Screw it ! There's one way to retain our OS dominance...Win 10 is free to anyone running 7 or 8.1, b

saintnick912

GINO!
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Updated my laptop BIOS to do the switchable graphics (embedded Intel, added AMD) only when I tell it to.  That seems to have resolved my boot/wake delay, and the machine is running better than it ever has.
 
Desktop is still having wake problems, which I'm told is related to the nVidia drivers.
 
Just like 90%+ of Windows XP crashes were caused by video drivers, history repeats.
 

HriniakPosterChild

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Jul 6, 2006
14,841
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"Microsoft’s Windows 10 is a privacy nightmare. Here’s how to protect yourself."
 

The problems start with Microsoft’s ominous privacy policy, which is now included in the Windows 10 end-user license agreement so that it applies to everything you do on a Windows PC, not just online. (Disclosure: I worked for Microsoft in the days of Windows XP.) It uses some scary broad strokes:
 
Finally, we will access, disclose and preserve personal data, including your content (such as the content of your emails, other private communications or files in private folders), when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary.
 
In other words, Microsoft won’t treat your local data with any more privacy than it treats your data on its servers and may upload your local data to its servers arbitrarily—unless you stop Microsoft from doing so. Microsoft’s security story has been far from perfect; this move could make it far worse. For now, it’s not easy to restrict what Windows collects, but here’s how.
 
 

Slate
 

Sidearmer

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Jan 30, 2014
4
So I upgraded to Windows 10 on my tablet but noticed that my drive lost a lot of free space, which I imagine is due partly to some remnants of Windows 8 (of course, I may be entirely wrong about this). If I don't care about any of the files currently on my tablet and I just want a clean install of Windows 10 on there, can I just perform a recovery and have Windows remove everything? Or will that not do the trick? Thanks in advance
 

jercra

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Jul 31, 2006
3,147
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Sidearmer said:
So I upgraded to Windows 10 on my tablet but noticed that my drive lost a lot of free space, which I imagine is due partly to some remnants of Windows 8 (of course, I may be entirely wrong about this). If I don't care about any of the files currently on my tablet and I just want a clean install of Windows 10 on there, can I just perform a recovery and have Windows remove everything? Or will that not do the trick? Thanks in advance
If you just want to free up the space you can search for "cleanup" and then select "disk cleanup" then your drive, then "clean up system files" then your drive again.  In that list you'll see something about cleaning up old windows versions.
 

Sidearmer

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Jan 30, 2014
4
That is definitely something I should've realized rather than assuming there was junk sitting around on the drive from the upgrade. Thanks for helping out someone who's mostly helpless
 

Couperin47

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and we are off to a brilliant start:
 
http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-cumulative-update-causes-reboot-loop-havoc-for-some-users/?tag=nl.e539&s_cid=e539&ttag=e539&ftag=TRE17cfd61
 
the first cumulative update for Win 10 x64 puts many into an endless crash loop, oh and according to the report, even if you have the tool to block an update to Win 10... those who tried doing this found that it did not prevent Win 10 from mindlessly attempting to install the update.
 
Understand: if you install Win 10 Home, and are under the delusion that you still have reasonable control of your own computer... you are mistaken.
 

Couperin47

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DanoooME

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I haven't installed updates in a little while and I still have KB3035583 in my install list.  I presume I can skip installing that one and install others.  Are there any other updates that I need to worry about that would be Windows 10 related?  I really don't want to give up my Windows 7 yet.
 

Couperin47

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It's getting far more complicated...example KB3075851
 
MS is proliferating updates with increased urgency (instead of optional, they are recommended or even higher) that get included with all updates to 7 or 8.1.
The above one is one of 2 (can't locate the other number atm) included in the standard August patch Tuesday that include the full package to 'prepare' for the nagging and upgrade to 10.
 

Couperin47

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Bleedred said:
So is the consensus to not upgrade to 10 yet, or go ahead?   I have 8.1
 
You have a YEAR to do this for free, why would anyone make this decision now without having any idea what the consequences are and, knowing for sure that, once you do go to 10, you have zero control of where Microsoft may take you? The situation is like using Chrome: you have zero control of the changes they make and what it becomes, but then it's just a browser and you have other choices and options for a browser.
 
If the MS update process suddenly becomes perfect and reliable and you have no qualms about all the added intrusions into privacy, 10 may turn out to be...wonderful. Those of us who are control freaks think it's highly unlikely we will ever migrate to 10.
 

SoxFanInCali

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People like seeing the latest releases of things. It's why people upgrade their iPhones to new OS versions the day it's released, despite a history of those upgrades not going smoothly. I personally believe in letting someone else find the bugs and wait to hear about feature/security changes, but not everyone works that way. At least it's possible to go back to your old OS if you don't like Windows 10.
 
Shouldn't this thread title be updated, since pirated copies of Windows 7 and 8 cannot, in fact, upgrade to Windows 10 for free?
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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It's getting far more complicated...example KB3075851
 
MS is proliferating updates with increased urgency (instead of optional, they are recommended or even higher) that get included with all updates to 7 or 8.1.
The above one is one of 2 (can't locate the other number atm) included in the standard August patch Tuesday that include the full package to 'prepare' for the nagging and upgrade to 10.
the other one might be KB2952664: see this thread - http://www.sevenforums.com/windows-updates-activation/378033-trying-stop-upgrade-win-10-through-win-7-update.html

edit: the above update is for Win7. For Win8 it's KB2976978.
 

Couperin47

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SoxFanInCali said:
People like seeing the latest releases of things. It's why people upgrade their iPhones to new OS versions the day it's released, despite a history of those upgrades not going smoothly. I personally believe in letting someone else find the bugs and wait to hear about feature/security changes, but not everyone works that way. At least it's possible to go back to your old OS if you don't like Windows 10.
 
Shouldn't this thread title be updated, since pirated copies of Windows 7 and 8 cannot, in fact, upgrade to Windows 10 for free?
 
You're right, I fixed that. But remember: even if you make your own backup, you have exactly 30 days after you upgrade to 10 to roll back, after that the automatic backup is automatically erased, also, afaik let's say you have your original 7 or 8 disks and decide later you want to go back to that...once you have upgraded to 10 the MS database records that upgrade and your original product key for 7 or 8 will NOT authenticate, you can NEVER go back and be 'Genuine'.
 

Couperin47

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wade boggs chicken dinner said:
the other one might be KB2952664: see this thread - http://www.sevenforums.com/windows-updates-activation/378033-trying-stop-upgrade-win-10-through-win-7-update.html

edit: the above update is for Win7. For Win8 it's KB2976978.
 
and next month there will undoubtedly be more. Bottom line: you're going to have to examine every update from now on that is not identified as a 'security' update to figure out all the Win 10 update nagware which is going to proliferate.
 

Max Power

thai good. you like shirt?
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Jul 20, 2005
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If you're running a WSUS server, then nothing really changes. Windows 10 is now a product option and you can approve and decline updates just as with previous versions of Windows.
 

Nick Kaufman

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I don't know where to put it, but I thought it was interesting. I wanted to buy $10 worth of skype credit for my mom. I went to the Microsoft store in order to get said credit. It only took me 2 days to complete the order because the system somehow produced an error whenever it was trying to complete the order. After I completed the order one day later, I got an email telling me that they re going to need 4-6 hours to process said order.
 
4-6 hours passed and the order hadn't processed. 12 hours later, I realized that I had gotten a phone call by a microsoft representative that I missed. But she did leave a voice message with a 1800 number to call back so that they could confirm said order.
 
I managed to give them a call today and the most surprising thing in the history of humanity happened. A live human being answered the call and not an automated system. And you know what they wanted? They wanted to confirm my email address. Nothing more, nothing less.
 
Is this bizarre or what? With the time it took me to complete a $10 skype order with microsoft, amazon would have sent me a package, but somehow microsoft has a dedicated line WITHOUT an automated system and a dedicated representative who confirms that the email I gave them is legit.
 

Couperin47

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So today MS pushed out an "Important" update that it seems was only for Win 7...well it's kind of hard to tell since everything about the update is a garbled mess:
 
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/09/30/windows_update_glitch/
 
It's only a matter of time til this happens with Win 10 which will be uncontrollable for almost all users. The only way to really prevent this is to disable the update engine which most users have no idea how to do. It's also pretty futile since at some point you will turn it back on and immediately get all updates since there is no mechanism to exclude an update prior to it being downloaded.
 

cmac24

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Aug 2, 2001
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I'm running windows XP and just made a mistake that I don't know if I can fix.  The computer runs mostly fine, except I can't install the most recent version of itunes. This was not a problem until I upgraded to ios 9, and now my iphone 6 won't sync to itunes. Googling tells me its too late to downgrade to ios 8.4. Will resetting to factory settings work? 
 
If not it looks like my options are:

Upgrade to windows 7 or 8 or 10!?!?! or find an app that will sync music.  

Are there any other music players that will sync with an iphone?
 

Couperin47

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cmac24 said:
I'm running windows XP and just made a mistake that I don't know if I can fix.  The computer runs mostly fine, except I can't install the most recent version of itunes. This was not a problem until I upgraded to ios 9, and now my iphone 6 won't sync to itunes. Googling tells me its too late to downgrade to ios 8.4. Will resetting to factory settings work? 
 
If not it looks like my options are:

Upgrade to windows 7 or 8 or 10!?!?! or find an app that will sync music.  

Are there any other music players that will sync with an iphone?
 
There is apparently a version for IOS9 that works with Win XP:
 
http://ios9news.net/new-itunes-for-windows-xp-vista/
 
It does require that XP be uptodate (SP3), which is a relative thing considering how old XP is. That being said, if your computer is an old laptop, then it's understandable and there may not be good drivers for Win 7. If it's a desktop, you really should consider the move to 7, which is far more stable , offers far more compatibility and really is a tremendous improvement in security. XP is an antique OS.
 

Nick Kaufman

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After toying with Windows 10 for a bit, I have two main thoughts. One is that this is what Windows 8 ought to be. It is polished with the UI managing to be both modern and functional. A big surprise for me is that after I installed it, I didn't find the sort of aggravations I had encountered in previous updates that would end up costing me hours upon hours in order to find a workaround or a third party solution. Everything just worked. Even the theme was fine and I am usually so picky about that that I use a custom made one on my installations. Weren't I cautious about installing a new OS so fast after launch, I couldn't see any reason that it would stop me from doing so.
 
OTOH, I felt very apprehensive about the ways Microsoft might intrude with my privacy. When I was customizing the options after the first run, I felt the same dread I did when I was installing my torrent client. I feared that the company was going to pull a fast one over me and I was going to get stuck with a breach of my privacy or a spamware on my pc. I am also apprehensive about putting anything on the cloud especially my log on identity. I like to own things and not depend on a company's servers -again, that's before my apprehensions about surrendering bits of my privacy from MY personal computer to any company. But that's the direction Microsoft is heading.
 
A minor quibble is that that certain elements of the UI are still incoherent with the main culprit being the division between metro settings and control panel. They should have one or the other, not both overlapping with each other and having the user unsure of where he ought to go in order to deal with something.
 
But all in all a fine effort. Along with the recent product launches, it solidifies the idea that Microsoft is finally getting its act together and is getting ready to propel itself to the forefront of the industry.
 

Couperin47

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KB3083710 has been appearing and disappearing for many as an "Important" update that seems to be yet another attempt to install all the Win 10 nagware on machines that have not yet been suitably acting annoyingly enough for the recalcitrant. Look out for it and hide it unless you want this installed.
 

Couperin47

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Microsoft is getting ever more agressive in trying to force everyone to 10, including a raft of "mistakes" in their update process as detailed here:
 
http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-upgrade-nags-become-more-aggressive-offer-no-opt-out/
 
Even more detail can be found connected to the GWX Control Panel, which is free software intended to help one block all MS tactics and allow you to continue using 7 or 8 in peace:
 
http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/08/using-gwx-stopper-to-permanently-remove.html
 
MS has now begun to offer cash 'incentives' to those who will trade in old Windows or Mac computers for new hardware with Win 10 installed:
http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-push-heres-what-microsoft-will-pay-for-your-mac-pc/?tag=nl.e539&s_cid=e539&ttag=e539&ftag=TRE17cfd61
 

The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa

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Couperin47 said:
Microsoft is getting ever more agressive in trying to force everyone to 10, including a raft of "mistakes" in their update process as detailed here:
 
http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-upgrade-nags-become-more-aggressive-offer-no-opt-out/
 
Even more detail can be found connected to the GWX Control Panel, which is free software intended to help one block all MS tactics and allow you to continue using 7 or 8 in peace:
 
http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015/08/using-gwx-stopper-to-permanently-remove.html
 
MS has now begun to offer cash 'incentives' to those who will trade in old Windows or Mac computers for new hardware with Win 10 installed:
http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-push-heres-what-microsoft-will-pay-for-your-mac-pc/?tag=nl.e539&s_cid=e539&ttag=e539&ftag=TRE17cfd61
 
Is this how Skynet gets built?
 

Bleedred

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Is there a general consensus among the computer experts here whether or not to download the free Windows 10 if currently operating Windows 8?  Assume the person asking is clueless and once he downloaded Windows 10, he'd be at its mercy.  
 

saintnick912

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People have some concerns about the data collection and sharing settings, which there are links on how to adjust.  Otherwise it has been a thoroughly better experience for me than any Windows 8 (or 8.1) device ever was.  Just my opinion.
 

Couperin47

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saintnick912 said:
People have some concerns about the data collection and sharing settings, which there are links on how to adjust.  Otherwise it has been a thoroughly better experience for me than any Windows 8 (or 8.1) device ever was.  Just my opinion.
 
and what will you do when (not if) they publish an update that puts you in an endless loop of blue screens ?
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Nick Kaufman

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It's still a tad buggy and there's no killer app IMO that should make you want to have it right away. OTOH, it's the real evolution for Windows 7 and what Windows 8 should have been in the first place (although it improved with 8.1).
 

IpswichSox

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For those of us still on 7 and who have never even tried 8, is there a go-to tutorial or recommended video to study or watch before switching? I was thinking of migrating during a holiday week like around Thanksgiving or Christmas, when I have time to play around and not be frustrated when my productivity nosedives. Or just switch already?
 

Couperin47

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IpswichSox said:
For those of us still on 7 and who have never even tried 8, is there a go-to tutorial or recommended video to study or watch before switching? I was thinking of migrating during a holiday week like around Thanksgiving or Christmas, when I have time to play around and not be frustrated when my productivity nosedives. Or just switch already?
 
Main thing to remember: Once you switch you have 30 days to revert. It should keep a backup that allows reversion easily during those 30 days. At the end of the 30 days, that backup gets automatically erased and the MS database removes your valid product ID for your old OS, so even if you have other backups of 7, they can never be validated as 'genuine' again.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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and just to up the ante, MS announced that the Windows 10 update will become an "optional update" effective immediately.

That's not so bad.

However, at some point in early 2016, Windows 10 will become a "recommended update" so that anyone's computer that downloads updates automatically will update, well, automatically.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2015/10/30/windows-10-upgrades-now-automatic/

If you want to avoid this, you'll need to turn off automatic window updates.
 

Couperin47

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Meanwhile we're also starting to see accurate figures on the uptake of Windows 10 and it's hardly the slam dunk Microsoft has implied:
 
http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-growth-sluggish-as-windows-7-windows-8-users-stick-with-their-os/?tag=nl.e539&s_cid=e539&ttag=e539&ftag=TRE17cfd61
 
Now some of this is understandable:
 
XP isn't going to move much because 1. it's not a free upgrade. 2. Most laptops running XP probably don't have drivers that will work, now or ever, and probably have marginal cpu/memory to make the upgrade
reasonable. 3. Desktop XP probably has some of these issues too.
 
The fact that uptake with Win 8 and 8.1, in the face of the hyper-agressive MS campaign, has been pathetic  must have them really frustrated.
 
Next time anyone tells you there has been 'massive' migration to 'free' Win 10, understand...it's total bullshit.
 

Harry Hooper

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Looks like one of my Windows 7 machines is upgrading itself to Windows 10 this morning, completely uninvited by me.
 

Couperin47

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Looks like one of my Windows 7 machines is upgrading itself to Windows 10 this morning, completely uninvited by me.
You probably have windows update set to do so automatically and the rest is one of their recent 'mistakes'. You must turn that off, and if/when you revert then get GWX Control Panel here to prevent this in future:
http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/
 

Harry Hooper

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No, do not allow any auto updates. This one is going to be interesting.
 

Couperin47

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MS swears that this only has happened to a few 'mistakes' but there are more and more reports like yours... MS is in full "we're going to do what we want and fuck the users feedback" mode. They did that with Win 8 ... management gets committed to a strategy and when the user base rebels the internal politics makes it impossible for those in charge to admit any mistakes.

As the Forbes article posted in #92 makes clear. MS is shoving down the throats of consumers a ton of stuff that would double over the Enterprise market in hysterics if they suggested pulling this shit. Sheer contempt for the consumer market.
 
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InsideTheParker

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KB3083710 has been appearing and disappearing for many as an "Important" update that seems to be yet another attempt to install all the Win 10 nagware on machines that have not yet been suitably acting annoyingly enough for the recalcitrant. Look out for it and hide it unless you want this installed.
Every time I have seen it I have not installed it, but I don't know how to "hide," so I just left it at that. I just got 23 updates and I can't find it this time. Should I just assume that they have given up on sending it or that they have changed the number? TIA.
 

Couperin47

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Hiding an update is easy: opposite click on it (I say that instead of right click because 2 of my best friends are lefties and have everything set up 'backwards') and Hide is your option.

General rule of thumb: MS, so far, never lies about one thing: If it's listed as a 'security update', it really is, those do not include crap to preinstall 10 or any of their migration of tracking/telemetry/privacy wrecking stuff from 10 now being foisted on all versions of 7 or 8. Result: Allow any update that is a security update, closely examine all the others.
 

Couperin47

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Microsoft has now 'replied' to the business users petition asking for more clarity about updating Enterprise users of Win 10. I used quotes because the statement is as much a dodge and failure to respond to the petition as anything else. It also makes clear that under their evolving standard, updates to 10 are going to 'get less granular', in short you're not going to be told if the update is security or something else and will be larger and larger chunks of update with no explanations whatever.

Hey Nip ...what do you think of this policy ?

http://www.eweek.com/enterprise-apps/microsoft-facing-it-manager-resistance-to-automatic-windows-10-updates.html

and then with the latest Win 10 rollout on 11/12 included Update for Business, which they claim gives Enterprises 'full control' of updating, but I can't find any comments about what this means yet:

http://www.eweek.com/enterprise-apps/microsoft-rolls-out-first-major-windows-10-update.html?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EWK_NL_EP_20151113_STR2L2&dni=284444275&rni=25452080

OK the first details of the update are detailed here:

http://www.eweek.com/enterprise-apps/microsoft-delivers-promised-business-features-in-windows-10-update.html?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EWK_NL_EP_20151117_STR2L2&dni=285929741&rni=25452080

The most revealing part is:

Depending on your settings, those delays can last as long as eight months. Administrators can also set delays so that they wait until busy periods, such as holidays for retailers or tax time for accountants, are over. Windows Update for Business can stagger deployments, create device groups and scale deployments to minimize the impact on the business. It's worth noting that some updates, such as critical security updates, will take place automatically, regardless of the setting.
 
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geoflin

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I recently bought a new laptop with Windows 10 preinstalled. It is fine, so I decided to try to upgrade my desktop from Windows 7 to 10. I got a message that in order to continue I had to manually uninstall Sonic Sound DLA which is incompatible with Windows 10. I did so as well as uninstalling or deleting all remnants using Revo uninstaller. The message persisted. I called Microsoft Support, they took remote control of my computer, tried all the things I had tried, kept running into the same problem, and finally gave up. They were unable to find any remnants of Sonic DLA but kept getting the message that it must first be uninstalled. The upshot is even if Microsoft now tries to automatically update my computer it won't work until they find a fix to this issue, which I have read in forums that other people are also having.