iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by James Heppell

Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 22/09/2026

🇬🇧 OWA is having a special meetup in London on the 1st of October 2026 together with London Web Standards. 🌐 Join us for talks on browser competition, web apps, browser choice and data portability followed by Q&A and a chance to meet people from OWA and others working on these issues. 🔗 More info:

open-web-advocacy.org

London Web Standards OWA Meetup - Open Web Advocacy

We’re having an OWA meetup in London on 1 October 2026, from 19:00–21:00 BST, together with London Web Standards.

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James Heppell @formularsumo.co.uk · 21/09/2026

"Google offered me the example of how it approached the Gmail and Workspace teams about whether they wanted to offer Googlebook adopters *the web version or the Android app*. They chose the former and ideally *did not want to offer the Android app as an available Play Store download*."

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Reposted by James Heppell

Bruce Lawson @brucel.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Thanks from @vivaldi.com for the support from developers and other browser vendors.

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Reposted by James Heppell

Jeremy Keith @adactio.com · 14/09/2026

Journal: Stalling installing Trying to get past Webkit’s blockage at the W3C. 🔗https://adactio.com/journal/22757

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Reposted by James Heppell

James Heppell @formularsumo.co.uk · 25/08/2026

Over the past few years I've come across more and more railway maps, and thought it was about time I wrote about them. Many are via Exeter Uni's Train Society, others from friends and various places online. There's also a few daily train games (Wordle style): formularsumo.co.uk/living-pages...

formularsumo.co.uk

Railway Maps

A list of online railway maps I find useful, ranging from current routes to historical and live maps, and including daily train games which make use of maps.

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James Heppell @formularsumo.co.uk · 27/08/2026

Great to see! Most exciting for me: "Application theme colour changes no longer require a restart" Using automatic theme switching on sunset/sunrise, it's quite a pain when LibreOffice's interface breaks until I restart 😅, will be very useful having that fixed!

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James Heppell @formularsumo.co.uk · 25/08/2026

formularsumo.co.uk

Railway Maps

A list of online railway maps I find useful, ranging from current routes to historical and live maps, and including daily train games which make use of maps.

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James Heppell @formularsumo.co.uk · 07/08/2026

Very excited for this to finally happen! WebAPKs are the only way for PWAs to feel like native apps on Android, and Google's been reserving that functionality for themselves for nearly a decade. For more info see: open-web-advocacy.org/blog/google-...

open-web-advocacy.org

Google must share the ability to install Web Apps in Android - Open Web Advocacy

For 7 years, Google has failed to keep its commitment to share the ability to install Web Apps with third-party browsers on Android, despite public requests…

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James Heppell @formularsumo.co.uk · 25/07/2026

"Using Mastodon is a wonderfully human and pleasant experience... where people can genuinely connect" Got round to adding #Mastodon to my Software living page: formularsumo.co.uk/living-pages...

formularsumo.co.uk

Software

An attempt to collate the software I use and why.

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Reposted by James Heppell

T&E @transportenvironment.org · 24/06/2026

NEW: Cars are growing 1.2 cm longer every year, a new study from T&E and @cleancitiescampaign.org shows. European cities are set to lose between 8.5% and 14% of their on-street parking by 2040 if this trend continues unchecked. 🧵⤵️

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Reposted by James Heppell

Alex Russell @infrequently.org · 06/07/2026

I'm not saying Safari is the new IE6; that would be unfair...to IE 6. It was world-beating, but got long in the tooth. No, Safari now is more like IE 7-11: predictably disappointing thanks to under-funding by a company holding back the web back to defend profits: infrequently.org/2026/07/abject-p…

infrequently.org

Abject Praise - Infrequently Noted

Until Apple's boot is removed from the web's face, you never have to hand it to them.

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Reposted by James Heppell

Rick Byers @rbyers.net · 16/06/2026

Given how Chromium and WebKit are always vying for the top spot in Speedometer on MacOS, it's really striking how big the gap is on iOS! And we haven't even really tried to optimize performance for that platform yet! IMHO this is what you should expect to see when there's a lack of competition!

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Reposted by James Heppell

Bruce Lawson @brucel.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Apple's WebKit performance tax leaves iOS browsers stuck in the slow lane, says Microsoft. "The performance tax comes to 28.6%, almost as much as Apple's 30% commission. Even without performance optimisation, Blink on iOS is faster than WebKit. But you can't have it, because of Apple's iOS rules.

theregister.com

Apple's WebKit performance tax leaves iOS browsers stuck in the slow lane, says Microsoft

Rival rendering engines could make pages load almost 30% faster on iPhones, Redmond claims

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Reposted by James Heppell

Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 17/06/2026

“Microsoft engineers have published benchmark results showing that a Chromium-based browser using its own rendering engine scores 28.6% higher than Safari on Apple's own Speedometer 3.1 performance test on iOS” www.macrumors.com/2026/06/17/w...

macrumors.com

Apple's WebKit Rules Reportedly Cost iOS Users Almost 30% Browser Performance

Microsoft engineers have published benchmark results showing that a Chromium-based browser using its own rendering engine scores 28.6% higher than Safari on Apple's own Speedometer 3.1 performance tes...

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Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 27/05/2026

Open Web Advocacy joins 17 businesses, industry bodies, public figures and civil society organisations calling for more ambitious and urgent enforcement of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) 🚨 🧵👇️ (1/28) 📖Read more: open-web-advocacy.org/blog/open-le...

open-web-advocacy.org

Open Letter: Why the CMA Must Enforce the DMCCA - Open Web Advocacy

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Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 18/05/2026

The EU’s Digital Markets Act choice screens are working 🇪🇺 Since March 2024, more than 6 million people in the EU have selected Firefox as their default browser, roughly one every 10 seconds. 🦊 User choice and merit should drive browser competition, not control of operating systems. 📖Read more:

cybernews.com

Brussels’ DMA regulation handed Firefox millions of new users

Thanks to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Mozilla has gained more than 6 million new users for its web browser Firefox.

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Reposted by James Heppell

Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 15/05/2026

The EU's Digital Markets Act is delivering real wins for consumers in the EU, and in some cases globally. Apple and Google are opening up functionality that was previously reserved for their own products. But one glaring failure remains: browser engines on iOS. 🧵👇️ (1/23)

open-web-advocacy.org

The Digital Markets Act Is Delivering Real Wins, But Not Yet for Browser Engines - Open Web Advocacy

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Alex Russell @infrequently.org · 13/04/2026

Great to see Mozilla returning to an expansive vision for the web; the idea that we should download unsafe native binaries for most tasks has always been naff: fosstodon.org/@balloob/1163984… /cc @webdevs.firefox.com

fosstodon.org

balloob (@balloob@fosstodon.org)

Attached: 4 images WebSerial has landed in Firefox Nightly !! 🎉 Enable it in about:config and it all just works as expected. Took a brand new ESP32 and had a new Bluetooth proxy added to Home Assis...

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Reposted by James Heppell

Paulus Schoutsen @paulusschoutsen.nl · 13/04/2026

WebSerial has landed in Firefox Nightly !! 🎉 Enable it in about:config and it all just works as expected. Took a brand new ESP32 and had a new Bluetooth proxy added to Home Assistant within 2 minutes 👌

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Reposted by James Heppell

techaltar.bsky.social @techaltar.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Fidesz' massive defeat comes despite: - multiple active Russian disinformation campaigns - the US government actively supporting Fidesz - Fidesz owning the majority of TV & radio stations + newspapers - Fidesz having gerrymandered the crap out of the country (1/2)

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Reposted by James Heppell

Keep Android Open @keepandroidopen.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Thank you Open Web Advocacy (@open-web-advocacy.org) for supporting Keep Android Open @keepandroidopen.bsky.social #KeepAndroidOpen

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Reposted by James Heppell

Bruce Lawson @brucel.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Apple at 50: my top five Apple moments brucelawson.co.uk/2026/apple-a...

brucelawson.co.uk

Bruce Lawson's personal site

» Apple at 50: my top five Apple moments

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Reposted by James Heppell

Alex Russell @infrequently.org · 04/04/2026

On holiday, but wrote up how regulators are failing to legalise browser competition, enabled by a jejune tech press: infrequently.org/2026/04/the-... ...but missed Brussels proposing full surrender. WTF: pluralistic.net/2026/04/04/d... /via @doctorow.pluralistic.net /cc @open-web-advocacy.org

infrequently.org

The Web Is An Antitrust Wedge - Infrequently Noted

Armed with new powers to rein in the worst excesses of mobile's duopolists, regulators around the world are struggling to find their footing. The UK's CMA is only the latest to pose capitulation as su...

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Reposted by James Heppell

Bruce Lawson @brucel.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Our European chums at Cryptee launch end-to-end encrypted photo sharing blog.crypt.ee/end-to-end-e... after many conversations about what it means to build sharing tools responsibly. "Not because anyone forced us to do any of these things, but because we think it matters."

blog.crypt.ee

End-to-End Encrypted Photo Sharing

End-to-end encrypted photo sharing is here. Share albums with up to 5 people using no-knowledge encrypted links.

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Reposted by James Heppell

Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 26/03/2026

OWA NEW REPORT 🚨 Apple’s interoperability “commitments” in the UK 🇬🇧 are a smokescreen: 👉 No obligation to share anything 👉 Broad excuses to say no 👉 Fees for APIs 👉 No public transparency They can comply… and change nothing 😬 Bad for devs. Bad for users. OWA gives you the deep dive: 🧵👇️ (1/13)

open-web-advocacy.org

Our Submission to the CMA on Apple’s iOS Interoperability Commitments - Open Web Advocacy

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Reposted by James Heppell

Alex Russell @infrequently.org · 24/03/2026

This post by @mozilla.org's VP Eng (Andrew Overholt) is welcome news. For far too long, Mozilla has been nearly silent as Apple suppressed real choice in browsers, and any break with that inglorious patterns should be celebrated: blog.mozilla.org/netpolicy/20... /via @open-web-advocacy.org

blog.mozilla.org

Competition, Innovation, and the Future of the Web – Why Independent Browser Engines Matter – Open Policy & Advocacy

Gecko matters because it ensures there’s an independent voice shaping how the internet evolves. Without Gecko, the landscape would be dominated by Apple and Google alone. From accessing information, c...

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Reposted by James Heppell

Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 23/03/2026

Alex Moore (Executive Director of OWA) and John Ozbay (CEO and Founder of Cryptee) were recently interviewed by Simonetta Vezzoso, a European academic specializing in digital competition law and the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). Check it out: open-web-advocacy.org/blog/questio... 🧵👇 (1/7)

open-web-advocacy.org

Q&A with Simonetta Vezzoso: The Open Web, Apple, and the DMA - Open Web Advocacy

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Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 12/03/2026

In a significant win for smaller browsers, the open web, and the 🇪🇺EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Google has agreed to place the browser selected through the EU browser choice screen directly in the Pixel homescreen hotseat (replacing Chrome). open-web-advocacy.org/blog/google-... 🧵👇 (1/7)

open-web-advocacy.org

Google Backs Down: Will Grant Hotseat in EU Browser Choice Screen - Open Web Advocacy

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Reposted by James Heppell

Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 04/03/2026

Which? - The UK’s not for profit consumer champion had this to say about the UK CMA's proposed remedies. 👉 Read More: www.which.co.uk/policy-and-i...

The second issue with the proposed approach is that accepting commitments may set an unintended benchmark for the acceptability of commitments in place of Conduct Requirements. In allowing these priority issues to be resolved through commitments, and noting the prominence that is associated with the first set of interventions in this investigation (and only the second interventions proposed by the Digital Markets Competition Regime as a whole), SMS firms may take encouragement that offering commitments is a viable way to resolve issues that have been identified … and it may result in increased pressure on the CMA to enforce weaker remedies in place of stronger intervention that leads to better market outcomes. Increasing the likelihood of commitments being offered as a first port of call also adds burden to the process that may slow the pace that the CMA is able to achieve effective remedies. We encourage the CMA to recognise and guard against this risk.

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Reposted by James Heppell

Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 03/03/2026

⚠️ LAST CALL TO WRITE TO CMA: 5pm TODAY ⚠️ Under the current proposal, Apple can keep iOS and iPhone functionality exclusive to its own apps and services. If you want fair access to APIs for competing apps and browsers email 📧 mobilesms@cma.gov.uk See: open-web-advocacy.org/blog/apples-... 🧵👇️(1/5)

⚠️LAST CALL TO WRITE TO CMA: 5pm TODAY ⚠️
DEMAND FAIR ACCESS on iOS
Equal API Access to All Apps
Equal Performance and Privileges
Enforceable Deadlines & Oversight
FAILURE MEANS:
Developers can’t compete with Apple’s Apps & Hardware
Apple keeps features to themselves
Browsers & the Web won’t be able to compete
Sets Global Precedent for weak digital legislation
Less Competition = More Expensive + Worse Quality for consumers
👇 Read more, OWA blog link below

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Reposted by James Heppell

Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 02/03/2026

⚠️ WRITE TO THE UK'S CMA BY TUESDAY 5pm ⚠️ Under the current proposal, Apple can keep iOS and iPhone functionality exclusive to its own apps and services If you want fair access to APIs for competing apps and browsers email 📧 mobilesms@cma.gov.uk See: open-web-advocacy.org/blog/apples-... 🧵👇️ (1/5)

⚠️WRITE TO THE UK’s CMA BY TUESDAY 5PM ⚠️
DEMAND FAIR ACCESS on iOS
Equal API access for Third-Party Apps
Equal Performance and Privileges
Enforceable Deadlines & Oversight
FAILURE MEANS:
Developers can’t compete with Apple’s Apps & Hardware
Apple keeps features to themseleves
Browsers & the Web won’t be able to compete
Sets Global Precedent for weak digital legislation
Less Competition = More Expensive + Worse Quality for consumers
👇 Read more, OWA blog link below

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James Heppell @formularsumo.co.uk · 27/02/2026

formularsumo.co.uk/living-pages/ Not far off a year after starting it, I've now published the English version of my "Living pages" (I did get round to doing the Spanish one late last year).

formularsumo.co.uk

Living pages

James Heppell's personal website's living pages

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Reposted by James Heppell

Alex Russell @infrequently.org · 27/02/2026

If you are in the UK, I'd like to beg 5-10 minutes of your time to file comment with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) about the proposed (toothless) "Interoperability Commitments" from Apple and Google. Per usual, @open-web-advocacy.org has deets: open-web-advocacy.org/blog/apples-inte…

open-web-advocacy.org

Apple’s Interoperability Commitments to the UK’s CMA Promise Nothing - Open Web Advocacy

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Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 27/02/2026

We recently spoke with @redmonk.com senior analyst @kateholterhoff.com about a question that has shaped the mobile ecosystem for over a decade: why has the open web struggled to compete with native apps on mobile, and what regulators can do to restore competition? 🧵👇 (1/5)

open-web-advocacy.org

OWA on RedMonk: Why the Mobile Web Still Can’t Compete with Native Apps, and How to Fix It! - Open Web Advocacy

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Bill McKay @mckay4senate.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

The piece I wrote for Liberal Currents on Musk's USAID cuts and how we can respond to them is out, take a look if you get the chance.

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Armand @armand.npmx.social · 25/02/2026

Very interesting conversation with Alex Moore, Executive Director of @open-web-advocacy.org Innovation indeed doesn't come from the gatekeepers. Particularly Apple has been fighting any form of progress for way too long. youtu.be/EOT0w7EwkVI

youtu.be

Alex Moore on Open Web Advocacy and Why "Innovation Doesn't Come from the Gatekeepers"

YouTube video by RedMonk

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James Heppell @formularsumo.co.uk · 25/02/2026

After 5 years of investigations and market research, my country's CMA have come up with some of the weakest proposals they could've for interoperability, which would likely allow Apple and Google to deny any request they choose to.

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Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 13/02/2026

On Tuesday, the CMA announced that Apple and Google have proposed app certainty and interoperable access commitments. Of particular interest to OWA was the interoperability requirements, as we have argued that the CMA should impose an equivalent to Article 6(7) of the DMA.

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Reposted by James Heppell

Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 17/01/2026

Breaking: Google Appeals Final Judgment in DOJ Case Google is requesting a stay on certain provisions of the Final Judgment pending Google’s appeal of the Court’s liability and remedies rulings.

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Reposted by James Heppell

Alex Russell @infrequently.org · 05/01/2026

OWA has been singularly effective in winning letter-of-the-law chamge, and the action now lies with regulators. They meed reasons to believe *enforcing* the law is worth the effort, and your voice can make a difference. Read @open-web-advocacy.org's roundup to learn about the fights that matter:

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James Heppell @formularsumo.co.uk · 05/01/2026

2025 is the year I've been most involved with OWA, and the pace of global progress recently has been amazing. With 3 regulators now on-board and another 2 coming up, 2026 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the Web!

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James Heppell @formularsumo.co.uk · 23/12/2025

Another year over, another reading list! The first (English) part of it least. It's quite short this time, but I still had a lot of fun writing it. Hope you enjoy! formularsumo.co.uk/blog/2025/re...

formularsumo.co.uk

Reading List 2025

The English part of the my 2025 reading list: books I read this year, and what I thought about them

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James Heppell @formularsumo.co.uk · 11/12/2025

Android 16 QPR2 themed icon changes and how they affect PWAs: elk.zone/social.vival...

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James Heppell @formularsumo.co.uk · 27/11/2025

I've just posted a long thread on Mastodon about some issues I have with the platform: elk.zone/social.vival... * Official projects defaulting to largest server (centralisation) * Pushing the official native apps over web apps and others * Not advertising app releases on F-Droid/other 3p app stores

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Reposted by James Heppell

Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 13/11/2025

Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web and HTML, has expressed support for compelling Apple to allow other browser engines on iOS. He also states that having a powerful browser on iOS would "change the dynamic" with respect to web app's viability on mobile. 1/4

open-web-advocacy.org

Tim Berners-Lee On Apple’s Browser Engine Ban and Web Apps - Open Web Advocacy

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James Heppell @formularsumo.co.uk · 07/11/2025

Hace unos días añadí una nueva sección a mi web - Páginas vivas. Son proyectos que nunca acaban de estar tan terminados como un artículo de mi blog, y que suelen tener un lado más informativo en vez de exponer mis opiniones. formularsumo.co.uk/es/paginas-v...

formularsumo.co.uk

Paginas-vivas

Las paginas vivas de la web personal de James Heppell

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Reposted by James Heppell

Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 04/11/2025

The 🇬🇧UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially designated Apple as having Strategic Market Status (SMS). After four years investigating Apple’s restrictions on browser engines and web apps, the CMA now has statutory authority to enforce a code of conduct. 1/12

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Reposted by James Heppell

Open Web Advocacy @open-web-advocacy.org · 28/10/2025

Reason: Push is only half of whats needed. Web Push is gated behind install. Install for native is easy, for web apps it's hidden to the point developers are forced to build native apps, the very developers that would be using web push. Missing lots of features. webventures.rejh.nl/blog/2024/we...

webventures.rejh.nl

Web Push on iOS - 1 year anniversary - Webventures

TL;DR: Web Push on iOS is nearing its one year anniversary. It's still mostly useless.

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