In The News
Featured Article
September 23, 2010
BusinessWeek
A wave of startups such as Flat World Knowledge hope to use technology to change the economics of higher education.
2012
January 17, 2012
Education Insider News
The Other Side of Open Textbooks: A Conversation with Author John Gallaugher
January 13, 2012
MacNewsWorld
Can Apple School the Academic World?
January 10, 2012
Ball State University
E-textbooks may usher lower costs, improved learning for college students
January 4, 2012
Center for College Affordability and Productivity
Death, Taxes and Textbooks
2011
December 27, 2011
Sacramento Bee
Steinberg pushes free digital college textbooks for California
December 6, 2011
Education-Portal
If We Don't Build It, They Can't Come
November 23, 2011
International Herald Tribune (NYTimes)
A Scholarly Role for Consumer Technology
November 16, 2011
Education Insider
The Flat World Approach: Sharing Knowledge Freely
November 15, 2011
Rivertowns Patch
Irvington Textbook Company Wins People's Choice Award for Affordability
November 2, 2011
Education-Portal.com
Best Discount Textbook Provider, People's Choice Awards
October 31, 2011
Diamondback Online – University of Maryland
R.I.P Textbooks
October 26, 2011
Salt Lake Tribune
BYU-hosted conference explores way to re-invent education ...
October 13, 2011
Portsmouth Herald
E-textbook saves UNH business students $70K
October 14, 2011
WVXU – NPR Cincinnati
UC works to lower price of college textbooks
September 12, 2011
eCampus News
Indiana University tries to drive down textbook costs with eBooks
September, 2011
Inc. Magazine
Hot New Market: Electronic Textbooks
August 24, 2011
Publishers Weekly
Flat World Knowledge Reports Growth, Adds 'All-Access' Digital Pass
July 2011
914Inc.
An Open Source Of Profit
June 21, 2011
Digital Book World
Flat World Knowledge’s Disruptive Business Model: Q&A with Co-Founder Eric Frank, Part 1
June 24, 2011
Digital Book World
Flat World Knowledge’s Disruptive Business Model: Q&A with Co-Founder Eric Frank, Part 2
June 8, 2011
The New York Times
Digital Textbooks Slow to Catch On
June 1, 2011
The Guardian, Wright State University
Cheaper book options increasing
May 25, 2011
Boston College Magazine
Textbook 2.0
May 17, 2011
Mashable
The Case For Making Online Textbooks Open Source
May 2011
Book Business Magazine
What You Can Learn From Open Access
May 3, 2011
UMaine News
UMaine Faculty Members Joining E-Book Movement
May 2, 2011
The Higher Education Management blog
Interview: Ed Tech Leader, Jon Williams of Flat World Knowledge
April 28, 2011
CollegeOpenTextbooks.org
In the Spirit of Open and Low Cost for Students
April 27, 2011
TechDirt
Flat World Knowledge Continues to Innovate: Make Your Own Texbook Platform
April 21, 2011
Open Education Blog, University of Delaware
Using An Open Textbook for an MIS Class
April 18, 2011
Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education
A New Textbook Publishing Model for the Internet Age
Spring 2011
CUNY Matters
Check It Out! e-Books are coming
Flat World’s licensing partnership with Baruch College is highlighted.
March 2011
Campus Technology
Can Tech Transcend the Textbook?
Flat World's business model, authors and faculty adopters are featured in this cover story on the future of e-textbooks.
Education Investor
As one door opens...: Flat World is profiled in this article on how open educational resources
are changing academic publishing.
University Business Magazine
Flat World President Eric Frank was a featured speaker at an open textbook forum at the University of California, Irvine.
Boston College: Faculty Publication Highlights
Video interview (14:41) with John Gallaugher, Boston College professor and Flat World author
March 9, 2011
The Columbus Dispatch
Free college textbooks for 1,000 Ohio students
Campus Technology
Ohio System Teams with Flat World Knowledge on Freebie Digital Textbooks
March 7, 2011
The Text and Academic Authors Association
Open textbook wins 2011 Textbook Excellence Award
February 28, 2011
Publishers Weekly
Entrepreneurs at Tools of Change
February 22, 2011
Campus News- University of Puget Sound
Lisa Johnson's New Business Law and Ethics Book is Online!
February 14, 2011
eCampus News
Open courseware on every campus by 2016?
February 10, 2011
The Diamondback, University of Maryland
Staff editorial: Unlocking the future "The potential financial relief that open-access textbooks represent has this editorial board cheering along with students.”
February 9, 2011
The Diamondback, University of Maryland
New technologies may change textbooks' future Flat World authors like psychology professor Charles Stangor are using technology and the open textbook model to transform the textbook industry.
February 3, 2011
BostonInnovation
Flat World Author John Gallaugher: Igniting the Spirit of Innovation at Boston College
January 22, 2011
Hack Education
Big Bucks for Open Educational Resources
January 21, 2011
Xplana
Disruptive Models for Higher Education Publishing
January 20, 2011
Financial Times
Bertelsmann backs open textbook publisher
January 13, 2011
Outsell
Outsell Names Flat World Knowledge Among Top “30 to Watch” Innovators ...
2010
November 8, 2010
CollegeExaminer.com
Flat World Knowledge setting the trends in open textbooks
November 4, 2010
Creative Commons
Flat World Knowledge's Eric Frank: Open Education and Policy
October 29, 2010
Publishing Perspectives
Behold, It Lives! Frankentext! (Or How Textbook Publishing Got So Scary)
October 24, 2010
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The End of the Textbook as We Know It
October 20, 2010
Hack Education
What Will The Textbooks of the Future Look Like?
RiverstownPatch.com
Irvington Publishers Shaking Up the Textbook Industry
October 15, 2010
Toledo Free Press
New textbook model allows students to read for free
October 11, 2010
The Ticker, Baruch College
Company offers alternatives to enter the world of knowledge
October 9, 2010
THE OKLAHOMAN
Open textbooks offer affordable alternative, student interest ...
October 6, 2010
CTNewsJunkie.com
The Internet and a New Law Are Changing How Students Purchase Textbooks
October 1, 2010
Manila Bulletin
The World is Flat – Even in Publishing
Inside Higher Ed
A Call for Open Textbooks
September 30, 2010
Huffington Post
In The Public Interest: Open Textbooks and the Tech-Friendly
The Shatzkin Files
Three fledglings that really should fly
September 28, 2010
Manila Standard Today
Textbooks for free
September 24, 2010
Campus Progress
Delving Into TextbookCosts “Companies like Flat World Knowledge are finding profitable methods under
which students pay less and authors are paid more.”
September 20, 2010
Athens News
Prof adopts cheap 'open texts'
The Miami Student
Company posts free books
September 14, 2010
ASSETT, University of Colorado at Boulder
Open Textbooks Offer Instructors More Control, Customizability
September 11, 2010
Cincinnati Enquirer
Digital textbooks may stem price hikes
September 10, 2010
Campus TechnologyVirginia State Moves to Digital Textbooks in Business Program ...
September 6, 2010
SUNY Rockland Outlook Student Press
Open-License Textbooks Lower Costs Catherine Roche, associate professor of business at Rockland Community College, discusses the benefits of Flat World’s open textbook.
August 31, 2010
Inside Higher Ed
All In the Delivery Flat World's textbook model is highlighted in this look at when and if higher education will embrace e-books.
Richmond Times-DispatchStudents in eight core business classes at VSU get free digital access to texts Virginia State University and Flat World Knowledge roll-out groundbreaking textbook licensing agreement.
August 27, 2010
The Progress-Index, Petersburg, VA
VSU's business school moving to electronic texts
August 26, 2010
eCampus News
Are open textbooks gaining momentum in higher ed? "Educators have come out in support of open textbooks as Flat World has grown."
August 25, 2010
Publishers Weekly
Flatworld, Virigina State Ink Digital Textbook License Deal
VirginiaBusiness.com
VSU business school enters digital textbook deal
August 24, 2010
The Chronicle of Higher Ed
Virginia State U. Business School Buys E-Textbooks for Students
ZDNET
Open source textbooks hit key point in the S curve
August 23, 2010
Publishing Perspectives
Flat World Knowledge's “Freemium” Textbooks Gain 140000 Users ...
eBookNewser
Eric Frank Of Flat World Knowledge Talks About The Future Of Textbooks
New Bedford Standard Times
Fighting for students, 2 professors go straight to source
Steve White, professor at UMass Dartmouth, discusses the price and format choices his students enjoy with open textbooks.
TeleRead
Flatworld Knowledge textbook usage doubles for 2010/11 academic-year/
August 19, 2010
The Brian Lehrer Show, WNYC.org
Book Futures: The College Market
August 17, 2010
Bangor Daily News
College students seek alternatives to buying costly textbooks.
"Flat World Knowledge has as high quality a peer review process as other publishers in the field
who have published my books,” said Steve Barkan, professor of sociology at the University of Maine.
August 14, 2010
Sunday Gazette-Mail, Charleston, W. Va.
Textbooks: Horrendous cost
August 12, 2010
Daily Nebraskan
Professors try open-source textbooks
A growing number of educators at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Kearney have switched to Flat World open textbooks.
August 11, 2010
eContent magazine
Flat World and the Real World of Textbook Publishing
Deccan Herald
Print-it-Yourself or read it free, online
Horrified by the high price of textbooks? Simply log on to flatworldknowledge.com”
August 8, 2010
CBS.com Up To The Minute
Save On CollegeTextbooks
The Washington Post
More choices alter college textbook landscape
Open access textbooks and Flat World "pose a bolder challenge to the status quo.
August 3, 2010
The New York Times, Your Money
How to Find Cheaper College Textbooks
Flat World is included in a round-up of alternatives to the $200 textbook.
August 1, 2010
The New York Times
$200 Text vs. Free. You Do the Math.
Flat World is featured in a SundayBusiness article on how new organizations are bringing open content to the education market.
"Eric Frank, the co-founder of Flat World Knowledge, argues that there is a huge financial opportunity in outflanking the traditional textbook makers."
July 29, 2010
The New York Times
Get Rid of Print and Go Digital
Flat World is highlighted in a commentary by Anya Kamenetz, Fast Company staff writer, in an online debate on The Real Cost of Textbooks.
"Most important, because they're Creative Commons-licensed, educators and potentially students can customize (Flat World) texts for each class in which they're adopted..."
July 27, 2010
The Village Voice
Can the Kindle and Its Ilk Ease Textbook Inflation?
Cerritos College's success with Flat World’s open textbooks is highlighted on page 2.
“According to Linda Lacy, Cerritos’ president, the result was an improvement in GPA and retention rates.”
July 26, 2010
The Boston Globe
As college text prices soar, students get a rental option
Front page story in The Boston Globe features Flat World faculty advocates D. Steven White, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and John Gallaugher, Boston College.
“This is the future,’’ Gallaugher said. “For less than $30, the cost of dinner and dessert at Applebee’s, you can get in print what you used to have to pay $180 for.’’
July 23, 2010
DailyCal.org, University of California-Berkeley
New Law May Reduce Textbook Prices
"Professors no longer have to build their syllabus to match the text," said Jeff Shelstad, founder and CEO of Flat World Knowledge."The textbook can be built to match the syllabus."
July 15, 2010
LubbockOnline.com (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
Tech professor sees growing success with graphic-novel textbooks
Story on the growing popularity of the Atlas Black series, the first business textbook in a graphic novel format, published by Flat World Knowledge and co-authored by Jeremy Short, Texas Tech, and Talya Bauer, Portland State.
July 12, 2010
The International Journal of the Book
Paper — The Progression of Digital Publishing: Innovation and the E-volution of E-books
Flat World Knowledge is profiled on pages 43-44 of this paper by John Warren, the RAND Corporation, that examines innovative examples of the potential and challenges of electronic publications. (1.14 MB)
July 8, 2010
GOOD
The Demise of the $200 Textbook
Flat World CEO Jeff Shelstad blogs about open textbooks and how the philosophy of abundance, not scarcity can increase access to higher education.
July 5, 2010
Podcast — Surprisingly Free
Eric Frank discusses Flat World's disruptive business model with Jerry Brito, director of the Technology Policy Program, at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
June 18, 2010
Westchester County Business Journal
Textbook case
May 13, 2010
Young Money
Discover the Newest Money Saving Textbook Technology
May 3, 2010
Virginia Libraries, quarterly journal published by Virginia Tech
Building a Better Model: Eric Frank on Flat World Knowledge - (PDF)
Colorado Daily
University of Colorado professors Ken Krauter and Mark Winey are authoring a genetics textbook to be published by Flat World Knowledge.
April 25, 2010
Top-Colleges.com
Open Textbooks Offer Money-Saving Opportunities to College ...
April 19, 2010
Ke Kalahea - University of Hawaii - Hilo
UH Hilo professors adopt cheaper way for students to learn. - (PDF)
April 19, 2010
Indiana Daily Student
Text book company to sell low-cost textbooks through IU Bookstore by offering online, print-out options
April 18, 2010
The Daily, University of Washington, Seattle
U-Bookstore partnership to provide free online textbooks
April 4, 2010
KnowledgeCapsule
Podcast (22 min.) Conversation about Flat World’s open textbook model with Eric Frank and J. Murali, author and columnist for The Hindu, India’s national daily.
April 1, 2010
Publishers Weekly
Flat World Knowledge Reaches Out to College Bookstores
March 22, 2010
Community College Week
"Cerritos College Implements Innovative Textbook Solution" Page 8.
"We are seeing the positive impact of open textbooks on students and faculty firsthand since our Business Administration department made the decision to use open textbooks published by Flat World Knowledge."
March 12, 2010
BusinessWeek
Comics in the Classroom: Business Schools Get Graphic
“At Texas Tech’s Rawls College of Business, the graphic novel Atlas Black: Managing to Succeed (published by Flat World Knowledge), is now required reading in both undergraduate and graduate business courses taught by its co-author, Jeremy Short.”
March 10, 2010
The Spinnaker, University of North Florida
Publishing company offers online textbooks for free.
“I know so many students that struggle to afford textbooks and so many professors are aggravated with the textbook industry in general. It’s (Flat World Knowledge) just a really good solution.”
February 25, 2010
Times Union, Albany, NY by Scott Waldman
Meter's running on that tome
At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Assistant Professor Hao Zhao is using an open-source textbook in his management courses from Flat World Knowledge.
The State Press, Arizona State University
Open-source alternatives bring flexibility to textbooks “This textbook project allows me to take great content, motivate students with compelling content, and make that content available to other faculty.” John Gallaugher, Flat World author and associate professor of information systems at Boston College.
February 22, 2010
e-Campus News by Dennis Carter
Online books let college students earn credit—and cash
Flat World Knowledge offers internships to students who meet with faculty to discuss the upside of open electronic resources.
February 19, 2010
TOC (Tools of Change) Preview
The Future of Digital Textbooks by Andrew Savikas
Q&A with Eric Frank and other panelists at the O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference, NYC.
February 18, 2010
The Loquitur, Cabrini College, Radnor, PA
Professors help students save on textbook costs
“Using Flat World Knowledge online books, Dr. Eric Malm and Dr. Lisa Delgado, assistant professors of business administration, have helped students save their money and not sacrifice the course book.”
February 17, 2010
IT Conversations | Jon Udell's Interviews with Innovators
A New Model for Textbook Publishing. Audio interview with Flat World Co-Founder Eric Frank and CTO Jon Williams. (56 min.).
January 20, 2010
bNET by David Weir
Flat World Knowledge: The Textbook Case for Disruption
January 18th, 2010
2010 Horizon Report
Horizon highlights Flat World Knowledge as an open content innovator in the new 2010 Horizon Report, an influential research report on higher ed technology trends
materials — and a number of publishers are finding ways to support authors of such materials. One such publisher, Flat World Knowledge, provides access
to textbooks authored for open use, making it very easy for faculty to individually tailor a text for use in their own class.
January 14, 2010
Minot Daily News Minot, SD
Minot State professor offers free, open textbook online
2009
December 30, 2009
bNET by David Weir
Publishing Industry Innovators of 2009: Flat World Knowledge and Bookshare
December 14, 2009
The Chronicle of Higher Education by Jeff Young
E-Textbook Publisher Strives to Make Titles More Accessible to the Blind
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December 1, 2009
CNN Money/Fortune Small Business
Next Little Thing: One year on, we check back with last year's picks.
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November 25, 2009
Crain’s New York Businessby Kira Bindrim
Publisher has new read on textbooks
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October 23rd, 2009
Rockland County Times
State Pension Fund invests nearly a million in Flat World Knowledge
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October 13th, 2009
VentureBeat
Technological advances allow for alternatives to expensive textbooks by Russel Moench
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"The education industry is on the cusp of being massively disrupted by innovation in Web technology. Like other industries prior, it would like to pretend that it can weather the storm and continues business as usual, with only minor tweaking. We all know how that story ends.”
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Post-Gazette.com
Technological advances allow for alternatives to expensive textbooks by Bill Schackner
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" Some professors are creating reading lists that cost students less by using all or parts of books culled from such publishers of open source materials as Flat World Knowledge, based in Nyak, N.Y.So far, the two-year-old enterprise has produced about a dozen titles under open license, mostly for business classes, that can be read online for free, or purchased as soft-covers for $29.95 in black and white or $59.95 in color, plus $5 shipping.”
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US News and World Report
4 Ways to Get College Textbooks Free by Kim Clark
September 2, 2009
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The Washington Times
Digital texts could turn page on print costs by Karen Goldberg GoffSeptember 2, 2009
- "Flat World, founded in 2007, has several dozen college texts expressly written -- and approved by professors -- for the company. Last spring, about 1,000 students at 30 colleges ordered books from Flat World. For the fall semester, 38,000 students and 350 colleges are using the online service, Mr. Frank said. He estimates a typical cost savings of 82 percent per student."
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ArsTechnia
Flat World schools textbook publishers with free Web editions by Nate AndersonAugust 24, 2009
- " Flat World Knowledge offers Creative Commons-licensed collegiate textbooks free of charge on the Web, but it charges modest fees for print versions, DRM-free PDF files, and audiobooks. After two semesters of beta testing, the company sees plenty of money to be made from "free.""
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Information Week
Flat World: Freemium Made Workable by Serdar YegulalpAugust 21, 2009
- "After Thursday's column about open textbook publisher Flat World Knowledge, I got in touch with Flat World co-founder Eric Frank and talked about many of the things I'd worried about. How do you make things that are free and open, but also useful and profitable?"
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Publishers Weekly
Number of Students, Colleges Using Flat World Knowledge Digital Texts Soars by Jim MilliotAugust 20, 2009
- "Flat World went live in spring 2009 with 1,000 students from 30 colleges using its offerings. Eric Frank, a cofounder of Flat World, said that while the company’s marketing efforts explained some of the jump, a lot of the increase came from word of mouth."
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bNET News
Flat World Knowledge: A Disruptive Business Model by Dave WeirAugust 20, 2009
- "The company projects that it will save college students and their families around $3 million this fall, but that is only the tip of the iceberg, because current growth rates suggest that the company will be serving more than 200,000 students by the end of next year — a five-fold increase over current levels — with plenty of upside market potential left with an estimated U.S. college student population of some 17 million-plus."
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WIRED blog
Open Source Textbook Company Now BMOC at 400 Colleges by John C. AbellAugust 20, 2009
- "What did you do this summer? Flat World Knowledge stayed busy on campus and now has 40 times as many students and more than 10 times the colleges using their freemium, open-source digital textbooks as they did spring semester. And they did it the old-fashioned way — one professor at a time."
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CBC News
The future of the textbook by Dan MesenerAugust 11, 2009
- "College and university textbooks are notoriously expensive. As a Toronto Star story from earlier this year explains, “engineering and medical textbooks are particularly expensive and can range from $150 to $300 for a single book. It’s not unusual for students in other areas of study to spend more than $1,000 annually on textbooks."
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The Washington Post
The First Big Test: Watching Expenses by Johnathan StarkeyAugust 2, 2009
- "The bill to outfit a freshman can run to thousands of dollars if you're not careful, financial advisers say. As recession losses have whittled down college funds and as part-time jobs have become more elusive, families are finding creative ways to stretch each dollar. "
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US News and World Report
Classrooms Go High-Tech to Engage Students by Megan K. ScottJuly 16, 2009
- "Students are also getting textbooks for free thanks to companies like Flat World Knowledge in Nyack, N.Y. Professors can customize the expert-authored, online books to fit their lectures, deleting chapters or sections, for example. Students can read them for free or choose to buy from a range of alternatives that include a soft-cover black-and-white version for $29."
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Google Books
Excerpt from Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris AndersonJuly 7, 2009
- In chapter 9 of his new book, Chris Anderson joins the likes of Fortune Magazine (Small Business Edition) and Outsell, a media industry analyst firm, in suggesting that Flat World Knowledge's unique business model may be the future of textbook publishing. Available for free on Google books, Free: The Future of a Radical Price explores new media models and reveals how the traditional approach of publishing fails students, authors, and publishers alike.
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CNet News
Maker of 'open,' free textbooks raises $8 million by Dave RosenbergMarch 26, 2009
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- "The company announced this week that it has raised $8 million from Greenhill SAVP, High Peaks Venture Partners, and Valhalla Partners.Flat World, founded in 2007 by two textbook industry executives, is starting small. According to its online catalog, it focuses on seven practical, business-related areas, including economics, marketing, and accounting. As of now, it offers seven textbooks but has plans to publish 15 another books by May 2010. "
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Media Shift
Read for Free, Pay for Print or Stuff by Michael JosefowiczFebruary 25th, 2009
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- "In an age where the digital revolution is climaxing, the move toward non-print media is more progressive than ever. Flat World Knowledge, a new innovative publishing company, will apply the "read for free, pay for print or stuff" model to their business. They will create Open Source College Textbooks to cater to "reader" tribes of students in the formal education system"
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Wired Blog Network
Flat World Knowledge to Bring Free Textbooks into Blackboard
by Chris SnyderFebruary 4th, 2009
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- "Flat World Knowledge, a free, open source textbook publisher, has announced plans to add support for direct integration of its books into campus learning management systems (LMS) like Blackboard and ANGEL. With Flat World's LMS-supported textbooks, professors and publishers will be able to include supplementary material content in its entirety available directly on the platform and split up chapters into various folders according to their syllabus. "
© 2013 Flat World Knowledge, Inc.
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