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213 lines
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[ My Experience with Apple | easthighNerd ]
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My Experience with Apple
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<h1 id="my-experience-with-apple">My Experience with Apple</h1>
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<p>Okay, we have some stuff to get into here</p>
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<p><br />
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</p>
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<p>Let's start with a few things right off the bat</p>
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<p>I have been an Android user all my life, I've never owned an iPhone
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before early September 2023</p>
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<p>I very much like the design of iPhones, from how the hardware is
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(usually) designed, to how the home screen is designed, to how the icons
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look, to the animations and their fluidity</p>
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<p>To TL;DR that, I like how they look, always have</p>
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<p><br />
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</p>
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<p>That's not to say that I don't have my issues with iOS, and Apple's
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stuff in general</p>
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<p>For starters, iOS is a closed-source operating system</p>
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<p>One cannot simply look at the source code of it, make and contribute
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changes, and if so desired, redistribute their own spin of it</p>
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<p>Another point of contention I've always had with Apple's devices, and
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one reason it took me so long to purchase an iPhone, is the cost</p>
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<p>That's not to say that everything that isn't an iPhone is like half
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the price of one, but compared to the price of something like a Google
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Pixel 4a (which, by the way, something more privacy respecting like
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GrapheneOS or CalyxOS can be put on), it's quite a bit more (and yes, I
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am well aware of the iPhone SEs, which have roughly only been about
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<code>$50</code> USD more than Google's [Pixel a] series phones)</p>
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<p>Customization was another point of contention, however as my age
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steadily increases, I find that I want to fiddle with things less
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frequently, and like to have something that works for me and I don't
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have to mess around with all the time</p>
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<p>Anyways, that's enough griping for the time being, let's get into my
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actual experiences with Apple's stuff</p>
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<h2 id="i-got-an-iphone">I Got… an iPhone?!</h2>
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<p>I purchased an iPhone XR off of someone I know for a very generous
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<code>$100 USD</code> at the beginning of September this year (the going
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rate at the time was around <code>$220 USD</code>), with the intended
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purpose of using it as an appliance for it's better facial tracking via
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the Face ID camera system compared to an Android camera or a stand alone
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webcam for my VTubing activities (which I swear I will get back into at
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some point!)</p>
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<p>Since I had just acquired this device, and I had never really had the
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chance to toy around with an iPhone before, I decided that I would try
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using it for a bit, to see what the experience is like, and to see if
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how I like having things setup would translate well onto an iPhone
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(plus, I wanted to be able to test some things out, like XMPP clients
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for iOS, so I can better recommend those types of things to people that
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use an iPhone compared to an Android device)</p>
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<h2 id="initial-fiddling-with-the-device">Initial Fiddling with the
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Device</h2>
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<p>First off, allow me to get this out of the way: If you primarily use
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a Linux computer, and especially if you do not have a Windows or macOS
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machine in your home, forget about plugging the iPhone into your PC and
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doing anything with it</p>
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<p>It can be done, somewhat, but trust me, save yourself the headache,
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it ain't worth it in my opinion</p>
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<p>The first real issue, for me, that I ran into with trying to setup
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this iPhone like a daily driver was that the experience with trying to
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use a KeePass database for password management is… less than
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desirable</p>
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<p>I ended up setting up Bitwarden and importing my KeePass database
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into it (which was really easy, by the by), and quite frankly, the
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experience of using Bitwarden on an iPhone, and even an Android device
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for that matter, is pretty sweet</p>
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<p>Bitwarden on a Linux PC, at least in my use, leaves a small bit to be
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desired compared to using KeePassXC, primarily in the auto-typing
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category (or seemingly lack-there-of), but overall I actually enjoy
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using Bitwarden</p>
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<h2 id="starting-to-use-an-iphone">Starting to Use an iPhone</h2>
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<p>I decided that, since I wanted to try using my newly acquired iPhone
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XR as a daily driver, I'd try using some of the conveniences that come
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with it, that I have avoided their contemporaries on other devices</p>
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<p>So, I setup Face ID unlocking, and might I just say, it works REALLY
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nicely, and something I didn't know about, is that if you aren't looking
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right at the device, even if your face is pointed at it, it will not
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unlock the thing until you actually look at it, so that's a nice little
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touch that I was unaware of</p>
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<p>I also put some of my cards in Apple Wallet, because it had been AGES
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since I last used tap-to-pay on a phone, due to using custom Android
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ROMs for the past few years without any of the Google-y bits, and let me
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just say, I missed tap-to-pay</p>
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<p><br />
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</p>
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<p>Since I was unable to get my downloaded music collection onto the
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iPhone via the means I had available and was willing to do, I decided to
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give Apple Music a try, since I could get a one month free trial of
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it</p>
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<p>It's perfectly fine, no real qualms with it, aside from the usual “I
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don't have any ownership of this music whatsoever and any given song,
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album, or artist can be ripped right out from under me at any given
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moment” stuff, but that's how I feel about all streaming platforms</p>
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<p>I'd say I definitely prefer it to Spotify, because 1) it's more
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privacy respecting in comparison, and 2) I'm still bitter at Spotify for
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removing SCANDAL for a period of time, and they can go piss in a river
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for all I care</p>
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<h2 id="where-is-she-now">Where is She Now?</h2>
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<p>Well… okay hear me out here</p>
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<p>So I've now been using an iPhone as my primary mobile computing
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device for just shy of two months, and quite frankly… I rather enjoy
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it</p>
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<p>I have just recently purchased a brand new (pink!) iPhone 15, along
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with a brand new (also pink!) Apple Watch Series 9 (and a pink case and
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watchband as well!)</p>
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<p>I have honestly come to enjoy using an iPhone, and am finding real
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value in what Apple has on offer, especially when one starts to possess
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multiple Apple devices (in my case, an iPhone and an Apple Watch)</p>
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<p>I am leaning more into the convenience side of them, most definitely,
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and quite frankly I am finding actual joy in doing so and feel that it
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is providing actual value for me</p>
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<p>I am still maintaining using essential services outside of Apple's
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ecosystem though, such as continuing to use Nextcloud for my contacts,
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calendar, and cloud storage, and Bitwarden versus iCloud Keychain for my
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passwords</p>
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<p>Raivo, with any syncing turned off, has been my choice for a TOTP 2FA
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app</p>
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<p>The Dynamic Island on the iPhone 15 is actually pretty nice, nothing
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groundbreaking, but what it does bring to the table is rather
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pleasant</p>
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<p><br />
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</p>
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<p>I also rather like the Apple Watch</p>
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<p>The haptic feedback wen turning the crown feels nice, the ability to
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easily find the phone that it's paired to if you misplace it is really
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nice to have, the fact that I can use Apple Pay with it instead of
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having to pull out my phone is really convenient, plus, and this is a
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major one here folks, I can spy on the kitties in Neko Atsume with
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it!</p>
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<h2 id="are-you-done-yet">Are You Done Yet?</h2>
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<p>Mostly <code>(#^-^#)\</code></p>
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<p><br />
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</p>
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<p>Seriously though, I am finding that these things are bringing some
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serious value to me, even with all of things about them that annoy
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me</p>
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<p>iOS isn't open-source; the only way to install apps without
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“jailbreaking” is through the App Store, which requires you to have an
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Apple ID, which I think asks for WAY too much personal information up
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front; without a Windows or macOS computer, you can pretty much forget
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about doing virtually anything that you'd be used to with an Android
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device, and even then you still lose out in comparison in that field</p>
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<p>However, those gripes of mine are almost certainly not going to
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matter to most people, and to be frank, I'd sooner trust Apple with my
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shit than Google, Amazon, or Facebook/Meta</p>
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<p><br />
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</p>
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<p>Anyways, I like using an iPhone now, I like the Apple Watch, I enjoy
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the conveniences they bring, I very well may end up sticking with
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Apple's stuff long-term, these things are making me happy</p>
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<p>Don't shame people for using things that aren't the most private or
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secure, be practical when you are trying to help people with that type
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of stuff</p>
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<p>I hope you enjoyed reading this, apologies for everything being kinda
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everywhere, I'll catch ya in the next one!</p>
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<h3 id="software-recommendations-for-the-iphone">Software
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Recommendations for the iPhone</h3>
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<ul>
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<li>Raivo (TOTP 2FA)</li>
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<li>Bitwarden (password management)</li>
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<li>Monal/Siskin IM (XMPP)</li>
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<li>Firefox Focus (general web browsing)</li>
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<li>Brave (for using YouTube with a lot of the features of having
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YouTube Premium, without the downsides of having the actual app (TL;DR a
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more privacy respecting way to use YouTube))</li>
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<li>Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector (for seeing cute kitties!)</li>
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</ul>
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<hr>
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<p>
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<img src="/res/img/badges/by-sa.svg" class="cc_badge">
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<br>
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CC BY-SA 4.0
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</p>
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<p>
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This work is licensed under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" class="external_link" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>
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</p>
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