Month: December 2024

The best cheap graphics card for 2025 is an Intel Arc, and it's something we didn't see coming

Intel seemed to be out of the graphics card market after the modest launch of the original Intel Arc back in 2022. Their performance wasn’t much to speak of, and their compatibility issues with many games were a significant burden. Now, by 2025, things have changed with their Intel Arc B580. Intel is about to shake things up in the PC gaming market, where AMD and Nvidia have been dominating with an iron fist. And it’s all thanks to the Arc B580, which has outperformed the Nvidia RTX 4060 and AMD RX 7600 in tests […]

Intel seemed to be out of the graphics card market after the discreet launch of the original Intel Arc back in 2022. Their performance was not great and their compatibility issue with many games was a very heavy burden. Now for 2025, things have changed with their Intel Arc B580.

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Intel is about to shake things up in the PC Gaming market, where AMD and Nvidia dominate with an iron fist. And it’s all thanks to the Arc B580, which has defeated the Nvidia RTX 4060 and AMD RX 7600 in Vulkan graphics benchmark tests.

According to Tom’s Hardware (based on public benchmark tests), the Intel Arc B580 loses to Nvidia’s RTX 4060 in the OpenCL API (irrelevant for gaming), but successfully defeats Team Green’s GPU with a 6% advantage in Vulkan (one of the APIs used for most games).

Reasons to Believe the Intel Arc B580 Will Be the Most Interesting Entry-Level GPU

The Battlemage GPU is priced at 249 dollars, which is cheaper than the RTX 4060 at the official price (299 $) and is supposed to be the fastest GPU in its segment (especially the version equipped with 12 GB of VRAM).

If there is one clear takeaway from all this, it is that Intel is very close to reviving the budget GPU market and taking the lead, although doing so will depend on the revelations of AMD and Nvidia at CES 2025.

As for AMD, it has already made it clear that its focus has shifted from high-end GPUs to mid-range options, with a strong emphasis on improving AI for FSR 4 (just as Nvidia continues to focus on AI for the successor to DLSS 3).

The Intel Arc B580 will feature 12 GB of VRAM, while the cheaper B570 will use 10 GB of VRAM. 8 GB of VRAM is nowhere near enough to handle today’s games, and it’s great to see Intel moving away from this old staple of affordable GPUs.

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More and more triple-A titles are demanding more VRAM to deliver consistent performance, and after Apple has abandoned the 8 GB of unified memory (RAM shared between the CPU and GPU) for Macs, I hope Nvidia and AMD follow suit. Intel: we have high hopes for you.

This is the only thing Gabriel García Márquez's son requested for the Netflix adaptation of One Hundred Years of Solitude

The adaptation of One Hundred Years of Solitude is already a huge success on Netflix, and Rodrigo García Barcha, son of the Colombian Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez, has shared the only recommendation to enjoy it: watch it as an independent project from the book. “It’s a different experience, and you have to try to appreciate it for what it is,” he states in various declarations collected by Hola, and suggests avoiding constant comparisons between the series and the original work. Rodrigo, along with his brother Gonzalo, worked as an executive producer of this ambitious series that seeks to respect the essence of Macondo while adapting the magic of the book […]

The adaptation of One Hundred Years of Solitude is already a success on Netflix, and Rodrigo García Barcha, son of the Colombian Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez, has shared the only recommendation to enjoy it: watch it as an independent project from the book. “It is a different experience, and you have to try to appreciate it for what it is“, he states in various statements collected by Hola, and suggests avoiding constant comparisons between the series and the original work.

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Rodrigo, along with his brother Gonzalo, worked as an executive producer of this ambitious series that seeks to respect the essence of Macondo while adapting the magic of the book to the audiovisual language. For decades, García Márquez rejected proposals to bring the novel to the cinema, concerned about the limitations of time, budget, and cultural authenticity. However, the writer’s heirs imposed three key conditions to approve the series: to film it in Spanish, in Colombia, and with a predominantly Latin American cast.

A very different experience from the book, but equally valid

Among the actors selected for the final product of Netflix are Marco Antonio González, Diego Vásquez, and Marleyda Soto, key figures for the characters they portray. Although Rodrigo García chose not to direct the series, he considered that external directors, such as Colombian Laura Mora and Argentine Alex García López, would bring a fresh and necessary perspective. Undoubtedly, it seems that his requests were more than accurate.

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7 animes from 2024 that you shouldn't miss

From Dandadan to Solo Leveling, the best of this year.

Now that 2024 is ending and we are during Christmas, there’s nothing better than dedicating ourselves to watching the best animes we’ve had during this year 2024. There are many we can highlight, but at Softonic, we’ve made a small selection for you to go straight to the point.

Here are the 7 animes of 2024 that you shouldn’t miss. Get your usual streaming platforms ready.

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Crunchyroll is a free application that allows streaming of anime and drama shows.

Dandadan

It is impossible to start with any anime other than Dandadan. The manga already warned us that we were going to have a real hit… and so it has been. The story couldn’t be simpler: Momo Ayase and Okarun fight ghosts and aliens in equal measure while Okarun has to recover his testicles and penis (this is completely serious). You can watch it on both Netflix and Crunchyroll. Every Thursday, a new episode.

Sand Land

This manga by the master Akira Toriyama has been around for a while, but it has now been adapted into an anime in an incredible production. All the magic that appears on the pages is masterfully transferred to the audiovisual format, always with the same plot: in a world where water reserves are scarce, the demon Beelzebub, a sheriff, and a thief seek to solve this problem. An impressive adventure worth watching. Available on Disney+.

Solo Leveling

If we don’t include this anime, someone will surely kill us. Solo Leveling is the most popular production on Crunchyroll, the platform where it is available. With entertaining action, the South Korean story has been adapted into anime by a Japanese studio, covering almost the same story: Jinwoo Sung is an adventurer who does not stand out for his strength. However, thanks to some mysterious abilities he suddenly acquires, he begins to grow stronger and stronger to venture into the existing dungeons.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

The manga by Kanehito Yamada has become one of the great surprises of 2024 in the anime scene: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. Its plot goes beyond the fantasy it presents to discuss deep themes such as death, the loved ones around us, or what we are during life. As we said, an atypical fantasy series that you can already watch on Crunchyroll.

Gluttons and Dungeons

We don’t know if it’s “the best” of 2024, but there’s no doubt that Tragones y mazmorras is indeed “among the best”. This hilarious anime bases its entire universe, as one might guess, on Dungeons and Dragons, but with one main difference: the group keeps eating all the monsters they kill. Cooking meets adventure in a series that is available on Netflix.

The Apothecary’s Diaries

A mystery plot, but with a somewhat peculiar background. The Apothecary Diaries tells the adventures of an apothecary who is kidnapped and forced to work inside an imperial palace. However, within the walls of this palace, events of very questionable taste keep happening. There is no choice but to explore everything that happens while the data is collected in the diary. Available on Crunchyroll.

Kaiju No. 8

We close this article with Kaiju No. 8, an anime that was eagerly anticipated thanks to a premise that is beloved in Japan: the Kaiju, gigantic monsters, are destroying the population and humanity must defend itself. Some young people enlist in the defense forces to protect civilization, with the peculiarity that one of them acquires powers after obtaining them from a kaiju. You can watch it on Crunchyroll.

And here are these 7 animes you can watch during this Christmas (or when 2025 starts). Which one catches your attention the most? The writer here loves Dandadan.

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Crunchyroll is a free application that allows streaming of anime and drama shows.

AI has just achieved another milestone: it can now distinguish whiskies better than you

Another victory for artificial intelligence. An AI-powered algorithm has identified the five strongest notes of each analyzed beverage with more precision than any member of a panel of expert tasters. Researchers have used this technology to predict the notes that whisky releases and to determine whether a drink has been made in the United States or in Scotland, two of the world’s largest whisky-producing regions, with differences ranging from the type of production to the ingredients used. The work represents a step forward towards automated systems capable of predicting the complex aroma […]

Another victory for artificial intelligence. An AI-powered algorithm has identified the five strongest notes of each analyzed beverage with more precision than any member of a panel of expert tasters.

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The researchers have used this technology to predict the notes that whisky releases and determine whether a drink has been made in the United States or Scotland, two of the places where the most whisky is produced in the world, with differences ranging from the type of production to the ingredients used.

The work represents a step forward towards automated systems capable of predicting the complex aroma of whisky from its molecular composition. Expert panels often evaluate woody, smoky, buttery, or caramelized aromas, which can help ensure they do not vary substantially between batches of the same product.

How AI Can Help Master Blenders

Determining the aroma of a whisky is not an easy task. Most of the stronger notes of the spirit are a complex mixture of chemical substances that interact in the nose and even mask each other to create a particular aromatic impression. These interactions make it extremely difficult to predict how the whisky will smell based on its chemical signature.

For the latest work, the researchers obtained the chemical composition of 16 American and Scottish whiskies, including Jack Daniel’s, Maker’s Mark, Laphroaig, and Talisker, and details of their aromas from a panel of 11 experts. The information was used to train artificial intelligence algorithms to predict the five main aromas and the origin of the beverages from their molecular components.

One of the algorithms had an accuracy of over 90% in distinguishing American alcoholic beverages from Scottish ones, although the performance would likely decrease with beverages it had not been trained on.

On average, it identified the five strongest notes of each whisky with greater accuracy and consistency than any of the expert panel members. The results have been published in Communications Chemistry.

The compounds menthol and citronellol helped identify American whiskies, which often have a caramel note. Methyl decanoate and heptanoic acid were important for identifying Scotch whisky, which usually has a smoky or medicinal aroma.

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Researchers see applications that go beyond whisky, from detecting counterfeit products through discrepancies in their smell to finding the best way to mix old recycled plastics, which can develop unpleasant odors, into new products without the odor being noticeable.

These have been the 10 most searched series on Google in 2024: have you seen them all?

2024 has been a sensational year for series, and to realize this, you only need to take a look at the Top 10 most searched series on Google in Spain during the year. After the platform revealed it, we can only ask ourselves: have you watched them all? These are the gems of 2024 according to the searches: 10 – Bridgerton Netflix continues to hit it big with one of its most anticipated series year after year. The third season of Bridgerton has put it back on the radar, becoming the tenth most searched series on Google. 09 – […]

2024 has been a sensational year for series, and to realize this, you only need to take a look at the Top 10 most searched series on Google in Spain during the year. After the platform revealed it, we can only ask ourselves: have you seen them all? These are the gems of 2024 according to the searches:

10 – The Bridgertons

Netflix continues to hit it big with one of its most anticipated series year after year. The third season of Bridgerton has put it back on the radar, becoming the tenth most searched series on Google.

09 – The Gentlemen: The Series

Netflix repeats at the top with the series directed by Guy Ritchie in which he continues to explore the film that hit the big screen in 2019. Starring Theo James, it is undoubtedly a great offering from Great Britain.

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08 – The House of the Dragon

As it could not be otherwise, the second season of House of the Dragon also made it to the Top of the most searched. It is true that it did not have the good reception of the first, but it remains a hit from the Game of Thrones universe.

07 – Iron Hand

This Spanish series has made it to the top of the most watched and searched on Netflix. Starring Eduard Fernández, Jaime Lorente, Chino Darín, Natalia de Molina, Sergi López, and Enric Auquer, it is a classic thriller set in the port of Barcelona.

06 – The Three-Body Problem

Netflix’s biggest bet this year has been this science fiction thriller that has glued millions of viewers to their sofas worldwide. Without a doubt, fans of the genre are in luck with this interesting adaptation by the creators of Game of Thrones of the universe of Liu Cixin.

05 – The Asunta Case

The true crime genre is increasingly successful, and fictional adaptations of them are also a big hit. In addition to The Burning Body, this year Netflix has highlighted The Asunta Case, an incredible murder case starring Candela Peña.

04 – The Perfect Couple

Netflix remains at the top with a mystery series starring none other than Nicole Kidman. For fans of police dramas and intricate series, it is undoubtedly a fiction that keeps you hooked from start to finish.

03 – Red Queen

This year, the highly anticipated series Reina roja was also released, a Prime Video adaptation of the best-selling novel by Juan Gómez-Jurado. Starring Vicky Luengo and Hovik Keuchkerian, it has become an almost unprecedented phenomenon.

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02 – Berlin

La Casa de Papel remains the most acclaimed Spanish phenomenon in history when it comes to series, and its spin-off starring Berlín was no exception. Although it officially premiered last year, it was in January 2024 when it really took off.

01 – Fallout

Finally, the adaptation of this year’s quintessential video game has taken the crown as the most searched on Google. Fallout has been a hit with both the public and critics and has even won an award at The Game Awards. It’s clear that Prime Video knows what it’s doing.

What has been the best series of the year according to the critics?

2024 has been one of the best years on record when it comes to television series. From global classics like Baby Reindeer to national gems like Querer, it has undoubtedly been a year full of surprises where the race to become the series of the year has been tough and intense. However, what we can say loud and clear is that there has been a great favorite among critics (and, in fact, also among the public): Shōgun. The series, which premiered on Disney Plus last February 27, has managed to make an impact above […]

2024 has been one of the best years in recent memory when it comes to television series. From global classics like Baby Reindeer to national gems like Querer, it has undoubtedly been a year full of surprises where the race to become the series of the year has been tough and intense.

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However, what we can say loud and clear is that there has been a great favorite among critics (and, in reality, also among the public): Shōgun. The series released on Disney Plus on February 27 has managed to stand out above the rest in a surprising way, and this adaptation based on the 1975 novel of the same name by author James Clavell, and in turn a readaptation of the 1980 miniseries of the same name, has achieved 18 Emmy Awards and incredible ratings on all platforms.

Shōgun is the 2024 series

Shōgun is set in 17th century feudal Japan, and tells the story of John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), an English navigator who is shipwrecked on the Japanese coast. In this context, Blackthorne finds himself caught between two worlds: his Western culture and the samurai-led Japan under Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada). The plot, full of complexities, manages to completely captivate the audience. Additionally, it has been announced that there will be a second season in the future.

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The 4 best Christmas comics in history

Do you already have the whole Christmas table ready? The food, the prawns, the carols, the whole family sitting around ready to argue at any moment about anything? Well, then you only need one more thing: to have some good Christmas comics to hide when things heat up. And here we are to take care of you and pamper you! That’s why we’ve prepared this list with the 4 best Christmas comics in history. 4-Hellboy: A Christmas Underground In 1997, Mike Mignola created a fabulous story in which he visits a dying woman on Christmas Eve 1989 who mistakes Hellboy for […]

Do you already have the entire Christmas table ready? The food, the prawns, the carols, the whole family sitting around ready to argue at any moment about anything? Well, then you only need one more thing: to have some good Christmas comics to hide when things heat up. And here we are to take care of you and pamper you! That’s why we’ve prepared this list of the 4 best Christmas comics in history.

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4-Hellboy: A Christmas Underground

In 1997, Mike Mignola created a fabulous story in which he visits a dying woman on Christmas Eve 1989 who mistakes Hellboy for Santa Claus. He agrees to give her daughter, who died five years earlier, a Christmas gift. Surprisingly, he finds her and gives her the gift, a necklace with a cross. Of course, things end up in chaos, but it is, in its own way, charming, beautiful, and strange. Just as a good Christmas should be, indeed.

3-Batman: Noël

Of course, Batman also had to have his Christmas version, in a Gotham that seems to have been born to have trees and garlands within its gothic darkness. Here, the masked guardian will experience a kind of Christmas Carol (the legendary novel by Charles Dickens) with the definition of heroism at stake. With Lee Bermejo on script and art, it’s hard not to fall in love with this comic with spectacular page design.

2-The Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special

The anti-Christmas comic par excellence: the Easter Bunny is tired of being a second fiddle, so he hires Lobo to take out Santa Claus, whom we see smoking a gigantic cigar on his sofa, next to a gorilla. Loose limbs around, dead elves in the corners, dark humor, swear words, gunshots and all sorts of nonsense typical of this comic from 1991, absolutely essential in every respectable home.

1-Hawkeye

Some might say that this fantastic comic by Fraction and Aja is not Christmas-themed, but… When does it take place, at least in part? Huh? Exactly: at Christmas. And look, even though it doesn’t have Santa Claus or gift-giving, you get a masterpiece. After all, that’s what these holidays are for, right? To give and share, to receive good advice and discover new things. This is my gift to you. Ho, ho, ho. You’re welcome.

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Why do Japanese people rush to eat fried chicken at Christmas?

When you travel to Japan, you expect to eat delicious sushi, incredible ramen, fantastic foods you’ve never heard of. But the surprise comes when you realize that one of their greatest delicacies is… fried chicken. What’s more! There are KFCs everywhere. In the country of rice and healthy food, everyone loves to eat junk food at Christmas. But, can anyone explain why? Ho, ho, yum Japan is a country of trends, and this one is no exception: only from December 20 to 25, they earn nearly 63 million dollars […]

When you travel to Japan, you expect to eat delicious sushi, incredible ramen, fantastic foods you’ve never heard of. But the surprise comes when you realize that one of their greatest delicacies is… fried chicken. What’s more! There are KFC everywhere. In the land of rice and healthy food, everyone loves to eat junk food at Christmas. But, can anyone explain why?

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Ho, ho, yum

Japan is a country of trends, and this one was no exception: only from December 20 to 25, they earn about 63 million dollars selling chicken to families who patiently wait at the door. In fact, there are figures of Colonel Sanders with Christmas hats in every nook and cranny. To understand the reason, we have to go back to 1970, when the country, after recovering from World War II, began to open up to the world and accept Western franchises. It was then that KFC opened its first location in Nagoya. And it didn’t stop.

Four years later, they launched the “Kentucky for Christmas” campaign, which, according to them, came from a foreign customer who said that, in the absence of being able to eat turkey at Christmas, they would eat KFC chicken. The campaign was very aggressive, and it made the song My Old Kentucky Home popular as a Christmas carol (even though it has nothing to do with Christmas in the United States). Eating at KFC, especially if you lived in a town, was trendy, it was modern, it was the thing to do. And somehow, 50 years later, the Japanese are still lining up at KFCs to try fast food that they could also eat at any time of the year. Nothing says Christmas like a breaded chicken strip, apparently.

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Pokémon Go wants you to end the year in the best possible way: capturing pokémons

Pokémon Go is a game that has discovered the key to longevity. The trick is to offer constant content, on a predictable schedule, at a pace manageable for its audience. Neither overwhelming them nor making them feel like they have nothing to do. Always offering them something new, letting them know exactly when they can expect those things, and occasionally providing a small surprise. This is the essential key to its success. To end the year, Pokémon GO wants you to capture Pokémon. That’s why Pokémon Go has decided to end the year on a high note. So that their fans have something with […]

Pokémon Go is a game that has discovered the key to longevity. The trick is to offer constant content, on a predictable schedule, at a pace manageable for its audience. Neither overwhelming them nor making them feel like they have nothing to do. Always offering them something new, knowing exactly when they can expect these things and occasionally, making a small surprise. This being the essential key to its success.

To end the year, Pokémon GO wants you to catch Pokémon

That’s why Pokémon Go has decided to end the year on a high note. So that their fans have something to celebrate with. From December 30 to January 1, 2025, the New Year’s event will be held, which will include themed bonuses, encounters with special Pokémon, among many other new features.

What should you pay the most attention to? Probably, your aim. During the event, each excellent throw that captures a Pokémon will be rewarded with 2025 experience points. Perhaps less tangible, but also a form of reward, when you look at the skies on your mobile during the event, you will see festive fireworks. And in addition to Pokémon, during these days, you will see New Year’s decorations wherever you go. Not only in reality, but also in augmented reality.

All this will also be accompanied by a greater chance of finding themed Pokémon. What does this mean? That Jigglypuff with a bow, Hoothoot in a New Year’s outfit, or Wurmple with a party hat will appear more frequently, even in their shiny form. This will also happen with raids, where you can find Pikachu wearing a snowflake hat in one-star raids, or Raticate and Wobbuffet wearing party hats in three-star raids.

Additionally, if you want to enjoy it to the fullest, you have the Temporary Research Pass for 2 euros, which will give you extra benefits during these dates. Although with how generous the game is during this event, it doesn’t seem necessary. But if you need to bribe Saint Meowth to drop more from his gift bag, we won’t be the ones to judge you.

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After the visit of Professor Willow, choose your Pokémon trainer and go out to hunt some creatures. You must be careful because it will not be an easy task, first you have to catch one of the three Pokémon available to you, between Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander. Once you have done it, your adventure will begin. Guide yourself through the map to capture your little monsters and make use of all the alternatives and possibilities of Pokémon GO.

Tamagotchi, but with a computer: the bizarre story of one of the weirdest video games in the world

On November 23, 1996, Tamagotchi made its appearance in Japan and soon went on to conquer the world, but it was not – by any means – the first virtual pet from the Japanese country. Before that, there were several, but they were dogs or cats, nothing like strange creatures from outer space. However, Tamagotchi soon found rivals of all kinds, from the classic Digimon to infinitely stranger versions… Like the one we bring you today. Have you ever heard of Fin Fin on Teo the Magic Planet? This is the Fin (Fin) Fin Fin was a game created […]

On November 23, 1996, Tamagotchi made its appearance in Japan, and soon went on to conquer the world, but it was not -by any means- the first virtual pet from the Japanese country. Before that, in fact, there were several, but they were dogs or cats, nothing like strange creatures that came from outer space. However, Tamagotchi soon found rivals of all kinds, from the classic Digimon to infinitely stranger versions… Like the one we bring you today. Have you ever heard of Fin Fin on Teo the Magic Planet?

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This is the End (End)

Fin Fin was a game created by Fujitsu (when they decided to create games) in which the protagonist was Fin Fin, a creature half bird and half dolphin with which one could communicate both by talking to it (through a microphone that was included in the pack) and by letting it see you thanks to the SmartSensor, which, despite its fancy name, was essentially a webcam that indicated to the pet when you were in front of the computer.

And why all the fuss? Well, because Fin Fin responded to the “owner’s” voice. Not to what was said (of course not), but to the tone and volume of the voice. Does it sound strange? Well, wait, because there’s more: if you didn’t feed him or play with him, Fin Fin would end up getting angry, becoming sad, or even leaving.

The game is not very complex: it’s simply about being its friend. To do this, you can press the keys from 1 to 5, which will make different sounds that will attract it, or you can talk to it through the microphone. Even, why not, at this point, record your voice to assign it to the keys from 6 to 0. Believe it or not, more than 30,000 copies were sold, and Fujitsu took seven years to manufacture it. Throughout the game, you could meet Fin Fin’s family (his wife, his child, other various animals), see eclipses, and, in general, marvel at the future that was right in front of us.

Although it couldn’t compete against Tamagotchi, it still had a musical spin-off, TanTan TEO, a point-and-click graphic adventure, To Teo and back with Jack, and was even close to having an adaptation for Nintendo 64. But, for whatever reason, they considered it too costly for what it could actually do. And you, are you up for playing with FinFin? I hope the answer is “no,” because second-hand it costs a fortune.

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