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Hatch made a smart sleep light to help adults rest better
Hatch, which is perhaps best known for its baby-focused products, is turning its attention to grown-ups. It made a smart sleep light called Restore, with the aim of helping people drift off more easily and get a better night's rest.
New Minecraft: Pocket Edition update due out soon
The next version of iOS' Minecraft Pocket Edition has been submitted, according to the official Mojang blog, and it brings another round of updates designed to bring the game in line with its bigger PC and console cousins. In this update, players are set to get access to things like paintings, zombie pigmen (though why you'd want access to those, who knows) and the Nether Reactor and Glowstone. There are also a few tweaks to the gameplay as well, including food giving back more health and hearts getting restored when you sleep in an in-game bed. Sounds great -- Minecraft's Pocket Edition just keeps on getting better. This update has been submitted already, and should be out and available later on this week. Meanwhile, you can grab the game from the App Store right now for US$6.99. [via Touch Arcade]
Unlock your contract-free AT&T iPhone 5: just restore in iTunes
AT&T customers who bought their iPhone 5 off-contract can easily unlock their phone to work on another carrier, says a report in TechCrunch. Instead of faxing paperwork to AT&T and waiting for authorization, customers without a contract can simply connect their iPhone 5 to iTunes and restore it to unlock the device. After the restore process is complete, customers will be greeted with a message saying, "Congratulations, your iPhone has been unlocked." TechCrunch reached out to AT&T, which confirmed that a restore will unlock the iPhone 5 for customers who are not under a contract. Writer Romain Dillet tested it with his device and was able to get a signal on T-Mobile after he inserted a microSIM that was trimmed to fit into the iPhone 5. Other users on AT&T's support forum also report success with this procedure.
Google posts Android 4.1 Jelly Bean images for Nexus devices, modders rejoice
If you're the sort to get a little too adventurous with CyanogenMod 10 or other custom ROMs, Google just gave you a crutch. Android 4.1.1 factory images are now available for every Nexus device that can currently get a taste of Jelly Bean: the HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S and the expected Nexus 7. While it's not a complete safety net, the gesture will let dedicated modders flash their phones and tablets knowing that they can almost always jump back to the pure OS if someone's definition of "alpha build" is a little too rough. CDMA users are unfortunately left out of the loop; let's just hope they're brought up to speed before too long. [Thanks, Vince]
iFaith v1.4 allows downgrade to iOS 5.0, jailbreaker's dream come true
In the game of Apple versus the jailbreakers, Cupertino threw the community a curveball with iOS 5's newly restricted downgrade system which blocks devices from restoring to old 5.x firmware. With the help of his noble steed iFaith (a custom Windows tool), hacker iH8sn0w has found a way around the firmware block, making it possible for dumped iOS 5 signature hash blobs (SHSH blobs) to permit unsigned restores. Why all the fuss about downgrading to prohibited firmware? Prominent iOS hackers MuscleNerd and pod2g have stated that the first untethered jailbreak will arrive on iOS 5.0 and, as such, may require iFaith's downgrade process to facilitate user restores. While the jailbreak is still under construction, iFaith should assure disheartened users in the community that all is not lost. Want to learn about blobs, blobs, and more blobs? Continue past the break to view iH8sn0w's informative video.
Galaxy Nexus gets recovery images, for when your hacking joy turns to tears
Like extreme stunts, hacking can be rather thrilling. Still, there will always be freak accidents when things don't go as planned, and thankfully, Google has released a safety net for you Galaxy Nexus adrenaline junkies. Specific to the HSPA+ model, the recovery images include the bootloader, radio, and full set of system files. No word yet about whether Google will perform a similar act of generosity for the LTE version that's coming to Verizon Wireless. Naturally, hacking your device is likely to void the warranty, but hey, there needs to be at least some risk involved, right?
Make a backup copy of the MacBook Air USB Software Reinstall Drive
Since it doesn't come with an optical drive, giving MacBook Air buyers a DVD of the operating system wouldn't be very helpful. That's why Apple's lightest laptop comes with the USB Software Reinstall Drive -- a very small white USB drive. Sometimes USB flash drives are referred to as "Thumb Drives," but this one is more like the size of a baby's finger. The USB stick that comes with the MacBook Air is the best way -- and in many situations, the only way -- to restore/reinstall your MacBook Air if something goes wrong. If you have the US$100 external USB SuperDrive, then you can try to use a DVD, but I found that my MacBook Air wouldn't even boot from my original Snow Leopard DVD. (I believe this is because the DVD's build of Snow Leopard is a lower version number than the Air originally shipped with, but I am not sure.) Since my MacBook Air first arrived I have been afraid of losing the USB recovery drive. According to someone on the Apple Discussion Forums, Apple may be willing to provide you with a new one, free of charge, if you lose yours, but what I really wanted was a backup. (I have done the same thing with my Snow Leopard DVD when I bought it, just in case it was lost or damaged.) In this case, I wanted to duplicate it onto another USB drive. I tried 'cloning' the Reinstall Drive using SuperDuper!, which completed without error, but after it was done, my MacBook Air would not boot with the new USB drive. Apple created the drive so that when it is mounted by OS X, it appears as a DVD, not a USB drive. This means that it was not available for me to use as a "Restore" source in Disk Utility. I could not find any way to make a copy of the disk image from Disk Utility. (If one exists, I'd be happy to hear about it.) That's when my GeekInstincts kicked in. If Apple wanted me to treat it as a DVD drive, that's exactly what I would do. In the past I have backed up my OS X DVDs using the Terminal, and I wondered if the same thing would work here. (Spoiler alert! It did.) Duplicating a CD or DVD the Unix way Rather than using a GUI program such as Roxio Toast or Burn, we're going to use the Terminal. Why? Because unlike those two programs, the Unix way is free, simple, and "just works." Plus, you end up with a disk image, which you should be able to use to burn an actual DVD on just about any computer. The steps are fairly simple: Create an .iso file of the official Reinstall Drive Mount the .iso file in Disk Utility Mount a generic USB drive Use the "restore" function in Disk Utility to copy the .iso file to the generic USB device. Save the .iso file in case you lose the Reinstall Drive and your generic backup. Note: you can do this same process with any CD/DVD and any Mac. In the past I have done it with Microsoft Office, iWork, and others. This article is addressing the MacBook Air specifically, but the same steps would work equally well for other media. The Disclaimer We are going to be using Terminal.app (found in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder in the Finder) to run a few commands. If you are not careful in the Terminal, you can do some serious damage. Then again, the same thing is true about a car. So, look both ways, stop if you aren't sure about something, and (whenever possible) copy & paste commands rather than typing them manually, to avoid typos. The command we will be using is /bin/dd, which I suggest you think of as "Data Duplication." Wikipedia says that it probably originally meant "Data Description," and it is often jokingly referred to as "data destroyer" or other scary-sounding names. Read slowly, take your time. There should be no real danger unless you are extremely careless. Don't proceed unless you know what you are doing and have verified your backups. Step By Step 1) Insert your Reinstall Drive and make sure it appears in the Finder 2) Open Terminal.app (in Finder press Command-Shift-U to quickly go to the Utilities folder) 3) In Terminal, type (or paste) these following commands: DEVICE=`mount | fgrep 'Mac OS X Install' | awk '{print $1}'` if [ "$DEVICE" != "" ]; then ; echo $DEVICE ; fi You should see something like "/dev/disk?s?" where the ?s are replaced by numbers. If all you get a blank line, something went wrong. Make sure the drive appears in Finder. 4) Still in Terminal, type/paste this line: diskutil unmount "/Volumes/Mac OS X Install" which should tell you "Volume Mac OS X Install on disk?s? unmounted" (again, where ? and ? will be numbers). This will unmount but not eject the drive. 5) READ this entire step, and make sure you understand it, before you do anything. Now we will tell dd to: a) read input from the "$DEVICE" named above. This is the "Input File" which is identified using if=/dev/disk?s? (where ? are numbers) b) copy what you read (in step 'a') out to a new file. This is the "Output File" which is identified using of=WhateverYouWant.iso (I went with airinstall.iso for simplicity and clarity). c) We also need to tell dd to use a Block Size of 2048 (this last part may not be 100% necessary, but I have seen it suggested and it is how I have done mine, and it worked). If you put all of that together, it should look like this: /bin/dd if="$DEVICE" of="$HOME/Desktop/airinstall.iso" bs=2048 WARNING: if, by some bizarre chance, you already have a file named "$HOME/Desktop/airinstall.iso" be sure to move or rename it before you enter that line. Otherwise it will be overwritten. (The Output File does not have to be saved to the Desktop, I just chose that because it is a place most people will notice.) If you see an error "dd: /dev/disk?s?: Resource busy" then the device did not unmount properly in step #4. If you copied my "DEVICE=" line above in Step #3, you should be able to use "$DEVICE" in the 'dd' line to automatically fill in the proper device. Note! the 'dd' command may run for 20–30 minutes, or longer. Don't panic. Just go do something else for awhile. nothing new will appear on the screen until 'dd' is finished. When it is done you should see something like this: 3738954 0 records in 3738954 0 records out The "records in" should equal the "records out" (although your number might not be the same as mine). 6) Assuming everything went as expected, you can now tell the computer to eject the Apple Reinstall Drive by entering this line in Terminal: diskutil eject "$DEVICE" It should tell you that the device was ejected. If so, it will be safe to physically disconnect the Apple Reinstall Drive from the USB port of your computer. 7) Open the .iso file in Disk Utility. If you used my /bin/dd line above, you can now enter: open -a "Disk Utility" "$HOME/Desktop/airinstall.iso" and Disk Utility will open and the .iso will appear in the left sidebar. Note: we are now done with Terminal.app. You may quit it and switch over to Disk Utility for the next steps. 8) You should see airinstall.iso in the left side of Disk Utility window. If you look at the bottom of the window you will see it is not mounted. Click the "Open" button on the top toolbar to mount the .iso file. NOTE: When you mount the .iso file, Finder will probably jump up and show you the window like an excited schoolchild. If that happens, just switch back to Disk Utility. This is what Disk Utility will look like after you mount the .iso: Note that the capacity it shown, and the open button is now a greyed out "Mount" button, and the "Eject" button is now available. 9) Insert your generic USB drive now. You will need an 8GB USB drive. I'm usng a SanDisk because it's what I already had. Here is Disk Utility showing my USB drive. A few important things to notice: Make sure the drive is formatted as "Mac OS Extended" or "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)." The "Name" of your drive isn't important. Notice mine is "USB_MOUNT" but the important thing is that I have it selected in Disk Utility. 10) We are now going to tell Disk Utility to "Restore" the .iso's "Mac OS X Install" to "USB_MOUNT" by doing three things: a) click the "Restore" button (see red box below) b) Control-Click ("right click") on the "Mac OS X Install" line, and select "Set as source" as shown here. You could also just drag the Mac OS X Install volume over to the Source: field in the right-hand pane. c) Control-Click on the "Name" of your generic USB drive (mine is "USB_MOUNT") and choose "Set as destination." Again, you could alternatively drag-and-drop the volume icon into the blank Destination field on the right side, per the onscreen instructions. 11) When you are ready to restore, it should look something like this: If everything looks correct, click the "Restore" button on the bottom right. Disk Utility will give you a "human readable" explanation of what it is about to do: Read through it to make sure that you haven't accidentally swapped the Source and Destination fields. When you click "Erase" OS X will prompt you for your administrator password. Once you enter it, the restore process will begin. This took 30 minutes on my MacBook Air, so it's a good time to take that Apple Software Reinstall Drive and put it somewhere safe. (I highly recommend putting it back in the box your MacBook Air came in. You kept the box, right?) Once the Restore Process completes, Finder will most likely mount the generic USB drive. Disk Utility will look like this: Now we're ready to test it, so quit all of your applications, logout, and shutdown the computer. The Proof is in the Booting The only real test that matters is whether or not you can boot your MacBook Air with the generic USB drive. After the computer id turned off, make sure that: the official Apple Softwware Reinstall Drive is not connected to your MacBook Air the generic USB drive is connected to the MacBook Air Then power the computer on and press the Option/Alt key. In a few moments you should a screen offering the option of booting from your hard drive or the USB drive. Choose the USB drive. When it finishes booting, it will start into the "Install OS X" screens and ask you to select a language. Don't panic. Select a language, and then at the next screen you can exit out of the installer. (If you want to set an Open Firmware Password, this would be a good time to do it, since you can't set it when booting off the internal drive, but if you do, remember that if you forget the password, a trip to the Apple Store is your only hope of recovering it.) That's it The USB drive won't work on any other computer, but it can add a little peace of mind to know that you have another copy of your restore drive in case you ever need it.
Sony PSN 'Welcome Back' promotion extended... for one more day
Welcome back. Again. Chances are, anyone planning to grab those PSN freebies took their share when the promotion launched last month, but just in case you've been holding out, Sony's giving you another 24 hours (from now) to download your pair of free PS3 and PSP games, 100 virtual items from PlayStation Home, and 30 days of PlayStation Plus. After then, you better be prepared to pay up for your copy of Dead Nation or LittleBigPlanet. The whole gratis shebang goes offline for good at 9AM Pacific Time tomorrow -- just before the PlayStation Store is set to open for business in Japan.
Sony rolls up the PSN 'Welcome Back' mat this Sunday, takes free entertainment with it
Four weeks ago today, Sony announced its 'Welcome Back' campaign following the weeks-long PSN outage that began in April. Now, the program is entering its final weekend, giving you just two more days to download your pair of free PS3 or PSP games, along with 100 virtual items from PlayStation Home and 30 days of PlayStation Plus. To claim your gratis package from the PlayStation Store, click on the "Welcome Back" tab and make your pick. Sure, a few handouts may not make up for those countless days you spent offline, contemplating a switch to other networks, but free stuff is free stuff, so head over to PSN to claim what's rightfully yours before the clock strikes midnight on July 3rd.
Samsung Replenish review
There's something about a green phone that really tugs at the heartstrings, but over the years Sprint has been determined to yank as hard on those cords as possible. Recyclable handsets like the Samsung Restore, Samsung Reclaim, and LG Remarq took store shelves by storm, and the latest environmentally-friendly kid on the block is here to encourage reducing, reusing, and renewing -- your contract, that is. The Samsung Replenish puts its own twist on the eco-phone trend by adding in Android. This is by no means the first time such a smartphone has come to market, but it's the first one to knock on Sprint's door. So, how did the Replenish do for making a genuine first impression? Head south after the break to find out.
PSN 'Welcome Back' package is here, our long global nightmare is over
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Seriously, even a few Engadget editors are chortling in joy. PSN and Qriocity service has been restored in the Americas, Europe, and Asia and to celebrate (and soothe the seething frustration of its customers) Sony has launched its "welcome back" program. To be eligible you'll have to have been a member before April 20th but, otherwise, it's relatively qualifier free. Fire up the PlayStation Store and head to the "Welcome Back" tab to claim your pair of free games (you've got five different options on the PS3 and four on the PSP). In addition everyone gets a month of PlayStation Plus gratis and there's a selection of "On Us" movie rentals available over the weekend. There are a few other freebies to placate the masses too, like 100 free items in PlayStation Home, while Current Plus and Music Unlimited Premium subscribers get a 60 and 30 day handout respectively. If you've got any burning questions yet to be answered, check out the rather lengthy FAQ at source link and enjoy! It's not everyday that a company just throws open the flood gates on free stuff.
Sony begins full restoration of its PSN and Qriocity services (update: intermittent issues)
Can it be happening? Is Sony's security nightmare finally over? Seems to be. On Tuesday, Sony promised full restoration of its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services in the Americas, Europe, and Asia (excluding Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea) by the end of the week. Now Sony is proclaiming that today is the day for full restoration with details of its "welcome back" package to be announced from each region. The PlayStation Store is already up with a "huge lineup" of new games, demos, add-ons, themes, avatars, and videos along with an updated Playstation Plus. Hey, look on the bright side Sony, even though you've lost the confidence of millions of your customers, at least now they're aware of your Qriocity service. Full press release after the break. Update: Working fine for us from London. We signed in to the PlayStation Store and even fired up Black Ops multiplayer just for kicks. Update 2: We're now seeing error "80710D36" occasionally when trying to access the PlayStation Store, presumably due to congestion. We're seeing this from both London and New York.
Homebrew utility lets you backup Windows Phone on your terms
Are you itching to find a manual backup solution for your Windows Phone? That's a tough one to scratch. Currently, the only way to fully protect your handset's data is to wait for Microsoft to issue new updates -- where backups are automatically created within Zune during install. Now, xda-developers member "hx4700 Killer" is eliminating those long waits with a homebrew solution that works directly with Zune by spoofing an update -- thereby triggering a backup. We're told everything on your phone gets saved, and you can even roll back to your prior software version. To do this you'll need a few things: Zune itself, Windows Phone Support Tools, an update package from any Windows Phone, and this killer utility. So, if you feel like doing the time warp again, hit the source article for the required downloads and some helpful instructions.
iPhone: What is DFU mode, and what's the difference from recovery mode?
In the past couple of days, we've seen reports here and there of iPhones getting stuck in a restart loop. The black screen with the Apple logo shows up, holds for a while, and then disappears again; repeat ad infinitum. While it's not clear yet exactly what's triggering the issue (the complainants suspect that it may be a recent application update to blame), there is a tried and true way to get your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad or older iPod back to square one: either use recovery mode or do a DFU restore. As OS X Daily explained, DFU (Device Firmware Update) mode is a means to getting your iPhone to interface with iTunes without iTunes automatically loading the latest version of iOS onto it (it skips the iBoot bootloader, for jailbreak aficionados). Differing from recovery mode -- where iTunes restores your iPhone to its original factory settings but with the latest iOS and firmware -- DFU mode allows you to change and choose the firmware you want to install onto your iPhone. For instance, you would use DFU mode if you want to install a previous version of iOS, jailbreak your iPhone or unlock your SIM. If (for whatever reason) standard recovery isn't working for you to get your device back to working condition, DFU may help you out. Remember, if you restore your phone in any fashion (via the iTunes 'Restore' button, recovery mode or DFU) you will lose any modifications made to unsynced content or in-app data since your last iTunes sync (game states, voice memos, notes etc.). Be cautious. So, here's the basic info on how to enter DFU mode (and it works for your iPod touch, too). Instructions may vary slightly by year or model; if these steps do not work, check YouTube's extensive library of how-to demonstrations). Connect your iPhone to your computer via USB and launch iTunes. Now turn your iPhone off. Hold down the sleep / power button at the top right of your iPhone, then slide your finger across the "slide to power off" button on your iPhone's screen. (If it won't turn off, press Home and Sleep/Power until the screen goes dark, then release.) Once your iPhone is off, hold down both the sleep / power button as well as the home button for 10 seconds. Once 10 seconds has elapsed, release the sleep / power button on your iPhone, but continue to hold the home button until the the above message has appeared in iTunes telling you that your iPhone has been detected in recovery mode. (If you just want to go to recovery mode, skip the 10-second hold on both buttons and simply connect the phone while holding down Home, then wait for 'Connect to iTunes' screen on the phone.) Click OK. You're now in DFU mode. It's pretty straight forward, but if you see the Apple logo or the "connect to iTunes" screen on your iPhone, you're not in DFU mode. DFU leaves the screen of the iPhone completely black turned off. To exit DFU mode, simply hold down the sleep / power button and the home button together until your iPhone disappears from the device list in iTunes, then turn on the iPhone as normal. Again, for most purposes (save jailbreaking) there's no practical difference between DFU and a regular restore, except and unless you're in a situation where your phone won't go into restore mode normally. Restore with care!
HP Veer gets webOS Doctor, offers free house visits
When your phone gets sick, do you call a doctor? Probably not, but the HP Veer now has its own form of medical assistance with webOS Doctor, a desktop Java app that can rescue your phone if it's freezing up or otherwise exhibiting major symptoms of some kind. To get your phone up and running in no time, the webOS Doctor will perform a complete reset of the Veer and install the latest version of webOS. Be warned: the Doctor wipes everything off the phone -- including apps, patches, and settings -- so this kind of help shouldn't be for the casual whoops and coughs. Owners of the brand new device hopefully won't need it right away, but it's better safe than sorry; download the webOS Doctor directly from the source link.
HTC releases Android 2.3 restore files for Nexus One, makes your Google phone feel new again
If that custom ROM sitting atop your Nexus One has left you begging for an undo button, you'll be happy to know HTC is offering wily users a free return pass to its trusted Android 2.3.3 build (GRI40). While thrill-seekers previously had the option to come back through the Froyo door, this updated restore image saves the pain of performing a system upgrade after restoring your phone. With HTC's safety net squarely in place, you're certainly welcome to check out CyanogenMod's latest offering -- we hear they've got something new to play with. [Thanks, James]
Sprint plays the green card, drops $10 data surcharge on Froyo-based Samsung Replenish
Sprint's been playing the all-encompassing Eco-Friendly card for some time now, and it looks as if last year's Restore (now available on Virgin Mobile USA for $79.99 off-contract) is gaining an ultra-green sibling. Samsung's newly unveiled Replenish feels a bit like an Android 2.2-powered, somewhat matured BlackJack, boasting a 2.8-inch QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera / camcorder, inbuilt WiFi / GPS, a microSD card slot, an optional solar door charging accessory and a trio of color options (black, blue and -- our personal favorite -- "raspberry pink"). Curious about eco-cred? It'll ship May 8th for $49.99 (on a two-year contract) with fully recyclable packaging and a casing that includes 34.6 percent post-consumer recycled plastic content. Oh, and there's a postage-paid envelope to recycle your old phone, too. Folks opting to throw Ma Earth a bone by picking one up must activate it on an Everything Data plan, but the carrier will be waiving the $10 monthly premium data add-on charge to -- get this -- "make it easier for customers to make eco-friendly buying decisions." Translation: you'll buy whatever's cheapest. Full release is after the break. %Gallery-121381%
Galaxy Prevail leaked along with other Boost and Virgin Mobile updates
A few hours ago -- mere days before a joint Samsung and Boost Mobile event scheduled April 5th in New York City -- we received a 19-page document from Sprint's Prepaid Group outlining the updates and devices coming to Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile this month. The piece de resistance in this document is the Galaxy Prevail, a Samsung phone that's been rumored for a couple weeks now. Details are scarce, but spec-wise it looks like a low-end Android smartphone with a 3.2-inch touchscreen and a 2 megapixel camera. As such, it's similar to the Galaxy Gio, but with a CDMA radio and a downgraded shooter. The Galaxy Prevail will be Boost Mobile's first CDMA Android smartphone and will be priced at $180. Boost Mobile will also begin volume sales of the Samsung Factor, a simple clamshell phone costing $50, and will offer new international flat-rate packages starting April 11th. The document also highlights a couple of devices for Virgin Mobile that are already available from parent company Sprint: the Samsung Restore, a QWERTY slider that will sell for $80, and the ZTE Peel 3200, an iPod touch case with built-in 3G hotspot that will retail for $100. We don't have any details on availability other than "April", but you can take a look at the leaked document in our gallery below. %Gallery-120277% [Thanks, anonymous tipster]
World Backup Day reminds you to backup your world, today
It's a bit less silly than the National Day of Unplugging, but unless your weekend starts on Thursday, there's nary a snowball's chance in Hades that you're going to skip tonight's network comedy lineup in order to do something that you can clearly put off until tomorrow. But what if, dear readers, your data doesn't make until tomorrow? What if those images from your first date vanish into the ether? What if you spend $4,598 next week in vain as a perplexed computer technician asks you if you'd ever considered backing your critical data up? For those that choose to act on World Backup Day, that future isn't one you'll have to consider, and a host of online backup services are urging you to sign up today in order to protect what's most important to you: your stash of decidedly unbecoming Facebook messages. We'd also suggest investing in a NAS or RAID setup for your home, but throwing everything into a fireproof safe four miles below Arches National Park probably isn't a bad idea, either. You know -- in case your fail-safe fails. Not that we'd ever consider fear mongering...
PSA: Notion Ink Adam can be unbricked, and here's the 80MB fix
There were tears of joy at the Notion Ink Adam launch, but also tears of shame, as owners of the long-awaited Pixel Qi tablet who downloaded the very first OTA update had their slate brutally bricked. Thankfully, the Notion Ink team appears to have issued a speedy fix, as you can download the ROM directly from the company's website and flash it the comfort of your own home. Assuming you've got a Windows or Linux PC handy, it's only an 80MB download away, and you'll find file links and a detailed set of instructions right after the break. We'll also note that this gives the hacker community an intriguing opportunity to peek through the Adam's code -- if you find anything interesting, be sure to let us know!
