Police seize gear from Gizmodo iPhone blogger

Associated Press, April 27, 2010, Seattle

Authorities seized computers, digital cameras, a cell phone and other items from a technology blog editor who posted pictures and details of a lost iPhone prototype.

A computer-crime task force made up of multiple law enforcement agencies searched Gizmodo editor and blogger Jason Chen's house and car in Fremont, Calif., on Friday, according to a statement and search warrant documents provided by Gizmodo.

The warrant, issued by a Superior Court judge in San Mateo County, said the computers and other devices may have been used to commit a felony. Steve Wagstaffe, spokesman for the San Mateo County District Attorney's office, confirmed the warrant's authenticity.

Members of the Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team took several computers, hard drives, digital cameras, cell phones and other gadgets, plus Chen's American Express bill and copies of his checks.

Last week Gizmodo had one of the Web's hottest scoops when it posted photos of an Apple device that appeared to be a next-generation iPhone. It had been found in a bar in Redwood City, which is in San Mateo County, and sold for $5,000 by an unknown person to Gizmodo, a gadget blog owned by Gawker Media Inc.

After Chen, 29, posted photos and details about the phone, Apple acknowledged the device belonged to the company, and Gizmodo returned it.

Gawker Media said California law, which protects journalists from having to turn over anonymous sources or unpublished material to law enforcement during a search, should apply to Chen's property.

"Are bloggers journalists? I guess we'll find out," Nick Denton, who runs Gawker Media, wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

Wagstaffe said the district attorney's office is examining that issue.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling declined to comment.

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Teenagers create secret online language

Indo-Asian News Service, April 27, 2010, London

Teenagers on social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo are creating a secret language to stop adults knowing what they are up to, researchers say.

The teens are using it to stop parents and employers judging them by their social activities such as partying and drinking. So instead of writing they are drunk, teens post 'Getting MWI' - or mad with it', reports telegraph.co.uk.

Being in a relationship is known as "taken" or "Ownageeee" and "Ridneck" means to feel embarrassed.

Meanwhile, girls posting "Legal" are indicating that they are above 16 and legally allowed to have sex.

Lisa Whittaker, a postgraduate student at the University of Stirling, who studied teens aged 16-18 on Bebo in Scotland said that the slang had been created to keep their activities private, and cited the example of one young girl who was sacked after bosses found pictures of her drinking on the website.

"Young people often distort the languages they use by making the pages difficult for those unfamiliar with the distortions and colloquialisms," said Whittaker.

"The language used on Bebo seems to go beyond abbreviations that are commonly used in text messaging, such as removing all the vowels. This is not just bad spelling, which would suggest literacy issues, but a deliberate attempt to creatively misspell words," she added.

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Nokia launches new range of phones

Press Trust of India, April 26, 2010, New Delhi

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia today launched its range of qwerty devices, whose keypad is
like that of a computer keyboard, starting at Rs 5,300.

It has also launched an improved version of Nokia Messaging with free push mail service. Nokia Messaging aggregates multiple email accounts through one client. It can support and mobilise up to 10 email accounts such as gmail, Yahoo, rediffmail, sify and Indiatimes among others.

Nokia today launched three devices-- C3, priced at Rs 5,317.89 (Euro 90), C6-- a touch and full keyboard phone-at Rs 13,000 (Euro 220), while E5 is priced at Rs 10,634 (Euro 180), a business-cum-entertainment device.

Nokia, which is the market leader in India has been facing competition from home grown mobile manufacturers in the low-end mobile segment.

Players like Micromax and Olive have already launched Qwerty keypad phones with a price tag of Rs 2,000.

However, when asked whether Nokia is responding to the competition with the new launch, the company's Executive Vice President Anssi Vanjoki said, "It is a strategic option for Nokia. With the new devices we are bringing mobile messaging and social networking into the hands of more people."

With the free push mail service, Nokia is also trying to tap the mobile e-mail users in India.

"People are looking at messaging services as an enhanced business tool. There are six million mail users on mobile in India. The number is expected to touch 130 million in 2014," Nokia India Managing Director and Vice President D Shivakumar said.

India is among the top five countries for the service and we are confident that with our decision to offer it free of cost, we will see a significant surge in adoption of email and messaging services in the country, he added.

The service will be available through all leading operators in the country and consumers will only have to pay the basic data download charges.

It has over three million active users in more than 100 countries today.

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BSNL to Bring WiMax in NCR This Month

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) will start the latest wireless broadband service - WiMax in the NCR this month, said a statement by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Indian government.

To begin with, the service will be launched from Dhakor of Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh. This service would be extended to other parts of NCR such as Bisrakh, Dadri, Jewar and Jahangirpuri in next financial year, said Sachin Pilot, minister of state for IT and Communications. This will enable subscribers to access services like video telephony, TV on mobile, video-conferencing, tele-medicine and e-learning.

BSNL and MTNL will set-up 10 new exchanges by the end of this financial year in Noida and Greater Noida. Pilot assured that special steps would be taken to ensure that downtime of towers in these areas is minimized. "With improved quality of service, I am expecting that both companies will add 25,000 new subscribers to their present subscriber base. BSNL at present has 75,000 subscribers and MTNL has 25,000 subscribers in Noida circle," said Pilot.

He also said that over 40,000 mobile subscribers would be added in Noida and Greater Noida areas by March 2011.

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Android dual-boot could make Nokia N900 jack of two trade

Android has certainly set bells ringing, and for those who plan to own the Nokia N900 which runs on Maemo 5 Operating system, here is some consolation.

Now it is possible to dual boot Android and Maemo 5 operating system by hacking into Nokia N 900.
The Hacker has managed to set up his device with dual-boot configuration with Maemo on internal storage and Android on a separate partition loaded from the microSD card.

Though it is still a proof-of concept and there is no clue as to how one can dual boot the device. We are hoping for the detailed instructions to arrive soon.

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Application review : ||::. Shazam .::||

Shazam is the closest a cell phone can come to magic. How many times has a particular music track left you bewildered and wanting to know more about it? If that happens to you more than often then Shazam is the perfect thing for you.

This mobile application helps you identify music (and get all the details like artist, bio and other related info. And all this in a matter of few seconds.

All you need to do is hold your phone towards the music and select 'Tag now'. And voila you get all the details you need. In case, you love the tagged track way too much, Shazamcan help you buy it too. So, Stop pondering over music tracks and start Shazaming.

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Sony Ericsson Vivaz

Sony Ericsson unveils Vivaz. The device's USP is that it can capture 720 p video continuously with auto focus giving you perfect clarity. It's an entertainment phone designed to capture and share videos as well as upload them on the web. One can upload via Wi-Fi onto YouTube and Picasa in high resolution.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz features the new design philosophy 'human curvature', designed to mirror the shape of the human body, and at the same time delivering a precise and compelling phone interaction.

Vivaz is based on the Symbian platform with Nokia's S60 5th edition user interface. The device also comes with a TV out point that lets you view you snaps and videos on the Big screen in your living room.

Sony Ericsson Vivaz boasts of an 8.1-megapixel camera, 3.2in widescreen display supporting 640 x 360 pixels, and ships with an 8GB Micro SD Flash card.

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BlackBerry Bold 2

It is sleeker, smarter and inherits the faux leather and crome edges from its predecessor. Bold 2 or BlackBerry Bold 9700 is a great looker and packs a punch, inside.

It is a modernised version of Bold 9000. And makes for a fitting successor. The optical track pad that replaces the trackball. Track pad makes navigation much easier with better control.

Keys have become slightly smaller. Screen too is smaller, which is not a positive change when big screens are in.

Bold 2 boasts of Blackberry's new operating system 5.0 that brings many new features.

Mails on Blackberry will be a different experience. You can now flag your mails, prioritise and read mails in thread format. Same features can be applied for SMS as well.

Bold 9700 has Messenger 5.0., in which you can add your picture, Blackberry messenger will also display the song you are listening to and time zone. You can create groups and read other's blackberry codes.

Option for security wipe lets you choose between contacts, applications and media card.

Bold-2 has a 3.2 megapixel camera an improvement from bold one's 2 MP. Media user interface has some improvements. You can slide through pictures without using p and n alphabets...simply use the optical track pad. Overall performance of Bold 2 is snappier because of the operating system.

Bold 9700 is priced between Rs 33,990 to 31990 in different parts of the country.

For all Blackberry Bold users, this one will surely not be a disappointment.

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BlackBerry wins patent battle with Motorola in Britain

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) Wednesday won its patent battle in Britain with Motorola when a court in London ruled in favour of the Canadian wireless giant based at Waterloo.

In his ruling, Justice Richard Arnold of the London high court said RIM didn't infringe one of Motorola's patents - pertaining to email system - in its two systems. Motorola had moved the US International Trade Commission in New York last month on the same patent which was at dispute in the London court.

The London verdict will have no bearing on the Motorola lawsuit in the US.

In the lawsuit, Motorola had complained that RIM continues to sell products using its patents longer than agreed to - from 2003 to 2007.

Co-headed by Indian-born Sanjay Jha, Motorola cited violations of its proprietary wireless technology related to WiFi access, user interface and power management by RIM.

Motorola said its agreement with RIM to use its patented technology expired in 2007, but the BlackBerry maker made no efforts to seek renewal of the agreement.

Instead, it continued to use its patents in violations of proprietary laws, Motorola said.

"These patented technologies are important to Motorola as they allow for more comprehensive connectivity, a better user experience and lower product costs," said the US telecom giant.

Motorola requested the US trade commission to ban import and sale of infringing products by RIM.

It also sought ban on marketing, advertising, demonstration and warehousing of infringing products in the US.

Jonathan Meyer, senior vice president of intellectual property law at Motorola, said last month: "In light of RIM's continued unlicensed use of Motorola's patents, RIM's use of delay tactics in our current patent litigation, and RIM's refusal to design out Motorola's proprietary technology, Motorola had no choice but to file a complaint with the ITC to halt RIM's continued infringement."

He said: "Motorola will continue to take all necessary steps to protect its R&D and intellectual property, which are critical to the company's business."

Apart from moving the US International Trade Commission in New York where all mobile court cases are currently being filed, Motorola has also filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Texas.

Based at Schaumburg on the outskirts of Chicago, Motorola employs more than 60,000 people around the world.

Its Indian-born co-CEO Sanjay Jha was the highest earner in the corporate world in 2008, with a total package of $104,445,529.

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India adds record 19 million mobile users

India, the world's fastest-expanding mobile market, added more than 19 million cellular users last month to post the biggest monthly growth ever, according to official data Thursday.

India's number of mobile subscribers swelled by 19.10 million in December after climbing by 17.65 million the previous month, driven by some of the world's cheapest calling rates.

December's increase was a record for monthly wireless subscriber growth, according to figures from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) posted on its website.

India's mobile phone companies added an average of nearly 15 million subscribers a month in 2009 to bring the total number of cellular users to 525.15 million -- up 51.4 percent from December 2008.

The sector's explosive growth has drawn a flood of global entrants in the past few years, sparking a cut-throat billing war among the players which has hit revenues and profits.

The new players that have beaten a path to the country of nearly 1.2 billion people include Norway's Telenor, Japan's NTT DoCoMo, Britain's Vodafone and Russia's Sistema JSFC, hoping to boost revenues and make up for saturated domestic markets.

With the new users added in December, 45 out of every 100 people in India now have a mobile phone. Total teledensity including fixed-line users now stands at 48 percent of the population.

The Cellular Operators' Association of India forecasts the country's mobile phones will number one billion by 2013.

But industry leaders and analysts say the cellular market is getting too crowded and forecast a savage period of consolidation in which the number of players will get whittled down to around half a dozen from the 14 currently.

As mobile subscriptions surged, the number of fixed-line telephone subscribers continued to fall, edging down to 37.06 million at the end of December from 37.16 million a month earlier, according to the TRAI figures.

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HTC unveils HD2, first Windows phone with HTC Sense

HTC announced the launch of the HTC HD2, the first Windows phone with HTC Sense, in India.

The HTC HD2 has a 4.3-inch 'capacitive touch' display and is powered by Qualcomm's new 1 Ghz Snapdragon mobile processor and Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system.

Coinciding with the release of HTC HD2, Tata Docomo has announced that its customers who purchase the phone will be able to browse the Internet and download 500MB of data per month free for a period of 6 months.

The HD2 comes with Microsoft's new My Phone service that enables users to back up and synch photos, music, contacts and text messages for free from the HD2 to the web.

The HTC HD2 will be available at a price of Rs 39,990 in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and Rs 36,990 in the other parts of the India.

Specifications

Processor: Qualcomm MSM 8250, 1GHz

Operating system: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional

Memory: ROM:512MB

RAM: 448 MB

Dimensions: 12.05 x 6.7 x 1.1 cm

Weight: 157g (with battery)

Display: 10.922 cm WVGA(480x800 pixels) Capacitive flat Touch Screen

Network:
- 3.5G/HSDPA: 900/2100MHz
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

GPS: Internal GPS antenna

Connectivity:
- Bluetooth with Enhanced Data Rate
- Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g

Camera: 5.0 megapixel auto focus colour camera with flash

Battery: 1230 mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery

Talk time: Up to 240 minutes

Standby time: Up to 120 hours for GSM

Expansion slot: microSD memory card

AC Adapter: Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz

DC output: 5V and 1A

Other features:
- 3.5mm audio jack
- Ambient Light Sensor
- FM Radio
- HTC Sense
- Facebook
- Twitter
- You Tube
- Stocks
- Google Maps
- Windows Market Place
- Microsoft My phone

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Free GPS navigation maps from SatGuide for Nokia users

SatNav Technologies launched a free version of GPS navigation software and maps for Symbian OS phones by Nokia.

The free navigation software with maps of 412+ cities of India can be downloaded from www.satguide.in. Windows based phones from HTC, HP, imate, ASUS and ACER also offer SatGuide Navigation Maps

Nokia phone users can use it for free for up to 10 times and then either reinstall once again to continue using it for free or upgrade with a one-time payment of Rs 2,138 and use it lifelong without recurring charges or reinstallation.

The software will provide an access to maps for 412 Indian cities and over 16 lakh point of interests. SatGuide also offers partner's maps for US, Canada and Europe.

SatNav is also giving an cash back offer to users downloading the free version form their website. If they choose to upgrade the software within 30 days of the downloading the free version, they will get Rs 1,000 cash back from the company.

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Opera offers cross-platform user interface

December 10, 2009, Oslo (Norway)

Opera Software today released Opera Mobile 10 to operators and OEMs. This direct-to-distributor version is available on Android, BREW, Windows Mobile and Symbian/S60 smartphones and includes Opera's new, cross-platform UI framework.

As a part of Opera's shift to unify the look and feel of its mobile browsers, the cross-platform UI framework allows operators and OEMs to implement the same user experience across their entire range of handsets.

Opera's cross-platform UI framework is built on top of the browser engine allowing it to work on all platforms running Opera Mobile or Opera Mini.

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Nokia announces Rihanna app

December 9, 2009, Espoo (Finland)

Nokia announced the launch of its Rihanna app. The new app will deliver news, music, photos and video content direct to Nokia's handsets including the Nokia N97, Nokia X6 and Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.

Video content available through the app will include live performance videos from Rihanna's album launch event. Additionally, fans can access music samples, a Rihanna biography and photo library, and, when available, information on Rihanna's forthcoming 2010 tour. The app content will be unavailable elsewhere.

The app also provides a direct link to the Nokia Music Store where fans can download album content including a Nokia bonus track, Hole In My Head, written and produced by Justin Timberlake.

In addition, a Donni Hotwheels remix of Rihanna's smash single, Russian Roulette, is also available to those who download her album, Rated R via the Nokia Music Store.

On November 16, Rihanna performed tracks from her new album with Nokia that was streamed live globally to her fans. The show included live Twitter commentary from music fans.

The Rihanna app and video content from the show is available at www.nokia.com/rihanna

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Apple confirms purchase of music site Lala.com

Apple Inc. has purchased online music retailer Lala.com, a Silicon Valley startup that has threatened "the end of the MP3" with its fast song-streaming application.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling confirmed the purchase Sunday, but would not provide any further information, including how much the deal was worth.

"Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time and we generally do not comment on our purpose or plans," he said.

Lala has developed an application not yet available to the public that allows users to buy the right to stream songs from a digital locker for an unlimited time on their iPhones for 10 cents each.

The song quality is lower than what Apple's iTunes songs offer, but tracks can played in seconds, and cost much less than the songs on iTunes, which generally are priced at 69 cents to $1.29 each.

Lala, a private company based in Palo Alto, Calif., was launched in 2006 with $35 million in venture capital from Bain Capital LLC, Ignition Partners and Warner Music Group Corp. Lala began as an online CD-trading site but relaunched in October 2008 as a music retailer

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Dell forms communications unit

(Credit: Dell)

Showing it's serious about smartphones, Dell is reorganizing the company around its newest product.

Dell is forming a new communications business unit to be helmed by Ron Garriques, a former Motorola executive brought in to run Dell's consumer business two years ago, Reuters first reported Friday. Dell officials confirmed that the consumer group will be folded into the small and medium business group run by Steve Felice.

Dell started selling its first smartphone at the end of November in China and Brazil only. The new unit run by Garriques will develop hardware and software for phones and other mobile Internet devices.

Dell has recently fallen even further behind its once-lofty perch as the world's biggest producer of PCs. It is now No. 3 behind Hewlett-Packard and Acer, both of which offer consumers computers and smartphones. The company is, like most consumer hardware makers, increasingly moving to smaller mobile computers like smartphones and laptops as the desktop market has cratered.

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Cellphones don't cause brain cancer

It is official: cellphones don't increase the risk of brain cancer.

A long-term study has found there is no link between brain tumor and the use of cell phones. The study among Scandinavian people from 1974 and 2003 has found that the use of cell phones did not increase brain tumour risk among users.

"We did not observe (notice) an effect of mobile phones on the incidence of brain tumours,'' study leader Isabelle Deltour of the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen told a Canadian television network here Thursday.

As part of this extensive study, 16 million people in Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were tracked for what happened to rates of glioma and meningioma brain tumours among them over 30 years.

But the researchers found that only 60,000 of them developed brain tumours. This rate of brain tumour was not higher than that seen before the use of cell phones began.

The study found that there was no increase in risk. If there was any increase in risk, it was too small to be observed or the period needed for cell phones to cause brain tumours was longer than the period studied.

The Scandinavian study commenced just when cell phones were introduced.

"If there was a connection, we would have expected a sudden marked increase in the rates, especially among younger males, which were the first to use cells phones. We didn't see that," Deltour told CTV.

However, the researchers stressed that more longer-term studies are needed to prove that the use of cell phone does not raise the risk of brain cancer. They said they will continue monitoring to see if it takes longer to detect changes in tumour rates.

Another international study on the link between cell phone use and brain cancer is likely to come out next year.

The Scandinavian study has appeared in Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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TALK FOR INDIA

Idea cellular, a leading Telecom companies in India is running the Talk for India Hour campaign; where they will donate the revenue earned for all voice calls between 8.36 p.m and 9.36 p.m on November 26 to the police for better protection gear.

On 26 November last year (26/11), terrorists attacked Mumbai, and the “Talk for India” campaign aims to supports the need to strengthen the national security. Its time to salute the heroes and pay homage to the martyrs. You can Log on to talkforindia.in now and register for a reminder call during Talk For India Hour.

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Intex unveils new products at IITF-2009

Intex Technologies launched two new products at the India International Trade Fair-2009 in New Delhi - a dual SIM QWERTY keypad mobile phone, model IN 6611 Ace and a 19" LED monitor.

INTEX IN 6611 Ace provides a GSM + GSM dual SIM support and a QWERTY keypad. It comes with preloaded Opera Mini web browser. It also has a dual camera, mobile tracker, auto call recorder, answering machine, extendable memory up to 4 GB, FM radio, Audio and Video player, Bluetooth with 2ADP, USB - PC Connectivity, and 1450 mAh battery.

The phone is expected to hit the market soon at a price of Rs 4,700.

INTEX 1900 W has a contrast ratio of 100000:1 and a response time of 2 ms. The screen is 13.3 cm thick and has a seven-colored changing light stripe.

The introductory price for IITF is Rs 9,000.

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Nokia E72

The New Nokia E72 is up against some serious competition. Competition from its own family and its own predecessor. By the summer of 2009, Nokia E71 was the best selling QWERTY-device in the whole world. Thus the E72 has some big boots to fill.

From the outside, not much has changed. The keypad has been rearranged for the better, a 5 megapixel camera and the inclusion of a standard 3.5 mm audio jack as opposed to the 2.5 mm in E71.

The 360MHz CPU seen in the E71 has been replaced with the much-needed 600MHz CPU plus the built-in storage has been jacked up to 250MB.

Lets get down to what the phone really looks like. In Zodium Black, Metal Grey, Topaz Brown as its colors, the phone reflects as a phone with some class.

The metal body only adds to it looks that means business. It's a contemporary design, with a fully integrated QWERTY keyboard that is ready to take the QWERTY success forward for Nokia especially after the E71.

It has a super slim frame of 10 mm and a sleek design that has been added for easy user interface. And that's not all to keep your life smart and simple. The optical navigational key helps you glide through your mails and menu with quite an ease.

Lets add the amazing noise cancellation feature. So now you can have clearer conversations and in case you have lost your way, use the A-GPS and compass with map integration. And if it's a situation where you are stuck in the dark, simply press the spacebar for the torch to come on. Simple, right?

Well, that's exactly what Nokia wanted to do for you, make your life simple and smart.

The improvement in the performance is evident with high internet speed and processing power. The support for up to 10.2 Mbps connections over HSDPA is a feature that would be greatly appreciated by the heavy-duty users.

Add to the performance some software features that come with the E72. The Nokia Messaging Service with a lifetime license now supports access and easy setup for Instant Messaging accounts including Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk and Ovi, amongst others.

A full version of Quickoffice, which includes editing Office files. SIP VoIP 3.0 plus an electronic compass.

Given the gamut of features you can avail with the Nokia E72, the choice of how you want to respond is completely yours.

COURTESY : ndtv reviews

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