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385 lines
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
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"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
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<head>
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<meta name="generator" content="HTML Tidy, see www.w3.org" />
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<title>FreeBSD 4.9-RELEASE README</title>
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<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.7" />
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<link rel="STYLESHEET" type="text/css" href="docbook.css" />
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</head>
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<body class="ARTICLE" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084"
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alink="#0000FF">
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<div class="ARTICLE">
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<div class="TITLEPAGE">
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<h1 class="TITLE"><a id="AEN2" name="AEN2">FreeBSD 4.9-RELEASE README</a></h1>
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<h3 class="CORPAUTHOR">The FreeBSD Project</h3>
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<p class="COPYRIGHT">Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 The FreeBSD Documentation
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Project</p>
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<p class="PUBDATE">$FreeBSD: src/release/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/readme/article.sgml,v
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1.1.2.17 2003/05/01 15:09:53 trhodes Exp $<br />
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</p>
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<hr />
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</div>
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<blockquote class="ABSTRACT">
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<div class="ABSTRACT"><a id="AEN12" name="AEN12"></a>
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<p>This document gives a brief introduction to FreeBSD 4.9-RELEASE. It includes some
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information on how to obtain FreeBSD, a listing of various ways to contact the FreeBSD
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Project, and pointers to some other sources of information.</p>
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</div>
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</blockquote>
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<div class="SECT1">
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<hr />
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<h2 class="SECT1"><a id="AEN14" name="AEN14">1 Introduction</a></h2>
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<p>This distribution is a release of FreeBSD 4.9-RELEASE, the latest point along the
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4-STABLE branch.</p>
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<div class="SECT2">
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<hr />
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<h3 class="SECT2"><a id="AEN17" name="AEN17">1.1 About FreeBSD</a></h3>
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<p>FreeBSD is an operating system based on 4.4 BSD Lite for Intel, AMD, Cyrix or NexGen
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``x86'' based PC hardware and Compaq (formerly DEC) Alpha computers. Versions for the
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IA64, PowerPC, and Sparc64 architectures are currently under development as well. FreeBSD
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works with a wide variety of peripherals and configurations and can be used for
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everything from software development to games to Internet Service Provision.</p>
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<p>This release of FreeBSD contains everything you need to run such a system, including
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full source code for the kernel and all utilities in the base distribution. With the
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source distribution installed, you can literally recompile the entire system from scratch
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with one command, making it ideal for students, researchers, or users who simply want to
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see how it all works.</p>
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<p>A large collection of third-party ported software (the ``Ports Collection'') is also
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provided to make it easy to obtain and install all your favorite traditional UNIX
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utilities for FreeBSD. Each ``port'' consists of a set of scripts to retrieve, configure,
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build, and install a piece of software, with a single command. Over 9,200 ports, from
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editors to programming languages to graphical applications, make FreeBSD a powerful and
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comprehensive operating environment that extends far beyond what's provided by many
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commercial versions of UNIX. Most ports are also available as pre-compiled ``packages'',
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which can be quickly installed from the installation program.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="SECT2">
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<hr />
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<h3 class="SECT2"><a id="AEN26" name="AEN26">1.2 Target Audience</a></h3>
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<p>This release of FreeBSD is suitable for all users. It has undergone a period of
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testing and quality assurance checking to ensure the highest reliability and
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dependability.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="SECT1">
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<hr />
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<h2 class="SECT1"><a id="AEN29" name="AEN29">2 Obtaining FreeBSD</a></h2>
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<p>FreeBSD may be obtained in a variety of ways. This section focuses on those ways that
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are primarily useful for obtaining a complete FreeBSD distribution, rather than updating
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an existing installation.</p>
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<div class="SECT2">
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<hr />
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<h3 class="SECT2"><a id="AEN32" name="AEN32">2.1 CDROM and DVD</a></h3>
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<p>FreeBSD -RELEASE distributions may be ordered on CDROM or DVD from several publishers.
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This is frequently the most convenient way to obtain FreeBSD for new installations, as it
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provides a convenient way to quickly reinstall the system if necessary. Some
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distributions include some of the optional, precompiled ``packages'' from the FreeBSD
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Ports Collection.</p>
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<p>A list of the CDROM and DVD publishers known to the project are listed in the <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/mirrors.html"
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target="_top">``Obtaining FreeBSD''</a> appendix to the Handbook.</p>
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</div>
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<div class="SECT2">
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<hr />
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<h3 class="SECT2"><a id="AEN39" name="AEN39">2.2 FTP</a></h3>
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<p>You can use FTP to retrieve FreeBSD and any or all of its optional packages from <a
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href="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/" target="_top">ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/</a>, which is the
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official FreeBSD release site, or any of its ``mirrors''.</p>
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<p>Lists of locations that mirror FreeBSD can be found in the <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/mirrors-ftp.html"
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target="_top">FTP Sites</a> section of the Handbook, or on the <a
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href="http://mirrorlist.FreeBSD.org/" target="_top">http://mirrorlist.FreeBSD.org/</a>
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Web pages. Finding a close (in networking terms) mirror from which to download the
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distribution is highly recommended.</p>
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<p>Additional mirror sites are always welcome. Contact <code class="EMAIL"><<a
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href="mailto:freebsd-admin@FreeBSD.org">freebsd-admin@FreeBSD.org</a>></code> for
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more details on becoming an official mirror site.</p>
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<p>Mirrors generally contain the floppy disk images necessary to begin an installation,
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as well as the distribution files needed for the install process itself. Many mirrors
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also contain the ISO images necessary to create a CDROM of a FreeBSD release.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="SECT1">
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<hr />
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<h2 class="SECT1"><a id="CONTACTING" name="CONTACTING">3 Contacting the FreeBSD
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Project</a></h2>
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<div class="SECT2">
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<h3 class="SECT2"><a id="AEN52" name="AEN52">3.1 Email and Mailing Lists</a></h3>
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<p>For any questions or general technical support issues, please send mail to the <a
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href="http://lists.FreeBSD.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions" target="_top">FreeBSD
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general questions mailing list</a>.</p>
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<p>If you are tracking the -STABLE development efforts, you <span class="emphasis"><i
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class="EMPHASIS">must</i></span> join the <a
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href="http://lists.FreeBSD.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-stable"
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target="_top">FreeBSD-STABLE mailing list</a>, in order to keep abreast of recent
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developments and changes that may affect the way you use and maintain the system.</p>
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<p>Being a largely-volunteer effort, the FreeBSD Project is always happy to have extra
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hands willing to help--there are already far more desired enhancements than there is time
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to implement them. To contact the developers on technical matters, or with offers of
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help, please send mail to the <a
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href="http://lists.FreeBSD.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-hackers" target="_top">FreeBSD
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technical discussions mailing list</a>.</p>
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<p>Please note that these mailing lists can experience <span class="emphasis"><i
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class="EMPHASIS">significant</i></span> amounts of traffic. If you have slow or expensive
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mail access, or are only interested in keeping up with major FreeBSD events, you may find
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it preferable to subscribe instead to the <a
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href="http://lists.FreeBSD.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-announce" target="_top">FreeBSD
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announcements mailing list</a>.</p>
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<p>All of the mailing lists can be freely joined by anyone wishing to do so. Visit <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/mailman/listinfo" target="_top">FreeBSD Mailman Info
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Page</a>. This will give you more information on joining the various lists, accessing
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archives, etc. There are a number of mailing lists targeted at special interest groups
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not mentioned here; more information can be obtained either through majordomo or the <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/support.html#mailing-list" target="_top">mailing lists
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section</a> of the FreeBSD Web site.</p>
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<div class="IMPORTANT">
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<blockquote class="IMPORTANT">
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<p><b>Important:</b> Do <span class="emphasis"><i class="EMPHASIS">not</i></span> send
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email to the lists asking to be subscribed. Use the <code class="EMAIL"><<a
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href="mailto:majordomo@FreeBSD.org">majordomo@FreeBSD.org</a>></code> address
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instead.</p>
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</blockquote>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="SECT2">
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<hr />
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<h3 class="SECT2"><a id="AEN71" name="AEN71">3.2 Submitting Problem Reports</a></h3>
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<p>Suggestions, bug reports and contributions of code are always valued--please do not
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hesitate to report any problems you may find. Bug reports with attached fixes are of
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course even more welcome.</p>
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<p>The preferred method to submit bug reports from a machine with Internet mail
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connectivity is to use the <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=send-pr&sektion=1&manpath=FreeBSD+4.9-RELEASE">
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<span class="CITEREFENTRY"><span class="REFENTRYTITLE">send-pr</span>(1)</span></a>
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command or use the Web form at <a href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/send-pr.html"
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target="_top">http://www.FreeBSD.org/send-pr.html</a>. ``Problem Reports'' (PRs)
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submitted in this way will be filed and their progress tracked; the FreeBSD developers
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will do their best to respond to all reported bugs as soon as possible. <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/query-pr-summary.cgi" target="_top">A list of all active
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PRs</a> is available on the FreeBSD Web site; this list is useful to see what potential
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problems other users have encountered.</p>
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<p>Note that <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=send-pr&sektion=1&manpath=FreeBSD+4.9-RELEASE">
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<span class="CITEREFENTRY"><span class="REFENTRYTITLE">send-pr</span>(1)</span></a>
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itself is a shell script that should be easy to move even onto a non-FreeBSD system.
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Using this interface is highly preferred. If, for some reason, you are unable to use <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=send-pr&sektion=1&manpath=FreeBSD+4.9-RELEASE">
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<span class="CITEREFENTRY"><span class="REFENTRYTITLE">send-pr</span>(1)</span></a> to
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submit a bug report, you can try to send it to the <a
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href="http://lists.FreeBSD.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-bugs" target="_top">FreeBSD
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problem reports mailing list</a>.</p>
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<p>For more information, <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/problem-reports/"
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target="_top">``Writing FreeBSD Problem Reports''</a>, available on the FreeBSD Web site,
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has a number of helpful hints on writing and submitting effective problem reports.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="SECT1">
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<hr />
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<h2 class="SECT1"><a id="AEN92" name="AEN92">4 Further Reading</a></h2>
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<p>There are many sources of information about FreeBSD; some are included with this
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distribution, while others are available on-line or in print versions.</p>
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<div class="SECT2">
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<hr />
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<h3 class="SECT2"><a id="RELEASE-DOCS" name="RELEASE-DOCS">4.1 Release
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Documentation</a></h3>
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<p>A number of other files provide more specific information about this release
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distribution. These files are provided in various formats. Most distributions will
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include both ASCII text (<tt class="FILENAME">.TXT</tt>) and HTML (<tt
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class="FILENAME">.HTM</tt>) renditions. Some distributions may also include other formats
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such as PostScript (<tt class="FILENAME">.PS</tt>) or Portable Document Format (<tt
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class="FILENAME">.PDF</tt>).</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<p><tt class="FILENAME">README.TXT</tt>: This file, which gives some general information
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about FreeBSD as well as some cursory notes about obtaining a distribution.</p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<p><tt class="FILENAME">RELNOTES.TXT</tt>: The release notes, showing what's new and
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different in FreeBSD 4.9-RELEASE compared to the previous release (FreeBSD
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4.8-RELEASE).</p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<p><tt class="FILENAME">HARDWARE.TXT</tt>: The hardware compatability list, showing
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devices with which FreeBSD has been tested and is known to work.</p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<p><tt class="FILENAME">INSTALL.TXT</tt>: Installation instructions for installing
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FreeBSD from its distribution media.</p>
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</li>
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<li>
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<p><tt class="FILENAME">ERRATA.TXT</tt>: Release errata. Late-breaking, post-release
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information can be found in this file, which is principally applicable to releases (as
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opposed to snapshots). It is important to consult this file before installing a release
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of FreeBSD, as it contains the latest information on problems which have been found and
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fixed since the release was created.</p>
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</li>
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</ul>
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<div class="NOTE">
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<blockquote class="NOTE">
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<p><b>Note:</b> Several of these documents (in particular, <tt
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class="FILENAME">RELNOTES.TXT</tt>, <tt class="FILENAME">HARDWARE.TXT</tt>, and <tt
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class="FILENAME">INSTALL.TXT</tt>) contain information that is specific to a particular
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hardware architecture. For example, the alpha release notes contain information not
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applicable to the i386, and vice versa. The architecture for which each document applies
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will be listed in that document's title.</p>
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</blockquote>
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</div>
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<br />
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<br />
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<p>These documents are generally available via the Documentation menu during
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installation. Once the system is installed, you can revisit this menu by running the <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=sysinstall&sektion=8&manpath=FreeBSD+4.9-RELEASE">
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<span class="CITEREFENTRY"><span class="REFENTRYTITLE">sysinstall</span>(8)</span></a>
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utility.</p>
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<div class="NOTE">
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<blockquote class="NOTE">
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<p><b>Note:</b> It is extremely important to read the errata for any given release before
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installing it, to learn about any ``late-breaking news'' or post-release problems. The
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errata file accompanying each release (most likely right next to this file) is already
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out of date by definition, but other copies are kept updated on the Internet and should
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be consulted as the ``current errata'' for this release. These other copies of the errata
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are located at <a href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/releases/"
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target="_top">http://www.FreeBSD.org/releases/</a> (as well as any sites which keep
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up-to-date mirrors of this location).</p>
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</blockquote>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="SECT2">
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<hr />
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<h3 class="SECT2"><a id="AEN132" name="AEN132">4.2 Manual Pages</a></h3>
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<p>As with almost all UNIX-like operating systems, FreeBSD comes with a set of on-line
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manual pages, accessed through the <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=man&sektion=1&manpath=FreeBSD+4.9-RELEASE">
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<span class="CITEREFENTRY"><span class="REFENTRYTITLE">man</span>(1)</span></a> command
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or through the <a href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi" target="_top">hypertext
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manual pages gateway</a> on the FreeBSD Web site. In general, the manual pages provide
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information on the different commands and APIs available to the FreeBSD user.</p>
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<p>In some cases, manual pages are written to give information on particular topics.
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Notable examples of such manual pages are <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=tuning&sektion=7&manpath=FreeBSD+4.9-RELEASE">
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<span class="CITEREFENTRY"><span class="REFENTRYTITLE">tuning</span>(7)</span></a> (a
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guide to performance tuning), <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=security&sektion=7&manpath=FreeBSD+4.9-RELEASE">
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<span class="CITEREFENTRY"><span class="REFENTRYTITLE">security</span>(7)</span></a> (an
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introduction to FreeBSD security), and <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=style&sektion=9&manpath=FreeBSD+4.9-RELEASE">
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<span class="CITEREFENTRY"><span class="REFENTRYTITLE">style</span>(9)</span></a> (a
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style guide to kernel coding).</p>
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</div>
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<div class="SECT2">
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<hr />
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<h3 class="SECT2"><a id="AEN149" name="AEN149">4.3 Books and Articles</a></h3>
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<p>Two highly-useful collections of FreeBSD-related information, maintained by the
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FreeBSD Project, are the FreeBSD Handbook and FreeBSD FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions
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document). On-line versions of the <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/"
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target="_top">Handbook</a> and <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/faq/" target="_top">FAQ</a> are
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always available from the <a href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/docs.html"
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target="_top">FreeBSD Documentation page</a> or its mirrors. If you install the <tt
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class="FILENAME">doc</tt> distribution set, you can use a Web browser to read the
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Handbook and FAQ locally.</p>
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<p>A number of on-line books and articles, also maintained by the FreeBSD Project, cover
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more-specialized, FreeBSD-related topics. This material spans a wide range of topics,
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from effective use of the mailing lists, to dual-booting FreeBSD with other operating
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systems, to guidelines for new committers. Like the Handbook and FAQ, these documents are
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available from the FreeBSD Documentation Page or in the <tt class="FILENAME">doc</tt>
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distribution set.</p>
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<p>A listing of other books and documents about FreeBSD can be found in the <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/bibliography.html"
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target="_top">bibliography</a> of the FreeBSD Handbook. Because of FreeBSD's strong UNIX
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heritage, many other articles and books written for UNIX systems are applicable as well,
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some of which are also listed in the bibliography.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="SECT1">
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<hr />
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<h2 class="SECT1"><a id="AEN160" name="AEN160">5 Acknowledgments</a></h2>
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<p>FreeBSD represents the cumulative work of many hundreds, if not thousands, of
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individuals from around the world who have worked countless hours to bring about this
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release. For a complete list of FreeBSD developers and contributors, please see <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/contributors/"
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target="_top">``Contributors to FreeBSD''</a> on the FreeBSD Web site or any of its
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mirrors.</p>
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<p>Special thanks also go to the many thousands of FreeBSD users and testers all over the
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world, without whom this release simply would not have been possible.</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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<hr />
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<p align="center"><small>This file, and other release-related documents, can be
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downloaded from <a href="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/">ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/</a>.</small></p>
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<p align="center"><small>For questions about FreeBSD, read the <a
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href="http://www.FreeBSD.org/docs.html">documentation</a> before contacting <<a
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href="mailto:questions@FreeBSD.org">questions@FreeBSD.org</a>>.</small></p>
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<p align="center"><small>For questions about this documentation, e-mail <<a
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href="mailto:doc@FreeBSD.org">doc@FreeBSD.org</a>>.</small></p>
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<br />
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<br />
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</body>
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</html>
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