Core i7-3770K processor
- Custom built Z77 mini-ITX motherboard
- NZXT CPU water cooler
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB graphics cards
- 8GB DDR3-1600 memory
- 120 GB Intel 320 Series SSD
- 1TB Western Digital Blue hard drive
You get all of this in a case that is only 16-in x 16-in x 4.5-in built with a glossy black and white color scheme. The company claims that the Revolt was "designed to be a gaming system for any location" including a home theater, a dorm room or in your study. It includes "vents and air channels positioned precisely to deliver cool ambient air exactly where it is needed" and "integrated atmospheric lighting system is customizable in color."
Check out or quick video review below and then follow on to the full post for more photos of the system and a quick check of performance!
Continue reading our review of the iBuyPower Revolt Mini-ITX gaming system!!
Introduction and Features
Enermax has a well-earned reputation for delivering reliable power supplies, enclosures, and other accessories to the PC enthusiast market. Their new TriAthlor Series includes three power supplies including 550W, 650W and 700W models. We will be taking a detailed look at the TriAthlor 550W power supply in this review. All TriAthlor power supplies are certified to deliver 80 Plus Bronze efficiencies and feature modular cables and quiet operation. Ecomaster is the authorized US agent for Enermax branded products.
Enermax TriAthlor Series PSU Key Features:
(Courtesy of Enermax)
Please continue reading our Enermax TriAthlor 550W PSU review!!!
A much needed architecture shift
It has been almost exactly five years since the release of the first Atom branded processors from Intel, starting with the Atom 230 and 330 based on the Diamondville design. Built for netbooks and nettops at the time, the Atom chips were a reaction to a unique market that the company had not planned for. While the early Atoms were great sellers, they were universally criticized by the media for slow performance and sub-par user experiences.
Atom has seen numerous refreshes since 2008, but they were all modifications of the simplistic, in-order architecture that was launched initially. With today's official release of the Silvermont architecture, the Atom processors see their first complete redesign from the ground up. With the focus on tablets and phones rather than netbooks, can Intel finally find a foothold in the growing markets dominated by ARM partners?
I should note that even though we are seeing the architectural reveal today, Intel doesn't plan on having shipping parts until late in 2013 for embedded, server and tablets and not until 2014 for smartphones. Why the early reveal on the design then? I think that pressure from ARM's designs (Krait, Exynos) as well as the upcoming release of AMD's own Kabini is forcing Intel's hand a bit. Certainly they don't want to be perceived as having fallen behind and getting news about the potential benefits of their own x86 option out in the public will help.
Silvermont will be the first Atom processor built on the 22nm process, leaving the 32nm designs of Saltwell behind it. This also marks the beginning of a new change in the Atom design process, to adopt the tick/tock model we have seen on Intel's consumer desktop and notebook parts. At the next node drop of 14nm, we'll see see an annual cadence that first focuses on the node change, then an architecture change at the same node.
By keeping Atom on the same process technology as Core (Ivy Bridge, Haswell, etc), Intel can put more of a focus on the power capabilities of their manufacturing.
Continue reading about the new Intel Silvermont architecture for tablets and phones!!
The Intel HD Graphics are joined by Iris
Intel gets a bad wrap on the graphics front. Much of it is warranted but a lot of it is really just poor marketing about the technologies and features they implement and improve on. When AMD or NVIDIA update a driver or fix a bug or bring a new gaming feature to the table, they are sure that every single PC hardware based website knows about and thus, that as many PC gamers as possible know about it. The same cannot be said about Intel though - they are much more understated when it comes to trumpeting their own horn. Maybe that's because they are afraid of being called out on some aspects or that they have a little bit of performance envy compared to the discrete options on the market.
Today might be the start of something new from the company though - a bigger focus on the graphics technology in Intel processors. More than a month before the official unveiling of the Haswell processors publicly, Intel is opening up about SOME of the changes coming to the Haswell-based graphics products.
We first learned about the changes to Intel's Haswell graphics architecture way back in September of 2012 at the Intel Developer Forum. It was revealed then that the GT3 design would essentially double theoretical output over the currently existing GT2 design found in Ivy Bridge. GT2 will continue to exist (though slightly updated) on Haswell and only some versions of Haswell will actually see updates to the higher-performing GT3 options.
In 2009 Intel announced a drive to increase graphics performance generation to generation at an exceptional level. Not long after they released the Sandy Bridge CPU and the most significant performance increase in processor graphics ever. Ivy Bridge followed after with a nice increase in graphics capability but not nearly as dramatic as the SNB jump. Now, according to this graphic, the graphics capability of Haswell will be as much as 75x better than the chipset-based graphics from 2006. The real question is what variants of Haswell will have that performance level...
I should note right away that even though we are showing you general performance data on graphics, we still don't have all the details on what SKUs will have what features on the mobile and desktop lineups. Intel appears to be trying to give us as much information as possible without really giving us any information.
Our first thoughts and impressions
Since first hearing about the Kickstarter project that raised nearly 2.5 million dollars from over 9,500 contributors, I have eagerly been awaiting the arrival of my Oculus Rift development kit. Not because I plan on quitting the hardware review business to start working on a new 3D, VR-ready gaming project but just because as a technology enthusiast I need to see the new, fun gadgets and what they might mean for the future of gaming.
I have read other user's accounts of their time with the Oculus Rift, including a great write up in a Q&A form Ben Kuchera over at Penny Arcade Report, but I needed my own hands-on time with the consumer-oriented VR (virtual reality) product. Having tried it for very short periods of time at both Quakecon 2012 and CES 2013 (less than 5 minutes) I wanted to see how it performed and more importantly, how my body reacted to it.
I don't consider myself a person that gets motion sick. Really, I don't. I fly all the time, sit in the back of busses, ride roller coasters, watch 3D movies and play fast-paced PC games on large screens. The only instances I tend to get any kind of unease with motion is on what I call "roundy-round" rides, the kind that simply go in circles over and over. Think about something like this, The Scrambler, or the Teacups at Disney World. How would I react to time with the Oculus Rift, this was my biggest fear...
For now I don't want to get into the politics of the Rift, how John Carmack was initially a huge proponent of the project then backed off on how close we might be the higher-quality consumer version of the device. We'll cover those aspects in a future story. For now I only had time for some first impressions.
Watch the video above for a walk through of the development kit as well as some of the demos, as best can be demonstrated in a 2D plane!
Continue on to the full story for some photos and my final FIRST impressions of the Oculus Rift!
Good effort goes a long way
The wait has been long and anxious for Heart of the Swarm, the expansion to 2010's StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty. Blizzard originally hinted at a very rapid release schedule which did not exactly come to fruition. The nearly three years of development time for Heart of the Swarm is longer than a single studio spends on a full Call of Duty title; although, one could make a very credible argument that a Blizzard expansion requires more effort to create than said complete Call of Duty title.
But as Duke Nukem Forever demonstrated, a long time in development does not guarantee a fully baked product coming out the other end.
Blizzard games have always been highly entertaining albeit without deep artistic substance; their games are not first on the list for a university literature syllabus. But, there is a lot of room in life for engaging entertainment. In terms of the PC, Blizzard has always been one of the leading developers for the platform; they know how to deliver an exceptional PC experience if they choose to.
Our 4K Testing Methods
You may have recently seen a story and video on PC Perspective about a new TV that made its way into the office. Of particular interest is the fact that the SEIKI SE50UY04 50-in TV is a 4K television; it has a native resolution of 3840x2160. For those that are unfamiliar with the new upcoming TV and display standards, 3840x2160 is exactly four times the resolution of current 1080p TVs and displays. Oh, and this TV only cost us $1300.
In that short preview we validated that both NVIDIA and AMD current generation graphics cards support output to this TV at 3840x2160 using an HDMI cable. You might be surprised to find that HDMI 1.4 can support 4K resolutions, but it can do so only at 30 Hz (60 Hz 4K TVs won't be available until 2014 most likely), half the refresh rate of most TVs and monitors at 60 Hz. That doesn't mean we are limited to 30 FPS of performance though, far from it. As you'll see in our testing on the coming pages we were able to push out much higher frame rates using some very high end graphics solutions.
I should point out that I am not a TV reviewer and I don't claim to be one, so I'll leave the technical merits of the monitor itself to others. Instead I will only report on my experiences with it while using Windows and playing games - it's pretty freaking awesome. The only downside I have found in my time with the TV as a gaming monitor thus far is with the 30 Hz refresh rate and Vsync disabled situations. Because you are seeing fewer screen refreshes over the same amount of time than you would with a 60 Hz panel, all else being equal, you are getting twice as many "frames" of the game being pushed to the monitor each refresh cycle. This means that the horizontal tearing associated with Vsync will likely be more apparent than it would otherwise.
I would likely recommend enabling Vsync for a tear-free experience on this TV once you are happy with performance levels, but obviously for our testing we wanted to keep it off to gauge performance of these graphics cards.
Continue reading our results from testing 4K 3840x2160 gaming on high end graphics cards!!
heterogeneous Uniform Memory Access
Several years back we first heard AMD's plans on creating a uniform memory architecture which will allow the CPU to share address spaces with the GPU. The promise here is to create a very efficient architecture that will provide excellent performance in a mixed environment of serial and parallel programming loads. When GPU computing came on the scene it was full of great promise. The idea of a heavily parallel processing unit that will accelerate both integer and floating point workloads could be a potential gold mine in wide variety of applications. Alas, the promise of the technology did not meet expectations when we have viewed the results so far. There are many problems with combining serial and parallel workloads between CPUs and GPUs, and a lot of this has to do with very basic programming and the communication of data between two separate memory pools.
CPUs and GPUs do not share common memory pools. Instead of using pointers in programming to tell each individual unit where data is stored in memory, the current implementation of GPU computing requires the CPU to write the contents of that address to the standalone memory pool of the GPU. This is time consuming and wastes cycles. It also increases programming complexity to be able to adjust to such situations. Typically only very advanced programmers with a lot of expertise in this subject could program effective operations to take these limitations into consideration. The lack of unified memory between CPU and GPU has hindered the adoption of the technology for a lot of applications which could potentially use the massively parallel processing capabilities of a GPU.
The idea for GPU compute has been around for a long time (comparatively). I still remember getting very excited about the idea of using a high end video card along with a card like the old GeForce 6600 GT to be a coprocessor which would handle heavy math operations and PhysX. That particular plan never quite came to fruition, but the idea was planted years before the actual introduction of modern DX9/10/11 hardware. It seems as if this step with hUMA could actually provide a great amount of impetus to implement a wide range of applications which can actively utilize the GPU portion of an APU.
Click here to continue reading about AMD's hUMA architecture.
Obsidian Series for under $100
If you need a case for your next PC build, the chances are good that Corsair has a model that you'll like. Ranging from the obscenely large Obsidian 900D to the $69 Carbide 200R and just about everything in between, Corsair has a ton of options Today we are reviewing the brand new entrant to the Obsidian series, the 350D, that brings Corsair to the Micro-ATX form factor.
The Obsidian series is the flagship chassis line from Corsair and typically means you are getting the best of the best from the expanding components company. With an MSRP of just $99 you are definitely making some sacrifices on features and on size, limiting us to Micro-ATX or Mini-ITX motherboards and systems.
The front panel has an attractive brushed finish to it with removable front panel (and fan filter).
Connections up top include headphones, microphone as well as a pair of USB 3.0 ports. There power button is right in the center with dual LEDs on each side. The reset button is just to the right of the mic port and is recessed enough to prevent accidental presses.
Continue reading our review of the Corsair Obsidian 350D chassis!!
Jaguar Hits the Embedded Space
It has long been known that AMD has simply not had a lot of luck going head to head against Intel in the processor market. Some years back they worked on differentiating themselves, and in so doing have been able to stay afloat through hard times. The acquisitions that AMD has made in the past decade are starting to make a difference in the company, especially now that the PC market that they have relied upon for revenue and growth opportunities is suddenly contracting. This of course puts a cramp in AMD's style, but with better than expected results in their previous quarter, things are not nearly as dim as some would expect.
Q1 was still pretty harsh for AMD, but they maintained their marketshare in both processors and graphics chips. One area that looks to get a boost is that of embedded processors. AMD has offered embedded processors for some time, but with the way the market is heading they look to really ramp up their offerings to fit in a variety of applications and SKUs. The last generation of G-series processors were based upon the Bobcat/Brazos platform. This two chip design (APU and media hub) came in a variety of wattages with good performance from both the CPU and GPU portion. While the setup looked pretty good on paper, it was not widely implemented because of the added complexity of a two chip design plus thermal concerns vs. performance.
AMD looks to address these problems with one of their first, true SOC designs. The latest G-series SOC's are based upon the brand new Jaguar core from AMD. Jaguar is the successor to the successful Bobcat core which is a low power, dual core processor with integrated DX11/VLIW5 based graphics. Jaguar improves performance vs. Bobcat in CPU operations between 6% to 13% when clocked identically, but because it is manufactured on a smaller process node it is able to do so without using as much power. Jaguar can come in both dual core and quad core packages. The graphics portion is based on the latest GCN architecture.
The card we have been expecting
Despite all the issues that were brought up with our new graphics performance testing methodology we are calling Frame Rating, there is little debate in the industry that AMD is making noise once again in the graphics field. From the elaborate marketing and game bundles with all Radeon HD 7000 series cards over the last year to the hiring of Roy Taylor, VP of sales but also the company's most vocal supporter.
Along with the marketing though goes plenty of technology and important design wins. With the dominance of the APU on the console side (Wii U, Playstation 4 and the next Xbox), AMD is making sure that the familiarity with its GPU architecture there pays dividends on the PC side as well. Developers will be focusing on AMD's graphics hardware for 5-10 years with the console generation and that could result in improved performance and feature support for Radeon graphics for PC gamers.
Today's release of the Radeon HD 7990 6GB Malta dual-GPU graphics card shows a renewed focus on high-end graphics markets since the release of the Radeon HD 7970 in January of 2012. And while you may have seen something for sale previously with the HD 7990 name attached, those were custom designs built by partners, not by AMD.
Both ASUS and PowerColor currently have high-end dual-Tahiti cards for sale. The PowerColor HD 7990 Devil 13 used the brand directly but ASUS' ARES II kept away from the name and focused on its own high-end card brands instead.
The "real" Radeon HD 7990 card was first teased at GDC in March and takes a much less dramatic approach to its design without being less impressive technically. The card includes a pair of Tahiti, HD 7970-class GPUs on a single PCB with 6GB of total memory. The raw specifications are listed here:
Considering there are two HD 7970 GPUs on the HD 7990, the doubling of the major specs shouldn't be surprising though it is a little deceiving. There are 8.6 billion transistors yes, but there are still 4.3 billion on each GPU. Yes there are 4096 stream processors but only 2048 on each GPU requiring software GPU scaling to increase performance. The same goes with texture fill rate, compute performance, memory bandwidth, etc. The same could be said for all dual-GPU graphics cards though.
Continue reading our review of the AMD Radeon HD 7990 6GB Graphics Card!!
A very early look at the future of Catalyst
Today is a very interesting day for AMD. It marks both the release of the reference design of the Radeon HD 7990 graphics card, a dual-GPU Tahiti behemoth, and the first sample of a change to the CrossFire technology that will improve animation performance across the board. Both stories are incredibly interesting and as it turns out both feed off of each other in a very important way: the HD 7990 depends on CrossFire and CrossFire depends on this driver.
If you already read our review (or any review that is using the FCAT / frame capture system) of the Radeon HD 7990, you likely came away somewhat unimpressed. The combination of a two AMD Tahiti GPUs on a single PCB with 6GB of frame buffer SHOULD have been an incredibly exciting release for us and would likely have become the single fastest graphics card on the planet. That didn't happen though and our results clearly state why that is the case: AMD CrossFire technology has some serious issues with animation smoothness, runt frames and giving users what they are promised.
Our first results using our Frame Rating performance analysis method were shown during the release of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan card in February. Since then we have been in constant talks with the folks at AMD to figure out what was wrong, how they could fix it, and what it would mean to gamers to implement frame metering technology. We followed that story up with several more that showed the current state of performance on the GPU market using Frame Rating that painted CrossFire in a very negative light. Even though we were accused by some outlets of being biased or that AMD wasn't doing anything incorrectly, we stuck by our results and as it turns out, so does AMD.
Today's preview of a very early prototype driver shows that the company is serious about fixing the problems we discovered.
If you are just catching up on the story, you really need some background information. The best place to start is our article published in late March that goes into detail about how game engines work, how our completely new testing methods work and the problems with AMD CrossFire technology very specifically. From that piece:
It will become painfully apparent as we dive through the benchmark results on the following pages, but I feel that addressing the issues that CrossFire and Eyefinity are creating up front will make the results easier to understand. We showed you for the first time in Frame Rating Part 3, AMD CrossFire configurations have a tendency to produce a lot of runt frames, and in many cases nearly perfectly in an alternating pattern. Not only does this mean that frame time variance will be high, but it also tells me that the value of performance gained by of adding a second GPU is completely useless in this case. Obviously the story would become then, "In Battlefield 3, does it even make sense to use a CrossFire configuration?" My answer based on the below graph would be no.
An example of a runt frame in a CrossFire configuration
NVIDIA's solution for getting around this potential problem with SLI was to integrate frame metering, a technology that balances frame presentation to the user and to the game engine in a way that enabled smoother, more consistent frame times and thus smoother animations on the screen. For GeForce cards, frame metering began as a software solution but was actually integrated as a hardware function on the Fermi design, taking some load off of the driver.
Continue reading our article on the new prototype driver from AMD to address frame pacing issues in CrossFire!!
Introduction and Technical Specifications
Courtesy of GIGABYTE
The Z77N-WiFi is GIGABYTE's latest edition to the Mini-ITX lineup. Although the board is not as packed with features as some of the other enthusiast-minded mini-ITX boards, GIGABYTE did some interesting things with the board layout to space components out on the board more evenly. The Z77N-WiFi even comes standard with dual-Realtek GbE NICs and an Intel 802.11n-based WiFi mPCIe card. We put the board through our normal gamut of tests to see how well this mighty mite sized up with its full-sized brethren. The Z77N-WiFi board comes with an equally reasonable retail price at a mere $129.99.
Continue reading our review of the GIGABYTE Z77N-WiFi motherboard!
Introduction, Specifications and Packaging
A while back, we saw OCZ undergo a major restructuring. 150+ product SKUs were removed from their lineup, leaving a solid core group of products for the company to focus on. The Vertex and Agility lines were spared, and the Vector was introduced and well received by the community. With all of that product trimming, we were bound to see another release at some point:
Today we see a branch from one of those tree limbs in the form of the Vertex 3.20. This is basically a Vertex 3, but with the 25nm IMFT Sync flash replaced by newer 20nm IMFT Sync flash. The drop to 20nm comes with a slight penalty in write endurance (3000 cycles, down from the 5000 rating of 25nm) for the gain of cheaper production cost (more dies per 300mm wafer).
IMFT has been cooking up 20nm flash for a while now, and it is becoming mature enough to enter the mainstream. The first entrant was Intel's own 335 Series, which debuted late last year. 20nm flash has no real groundbreaking improvements other than the reduced size, so the hope is that this shrink will translate to lower cost/GB to the end user. Let's see how the new Vertex shakes out.
- Capacity: 120, 240GB
- Sequential read: 550 MB/sec
- Sequential write: 520 MB/sec
- Random read IOPS (up to): 35 k-IOPS
- Random write IOPS (up to): 65 k-IOPS
This simple plastic packaging does away with the 3.5" bracket previously included with all OCZ models.
Continue reading our review of the OCZ Vertex 3.20 240GB SSD!!
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The Amazing Race
If you're itching for a little adventure, but don't have the guts to abandon house and home for an Indiana Jones-style exploit, the CitySolve Urban Race might be right up your alley.
This "urban adventure game" is like a real-world version of everyone's favorite exercise in one-upmanship, Trivial Pursuit. Players take to the city streets in teams of two to solve puzzles, complete challenges and answer questions. In past races, racers have had to bowl a strike, build a house of cards, identify an ice cream flavor, and put a puzzle together.
Who knows what crazy Miami-style ride these folks have planned. Chugging a Call a Cab and surviving brain freeze at Wet Willie's? Taking a bath in the Hialeah Fountain? Chugging a colada before running a mile? Probably none of the above – but speculating wildly is fun, isn't it?
Prizes for top performers include $300 for first place, $100 for second place, and $50 for third place. There's also a costume contest, a funniest tweet contest and top family honor.
Sat., Nov. 3, noon, 2012
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900 S. Miami Ave.
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All the top TV stars hit the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills on Tuesday night for the TV GUIDE Magazine's Hot List Party. Young and sultry Selena Gomez looked riveting in a simple yet statement, cap-sleeved white mini dress, perfectly finishing off the ensemble with beige heels and a metallic clutch.
PHOTOS: See Courteney Cox, Selena Gomez, Stephanie Jacobsen, Eva LaRue, Busy Phillips, Gretchen Rossi, Jenna Elfman, Jessica Lucas, Julie Benz, Karina Smirnoff, Christina Moore And Perrey Reeves Make The Hot List!
What Dancing star had a fashion nightmare when a 90210 actress showed up wearing the same frock? Check out the gallery in Style to find out!


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Under the FDA's proposal, food importers must notify the FDA at least 24 hours before shipments arrive in the U.S. The rules would also require domestic producers to register with the FDA. Click here to read the FDA's announcement.
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Featured Services
All adults in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, home healthcare agencies and health maintenance organizations, have certain rights under Florida law.
You have the right to fill out an "advance directive," explaining in advance what kind of treatment you want or do not want under special, serious medical conditions—conditions that would stop you from telling your doctor your choices. For example, if you are taken to a healthcare facility in a coma, would you want the facility staff to know your specific wishes about decisions regarding your treatment?
Here are the questions about advance directives that people ask most often:
Two forms of advance directives are: Living Will and Healthcare Surrogate. An advance directive allows you to state your choices about healthcare and/or to name someone to make those choices for you if you become unable to make decisions about your own medical treatment. An advance directive enables you to make decisions about your future medical treatment.
A living will generally states the kind of medical care you want or do not want if you become unable to make your own decisions. It is called a "living will" because it takes effect while you are still living. Florida law provides a suggested form for a living will. You may use it or some other form. You may wish to speak to your physician to be certain you have completed the living will in a way that your wishes will be understood.
A "healthcare surrogate" designation is a signed, dated and witnessed paper naming another person - such as a husband, wife, adult child, other relative or friend - as your agent to make medical decisions for you if you should become unable to make them for yourself. You can include instructions about any treatment you want or do not want. Florida law provides a suggested form for designation of a healthcare surrogate. The form provided by Munroe Regional Medical Center follows guidelines set forth in Florida law. You may use this form or another form if you choose. You may also wish to name a second person to act as your surrogate in the event the first person you name is not available.
You may wish to have both a living will and a surrogate. You can combine them into a single document that describes your treatment choices in a variety of situations and names someone to make decisions for you. For example, using the healthcare surrogate form, you can designate a surrogate and an alternate. In addition, you may write in any specific treatment you want or do not want. The wishes you have expressed in writing cannot be overridden by your surrogate. However, in situations where you have not specified a particular wish, the surrogate probably can make the decision you would have made. This is why it is very important to talk at length with your surrogate. Discuss how you feel about various medical treatments and issues, your religious beliefs and any other information you feel may help your surrogate make the decision you would have made.
No, there is no legal requirement to complete an advance directive. However, if you have not made an advance directive or designated a healthcare surrogate, decisions will be made for you by a proxy appointed by the healthcare institution. The proxy will be a court appointed guardian, your spouse, your adult child, your parent, your adult sibling, an adult relative or a close friend and will be chosen in that order.
Yes, you may change or cancel the documents at any time you choose to do so. Any change should be written, signed and dated. You can also change an advance directive by oral statement.
An advance directive completed in another state, in compliance with another state's laws, can be honored in Florida .
Munroe is happy to provide advance directive information and a living will/healthcare surrogate form. English version | Spanish version
The 2015 Marion County Community Health Assessment Steering Committee has been working to identify the most pressing health issues in Marion County. They are asking for the community's help.More
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CHICAGO, IL - JUNE 14: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) and former President Bill Clinton depart after speaking to guests at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) on June 14, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. The CGI was established in 2005 by Clinton with the intention of convening world leaders to address pressing global issues. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Gov. Chris Christie appeared on a network morning TV show, apparently to explain why he went to Chicago for a sit-down with former President Bill Clinton rather than to Washington for a conservative religion-oriented group. The answer is because he is a shrewd politician, but he can't say that.
On the show, he made it simple: Clinton called and invited him to the Clinton Global Initiative America conference to talk about natural disasters and government's role. He thought that was important and had recent experience, so he went.
Hillary Clinton, first in line for the Democrats' nomination ...


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Drone Captures Tesla's New Gigafactory in Stunning HD Video
This Robot Is Cute, Artificially Intelligent and Employed
Longtime Twitter Cheerleader Chris Sacca Is Dropping the Pompoms
What's in This Picture? AI Becomes as Smart as a Toddler
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Longtime Twitter Cheerleader Chris Sacca Is Dropping the Pompoms
What's in This Picture? AI Becomes as Smart as a Toddler
Global Tech
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An Emergency Hot Dog Hotline and Other Top Stories From the PR Wires
Steve Wynn's Slap at Nevada Free-Speech Law Draws Howl From Yelp
On Letterman's Next Top 10 List: What to Do With His Company
Facebook Is Next Frontier in Philippines' Insider Trading Battle
Tweeting With a Kardashian: Star Shares Her Social-Media Tips
Toy Vey: The Rabbi Selling Kosher Vibrators
"Even though every rabbi in that world that I've spoken to reacted positively to the idea, it's not something I can publicize"
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Bloomberg's Cory Johnson reports on the performance of Hewlett-Packard. He speaks on "Bloomberg Markets." (Source: Bloomberg)
Expedia at Record High After Selling ELong Stake
Bloomberg's Julie Hyman updates the latest market news. She speaks on "Bloomberg Markets." (Source: Bloomberg)
Inside HP's Earnings: What's Ahead for Computer Maker?
Hewlett-Packard reported fiscal second-quarter profit that exceeded analysts' estimates as corporate spending on servers picked up ahead of the computer maker's planned separation into two companies. Bloomberg Intelligence's Anand Srinivasan reports on "Market Makers." (Source: Bloomberg)
The Role of Finance in the Fight Against Climate Change
Engie Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gerard Mestrallet discusses the role of the financial community in the fight against climate change and importance of reducing carbon emissions. He speaks with Caroline Connan on Bloomberg Television's "Countdown." (Source: Bloomberg)
Liston, Baker, Yuen: Canada's Technology Industry
Tom Liston, a managing partner at Difference Capital Financial Inc., John Baker, president and chief executive officer of D2L Corp., and Ivan Yuen, co-founder and chief product officer of Wattpad, participate in a panel discussion about Shopify Inc.'s initial public offering and the outlook for Canada's technology industry. Bloomberg's Gerrit De Vynck moderated the panel Thursday at the Bloomberg Canada Economic Summit in Toronto. (Source: Bloomberg)
Hack the Planet
Elbit Expands Cybersecurity Business With $158 Million Deal
FireEye CEO Sees Large Companies Coveting Cybersecurity Firms
Bank Overseer Lawsky to Exit With New York $6 Billion Richer
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A busy morning already, get caught up here


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Ultrasound Center - Roseville, MI
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View the High-Resolution Video (requires QuickTime)Director Peter Berg '80 and Hollywood legend Will Smith pulled a few strings and convinced Mr. Mac to declare a Headmaster Holiday--a day off from classes--tomorrow.After playing the video in Assembly, Headmaster Willy MacMullen reminded students to get plenty of sleep."It was great fun talking to Peter about this announcement," Willy adds. "He's a great friend of Taft, and while I might be popular for an hour or two because of this announcement, he is a god in the kids' minds today."The "announcement" had apparently been in the works for weeks, ever since Peter's visit to campus last month to host a special screening of his film Friday Night Lights for the senior class.To kick off the holiday, the school will also show Berg's film The Kingdom in Bingham Auditorium tonight.Download movie for iPhone/iPod/Smartphone (28.1MB, .m4v format)
Details for family members of the Class of 2015
Hundreds Gathered for Second Run to Remember in Honor of Zoë Brooks Klimley '15
Celebrating 125 Years With Tafties from Near and Far
266 donors from the Taft community contributed to the Annual Fund on May 5
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Results 1 to 30 of 34
Thread: My very first sketchbook
December 10th, 2008 #1
My very first sketchbook
Hey everyone!
Well, I am totally new to this site, so I hope I am posting my sketchbook in the right place......if not let me know.
I am a pencil artist, and do not understand photoshop, or painter, yet I do have both. I am here to learn, (I really want to know how to color, and use photoshop, and painter, so if you have any links to good forums, video's etc...let me know please!)
ALL my work is simple, (most unfinished) and just in pencils, or ink. If they have color, they were done with brushes, and ink.....except a few that I tried to do with photoshop, and those were just backgrounds.
I have never taken any classes, and I have been drawing since birth basically. I lost inspiration a few years ago, and have just now started to get back into drawing.
I want to you all to be brutally honest in critique. I am a big boy, and can handle it. I know all my drawings have flaws, yet once in a while, those flaws are what I like most.
So, again, if you have any links for tutorials for photoshop/ painter (video, written, images, etc..), and/or critique to give me, I appreciate it!
Now without further jibber jabber.....my sketches.
This I did for my wife, she needed a skull for a mock CD cover she was making in her school. pencil then inked.
Here is the backside to the mock CD cover....pencil, then inked
I drew this with pencil for a friend......never finished the background though
This....well what can I say, I like the female body =D...done in pencil.
Got bored during the holidays one year after 9/11 and figured Santa has to go through security checks as well.....done in pencil, then inked
Again.....female body, but I tried to color it with inks....I found out I am not much for hand coloring things.
Got real bored one day, and drew this entirely with ink.....nothing fancy, but I liked it.
Well, I still haven't finished this one, and started it over 8 years ago. I know, I know....my perspective is WAY off. I actually was intending this so it would make the robots seem larger, but I think it may have got outta hand....done in pencil.
I drew this a long time ago, and don't even have the original any more....I wish I did. You see the background? That was one of my first experiences with digital art. I tried to make the background look blurry (out of focus) and did a HORRIBLE job. However, this is the only scanned version of this picture I can find......hence wishing I still had the original for a clean scan without digital manipulation......I hope I can find the original scan somewhere on an old disk, or hard drive.....done in pencil
Well, that is it for now. I do have lots more drawings....most are in real early stages, or in storage somewhere. I will try to post more stuff sometime soon. Maybe I can finish some of the current ones I am working on.
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Hide this ad by registering as a memberDecember 11th, 2008 #2
Excellent stuff. I really like the way you are playing with composition in the robot one and the Santa one. Also the last frog is a very nice pencil rendering, you've established a highlight, middle tone, and shadow. Keep up the good work and draw draw draw.. looking good!!!!
Wesley Matthew Phillip Eggebrecht
Blog - http://www.artbywesley.com/
Portfolio - WesleyEggebrecht.com
**CA Sketchbook**
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December 12th, 2008 #3
December 12th, 2008 #4Draw or Die !
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Hey dude, nice sketchbook, I love the first frog, nice shading, and the composition of rabaot scene is great ! keep it up
contact: kikindaface.art at gmail.com
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December 12th, 2008 #5
January 5th, 2009 #6
So when are we going to get an update? You got some good stuff here and my personal favorite is the one with Giant robots crushing buildings. I know you refer to the off perspective but as a viewer I don't even notice it because I'm drawn to the giant robots and the drama that you have created with the lighting. That image is also the closest to being a finished illustration.
What kind of Critiques / advice are you looking for specifically? Without having more to go on ( art goals) I'd suggest that you keep practicing and focus on the basica lke anatomy and form. One can NEVER get enough practice at this.
Speaking of which, time for me to get back to work!
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January 19th, 2009 #7Nomad
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hey nice stuff you got there really like the robot one, only reason i really noticed the perspective thing is because you commented on it =P
anyway keep updating your work is awesome
Please take a quick look and throw some feedback my way, would be much appreciated
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January 19th, 2009 #8
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January 19th, 2009 #9
Anyway, thanks again!
January 19th, 2009 #10
January 19th, 2009 #11
the robot piece is great, the frog shows decent shadingskills and the comic-like pieces are adorable!
a damn smooth start!
greets, ben
January 19th, 2009 #12
Some things I have been working on in the past few days
This one is a really rough sketch I did the other night. A reference was used. Done in pencil.
This was done a while back. I never did finish it, because I didn't really know where to go with it. I was going to attempt to color it with Photoshop, but realized......I have no idea how to even use photoshop for coloring =D....so I left it as is.
Critique is very welcome......so are compliments =D
Last edited by Americandodo; January 19th, 2009 at 04:00 AM.
January 20th, 2009 #13
January 20th, 2009 #14
Here is a new one I did last night
Well, I did this last night in pencil (took about an hour, and used a reference). I know there are many flaws, but I am not all that great at portraits. Any guesses who it is?
Any, and I mean ANY critique you folks can give me will be much appreciated! I would really like to get some pointers from you on portraits, or drawing in general.
Thanks everyone!
January 20th, 2009 #15
actually i think this portrait is pretty good for someone claiming not to be good at portraits Keep in mind that you choose to use 3/4 sight/perspective - (?? sry don't know the english name and currently to lazy to look it up in the loomis books ) - which is the hardest one to use for a beginner. profiles or full frontals are easier.
what you might consider working on:
- use stronger lightning, it gives more contrast and makes your portrait look more dynamic and alive
- have a look at lip-/mouth-construction and remember your nose is built of three dimensonal shapes,too.... to indicate this simply think of "value change equals form change"
- and a lil trick which always helps me to get at least a little bit of a realisitc look is the following:
1. cast shadows -> hard edges (2 to 3 times darker than core,rule of thumb)
2. core shadows -> soft edges blend into structure to indicate form
3. use reflected light
i hope this doesn't sound rude, if it does it's not intentional! i'm still learning this, too and i see a long road ahead of me... well it's rather like walking the highway through nevada-desert and waiting for the bats to show up fear-and-loathing-style
January 20th, 2009 #16
Thank you Carg0re!!! That is just the kind of critique I was hoping to get. I will try out some of the stuff you are talking about. I saw nothing rude about your reply, all I saw was useful tips, and things I should try out...........(after all, I did ask for tips =D)
Again. thank you VERY much for your reply!!! After work, I am gonna get right on some drawing, and try out some stuff. I wish more people would be honest, and actually leave me critique and tips like you did. I have 240 something page views, and only 14 replies...half of which are my own =D
Anyway, thanks again....MUCH APPRECIATED!!!
January 20th, 2009 #17
i always like to be helpfull i just thought it would sound kinda teacher-like and i didn't want to sound like that, coz i' not good at drawing..^^
have fun, ben
January 21st, 2009 #18
January 22nd, 2009 #19
Something old
I did this MANY years ago, but I thought....what the heck, I will post it
January 23rd, 2009 #20
yay, looks like good ol' uncle sam got a bit too old
it's a great sketch, try to render it some more...don't be afraid, you know why humans invented erasers? because it makes us able to erase what we don't like ... you can always go back to your linework!
keep in mind, that if you want to make a career in art, there will (!!!) definetly be a gazillion piece you don't like on the road... just part of the process... that's why i like to think of the future... because maybe in ten years or so, i will acutally be able to draw a picture i like^^
greets, Ben
January 25th, 2009 #21
just a quick drive by to say happy birthday hope you're out partying and having a helluva time!
greets, Ben
January 25th, 2009 #22
As for you, I believe you have a great future ahead of you. you have a GREAT outlook on things, and you really do have the skill (which reminds me, I am going to your sketchbook, and I hope to see some new work from ya!
Anyway, thanks again!
January 25th, 2009 #23
February 15th, 2009 #24
Well, I got some inspiration to do some coloring
I ran across this fantastic artist on another site (not sure about posting links here), but his screen name on the other place is called odavis. He is an AMAZING color pencilist. I gained some great inspiration from him, and decided to try colored pencils (seeing as how I am horrible at digital media). Anyway, I would be very grateful for any critique on my coloring. I know it is not great, but I am looking for tips, and pointers.
Thanks everyone!
February 23rd, 2009 #25
My first attempt at digital
Well, here is my first attempt at photoshop. I did this totally from scratch, and used no references. I did it for two reasons...one, I am an old school GI-Joe fan, and two......Destro seemed easier since he has a metal head =D
Let me know what you think......I would appreciate any critique at all, or ANY tips you have for digital art. I am totally new to this medium, so I am grateful for any pointers.
February 24th, 2009 #26
hah! didn't think I'd see destro again! I like the passion that comes out of the stuff you posted..its clear that you put a lot of attention into drawing these and yet still enjoyed yourself in the process! keep it up!
as for the crits...Destro's face is tilting/ drifting slightly..always check your sketches for tilting before painting over them..
MY DAY JOB http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=136204
MY ANGRY SKETCHBOOKhttp://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...129015&page=13
February 26th, 2009 #27
yay, updates! that's cool... good to see ya here again for a first attempt it looks pretty well done, but you might consider a stronger silouette, and a harder brush, gives more definition. next month i'll finally have my wacom, so we can explore digital painting togehter if you like
greets, ben
February 27th, 2009 #28
Thanks for the compliments! Yeah, I do have lots of fun drawing! Oh, and yeah, that Destro face is a bit tilted isn't it =D I guess I didn't even realize it till I looked at it again....but that is hard to miss, HAHAHA Maybe next time I will make sure to make things a bit more straight Thanks for stopping by, and the critique! I don't get many visitors to my sketchbook, so it is nice when someone leaves a comment!
February 27th, 2009 #29
Hey Ben! Long time no speak! Thanks for the tip! I don't really know much of anything when it comes to digital art, but it would be SUPER to explore digital painting together with ya! What kind of wacom are you getting? I have an old graphire 4x6, but I have been looking at getting an intuos...I don't know what size to get, or if it really matters? I know I am on a budget though =D
Talk to ya later, and thanks for the comments!
February 27th, 2009 #30
Hey everyone....well everyone who actually stops by my sketchbook =D I wanted to post this colored pencil work I did recently. Let me know what you think, and any critique would be great! I am also posting the reference photo I used, so I can give props to the woman BBliss! It is her photo, and her in it. She gave me permission to draw her...so I say give credit where credit is due
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Back Pain Health Center
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Stem Cells to Relieve Low Back Pain?
By Brenda Goodman HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, April 12 (HealthDay News) -- Medical researchers are trying a new treatment for low back pain. Their hope is that harvesting and then re-injecting the body's own bone marrow -- which is rich in stem cells -- may repair worn-out discs in the spine. In a smRead Full Article


text: [[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/high_sierra_3239.jpg]]This depression era heist film is one of HumphreyBogart's breakout roles that made him a star, along with ''Film/TheMalteseFalcon''.Bogart stars as robber Roy Earle, pardoned six years into a life sentence through the machinations of ailing crime lord Big Mac. Earle has been broken out to do one last heist, alongside two young toughs, who disgust him with their lack of discipline and smarts. Earle finds himself out of place in a world that is changing fast. His failed romance with a young Dust Bowl refugee convinces him that he has no place in honest life, but when the heist goes bad, he finds loyal companionship in the form of Marie, a dancehall girl from Los Angeles.----!! This movie contains examples of:* BadassInANiceSuit* TheCaper: Roy, Babe, and Red rob a resort hotel* ClimbingClimax: Earle flees the police up the rocky slopes of the titular High Sierra* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Everybody dies except Rodriguez, who talked, and Marie, who's going to prison or possibly an asylum, as she appears to be having a nervous breakdown at the end.]]* FilmNoir: This is a classic example, although one might consider it a gangster film or pre-noir, as many consider the genre to have been defined with ''Film/TheMalteseFalcon''.* NeverGoingBackToPrison: Roy is haunted by BadDreams of prison, and is determined to never return. [[spoiler:Like so many other examples of this trope, he eventually chooses SuicideByCop rather than get taken back to prison.]]* OneLastJob: Roy wants to retire after this heist* {{Retirony}}: [[spoiler: He ends up dead]].----


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Gholson: Campo leaves wearing 4 rings
Happy trails, Dave Campo.
You will be remembered as the worst head coach the Dallas Cowboys ever had.
And after the shabby performance by the defensive backs this season, you may also be known as the worst assistant coach the Dallas Cowboys ever had.
Neither is fair.
Campo's only coaching sin is he worked for an owner who doesn't know his donkey from a hole in the ground.
When Jerry Jones made Campo his head coach in 2000, he didn't interview anyone outside the gates of Valley Ranch.
After firing Chan Gailey, the Cowboys owner reportedly interviewed three of his assistant coaches — Joe Avezzano, Hudson Houck and Campo.
Eeny, meeny, miny, Campo.
He was 52 at the time with 28 years of coaching experience, all as an assistant.
Before following Jimmy Johnson from the University of Miami to the Cowboys in 1989, Campo had 11 assistant coaching jobs in 17 years.
From Central Connecticut State to Albany to Bridgeport to Pittsburgh to Washington State to Boise State to Oregon State to Weber State to Iowa State to Syracuse to Miami.
Campo won a national championship coaching the secondary in Miami. but some say Jimmy didn't want to take him to Dallas. Dave Wannstedt had to talk him into it.
"Aw, Jimmy didn't like anybody," Wannstedt once said. "Jimmy knew Dave did a great job. Dave and I worked great together, and the bottom line with Jimmy was winning games."
Jimmy won two Super Bowl rings with Campo coaching his secondary.
In his first year as defensive coordinator, Campo won another Super Bowl under Barry Switzer in 1995.
He was a loyal and valuable assistant to Johnson, Switzer and Chan Gailey for 11 NFL seasons, patiently waiting for the chance to run his own show.
"I'd like to be a head coach in the future, there's no question about it," Campo told me back during the 1999 training camp here. "If you're in this business and you have a passion for the game, you want to do your own thing sometime."
His "sometime" came on Jan. 26, 2000 when Mr. Jones gave him the keys to Tom Landry's old office at Valley Ranch,
Campo — one of the really nice guys in the NFL — inherited an old team whose best days were behind them.
The "Triplets" had become a duet after Michael Irvin's retirement. That duet soon became an Emmitt Smith solo when Troy Aikman's career ended with a 10th concussion.
And since Mr. Jones had traded away the Cowboys' first-round draft picks in 1999 and 2000 to Seattle for Joey Galloway, there wasn't a lot of great young talent on their roster.
In Campo's first draft as head coach, the owner took Dwayne Goodrich, who last I heard was serving prison time here in our own ZIP code.
The next year, Mr. Jones got his "quarterback of the future" in Quincy Carter.
So don't blame Campo for going 5-11, 5-11 and 5-11 in his three seasons as head coach.
He may have had the "head coach" title, but we know who was calling the shots, don't we?
When Campo returned to Dallas as secondary coach in 2008 after being fired, Mr. Jones was already on his sixth head coach and the Cowboys still hadn't won a playoff game since 1996.
Guys like Kevin Smith, Deion Sanders and Darren Woodson were no longer around.
Guys like Gerald Sensabaugh, Alan Ball and an aging Terence Newman had taken their place.
And although Wade Phillips was the head coach, you-know-who was still calling the shots.
Well, you-know-who decided this week that the team would not renew Campo's contract.
That's understandable when your pass defense was 23rd in the league and really stunk it up the last month of the season.
Dumping Campo — who was quickly hired to be Kansas' defensive coordinator — is only a Band Aid, not a cure for what ails the Cowboys. This team needs new players, not new coaches.
You-know-who needs to fire the general manager — who, as we all know, also is you-know-who.
Sports Editor Nick Gholson can be reached at email@example.com or 940-720-3447.
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Apps, Forms & Handbooks
Student Teaching
- Application for Student Teaching
- Complete and submit online 12 months prior to intended student teaching semester for all majors except ADED . ADED must sign up one year prior to the practicum semester. ADED signs up only in the Fall semester since student teaching and practicum are in same location.
- DEADLINE is the 15th day of the semester.
Out-of-State Student Teaching
- Application for Out-of-State Student Teaching
- For all teacher education majors except Deaf Education and Educational Interpreting, there is a $130.00 placement fee (payable to KSU)
- At one of the following three locations:
- Collier/Lee Counties Florida
- Paradise Valley, Arizona
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Student Teaching at an Out-of-State School for the Deaf
- Students should complete the out of state application above after meeting with your program adviser to determine if the program will allow you to attend an out of state placement.
For Deaf Education and Education Interpreting candidates who are assigned to an Out-of-State placement by the university, there are NO STUDENT FEES. However, students who willfully elect to be placed out-of-state in lieu of being placed at an available partnering district within Ohio, a fee of $130.00 will be required (payable to KSU), along with completion of all necessary documents.
Consortium for Overseas Student Teaching (C.O.S.T.)
Please see Dr. Cushner in Room 401 White Hall or Rose Onders in 215 White Hall for COST application materials.
- Local information at this website: http://www2.kent.edu/ehhs/ciie/cost/index.cfm
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Student Teaching Forms
All forms must be completed on-line, printed, and returned to 304 White Hall
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text: A Role for Dustin McGowan From BlueBirdBanter.com Nov 6, 2013 Share Tweet Next ARTICLE » Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse more stories Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images 80 Reads 0 Comments Dustin McGowan used to be more of idea than a pitcher, but now he's healthy and under contract. So where does he fit? Continue Reading on BlueBirdBanter.com »


text:
Read NETWORK's most recent Connection issue on comprehensive immigration reform. Read more
Read the Connection issue the movement toward immigration justice. Read more
PROBLEM: Approximately five million American children live with at least one undocumented parent.
SOLUTION: Require undocumented individuals to come forward and register with the government, pass a background check, pay fines and back taxes, and demonstrate proficiency in English.
During the 2008 election season, as the political parties developed their political platforms, many Catholics groups came together to develop a Platform for the Common Good. This platform is based on principles from Catholic social tradition and addresses what we can do to make our nation "a more perfect union" focused on the common good.
Platform for the Common Good
How does legalization encourage immigrants to integrate into American society?
NETWORK—a Catholic leader in the global movement for justice and peace—educates, organizes and lobbies for economic and social transformation.NETWORK—un líder Católico en el movimiento global para la justicia y paz—educa, organiza, y cabildea para la transformación económica y social.


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Release Date: 2004 |
Album Rating: 3.5Simply needed a different review compared to the other one. I hope I've been able to do it more justice, it's a pretty good listen. It really is a 3.5 instead of a 3 thanks to Carpenter and Friedman.
As always, if you have any criticism, please let me know. I would madly appreciate to improve my writing skills and I haven't had a lot of criticism on my last couple reviews.
Interesting might give this a listen later.
Album Rating: 2.5I never really got into this at all. There's some decent tracks, but I wasn't overly impressed with anything except for Hollow.
Album Rating: 3.5That's a while ago, can't say I got it first day it came out. Did you like it a lot back then? Fully agree it's radio rock, fully disagree it's average, the vocals and guitars are too good for that in quite a few songs. Like I mention in my first comment, the album would be a flat 3 if it weren't for those.
LisbonGirls, if you do check it out, let me know how you like it.
Album Rating: 4.5good review man, love this album so much.
Album Rating: 4.5still love this album, Carpenter is an amazing vocalist
Album Rating: 3.5Even after all these years, Hollow is one of those few mainstream hard rock songs that stands the test of time. The guy's singing does it for me.
'Hollow' brings 5th grade nostalgia. And you're right, it's still a legitimately good track.
Digging: Kamelot - Haven
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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Faking It: Israel Story, Episode 1
Forging ancient artifacts, procuring army sick passes, and pretending to be normal after a traumatic brain injury
Israel Story is listener-supported. If you like what you've heard, please click here to make a donation.
In our very first episode, the Israel Story team delves into the realm of fakes, forgeries, and mimicry. Three stories, from different periods and places, of people pretending to to be something they are not. (You can find Sipur Israeli, the original, Hebrew version of Israel Story, here.) [Listen to full episode here, or download from iTunes.]
Prologue: The Israeli This American Life?! Mishy Harman talks to Ira Glass, host of the popular public radio program, about what it feels like to have an Israeli copycat. [Listen.]
Act I: Truly Fake. In 19th-century Jerusalem, Moses Wilhelm Shapira created fanciful forgeries of ancient Moabite artifacts that shook the world. But even today, 130 years later, no one is quite sure what to make of them. Are they fake? Real? Or both? (A version of this story first aired on PRI's To The Best of Our Knowledge.) [Listen.]
Act II: Buzz Kill. An IDF cadet proves that there basically isn't anything we wouldn't do for love. [Listen.]
Act III: Disharmonia. Noa Guy was a promising Israeli composer and world-class pianist. When she came to New York 21 years ago to rehearse for a concert with Isaac Stern at Carnegie Hall, she never imagined the city would become her permanent home, or that her relationship to music would change forever. [Listen.]
Losing Facebook Friends Over the War in Gaza
I tried to stay out of the fray, but I finally had to go public with my opinions about Israel, even if it meant my friends disagreed


text:
- Suzuka Ishikawa
- Set of 90 pictures
- Download full set in zip
- Add to favorites
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Laws protecting female workers from discrimination have succeeded, more women are entering and remaining in the workforce in more diverse occupations than ever before. With expanded participation has come the need to adapt the workplace to pregnant and breast-feeding workers. It is estimated that 75 percent of women entering the workforce will be pregnant during their employment, and 75 percent of new mothers choose to breastfeed. Discrimination claims result when pregnancy-related needs conflict with working conditions and benefits.
Enacted in 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act banned employment discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. More than 35 years and several laws later, we're still grappling with how to apply that edict to the realities of today's workplace. As more women juggle pregnancy and childbirth-related issues with the demands of their work, employers must navigate some highly personal personnel issues.
Originally published on Law.com on June 13, 2014.
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The IncGamers PAL Steam game winner is…9 Aug 2013
Each month we reward one of our loyal PAL site supporters with a Steam game of their choice, any game from the vast Steam catalogue.
July's winner has now been selected by the powers that be and that winner is Zarniwoop. So what did he pick? Zarniwoop gave us a few choices but his main selected was Planetary Annihilation which is still in the development stage and is posted under the Steam Early Access scheme.
Well done to Zarniwoop and watch out for August's draw at the start of next month.Related to this story
Register an IncGamers account to post comments or use Disqus.
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Date: 01/30/2010
Time: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: 3911 W 50th Street, Edina Landmark Theatres Edina
Cost: $12 CGES friends/ $5 students
Please join us for a special film screening and after film Q & A with U
of MN professors Eric Weitz (History) and Gerhard Weiss (GSD)
/North Face /(Germany and Austria, 2008). Running time: 121 min.
Directed by Philipp Stölzl; written by Christoph Silber, Rupert Henning,
Philipp Stölzl, and Johannes Naber. Cast: Benno Fürmann, Johanna
Wokalek, Florian Lukas, Simon Schwarz, Georg Friedrich, Ulrich Tukur.
Based on a true story, North Face is a suspenseful adventure film about
a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps. Set in
1936, as Nazi propaganda urges the nation's Alpinists to conquer the
unclimbed north face of the Swiss massif --- the Eiger --- two reluctant
German climbers and an Austrian team of rivals begin their daring
ascent. The film has won multiple awards incl. the German Film Critics
2009 Award for Best Screenplay, and the German Film Academy 2009 Awards
for Best Cinematography and Best Sound Design. The young director
Philipp Stoelzl began his career in the theatre in 1967. He is well
known in the music video business, in commercial film circles, and as a
hot director of opera productions. The special screening is hosted by
CGES in cooperation with NYC-based Talk Cinema.
Disability Options:
To request disability accommodations, please contact firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Greeting card giant Hallmark heads for 2nd century
KANSAS CITY, Mo. Hallmark Cards Inc., a $4 billion empire built on a demand for printed sentimentality, enters its second century facing a weak economy and what could be an even greater challenge: a generation that has grown up posting its sentiments online.
Hallmark has thrived since Joyce Clyde Hall peddled postcards in Kansas City 100 years ago, rising to become the nation's largest greeting card company with more than $2.5 billion in annual revenue from cards, gift wrap, partyware and more.
"They're the biggest. They're the giant," said Emily West, a communications professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst who has studied Hallmark and how greeting cards are used. "They're like the Kleenex of greeting cards ... like the Hoover of sentiment."
Nevertheless, Hallmark, a privately held company that releases limited information about its finances, has endured two straight years of falling revenues. Its consolidated revenue of $4 billion in 2009 was 8 percent lower than the year before. In 2008, Hallmark revenues were off 2 percent from the previous year.
In 2009, Hallmark - a company with a reputation of holding onto employees for decades - dropped 8 percent of its work force, which now stands at about 13,400 worldwide.
Whether the revenue drops and layoffs were due to the recession or from the generational shift to more spontaneous forms of communication is still being hashed out.
Don J. Hall Jr., grandson of Hallmark's founder and the third generation of Halls to lead the company, isn't alarmed about the possible fallout from the sluggish economy - something he notes "every consumer-based, retail-based company" has had to deal with.
Hall also waves off concerns about electronic media being the death of the greeting card; Hallmark has heard it before.
"There were people telling my grandfather all the time that the telephone will lead to the demise of greeting cards," Hall said. "Then during my father's years, it was the fax machine. If you can send a fax ... same thing.
"Then it happened a decade ago with e-cards, and they said e-cards will replace greeting cards."
Hallmark, he said, always saw its way through.
"I think each new phase we found that people really valued the tangible and the emotional qualities of greeting cards," Hall said. "Throughout our 100-year history we've seen changes, but we've always been able to remain relevant in people's lives and use new technology."
Remaining relevant has involved crafting the Hallmark blog, Facebook page, YouTube offerings and a Twitter account. Electronic greeting card books, cell phone greetings and Web-based e-cards - including the popular "hoops&yoyo" brand - show the company is trying to roll with technology.
The company also owns crayon manufacturer Crayola and a real estate development firm, and is a majority owner of cable broadcaster Crown Media, which operates The Hallmark Channel.
But it's all built around the paper greeting card - and its sales.
While Facebook recently hit its 500-million member mark, "an estimated 6 billion paper greeting cards were exchanged last year in the U.S.," says Hallmark spokeswoman Linda Odell.


text:
Raise Your Hand If Grad School Is Looking More Appealing
by Smart Living
Like us on Facebook
Per usual in a weak economy that's spurned hundreds of thousands of layoffs, business school admissions have seen the number of applicants jump visibly. Some workers strategize it's the best option for boosting their resumes and setting themselves up for a better job offer once the market picks up again.
It's not the safest of havens as many rely on student loans to pay tuition and there aren't any promises that opportunity will be knocking on the other side of their degrees. It does seem that everyone knows someone who has taken the GMAT and considered applying to B-School, but their consideration does not guarantee admission and the competition will be more fierce as applicant pools grow.
afternoondelight 5 years
I'm starting grad school to get my MSW in the fall. I am a little nervous about making ends meet while I'm taking classes, but I think my degree is one of the few that really offers great and abundant job opportunities when your done. Although I know I won't be making TONS of money in my field, I still am super excited to finally be able to pursue the career I love.
bibliophile 6 years
I'm definitely considering going back to grad school. I'm unimpressed with my current work situation and I realize that I should just do what I'm passionate about, which is children's literature.
shanimalcracker 6 years
I will be attending law school this August and I agree that it is a great time to be back in school. I worked for a year and it was nice to make a little money, but I am excited to go back especially with the hopes that the market will be better in three years.
itsallabouttheg 6 years
i've already th grad school thing... i'm still waiting to get hired!
phatE 6 years
It's so random how these posts parallel my life.. Just got accepted into a graduate program and I am really going back and forth about it..
bellydancinmary 6 years
I plan on going to grad school in the future, I'm still in the process of getting my Bachelor's.
sweetpeabrina 6 years
I start at UGA in the fall for my Master's. Hopefully soon after completing I'll be able to go to UC Berkeley for my Doctorate.
ivegotspunk 6 years
I work full time and can't imagine going back to school at this point though I would love to. I have thousands in loans from my BA and can't afford to not work for a few years. Hopefully in a few years Ill be able to.
fancyfree 6 years
considering the trouble I've had finding a job and comparing it to the problems my friends are having too I'm raising my hand! Now the question is, who can I get to pay for it? haha
Megatron 6 years
Consider my hand tentatively raised. Part of me wants to continue in school after I get my BA in May and the other part of me wants to get a few years of real world experience under my belt, opportunity willing.
smileyface 6 years
I'm in law school now and its rough trying to make ends meet with no job and no money. Student loans can only do so much. But I guess the upside is not having to worry about the economy and job loss. But neither side is really looking too good these days...
LuvLeoDiCaprio 6 years
I start 8/31 kinda nervous and I am able to work and go to school so that's great. And my rich and supportive boyfriend has offered to help pay.
ehadams 6 years
I applied for law school this year then decided not to go. I thought about graduate school too but can't decide which program I'd want to do. I figure I should hold off til I know what I want.
j2e1n9 6 years
I'm in grad school and I'm halfway done with my MBA right now. Its annoying as shit to go to school and work full time. I am assuming it will come in handy in the long run however if I ever find myself as a single parent with more than one mouth to feed. Other than the wonderful unpredictability of life :OY: , I wouldnt be concerned with getting my MBA.
poizenisxkandee 6 years
i was already planning on grad school. im going to study architectural/civil/environmental engineering in undergrad and was hoping to go to grad school to get a masters and maybe doctorate as it is becoming harder to find a job in that department without higher qualifications, especially with the struggling economy.
CoralAmber 6 years
I was actually planning on grad school, but now I'm working to get more experience in my field. I didn't want to go to grad school without a clear idea of what I wanted to specialize in and will probably do grad school part time or online at the same time as I work. Money is basically the main problem, I didn't want to go into more debt or take expensive "exploratory" classes, so I'm taking it slow.
Knight-Who-Says-Ni 6 years
Not yet. I've thought about graduate or professional (law) school for a long time, but after definitively ruling out law, I just can't decide on a field to study. Everything interests me! So, it's best for me to weather the storm and stay in the workforce. And the thought of taking out student loans in an economy like this is not very enticing.
gigill 6 years
My field doesn't really care much for graduate degrees, so I won't bother anytime soon.
graduatedsqueaks 6 years
When I got laid off, a lot of people asked me if I was going to go to grad school...I figured I still wasn't sure what I'd study if I went, so I stuck to the job path. The company I'm most likely going to accept an offer from provides tuition reimbursement, so I'm thinking I'll take advantage of that eventually...
ktownpolarbear 6 years
I'm planning on applying for law school this year, but I plan on going to a part-time program. 4 years instead of 3, but hopefully it'll let me pay off some of my massive undergrad debt.
tiff58 6 years
I'm currently getting my MBA and working full time. Not really because of the economy, though.
JennaV 6 years
If I had the money, I would do it in a heartbeat.
bohosimple 6 years
I am entering law school this fall, and I am lucky to also be teaching at the same university so my tuition won't affect me much.
bellaressa 6 years
I already been to grad school - the job I am not owns four colleges and I do get to go for free - I just have to pay the fees and books. I was thinking of getting another Masters or even my Doctorate later but I am not sure.
syako 6 years
been there. done that. :P


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You can now invite anyone to meet at your favorite Starbucks.
Limited-time feature
44 year old woman | Morristown, NJ, USA | Seeking men 35-48 within 50 miles
Active within 24 hours
Just a nice girl lookin' for a nice guy
I am the type of person who loves to be around good friends and family. Exercise and nutrition are an important part of my life. I love the outdoors, playing sports, and a fantastic island somewhere. I love to laugh, and have a great sense of humor. I am looking for someone to have a great time with; someone who is easy to be around and comfortable in his own skin. Hoping to find that special someone to share life with; the ups, the downs, and everything in between...You know, that extraordinary person who compliments your life. Saving the best for last, I have three amazing kids that are my pride and joy. Want to learn more? Let's grab lunch or drink and see where things go......
Coffee and conversation , Cooking , Dining out , Gardening/Landscaping , Movies/Videos , Music and concerts , Exploring new areas , Performing arts , Playing cards , Playing sports , Travel/Sightseeing , Volunteering
Basketball, Billiards / Pool, Bowling, Golf, Running, Tennis / Racquet sports, VolleyBall, Walking / Hiking, Weights / Machines
I exercise 3-4 times per week.
I have Cats
Middle of the Road
Fairleigh Dickinson University, College at Florham, Madison, NJ
Some of my favorite things to do are play tennis, vacation in different places, enjoy good meals out, spending time with family and friends, entertaining at my house, snuggling, good conversation, the change of seasons, playing practical jokes.
I like to go out for a nice meal with good company, go for a challenging hike, enjoy a good movie or a good book, travel or playing golf or just chill at home, snuggle and watch a movie.
Z{{Cta}} {{#if HasMoreInfo}} ?{{CtaSecondary}} {{/if}}
|What she is looking for
|5'9" (175cms)
|5'9" (175cms) to 6'5" (195cms)
|Body type:
|Athletic and toned
|No preference
|No preference
|Light brown
|No preference
|No Way
|No Way
|Social Drinker
|Social Drinker
|Other profession
|No preference
|I'll tell you later
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|Yes, and they sometimes live at home (3)
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|White / Caucasian
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|Bachelors degree
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