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Our Major Collaborators
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| In this issue: |
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Sprint PCS Now Available to MiCTA Members |
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MiCTA Spring Conference |
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eLearning RFP Update |
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MiCTA Welcomes Anixter |
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Article-Strategic Planning by Dr. Jerry Ledlow |
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Featured Vendor-Coffman Electrical Equipment Company |
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Member Specials for April from Gateway, PC MallGov
Inc., and InfoCore |
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Member Testimonial, The Metro Health System-Cleveland,
Ohio |
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MiCTA Partners |
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New Members/New Associates |
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MiCTA Executive Committee/MiCTA Committees |
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| MiCTA is pleased to announce a brand new partnership
with Sprint to offer MiCTA members special pricing for
access to Sprint’s Broadband Wireless Personal Communications
Services System. This new program offers industry-leading
products including the following: |
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PCS Vision - PCS Business Connection - Web Messaging
- Digital Imaging |
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Enhanced Nationwide Network - Faster data speeds
- Rich color visuals – “Always-on”
internet connection – Secure data transmissions
– Largest all digital coverage area |
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Advanced Voice Services – Voice Command
– Integrated Office – PCS international
roaming |
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Smart Devices – PCS phones – PCS phones
with PDA capabilities – PCS Connection cards |
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Management Tools – eBilling and analysis
– Sprint on-line shopping guide |
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Business/Promotional Pricing Programs –
NVP discounts – Contract discounts –
Share minute plans – Free and Clear plans
with Vision – Promotional plans |
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Service and Support – Commitment to be the
best |
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For more information about this program and how you
can participate please visit
http://www.mictaservice.com/programs/vendors/sprint/pcs. |
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The MiCTA 2003 Spring Conference is fast approaching.
Our conference is being held April 28 – April 30
at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant,
Michigan. The theme for this spring's conference is Overcoming
Educational Challenges and consists of three tracks: E-learning/Programs,
Networking and Resources. At the time of the conference
mailing, the exact time of the TCOM Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
was undetermined. We are pleased to announce that Governor
Jennifer Granholm is scheduled to participate in the TCOM
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony between 1:00 PM and 1:30 PM on
Tuesday, April 29th.
Your participation in our conferences helps shape the
future of MiCTA and contributes to our mutual success.
We understand that many member institutions are facing
financial hardships and will therefore waive late registration
fees. Please click on the following link to download your
conference materials:
http://www.micta.org/conferences/spring03/MemberBookSpring03.pdf
If you have any questions regarding the spring conference,
please contact the MiCTA office at (989) 772-2623.
We look forward to seeing you at the conference. |
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The eLearning Solutions RFP was issued on November 18,
2002 on behalf of MiCTA and the ATAlliance. Thirteen (13)
vendors submitted RFP responses by the January 17, 2003
due date. The Evaluation Committee comprised of twenty-five,
on-site and three off-site participants, represented SREB,
MiCTA, MHEC, WICHE, and MSC. The evaluation retreat took
place in Orlando, FL on January 27-31, 2003. After reading
the thirteen responses, the committee determined that
six vendors offered a specific eLearning Management Solution
(eLMS). Of these, five vendors were invited to present
and demonstrate their products and services at the SREB
headquarters in Atlanta, GA on March 4-6, 2003. On Wednesday,
March 26th, after completion of the evaluation process,
members of the Evaluation Committee participated in a
conference call to discuss the final RFP award recommendations.
The committee voted unanimously to recommend one Endorsed
and two Approved vendor awards, which were passed on to
the governing boards of MiCTA and the ATAlliance for their
consideration and approval. Both boards approved the recommendations
as submitted and MSC personnel are in contract negotiations
with all three vendors. It is intended that contracts
will be executed by April 15, 2003. Visit our website
at www.micta.org for
updated information.
Seven vendors submitted responses with products and/or
services that were related to the eLMS, but did not specifically
offer a management system. Consideration of these proposals
was tabled until the eLMS portion of the RFP is completed.
MSC staff will review these proposals and determine an
appropriate course of action. |
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| Building on strong telecommunications offerings, MiCTA
has added several exciting Endorsed and Approved vendor
programs over the past three years. If you are considering
purchases in the following areas, please take a minute
and look over these new MiCTA programs: |
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Network Equipment - Hubs, Routers, Switches, etc. |
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Interactive Video Solutions - Equipment and Services
for Distance Learning Rooms, Interactive Video /
Multimedia Media Rooms, Video Conferencing, etc. |
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Internet Content Filtering - Hardware and/or Software
Applications |
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Computers, Printers, Peripheral Equipment, Handheld
Devices, and Software |
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Office Supplies, Equipment and Furniture |
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Library Supplies, Equipment and Furniture |
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Power and Energy Solutions |
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Wireless Network / Mobile Computing |
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eLearning Management Solutions – Soon to
be announced |
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The RFP process and contract administration is an expensive
undertaking and the MiCTA/ATAlliance RFP service is provided
to Members at no additional charge beyond the $75 annual
membership fee. To assist members in obtaining the most
current information, MSC posts an RFP project wrap-up
to the MiCTA web site once the process is complete and
contracts are executed. This information can be found
under PROGRAMS > RFP Information > Current / Past
RFP’s. Your questions concerning current or future
RFP’s can be directed to the MSC office at 989-772-2623
or e-mail info@micta.org.
When contacting a MiCTA/ATAlliance vendor, ask for the
MiCTA/ATAlliance program and have your MiCTA Membership
Number available. Also, your MiCTA membership number should
always be included on the applicable purchase order. |
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MiCTA is pleased to announce a new vendor alliance agreement
with Anixter. Anixter provides a wide range of communications,
sound and security products and solutions. The agreement
is for a three year period ending March 31, 2006. For
more information, please contact:
Kristin Petruzzi
Kristin.petruzzi@anixter.com
703-318-2330
800-276-8297 x-2330 or visit www.anixter.com/micta |
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By Dr. Jerry Ledlow, President-New Visions Network
Strategic planning is vital to the survival of any organization.
Regardless of legal status, nonprofit, governmental, educational,
or for-profit, strategic planning is the guidebook to
realize the future you need and want. If you do not plan
your future, someone or something will plan your future
for you. Creating a strategic plan is an investment in
improving the organization. Improvement is realized through
internal change and evolution. Developing the organization
to best meet the needs and demands of customers and others
(stakeholders) impacting your organization is at the heart
of strategic planning. Since the environment, technology,
information, people, financing, governmental policies
and laws, constantly change, the organization must change
in order to survive, succeed, and prosper. Strategic planning
is a journey. The journey must have a destination. The
journey must be planned. It is a planned journey forward
in time. In that light, strategic planning is both a process
and a set of outcomes. |
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Diagram A exemplifies an organization without a strategic
plan or focus. In this organization, people are working
in an uncoordinated fashion. Much energy and effort are
expended without moving the organization toward improvement.
Diagram B is an example of an organization with a thoughtful
strategic plan and the commitment from its staff to create
a better future by reaching its vision. People are focused
toward specific goals and objectives with the intent of
creating a better organization. With a planned focus,
organizational goals are achieved, customer satisfaction
is higher, and levels of staff motivation and morale are
greater. Motivation and achievement are regular aspects
of this organization’s day-to-day activities.
Strategic Planning is a process. The process involves
moving an organization along a predetermined path based
upon the organization’s values. Similar to deciding
what road to take, what stops to make, and who will drive,
the process involves deciding upon what goals are important
to the organization and what objectives must be met to
reach those goals. Also, strategic planning has an outcome.
The outcome is a better future state based on organizational
values and the external environment. Improving effectiveness,
efficiency, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction,
financial performance, and many other possible improvements
are a part of moving the organization to reach a better
future state. The future state is the vision of the organization.
The vision is what the combined staff of the organization
strives to become. If you know where you are going, planning
the trip and getting commitment from your staff becomes
much easier. Organizational resources can be devoted to
reaching set goals and having a positive set of outcomes.
In this light, the process is a journey that must be planned
knowing that there are different ways, different stops,
and different issues that arise along the way. The vision
is a destination. The destination must be determined and
the journey must be planned. You, as a leader/manager
are critical in determining the vision (outcome/destination)
and the process (journey/goals and objectives) that will
ensure that the organization reaches the intended vision. |
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Organizational success and individual leader success
are greatly related to Strategic Planning: Developing
an organizational vision, planning how to reach
that vision, and implementing the plan are the best
predictors of success. |
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Goal setting and careful goal selection are the
#1 criteria for success in organizational strategic
planning. |
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Many organizations hire a consultant to conduct strategic
planning. The cost of hiring a consultant can range from
$ 4,000 for a small organization to upwards of $50,000
or more for larger organizations. In the process of consultation,
the real experts are the organization’s staff and
stakeholders; the consultant simply brings a structure
or a system to gather and focus what the organization
already possesses, and that is expertise in organizational
operations and the external environment
If you can harness your organization’s knowledge
and expertise without a consultant, you can achieve the
same results but save considerable dollars. That is the
basis and foundation for the LASER? Strategic Planning
System. This system provides the total system and tools
for your organization’s strategic planning efforts
for a nominal cost. The cost for nonprofit MiCTA members
is $279 (43% reduction from the retail price of $399).
You can purchase the strategic planning system by sending
an email to contact@newvisionsnetwork.com
or by visiting the contact page and referring to this
article at www.newvisionsnetwork.com. |
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| First, strategic planning starts with you. Your commitment
to organizational success is critical. Your success as
a leader and manager greatly depends on organizational
success. You can be a superb leader but if your focus
differs from the organization’s mission, vision,
and values, you will spend considerable energy on initiatives
that actually hinder the organization. There have been
numerous studies on leadership and management. Most studies
conflict on what leadership and management success means
and on how to achieve success. Where almost all studies
find common ground is this: when an organization determines
its vision, has a plan to reach its vision, and the leadership/management
direct mutual efforts to achieve the organization’s
vision, both the organization and the leadership/management
succeed. This is also true for change management initiatives,
process improvement projects, and system reengineering
efforts. |
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MiCTA’s comprehensive RFP process creates value
by leveraging the MiCTA membership base to get great pricing
on products and services members can purchase, often without
going through an expensive and complicated bid process.
Recently, MiCTA entered into a contract with Coffman
Electrical Equipment Company of Grand Rapids,
Michigan for national pricing on many infrastructure products
that are necessary to protect your IT equipment. These
products include Uninterruptible Power Systems (UPS),
Transient Voltage Surge Protection (TVSS), and generators,
along with the network system itself.
Coffman Electrical Equipment Company is a great example
of a MiCTA partner, which not only can save you money
on the purchase of equipment, but also with proper planning
for new construction, can help you avoid markups that
occur in the contracting process. Typically, many capital
equipment items are engineered into the construction project.
Therefore, in order to achieve optimal control and realize
the savings possible, you should use the following procedure. |
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Inform your architect/engineer that you would
like to use MiCTA vendors where possible. |
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Advise the architect/engineer that any specified
items will be listed, as “supplied by owner”
and that you will tell him which purchases through
MiCTA should be included in his compensation package. |
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Arrange for the appropriate MiCTA vendors to meet
with you and your architect/engineer to get the
specifications process started. MiCTA vendors can
then work directly with the engineer to design the
best system available within the proposed budget. |
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This procedure can also give you more control over the
equipment going into your facility. Consequently, it will
make it easier to upgrade or, if necessary, to downgrade
these systems in order to meet budget without having to
repeat the bid process.
For more information about how you can save money on systems
to protect your IT equipment and help ensure optimal performance
and flexibility, call Greg Mulder at Coffman Electrical
Equipment Company (888 331 5344) or visit Coffman’s
website at www.steadypower.com. |
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April's
MiCTA Member Specials
Gateway's
450E for
MiCTA
BMiCTA
Offer expires April 30th, 2003 |
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| Processor: Intel® Pentium®
M processor 1.3GHz |
| Mobile Technology: This system features
Intel® Centrino™ mobile technology |
| Hard Drive: 30GB
Ultra ATA hard drive |
| Floppy Drive: Modular 3.5" Diskette
Drive |
| Optical Drive: Modular
8X DVD-ROM Drive |
| Expansion Slots: Two Type II or One
Type III PC Card Slots |
| External Ports:
(2) USB 2.0, IEEE 1394 (FireWire), VGA, Parallel,
Serial, and PS/2 |
| Operating System: Microsoft® Windows®
XP Professional |
| Application Software:
Microsoft® Works 7.0 (not available with Windows®
2000 operating system) |
| AntiVirus Software: Norton AntiVirus
Software 90 day Introductory Offer |
| Screen: 14.1"
XGA TFT Active Matrix |
| Video: ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 w/
32MB DDR video memory |
| Keyboard and Mouse:
Full-Sized Keyboard and EZ Pad® Pointing Device |
| Multimedia Package: Integrated sound
and stereo speakers, headphone/speaker jack, line-in,
line-out and mic jacks |
| Battery: High-Capacity
Lithium Ion Battery with AC pack |
| Modem: Integrated V.92 56K Modem |
| Network Adapter:
Integrated Intel® PRO 10/100 VE Network Connection |
| Internet Service Provider: One year
America Online® Internet Access |
| Wireless Networking
Adapter: Integrated 802.11b Wireless Networking |
| Limited Warranty Programs: Value Service
Plan-3Yr Parts/Labor/No Onsite/Lifetime Technical
Support |
| Carrying Case: Casual
Carrying Case |
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Customize your solution…
Upgrade to an 15" SXGA+ TFT active matrix Add
$50.00
Upgrade to a Modular 24x/10x/24x CDRW and 8x DVD
combo . . . Add $75.00
Add Norton Internet Security™ 2003 and Free
Belkin® Surge Kit . . . Add $69.00
Switch to Windows 2000 Pro . . . Add $00.00
Add Gateway® Port Replicator with AC Adapter
. . . Add $129.00
Add Three Years Accidental Damage Protection . .
. Add $169.00
Special MICTA Pricing:
$1,525.00 Delivered |
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Bill Miltenberger
Business Development Manager
PC MallGov Inc.
703-904-9054
703-904-9054 (fax) |
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| Product |
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Part# |
Regular Price |
MiCTA Price |
Special Price |
| Palm M130 Handheld PDA |
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P80704US |
199.00 |
186.41 |
184.00 |
| Palm M515 16MB Color Handheld |
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P80805US |
299.00 |
274.18 |
270.00 |
| Palm Tungstun W Handheld PDA |
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P808505ATUS |
549.00 |
488.62 |
482.00 |
| Symantec Norton
Antivirus Professional |
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10021266 |
62.09 |
60.21 |
59.60 |
| Symantec Ghost 10 Pack Windows |
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07-00-03367 |
536.99 |
510.10 |
505.30 |
Symantec pcAnywhere
Host & Remote ver. 10.5 Windows |
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07-00-03411 |
165.99 |
163.50 |
162.00 |
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InfoCore now offers MiCTA Members the NovaStor complete
line of data backup,
data interchange, and disaster recovery software solutions
that are
affordable and have free priority support. These solutions
can help keep
the networks, servers, clients and IT data of schools,
universities,
libraries, hospitals, non-profit organizations, charitable
institutions, and
government offices protected and safe from all kinds of
disasters and
problems, from the ravages of storms and natural disasters
to the ever
common human error.
Some of the NovaStor solutions include:
Network Backup - The greatest combination of Windows,
NetWare and Linux
backup software for small and medium sized networks. Extensive
support for
tape and disk-based backup devices. Remote administration
and tape library
support comes standard. Available in multiple levels with
numerous plug-in
options to meet your specific needs. Free Technical Support
too!
Desktop & Small Server Backup - NovaStor's NovaBACKUP
and InstantRecovery
software come together as a powerful low-cost backup and
disaster recovery
solution for end users and small servers. Backup to CD,
DVD, Tape, Hard
Drive and removable devices. Feature rich functionality
at a reasonable
price.
Online Backup Service - Automatic, secure off-site backup.
Save the trips
to the bank vault and leverage the Internet to backup
your critical data to
our high-speed, high-security online data center. Have
a 30-day archive at
your fingertips without the hassles of managing local
backup media.
Special NovaStor discounts and free priority support are
now available for
MiCTA Members! All NovaStor software pricing is specially
discounted for
MiCTA members, and includes free of charge, the NovaStor
priority support
service, to ensure the highest level of service and support
for your
protection. Purchase online, download a free software
trial or contact a
NovaStor sales representative today!
For more information visit
http://www.novastor.com/special/micta.html |
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Endorsed Vendors:
AT&T
Gateway Companies, Inc.
IBM
Innovative Communications, Inc.
Merit
Qwest
Sprint
Approved Vendors:
AT&T
Berbee
Brodart
Coffman Electrical Equipment Company
Focal Communications
Innovative Communications, Inc.
KMC Telecom
Office Depot
Omni Tech Corp.
Partner’s Alliance Group
PC Mall
Qwest
Sprint
Stratacache
Technology Distribution Network, Inc.
Video Conferencing Central Reservations
Worldcom
Alliance Vendors:
Anixter
American Megacom, Inc.
Beacon Group
Capitol Communications
CMC Telecom, Inc.
DAPlus, Inc.
Digby 4
Infocore Inc.
New Visions Network, LLC
Video Conferencing Central Reservations |
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Allosource
Apollo-Ridge School District
Asbury College
Baugo Community School
Bloomingdale Public Schools
City of Cadillac
City of Maplewood
Columbus Education Association
dot.edu
Durand Area Schools
Florida Community College Distance Learning Consortium/Florida
Virtual Campus
Fulton County Health Center
Grand Traverse County
Littleton Public Schools
Manchester College
Marietta Memorial Hospital
Maryland State Department of Education
Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County
Michigan Department of Career Development
Michigan Education Leadership Group
North Central Texas College
Perry Public Schools
Reformation Heritage Books
Rochester Public Library
Saint Vincent College
West Texas Community Networks
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Woodland Park Academy |
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Brainstorm Industries
CDR-Data Corporation
Envision Technologies, LLC
Nadir Communications Corp. USA
Wireless Resources Inc. |
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Ken Johnson, President
John Sundstrom, Vice President
Mark Burger, Secretary
Denise Schaefer, Treasurer
John Grden, At-Large
Dave Moeggenberg, At-Large
Rick Nye, At-Large
Craig Peterson, At-Large
Marilyn Stricker, At-Large |
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Technologies Committee:
Bill Farris, Chair
Committee of the Whole:
John Grden, Chair
Program/Membership Committee:
Clancy Delong, Chair
Network Committee:
Phil Delong, Chair
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