Are IE Users Really Jumping To Chrome?
from the seems-hard-to-believe dept
On the day that Google's Chrome browser launched I saw a few reports claiming that it already had jumped to somewhere between 2 and 3% of the market. Those numbers seemed ridiculously high for a first day launch of a new piece of software -- especially in a market where the majority of people still use the browser that came included with their operating system, and have not chosen to download and use an alternative like Firefox. While some more recent stats suggest both lower penetration, and that Chrome got a first day bump that seems to now be going away, another study suggests that most of the Chrome marketshare actually came from Internet Explorer users, rather than Firefox or Opera. In fact, the report found that all of the market share difference came from IE. That seems hard to believe. I would imagine that the folks most likely to download and use Chrome are those who are already comfortable with downloading and using an alternative browser. So, can anyone explain these results?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: browsers, chrome, firefox, internet explorer, marketshare
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Slower than firefox side to side
also adds processes to your startup, and when you manually stop it, it just comes back. VIRUS
I have un-installed it
Keep in mind though, it is in BETA
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Re:
The only "process" it adds when you aren't using Chrome is the Google Updater, which you had if you used any of their other software (including their toolbar).
Oh, but you can change that service to manual or disable it even.
No idea where that first post AC got his info, but that is not what I've experienced.
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I switched from Safari
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IE Users = noob (?)
Also, it will probably be in Beta for the next 5 years... (but then, we all knew that.)
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If the stats are accurate (always doubtful for these things), then they are kind of understandable. There was an insane level of press coverage, in both the mainstream and tech press, and Google is much more of a general audience brand name than Firefox or Opera. Most people use are familiar with the name and are therefore more likely to trust that name than something they hear about on an occasional basis - ideal for getting the people who think "blue e" when they look at the internet. It's not totally stretching the imagination to think that so many people tested it out on first hearing the news.
Whether or not that translates into regular users is another matter though. Hopefully, Microsoft are worried about this, though Mozilla and Opera also shouldn't ignore the actual technical ideas that have debuted in the product.
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switching to/from IE 8
However, there is a problem with Chrome in that the Citrix client for accessing my work systems does NOT work using the Chrome browser. I've sent this last comment to Google, but no response from them as yet.
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Testing it out
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I still prefer a few features of Firefox, so I still use both however chrome has huge potential!
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IE 7 is a dog, and Google is a trusted name brand
As for Chrome, I think it renders pages much more quickly than Firefox - especially pages with lots of JavaScript. The multiple processes (coming in IE8 and Firefox, too) allow the browser to continue running when a bad web-page would have taken down the entire browser. Chrome has the speed of Safari without the horrid Apple UI (Windows version). I didn't think I was going to switch at first but I made Chrome my default browser about 48 hours after downloading it.
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Re: IE 7 is a dog, and Google is a trusted name brand
That's exactly why Microsoft still have such a monopoly on most major PC markets...
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Re: Re: IE 7 is a dog, and Google is a trusted name brand
Only use IE for Sharepoint sites since no other browser seems to work with it...hmmm....
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I'm a converted IE User
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Re: I'm a converted IE User
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No mouse gestures, no thanks...
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everything felt and looked wrong, so i removed it.
then i heard how the omnibox acted like a key logger and realized ill nvr use chrome again.
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Re:
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I like IE7
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Re: I like IE7
It's not about being "cool" any more than you opinions are trying to be toe the corporate line. If IE is any more "convenient", it's only because it's irrevocably supplied with the OS.
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Re: Re: I like IE7
I'm not trying to be a prick I'm just not knowledgeable (sp?) about IE in Windows and how the OS may be taking a beating because of IE code.
I almost NEVER use IE, but should I care if I can't delete it?
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Re: Re: Re: I like IE7
I have used this site as a reference and found it useful
I am not associated with it in any way.
http://www.blackviper.com/
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Re: I like IE7
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Re: I like IE7
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Re: I like IE7
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Re: I like IE7
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Re: I like IE7
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Re: Unable to find the
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Chrome
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Cause its Google
PS I'm not commenting on any privacy or antitrust issues google has, is, or will face, just on people's general feeling towards them
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Let's not forget, too, that everyone and their grandmother do anything that Google says is cool to do.
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Converted IE to Firefox User
that's my opinion, anyway.
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It's not bad... I think.
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Chrome is a crappy version of Firerfox
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Re: Chrome is a crappy version of Firerfox
Its a good addition to the browser wars because it will force the Mozilla camp, opera, and Microsoft, to continue to innovate and improve the features, speed, and standards compliance of their browsers. The better browser will win eventually, and as more and more software moves into cloud computing Microsoft will realize its dominance due to being included in an operating system may come to an end (who will need an operating system? thin browser clients might be enough).
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To me, it makes sense.
And Opera itself is a great browser, but it's market share is so small that almost everyone using it is a dedicated Opera fan, because they went out of their way to install a browser that wasn't mainstream, and wasn't getting the attention Firefox gets. However, it's very easy in Opera to change the user agent setting to make the browser appear to be IE, and there's potential that there are Opera users that did that, so website analytics show up that an IE user changed to Chrome, even tho it was an Opera user who changed to Chrome.
And finally, even though a majority of IE users are either a) in a corporate environment where they can't install a new browser, or b) not tech savvy enough to use anything else other than what was pre-installed, there is a percentage of IE users who use it but are smart enough to be able to install a new program, if they want. The reason why they didn't (until Chrome), is because for whatever reason, FF or Opera didn't appeal to them (or Safari for windows for that matter, cause Safari for windows had a lot of problems).
Chrome is lightweight, and little maintance. Firefox, with it's extensions, is very powerful, but not appealing to those who don't want to worry about all that stuff. Firefox and Chrome don't seem to be targeting the same audience (FF is very extendable, while Chrome is lightweight and just works doing it's own stuff very well). So, while FF and Opera have dedicated bases that could change, but won't, IE isn't like that.
Then, there's also the fact it's from Google. If an IE user could switch, would they rather a browser that has the same logo as overstock.com, or one from a big big name that has an amazing online rep (don't get me wrong, I think Opera is great, but Google just has more appeal).
So, to me, it's not that big of a stretch to say IE users were the ones to stick with Chrome, while it's initial bump was mainly from Firefox users testing it out, outa curiosity. Not all IE users are 'n00bs' , but the n00bs are the ones staying with IE, while the tech savvy 1.3% are the ones jumping ship.
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@OP: Chrome taking all its market share from IE is misleading. A possible explanation is that ie lost more share to all browsers but chrome than all non-ie browsers lost to chrome. So if chrome took 1.5% of total share from ie and .5% from firefox, ie also lost ~ .5% to firefox leaving its net share about the same.
Personally I doubt that could have actually happened, but it's an explanation. What I do think happened is that though higher proportion of non-ie users tried out chrome because they're savvy and curious, they were probably drowned out by a smaller proportion of ie's much larger base.
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Shiny, but...
Might try it again after a couple of releases, but for now, Firefox is MUCH easier to use.
--
TX CHL Instructer www.chl-tx.com
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I'm too hooked on FF add-ons, greasemonkey and noscript are required for me to switch.
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Anything but Firefox?
Plain-and-simple, with the right addons (Adblock is a big one) - why would anyone choose anything else? ... ESPECIALLY IE.
Seriously though - for the IE users here - do you have a real reason?
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FIrefox Users need their add-ons
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Why I switched to Chrome
I won't use the product for the same reason I'll never own a mac. Mozilla has created a really obnoxious culture around their product.
Anyways, some of the advertised features of Chrome are actually of use to me so I'm trying it out.
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Opened a few tabs.
Watched it crash in less than 5 minutes.
Removed it.
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Re:
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Love it.
I know there are some IE users out there that don't like Firefox and either don't like or unaware of Opera.
Although, it is a bit hard to accept that explanation for a good 2-3% of the user base. It is one possibility.
I was a Firefox user. Now, I like Chrome. Chrome is slower on some sites than Fx. However, it's the memory efficiency I like most. Chrome's memory management for tabs and plugins reminds me of BeOS's memory protection. I like it. And I've definitely seen a different. No more >150mg memory footprint after a day or two of browsing. And run away flash sites are no longer a worry.
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To address the question posed...
I installed Chrome a few hours after it came out. Not because I'm a google freak, but because as a Webware Engineer, I have to make sure our website displays correctly in the common browsers, and I was curious how it stacked up.
Personally, I won't use it. As others have mentioned, I'm too hooked on the add-ons, greasemonkey, etc. I can't switch without those.
That said, I was impressed with a few features that I'd like to see ported to Firefox, including the process per tab. I hate loosing all my tabs just because my two tabs of gmail crashed firefox. I also like the tabs-above-everything, the ability to break a tab out as its own window, and the ability to combine two windows into tabs on one window.
I installed chrome on my wife's machine and got my brother to install it on his as well (both non-tech).
My brother uses a lot of flash based sites (youtube, etc), and his response after a few days was that he'll give it a week and if it keeps crashing he's going to go back to IE. I had tried to get him hooked on Firefox and he went back to IE then as well, but this time its sticking longer.
As for my wife, she now uses chrome exclusively. I asked her why and she said she didn't care. It was just there. Chrome can with the apathetic vote. But so can netscape.
So to give an answer for the bump, I bet a lot of techies told their non-tech friends, tech staff mentioned it to office staff, people read about it in news articles or stumbled upon it on their google home page...and people who had tried FF but didn't switch were willing to give chrome a try.
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Chrome
Never liked Firefox much.
DLed Chrome and love it.
All I want is a simple browser
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Switch from IE to Chrome
Google discloses trackers and users may opt in or out. Microsoft refuses to disclose their Alexa trackers and secretly installs the trackers and shares the information obtained from them with Alexa and their advertisers.
Also, Microsoft has so ingrained the trackers into their Internet Explorer product that it cannot be removed by an unsophisticated user. And the Internet Explorer product is so ingrained into the Microsoft XP Operating System that it cannot be removed without jeopardizing the stability of XP.
Both Microsoft and Alexa refuse to help users remove the secretly installed trackers. Hooray to Google for standing up for users against Microsoft's secrete pillaging software.
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Google Sold It
How many times have you seen Google advertise on the front page? That amazed me. And I think IE users clicked the link and finally gave a new browser a try...
~ Jim
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IE
In what way is it wrong for on OS to offer it's own Browser and set it up as a default, how do you get a browser on a machine if it's a new install (seeing as the average user won't keep install files on backup).
It's not like you simply can't change which is your default, and even turn off the option for IE to look to check if it is the default, I wouldn't remove it even if I could, some pages will ONLY work with IE and yes in that list is OPERA (built off the IE core) sometimes you have no option but to use IE so WHY would you want to remove this program?
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Browser speed
I did some experimentation with the speeds of FF/IE/Chrome.
Try going to a page like www.bbc.co.uk (lots of stuff, javascript, images etc). Try first in Chrome, then in IE. You will notice that Chrome is faster, at least if you have a multiprocessor or multicore machine. But...
Then open task manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del->Task Manager), select processes, find iexplore.exe, and change process priority to 'High'. You will see that IE and Chrome are now the same speed.
Regards
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Re: Browser speed
Thank you for providing kind task-manager assistance. Your knowledge is quite above what we know, and we thank you for all you've provided.
Frank, I remain quite inquisitive of your nationality. Is your real name "Frank", perhaps? Oh don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I just remain curious because there have been times where I swear I smelled curry coming from folks like you and the handset and the guy said his name was Bob. Will you keep my social security number secret? Pinky Swear?
Thank you for all your kind assistance, and we appreciate all your insight to troubleshooting Apple, Err.. I meant Microsoft platform products.
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jun2006/gb20060605_273412.htm
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Re: Browser speed
Great advice (do not miss the sarcasm).
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IE11 in a IE8 world
I wanted to share a little about working for Microsoft, but the problem at the end of the day is that my penis is too big. "Girthy" is the operative word, I suppose. I won't get into details, but overall let's just say it didn't work out.
Thank you.
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Based on the original Chrome licensing agreement, YOU own... err, Hmm.
Is it possible that Chrome could have the technical capability to post data back to Google? I mean, they *did* change the licensing agreement, but the software could still perform, uh, dual post to some blackbox somewhere.
That's kinda scary!
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However, as a power user, it's just not extensible enough: I can't add extensions, themes, change security settings (e.g. disabling java and javascript)- heck, I can't even change the install path.
Firefox is what I'll use. Chrome is what I'll install for my Mother.
As for IE; it doesn't support web standards properly (make a website properly, and it looks good in every other browser), it uses ActiveX (a security hole), It's tied to your system (another security hole, and you can't get rid of it to improve performance), it's slow, and- I would go on, but those that like it won't listen, and those that'll listen are probably stuck with it (poor them).
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Is my download counted as part of chrome's "market share"?
I would also imagine people would try chrome solely for their google accounts. I do a lot with google sites, docs, and calendar, and had initially thought I could use chrome to do those tasks and use firefox for everything else. My question, then, would be how the "market share" math works out if people use both firefox or IE and chrome?
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I use it primarily - LOVE IT
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an Agenda?
When numbers like this dont make any sense a little digging into where exactly they came from usually clears things up quite a bit.
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I crash Chrome at least once a day.
Yes, the whole Chrome thing crashes, not just one tab - but all tabs come back upon reloading, and it's still faster than anything else. It's still impossibly waay better than anything Microsoft offers, and Firefox is waay too complex to setup and maintain (and incompatible between v2 and v3).
I'd rather spend my time productively, not waiting for Microsoft nor configuring Firefox. I like Opera, but Chrome does what I want - let me browse and get out of the way.
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Form the looks of it...
Let's see how their market share is after a month.
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Nothing New
IE8 beta2
Firefox 3
IE7
Firefox 2
IE6
Chrome
Google has a long way to catch up with IE8 and Firefox.
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Re: Nothing New
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Chrome > Fireofx (IE not even in the running)
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trying it out
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Firefox to hard to use?
I only expect grandmah's who don't know how to turn a PC on not to get that. I'm sure if you've figured out how to post a comment on a news-forum you can handle that.
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Internet Explorer - NO Chrome - YES!
Google Chrome, now that's an interesting one. It definately does render pages more quickly, and starting the Google Browser, it's quick too. I love the Bookmarks on it, which dropsdown easily, and you can move your faves to folders more easily. Overall, it's clean, fresh and easy to use.
Bad points?
OK, I have been using Google Chrome for about 5 days now and i'm still using it, but here's a small list of the things I have noticed of which I do not like...
1. If using Chrome when trying to list an item on eBay, eBay does not show full options such as Standard view and HTML for description area) for some reason.
2. A selection of sites, such as websites that provide free serial keys to software, Google blocks them and makes you think that they are "offline" or "incorrect URL".
3. Saving pictures using Chrome isn't as good as IE. When asked to save images, I have to keep going through the folders to pick a location to save the file to, and have to do it every time.
That's it...
But in my opinion, Chrome is still far better.
I can't wait until Google starts to bring out "Google Computers"! :D
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Chrome vs IE
Unfortunately, it's still in beta, and so there are bugs. I've installed it, though I use it infrequently. It is a lot slower than IE7. IE7 closes for no reason, which is a nuisance. I had to uninstall Firefox 3.0.1 because after awhile it wouldn't open. I kept getting a "dialogue box" that said it was broken. No kidding. Both Chrome and Opera seemed like logical choices.
At any given time, I will use the browser that gives me the flexibility that I want, works all the time, and is fast. Apart from the annoying crashes, IE7 is still the best one in my opinion.
Dr Bruce Hoag
http://www.p-advantage.com
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I don't believe it
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IE to Chrome To Be Expected
IE users don't give it a second thought, otherwise they wouldn't be IE users any more. Google = trusted big name. The link is there right in front of them. Easy decision.
The question is this: is Chrome harming Firefox by grabbing IE users before they migrate, or is it helping Firefox by getting IE users off IE for the very first time, and prepping them to move over to the next leading browser platform?
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yet anohter browser to test on
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IE vs. Chrome
I haven't even installed Chrome.
Those that don't think Google has bigger plans though are crazy (think integrated Google Docs, spreadsheets, etc). And their "Do No Evil" motto seems to be walking on thinner ice everyday. The release of Chrome also brought a lot of privacy concern complaints.
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Did you try Chrome?
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IE to Chrome, Back to IE
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Chrome = No privacy = Evil
Everything you type into the Omnibox is sent to and tracked by Google. Why are Chrome fan-boys not concerned that Google now knows when you go to Amazon or where you work or when you look at porn or sports or when you check email or what email service you use or when you buy flowers.
Of course they already log this info for searches, but most sites I go to I don't search for, so Google's picture of my surfing is incomplete.
Google deployed Chrome so they can track you and use this info to pitch ads to you.
Its evil
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Chrome Debate
First thing I noticed was that my CSS menu in a clients site is presented differently in Chrome than it is in Firefox & IE.
Another great example of non-standard standards.
Shaun
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Opera User... Chrome - Not such feacher rich
As its a google product, hope the best thing is yet to come. [:)]
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Chrome
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The Alternative Opinion
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Great for slower computers
Chrome has efficiently dealt with the speed issue, and my only beef so far is that some internal parts of sites don't function as they should - but then neither do they in IE7, only in heavy FF3.
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