#8550463 - 02/10/16 06:17 PM
thoughts on work space productivity
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Raocorp
Cougar Slayer
Post Master Sr
Registered: 10/10/02
Posts: 7768
Loc: Toronto
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I am wondering what everyone thinks about improving productivity when it comes to a windows desktop work space. I am not a fan of toggling between windows because most of the time I have a bunch of things open at once while working on shit. This will be utilized when doing school work and work work while at home.
My setup is as follows 27" @ 1920 x 1200 -> Main Screen 20" @ 1400 x 1050 8800 gts video card AMD quad core phenom @ 3.1
I am thinking about going to bigger screens to help increase my work space. Anybody have any suggestions? Obviously I'd need a new video card. I'm hoping to find one that can do what I want but without the need for ones with 3 fans or some shit. My current video card was like that but I have it with a passive cooler (Accerlo S1) and its totally quiet (obviously). Hence the need for suggestions.
My first thoughts were: 32" 4k main screen 27" 2k secondary screen new video card to run it all buuuuuuut...............that might be like $2k. However I don't need it asap and I'm ok with juggling here and there to find sales etc. No plans to build a new PC as its running fine, just want more room to work.
inb4omgthatssomehighresolutionpron
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#8550683 - 02/10/16 10:22 PM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: Screamin Type ARGH!]
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JEFFOS
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 01/27/00
Posts: 29139
Loc: Toronto
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Sounds like you have a pretty good workspace going as it stands but only you will know what you really need
_________________________
-Jeff
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#8550813 - 02/11/16 07:33 AM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: iamfob]
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Risky Business
Provides a Great Work Environment. he/him
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 05/17/10
Posts: 44789
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I always ran double screens, ever since I entered the workforce really, either a variation of laptop + monitor or two side by side monitors. After 8 years of that I went down to one large screen after a bunch of research on what works best. It has been working better for me, but it was a change that I had to get used to. At home I also run a single 27" and that's it (used to run doubles).
Like Jeff said, only you can decide what works for you.
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#8550824 - 02/11/16 07:43 AM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: Simon_the_Pieman]
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Raocorp
Cougar Slayer
Post Master Sr
Registered: 10/10/02
Posts: 7768
Loc: Toronto
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LMAO....wtf? are you guys serious? Laptop screen working is a gross impossibility for me. Thats so inefficient.
dont know shit about video cards but i know having 2 different sized monitors would bug the fuck outta me. has to be the same size and same brand/make/model for me. consistency or ocd i cant tell. another note, i dont know what you do for a living/school but do you really need that hi res and big a screen? i cant imagine multitasking so many things to need a huge workspace and being efficient/accurate. how bout one nice big screen and doings things one at a time?
I'm currently working towards my CPA designation The two screens I have now are almost identical in colour output so looking back and fourth isn't like a slap in the face. I had a higher res Dell at one point but it was just too different and I hated looking back and fourth between the two. I use the second screen for secondary documents that I need to refer too or help with computational materials. But often times now I have more than one secondary document (multiple case study documents) open as well as technical reference materials. I feel like I'm wasting time and effort switching back and fourth between everything thats open. I usually work late at work so when I get home I just want to get as much done as possible. Its really tough working f/t and school p/t. When I was in Uni I worked like 3 days a week max so time was less of an issue. Now time is a major issue so anything I can do to be more efficient and less frustrated whilest working/studying is, IMO, worth the extra cost.
No IT peeps in here that use these 4k screens at work etc. already? I can't find any information about these things that isn't gaming related. Why would you want to spend $1k on a monitor, and like another $600 on a video card, plus the actual PC JUST to game? Thats nuts if you ask me.
I'm actually thinking that maybe a bigger 4k secondary screen might be the way to go. Then I can put all my shit open on that side and keep my main screen that I have now for having the actual doc/spreadsheet I'm working on.
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#8550845 - 02/11/16 07:55 AM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: Raocorp]
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Risky Business
Provides a Great Work Environment. he/him
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 05/17/10
Posts: 44789
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You may be overthinking your entire situation...
To give you perspective I tutor CPA students and most work from a laptop and do just fine (many work FT as well). If you are super keen on double screens just get two basic (same size) monitors for $500 all in and be done with it, or another 27" to match your current one, which is overkill, but if it helps you then all the better. Neither of these will improve your productivity (you already have an efficient setup), but if it puts your mind at ease then maybe the placebo will help.
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#8550900 - 02/11/16 08:40 AM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: Just A Troll]
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4age
XD XD XD XD
Post Master Sr
Registered: 09/11/01
Posts: 3969
Loc: North York, Ontario, Canada
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I use a 13 inch screen on the laptop XD Why not just multi-desktop your workflows? Not sure that a single screen is less efficient than a dual screen in most scenarios.
*that said*, I too am looking at adding a single, large (27') monitor to use as a primary, and like you, it needs to be hi- res. Looking at QHD. You really need 4k? That's cray. Even if you get a vid card, you may run into scaling issues because some applications are simply not intended to run at such high res. Now is not the time to do 4k for productivity IMO.
Edited by 4age (02/11/16 08:40 AM)
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#8550948 - 02/11/16 09:06 AM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: Just A Troll]
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Risky Business
Provides a Great Work Environment. he/him
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 05/17/10
Posts: 44789
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I use a laptop, docking station and 2 monitors.
But that's because I have one monitor rotated in Portrait mode to view source code. The laptop screen is for outlook and the other monitor is for running tests.
The more monitors the better. It's easier to get a quick glance at important stuff that you wouldn't spot when a minimized window. Notice stock brokers? They usually have 3 to 6 monitors to track everything. Makes sense, your peripheral vision will alert you to important stuff quickly. Even though it might be 45 degrees to your right, a flashing red line will be noticed quickly.
The stockbroker thing is a very poor analogy, you know security guards and air traffic controllers also run such setups...none of them have outlook on it though.
In the end my decision to go to a single screen came down to ergonomics and health, straining your neck and to sit crooked because of inefficient use of monitors isn't worth the "perceived" productivity you think you are gaining. There are definitely environments where 2 or 3 monitors are useful, for the basic paper shuffler I don't believe it's worth it. In your case it totally seems justifiable because of screen orientation and not having to scroll as much, not everyone codes doe.
In the past I found myself using one screen for outlook/SAP/intranet/surf/whatever the other for excel, but it wasn't often that I needed to reference things between all where I required both screens. Plus the new windows and a good proper monitor makes tiling windows pretty efficient/fast/easy for the times when you need to reference different applications while not requiring to twist your neck 45 degrees.
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#8551367 - 02/11/16 12:36 PM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: Risky Business]
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Raocorp
Cougar Slayer
Post Master Sr
Registered: 10/10/02
Posts: 7768
Loc: Toronto
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I use a laptop, docking station and 2 monitors.
But that's because I have one monitor rotated in Portrait mode to view source code. The laptop screen is for outlook and the other monitor is for running tests.
The more monitors the better. It's easier to get a quick glance at important stuff that you wouldn't spot when a minimized window. Notice stock brokers? They usually have 3 to 6 monitors to track everything. Makes sense, your peripheral vision will alert you to important stuff quickly. Even though it might be 45 degrees to your right, a flashing red line will be noticed quickly. The stockbroker thing is a very poor analogy, you know security guards and air traffic controllers also run such setups...none of them have outlook on it though. In the end my decision to go to a single screen came down to ergonomics and health, straining your neck and to sit crooked because of inefficient use of monitors isn't worth the "perceived" productivity you think you are gaining. There are definitely environments where 2 or 3 monitors are useful, for the basic paper shuffler I don't believe it's worth it. In your case it totally seems justifiable because of screen orientation and not having to scroll as much, not everyone codes doe. In the past I found myself using one screen for outlook/SAP/intranet/surf/whatever the other for excel, but it wasn't often that I needed to reference things between all where I required both screens. Plus the new windows and a good proper monitor makes tiling windows pretty efficient/fast/easy for the times when you need to reference different applications while not requiring to twist your neck 45 degrees.
How do they deal with looking at the ITA/CPEM/HB, plus the case facts, plus word doc, plus excel files, plus anything additional one may be googling (for me usually related to what I'm working on)? I find that I'm honestly just clicking and looking for the same shit over and over again and am constantly clicking on the wrong thing. I've had dual screens since I started university so I am accustomed to it. I really like having all things open in view. Does that make me high-maintenance, probably but I don't care. It helps me do what I need to do and makes things much easier.
Vas....Maybe I'm trying too hard, but I want to actually learn something and get used to finding things in the ITA/HB. So when I'm doing the cases, I have that shit open. Its a must IMO cuz i've been told that quoting sections in the relevant book is absolutely necessary. Often times sections are large so I have to refer back to the ITA more than once to give a complete answer.
The 4k monitor wasn't to have one massive spreadsheet displayed on it. The point of it is to have more than one thing, maximized to what would normally be "full screen". So on a 4k I would like to accomplish 3 things maximized. Then the second screen for anything additional. My desk at home lends itself very well to dual screen. Turing my head is minimal as it is right now. Shuffling through a shit load of tiled windows I find more difficult.
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#8551368 - 02/11/16 12:37 PM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: Euphoricuck]
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SW20_MR2
Post Master Sr
Registered: 08/27/01
Posts: 5282
Loc: Markham, Ontario, Canada
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I've always worked single screen whether it be monitor or laptop. Not a big d leap to toggle if need be, but I'm not working a lot on spreadsheets anymore. Mostly PowerPoint decks for me nowadays.
_________________________
1991 MR2 Turbo aka "The Myth"...does it really exist? 2006 Mazda3 Sport aka "Reality"...it really does exist...
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#8551393 - 02/11/16 12:46 PM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: Raocorp]
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Risky Business
Provides a Great Work Environment. he/him
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 05/17/10
Posts: 44789
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I use a laptop, docking station and 2 monitors.
But that's because I have one monitor rotated in Portrait mode to view source code. The laptop screen is for outlook and the other monitor is for running tests.
The more monitors the better. It's easier to get a quick glance at important stuff that you wouldn't spot when a minimized window. Notice stock brokers? They usually have 3 to 6 monitors to track everything. Makes sense, your peripheral vision will alert you to important stuff quickly. Even though it might be 45 degrees to your right, a flashing red line will be noticed quickly. The stockbroker thing is a very poor analogy, you know security guards and air traffic controllers also run such setups...none of them have outlook on it though. In the end my decision to go to a single screen came down to ergonomics and health, straining your neck and to sit crooked because of inefficient use of monitors isn't worth the "perceived" productivity you think you are gaining. There are definitely environments where 2 or 3 monitors are useful, for the basic paper shuffler I don't believe it's worth it. In your case it totally seems justifiable because of screen orientation and not having to scroll as much, not everyone codes doe. In the past I found myself using one screen for outlook/SAP/intranet/surf/whatever the other for excel, but it wasn't often that I needed to reference things between all where I required both screens. Plus the new windows and a good proper monitor makes tiling windows pretty efficient/fast/easy for the times when you need to reference different applications while not requiring to twist your neck 45 degrees. How do they deal with looking at the ITA/CPEM/HB, plus the case facts, plus word doc, plus excel files, plus anything additional one may be googling (for me usually related to what I'm working on)? I find that I'm honestly just clicking and looking for the same shit over and over again and am constantly clicking on the wrong thing. I've had dual screens since I started university so I am accustomed to it. I really like having all things open in view. Does that make me high-maintenance, probably but I don't care. It helps me do what I need to do and makes things much easier. Vas....Maybe I'm trying too hard, but I want to actually learn something and get used to finding things in the ITA/HB. So when I'm doing the cases, I have that shit open. Its a must IMO cuz i've been told that quoting sections in the relevant book is absolutely necessary. Often times sections are large so I have to refer back to the ITA more than once to give a complete answer. The 4k monitor wasn't to have one massive spreadsheet displayed on it. The point of it is to have more than one thing, maximized to what would normally be "full screen". So on a 4k I would like to accomplish 3 things maximized. Then the second screen for anything additional. My desk at home lends itself very well to dual screen. Turing my head is minimal as it is right now. Shuffling through a shit load of tiled windows I find more difficult.
It seems to me you are trying to do too much all at once, that's generally not how I tackle cases, but it's a matter of approach I guess.
I don't need google/excel/tax act/case/handbook all open and visible to me at all times. Also for your CPA studies you guys are super lucky that you even have pre filled excel templates as well, I never had that luxury and had to waste a ton of time doing it myself.
For me the case and excel are all I need, I reference as I go along, but I don't need more than those two to be at my "optimal" efficiency to be honest. I don't think a second screen would help me, but again that's just me.
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#8551525 - 02/11/16 01:39 PM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: 4age]
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Raocorp
Cougar Slayer
Post Master Sr
Registered: 10/10/02
Posts: 7768
Loc: Toronto
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I am on win10....i will google this magical feature later when I get home.
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#8551537 - 02/11/16 01:46 PM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: 4age]
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xza8
Sr Member
Registered: 12/18/09
Posts: 1065
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I use to run a 34 21:9 ultra-wide but just upgraded to an iMac 27" 5K
But even with an ultra-wide, I would still alt/tab to swap windows... I'm not the most productive person
The 5k is a bit harder on the eyes for text (I have almost 20/20, I just got glasses and my prescription is -0.25). I've moved away from laptops but when I did use laptops, I would always order the 1080 screen or lower resolution because the text would be so small on a 15" screen. Text on the 5k is quite small and I noticed I have the tendency to lean forward to read.
I have bit ocd so I am staying with a single 27" monitor until Apple updates their monitor so I can have matching 27". I don't use the 2nd monitor effectively but it's always nice to have when I'm doing lots of copy/paste work. The 2nd monitor would mainly be for non important things like surveillance, calendar, reminders/stickies.
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#8551950 - 02/11/16 07:11 PM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: Simon_the_Pieman]
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Raocorp
Cougar Slayer
Post Master Sr
Registered: 10/10/02
Posts: 7768
Loc: Toronto
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raocorp i get it now.
all my materials i refer to are still in book/paper so i have multiple books notepad on the table while i use the screen for spreadsheets/documents/csi. old school i guess.
forget 4k. just get the biggest monitors you can afford that dont hurt your eyes.
ya, and I have that too....lol. But all my CPA materials are digital versions so I couldn't really use a book even if I wanted too. Unless I busted out some past Uni text books. I'm old school as well. I need to physically write my ideas first. But having all the shit open at once on both screens at the same time with my paper infront of me would be uber fantastic.
8800GTS ? Good god.. that must get hot like a reactor..
dual monitors FTW.
catalog on one screen, billing on the other...
at home, gaming on one side, surfing/chatting/movie on the other.
Phoenix, and video card suggestions? I know nothing about it.
I use to run a 34 21:9 ultra-wide but just upgraded to an iMac 27" 5K
But even with an ultra-wide, I would still alt/tab to swap windows... I'm not the most productive person
The 5k is a bit harder on the eyes for text (I have almost 20/20, I just got glasses and my prescription is -0.25). I've moved away from laptops but when I did use laptops, I would always order the 1080 screen or lower resolution because the text would be so small on a 15" screen. Text on the 5k is quite small and I noticed I have the tendency to lean forward to read.
I have bit ocd so I am staying with a single 27" monitor until Apple updates their monitor so I can have matching 27". I don't use the 2nd monitor effectively but it's always nice to have when I'm doing lots of copy/paste work. The 2nd monitor would mainly be for non important things like surveillance, calendar, reminders/stickies.
I was looking at ultra wide screen but not too sure how I feel about them. I have yet to actually see on in action. I did see a couple of 29" and wasn't too impressed but I think they were only 2560x1080 which IMO is pretty useless.
Perhaps. But I've been doing this ever since the core 2 duo days. I doubt there is any processor which cannot support virtualization these days. In windows10, to do this, just click the funky button in the task bar to add a new desktop. You can add as many as you need: http://www.howtogeek.com/197625/how-to-use-virtual-desktops-in-windows-10/You can also configure the hotkeys you want to use to switch between them. Super easy. Or use touch screen swipe.
I've seen this on mac's at work. Its ok but doesn't really suit my purposes. I just tested it now at home. I'd still need to switch desktops. I'm attempting to get everything (or as many things as possible) in the same place.
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#8552276 - 02/12/16 06:38 AM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: phoenixrage]
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Choco 'Nuck
Proud Member of BLM
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 07/10/01
Posts: 17568
Loc: Somewhere out there
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I run two 27" 4k Dell monitors with my mac, works well. I even have the secondary inputs hooked to my old core2 quad machine from 2009 . That give me enough screen real estate, combined with the Mac virtual desktop feature, I can just swipe and have Windows 10 open in a VM, will still running all my native mac apps
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#8552315 - 02/12/16 07:49 AM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: Raocorp]
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Risky Business
Provides a Great Work Environment. he/him
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 05/17/10
Posts: 44789
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raocorp i get it now.
all my materials i refer to are still in book/paper so i have multiple books notepad on the table while i use the screen for spreadsheets/documents/csi. old school i guess.
forget 4k. just get the biggest monitors you can afford that dont hurt your eyes.
ya, and I have that too....lol. But all my CPA materials are digital versions so I couldn't really use a book even if I wanted too. Unless I busted out some past Uni text books. I'm old school as well. I need to physically write my ideas first. But having all the shit open at once on both screens at the same time with my paper infront of me would be uber fantastic. 8800GTS ? Good god.. that must get hot like a reactor..
dual monitors FTW.
catalog on one screen, billing on the other...
at home, gaming on one side, surfing/chatting/movie on the other. Phoenix, and video card suggestions? I know nothing about it. I use to run a 34 21:9 ultra-wide but just upgraded to an iMac 27" 5K
But even with an ultra-wide, I would still alt/tab to swap windows... I'm not the most productive person
The 5k is a bit harder on the eyes for text (I have almost 20/20, I just got glasses and my prescription is -0.25). I've moved away from laptops but when I did use laptops, I would always order the 1080 screen or lower resolution because the text would be so small on a 15" screen. Text on the 5k is quite small and I noticed I have the tendency to lean forward to read.
I have bit ocd so I am staying with a single 27" monitor until Apple updates their monitor so I can have matching 27". I don't use the 2nd monitor effectively but it's always nice to have when I'm doing lots of copy/paste work. The 2nd monitor would mainly be for non important things like surveillance, calendar, reminders/stickies. I was looking at ultra wide screen but not too sure how I feel about them. I have yet to actually see on in action. I did see a couple of 29" and wasn't too impressed but I think they were only 2560x1080 which IMO is pretty useless. Perhaps. But I've been doing this ever since the core 2 duo days. I doubt there is any processor which cannot support virtualization these days. In windows10, to do this, just click the funky button in the task bar to add a new desktop. You can add as many as you need: http://www.howtogeek.com/197625/how-to-use-virtual-desktops-in-windows-10/You can also configure the hotkeys you want to use to switch between them. Super easy. Or use touch screen swipe. I've seen this on mac's at work. Its ok but doesn't really suit my purposes. I just tested it now at home. I'd still need to switch desktops. I'm attempting to get everything (or as many things as possible) in the same place.
It seems you value screen real estate the most, what's wrong with getting another 27" monitor to pair up to your existing one? Isn't that the catch all solution or are we chasing unicorns?
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#8552344 - 02/12/16 08:41 AM
Re: thoughts on work space productivity
[Re: Risky Business]
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Raocorp
Cougar Slayer
Post Master Sr
Registered: 10/10/02
Posts: 7768
Loc: Toronto
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It seems you value screen real estate the most, what's wrong with getting another 27" monitor to pair up to your existing one? Isn't that the catch all solution or are we chasing unicorns?
I thought of this but my 1200p monitor is a unicorn in itself. Its extremely difficult now to find a 1200p screen. I've had this one since 2010. I've searched for used ones but, none are available.
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