6 10 14 Email Extravaganza.

Dear Classmates,

Special treat:

Bob Brown will demonstrate LibreOffice

 

LibreOffice is a powerful office suite; its clean interface and
powerful tools let you unleash your creativity and increase your productivity.
LibreOffice embeds several applications that make it the most powerful Free
& Open Source Office suite on the market: Writer, the
word processor, Calc, the spreadsheet
application, Impress, the presentation engine, Draw, our
drawing and flowcharting application, Base, our
database and database frontend, and Math for
editing mathematics.

=====================

 

Our
Windows 7 & 8.1 workshop will meet Tuesday June 10 at 7 pm.

You will be amazed at what your email program can do.

We will demonstrate Windows Live Mail,  your email program may be similar:

 

 HOW TO: 
 

1.
Automatically check for messages.

2.
Change the font and size used in reading messages.

3.
Change the font and size sending
messages.

4. Add
preset Signatures to your emails.

5.
Automatically Spell Checking your emails.

6. Click on
Read Receipt and get an email when the person you sent an email opens it.

7. Insert a
photo into your email.

8. Add
Contacts and put them in alphabetical order.

9. Put
several email addresses in a folder so you may click on the folder and your
whole group will receive an email.

10.
Save your email addresses to a CD or Thumb Drive.

11.
Copy a photo from an email or web site

12. Use
the Snipping Tool to send an email by Gene Wheeler

13. Resize
a photo.

14. How
to setup the Calendar.

15. Review
of the latest changes to Windows 8.1  

Kindest regards,

      

Joe Isaac                            

================================================================ 

 

WINDOWS LIVE MAIL

 ==========================================

 

WINDOWS LIVE MAIL CALENDAR

-------------------------------------

 

Microsoft paid $8.5 billion for Skype.

Google
paid $1.5 billion for YouTube.

----------------------------------------

 

Q:
My Desktop Icons have disappeared.

A:
RIGHT click the Desktop, click on View, click on Show desktop icons.

----------------------------------------

 What's different between Outlook.com and Outlook?

Outlook.com is free web-based personal email service that helps you
share, organize, and stay up to date like never before.

You
can sign in to your Outlook.com email from your browser.

Microsoft Outlook desktop app is part of the Office suite.
It's the world’s most popular app for reading email, managing a calendar, and
connecting to people. It works with both your personal email and your work
email.

=====================

 

Windows Live Mail is a free email app that helps you manage
multiple email addresses, calendar info, and contacts.

 

How to configure Windows Live Mail:

http://www.yoingco.com/windows_live_mail_settings_windows_7.htm
 

----------------------------------------

 

Q.
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2014 

Guess
what!!  The last time I checked my computer—several days ago, “SkyDrive”
still showed up in File Explorer.  When I checked it this morning, I found
that “OneDrive” appears there now.  Also, Joe, the power options and
search icons now appear on my Start screen/tiles.  So doesn’t that mean
that the 8.1 update HAS installed on my computer? 

 

A.
Yes, but to double check, go to Control Panel, Windows update and check for
updates. The Windows 8.1 update was over 800 MB by itself.

 

Thank
you for last night’s presentations.  I always learn something, but last
night I learned a lot.  Thanks
for the comment, it makes my day. I really try hard.

 

Response;  

Once
again, you have saved me!!  As you suggested, I went to Control Panel,
Windows Update, and checked for updates.  It said that my system was set
up to install updates automatically and that I had four optional updates
available to download and install, one of which was the
8.1 update.  I installed all four.  Now I have only one
optional update listed as available—Silverlight, which I do not plan to
install. 

Thanks!!

--------------------------------

 

Take a screenshot of the entire screen in Windows 8.1

Press
Windows Key + Print Screen

--------------------------------

 

========================================

========================================

========================================

How To Follow My Blog & Mason Sees His First Horse

Since I switched to my new blog format a few days ago I’ve had several requests asking me “how do I find, follow or access your new blog”?  The answer is pretty much the same as how you accessed my old blog.  By that I mean if you have a ‘Blogs I Follow’ gadget on your sidebar and it still shows Rick & Paulette’s RV Travels then you’ll want to delete that entry and add a new one for Rick’s Bits ‘n Bytes, Pics and News. The instructions for this are below under Point #1.

If you don’t have a “Blogs I Follow’ Gadget on your sidebar then you can choose to follow my blog using the Reader List on your Blogger Dashboard.  The instructions on how to do this are below under Point #2.  Using either method will result in any blog I publish showing up either on your sidebar or on your Blogger Dashboard.

1.  Add Rick’s Bits & Bytes, Pics and News to Blogs I Follow Sidebar Gadget 

If you have the Blogs I Follow gadget on your sidebar then you can add my new blog by going to Settings > Layout to display the image below:

Image 1.

Look for the gadget Blogs I Follow and click ‘Edit’ as shown in image 1 above.

Image 2.

Scroll down and click on Add to List as shown in image 2 above.

Image 3.

1. In the Add by URL box enter:  http://bitsnbytespicsnews.blogspot.ca/
2. Click on Add
3. Click on Save

My new blog will be added to your sidebar and will show whenever I publish a new post.  You may want to consider removing my old blog Rick & Paulette’s RV Travels as well as I won’t be adding any new posts to it.

2.  Add Rick’s Bits & Bytes, Pics and News to the Dashboard’s Google Reader

1. Open your Blogger Dashboard and look for the ‘Add’ tab below the Reading list
2. Click on ‘Add’ to bring up the following pop-up window:

1. In the Add from URL box enter:  http://bitsnbytespicsnews.blogspot.ca/
2. Click on Follow

All new posts of my blog will now show up on your Dashboard Reading list.

Mason sees a real, live horse up-close for the first time

The Victoria Day long weekend in Canada always features lots of local events like fairs, parades and fireworks.  In Victoria, Carrie took Mason to his very first Country Fair and judging by the photos she sent me our little man had a great time.  Mason even got to meet his very first horse.  To top that off, his Mom won him a stuffed blue bear at one of those usually rip-off carnival tents.  Carrie had to throw 3 dull darts and pop 3 balloons to win the bear.  She took dead aim and did it.

Our little man’s dart-throwing Mom won Mason his own little blue horse

Carrie was undoubtedly excited to win a little stuffed blue horse for Mason and as soon as she got home she posted this message on Facebook:

Just back from Luxton Fair, mason saw his first horse and mommy won him a stuffed horse.. It was high pressure, could I possibly hit 3 balloons with a dull dart?? I had to contemplate this but then I remembered well if I can throw a block of cheese across the living room and hit my ex-boyfriend square in the eye.. Then yah I got this!! Pop, pop, pop!!! Ohhhh yah!!

That’s my girl!  Way to go Carrie!

Carrie told us that Mason loved the fair and was completely mesmerized by all the colors, music, people, rides and especially his visit with the horse.  It won’t be long I’ll bet before he’s wanting to go on some of those rides himself.  The Bumblebee ride he’s watching in two of the above pics looks safe enough even for his Grandpa to go on with him!

A day at the fair can sure make a little guy tired – time for a nap!

I’m planning on taking a forced day off from blogging tomorrow so as not to get caught up in my old daily blogging cycle.  I’m finding it’s a very hard habit to break after 5 years.

Thanks for visiting!

Victoria Day – My Thoughts On The Monarchy

Victoria Day is a Canadian statutory holiday in every province and territory with the exception of the Province of Quebec where it’s celebrated as National Patriot’s Day. Victoria Day is named in honor of Queen Victoria’s Birthday while National Patriot’s Day in Quebec is named to honor the rebellion against the British in 1837.  That is quite a difference, eh?

Fleur de Lis – The Provincial Flag of Quebec – first Provincial Flag in Canada
Looking at these glaring differences I think professional counselors might ask something like “do I sense some conflict here”?; For sure the conflict between Quebec and Britain has endured ever since 1534 when Jacques Cartier planted a cross in the Gaspé Peninsula and claimed the land for France.  I’ll leave that topic for another day and instead offer my views on Canada and the monarchy.

Now all Provinces and Territories have their own flags since Quebec in 1948.

I’m not, nor have I ever been, a supporter of the idea that Canada needs a British monarch – or any monarch for that matter. So, in short, I side with Quebec on this Statutory Holiday weekend and would prefer something like a Patriot’s Day instead of Victoria Day. I’ve never liked the idea of a modern, multicultural, vibrant country like Canada having a foreign king or queen as its head of state even if it’s only a ceremonial duty as is the case now.

This isn’t a new position for me.  I can still remember not wanting to sing “God Save the Queen” when I was in elementary school. This feeling persisted as I grew older. At 18, I got a job with the Province of BC and was required to take an ‘Oath of Allegiance to the Queen’.  I hated the idea and still remember standing in the back row, raising my right hand and remaining silent. I must have received a subliminal message from my grandfather, dad and uncles who were of Irish descent.

Is my view of the monarchy just a minority one in Canada? I don’t think so. Most polls, including one by Angus Reid last year put support for Canada continuing with the tradition of a monarchy at 33%. Half of those polled agreed that the monarchy was just a “relic of our colonial past that has no place in Canada today.” I agree 100% with that assessment.

1982 – Patriation and adoption of the Canadian Constitution from Britain

A huge step towards complete and total separation from Britain became a reality when PM Pierre Elliot Trudeau moved to patriate the Canadian Constitution. The signing of the proclamation on April 17, 1982, was accompanied by The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and an amending formula with no role for the monarchy or Great Britain. Well, that only took a little over 100 years!

The Environics Institute has tracked Canadian attitudes on many topics for over 30 years. Last year, asked to identify Canada’s most important symbol, respondents chose a long list with our Universal Health Care System at the top and the monarchy at the bottom!  That order hasn’t changed in the last decade. Yes, it’s true, our Universal Health Care System outranks our flag as the most important symbol of Canada.

Given the apathy about the monarchy, why do we still have it?  It seems to be most Canadians simply can’t be bothered to get into a long, drawn out fight over abolishing the monarchy when we have much more serious problems to solve. I’m betting that only 10% of Canadians care passionately about it one way or the other. As for me, I’d like to see the monarchy abolished but I’m not about to go the barricades over it. To me, the British royals are simply the 1% of the 1% and no more, no less.

The monarchy in today’s Canada has been pretty much reduced to little more than a modern day soap opera or in today’s narrative “a reality TV show”. The current crop of royals, for the most part, seem ok and I do like Prince Harry as he seems to be quite normal and a fun guy. The same can’t be said for his overly dour Grandmother, the Queen, or her stodgy prodigy Charles.

If we Canadians could ever get enthused enough to abolish all ties to the Monarchy it could be done in about 2 years.  There would have to be a national referendum on the question as the first step. There’s nothing Britain could do about it.  We are a free, sovereign nation and all it takes is the will to do it.  The trouble is I, for one, just can’t be bothered!

Thanks for visiting!

New Blog Challenge And My Photography Evolution

I had almost forgotten how much of a challenge it is to either start a new blog right from scratch or, as in my case, to simply “switch horses in midstream” by changing to a new blog while wishing to maintain all of my loyal readers.  I appreciate your understanding as I work through this process. You may have noticed that I have published 2 Auto-Redirect Posts to my old Rick and Paulette’s RV Travels that ended up on your sidebars if you happen to follow my blog.  That’s now ended.

Originally, I had planned to publish 5 Redirect posts but yesterday I decided that was pretty annoying.  Instead, I’ve scrapped my idea of keeping the Archive of my old blog and replaced it with my full original Rick & Paulette’s RV Travels blog including a full search capability. Instead of the Redirect I’ve put a notice banner at the top with a link to my new blog.  What I thought was a clever idea at first turned out to be not so clever.  I made one final post to my old blog to clarify all this.

My first 35mm Single Lens Reflex camera – Pentax Spotmatic - 1964

Long before I ever became interested in computers I was a photography buff.  I remember owning a series of small Kodak cameras along with a few other popular brands but it wasn’t until 1964 when I got my first computer job that I was able to afford the camera of my dreams – a Pentax Spotmatic 35mm SLR.  The Spotmatic was one of the first SLRs on the market to offer a through-the-lens (TTL) exposure metering system. Since 1964 I’ve owned at least 2 more Pentax SLR’s.

My last 35mm SLR camera – Pentax Program Plus - 1988

The last Pentax 35mm camera I bought was a Pentax Program Plus and I still have that camera today even though I haven’t used it in at least 15 years.  I think I bought this one in the late 80’s and I took thousands of photos with it over the years.  It’s a heavy, bulky camera and having to lug around a huge telephoto lens made it that much harder.  But, that’s all there was in those days as high-quality and inexpensive digital cameras were not an option.

My first digital camera – Kodak DC20 with a .2 MP sensor - 1996

It wasn’t until 1996 that I got my hands on a Digital Camera and what a revolutionary idea that was. No more waiting for expensive film processing as my photos were available immediately.  Better yet, even if they weren’t all that great I could enhance my pictures with Kodak’s photo-editing software.  On the downside,the first Kodak DC20 only had a .2 MP sensor which was rather pitiful in comparison to today’s digital cameras which boast 16MP sensors and higher.

My current camera – Canon Powershot G15

Once I got some experience with digital cameras though I knew I’d never use film again. Even though the quality wasn’t great with the first digitals it was improving at lightning speed and not being restricted to just 24 or 36 pictures on a roll of 35mm film was a godsend. Since my first digital camera I’ve owned a Kodak DC4800, a few Nikon models and now I’ve kind of settled on the Canon G series.  After buying a Canon G10 and loving the quality and features of it I upgraded to a G15 last year.

Here are a few pics from our Saturday hike alongside the Cowichan River

For the purposes of blog photography I’ve long believed that it makes no difference whether you use one of today’s excellent point-and-shoot digital cameras or a big, bulky, expensive DSLR. In blind comparison tests even pro photographers are not able to determine whether a digital DSLR or a point-and-shoot camera took a photo. The main reason for this is the fact that the quality of a photo shown on a computer display is totally dependent on the characteristics of that display.

Good photos are the result of subject matter and composition not the camera being used. An amateur can foul-up pics with the best Canon DSLR while a pro can take a real beauty using a Panasonic Lumix. Unless you happen to be a professional then I’m guessing that like me you take pictures for fun and enjoyment whether the shots are of grandchildren or the Grand Canyon. All of today’s digital point-and-shoots deliver excellent photos while set on “Auto’ so it’s pretty easy..

There are a wild variety of excellent, affordable digital cameras available today.  In fact, it’s a rather dizzying number which makes deciding what to buy difficult. Over the next few weeks I’m going to be looking at various digital photo sites to see how they rate this year’s crop of cameras.  I’ll make those results available on my blog as soon as I’ve finished those reviews.

Thanks for visiting.

Fun With My New Template And A Windows 8.1 Tip

Thanks to everyone who commented on my new blog yesterday, I really appreciate all your support.  I did slap the initial template together pretty fast on Thursday night and I wasn’t completely happy with it but I figured it would be a pretty simple thing to fix on Friday morning.  Wrong!  I made a wrong turn somewhere on the techie trail and botched things up pretty good for a while. Thankfully, I was able to sort things out before noon to come up with the final template you see now.

For the past few days as I’ve been busy with putting my new blog together and deciding what I want to do with it I’ve been neglecting my usual daily blog reading and commenting.  I promise I’ll catch up with you all over this weekend now that I feel I’ve got things pretty much on an even keel (I hope)!

Image 1. Sign into Windows 8.1 with a 4 Digit Pin # instead of a password

One of the things I found rather annoying when I first switched over to Windows 8 and 8.1 was the requirement to enter my Microsoft Password every time I signed out of Windows or restarted my computer. I had a rather complex password just to make sure it was secure as it was my entry point to all things Microsoft. The combination of letters, symbols and numbers all meant that it would sometimes take me 3 tries just to get signed in.  Instead of that little test, now I simply use a 4 digit Pin #.

Image 2. Click on Accounts

To change to a Pin # instead of a password is dead simple.  Just move your cursor to the bottom right-hand corner of your screen to bring up the Charm Bar and click on the Settings icon (looks like a gear).  Next, click on Change PC Settings as shown in Image 1 above – it’s in the bottom right-hand corner.  The PC Settings screen will be displayed and here just click on Accounts.

Image 3. Select ‘Sign in options’

From the Accounts screen click on Sign in options and you’ll see PIN in the right side window pane.  In Image 3 above it shows the option to ‘Change’ the PIN # because this is my screenshot and I’ve already added my PIN #.

Img. 4 Just enter a 4 digit PIN # and click OK

A 4 digit PIN # is pretty easy to remember.  It could be your street number or even your year of birth.  The nice thing about this PIN # method is it doesn’t have to be a Fort Knox type of security because it only controls access to the computer you are using.  For instance, I have the PIN # sign on for my desktop computer but not for my laptop. My laptop goes a lot of places my desktop computer never will.  So, you might want to check out this PIN sign-in as I find it’s a real timesaver.

I’m dead tired as I type this at 10:30pm Friday night. The reason I’m so tired is I had my first long baby sitting assignment with our Little Man yesterday – a full 5 hours. I volunteered even.

Mason was as good as could be but after 5 hours I was exhausted.  Totally beat. He just ran me ragged crawling from one end of the room to the other wanting to play. I took him to the park and he got more wound up.

I learned all about Pampers and how diapers are just stuck on with sticky tabs now. That was great because I always detested those nasty, dangerous safety pins.

As for feeding Mason his dinner of yams, peas and chicken he thought that was great fun and we both ended up with the blended concoction in our hair, on our face, clothes, tables and the floor. It was a total complete mess and Mason just loved it.  When Carrie came home her condo looked like a bomb had gone off but she just laughed and was glad Mason and his Grandpa “had such a good time”.  Grandpa is now off to bed for a good night’s sleep.

I’m Back - Welcome To My New ‘Bits ‘n Bytes’ Blog

The old saying “a change is as good as a rest” sure worked for me as a simple one day absence from blogland for the first time in 5 years has left me totally refreshed.  One trap I do not intend to fall into again is feeling that I have to blog every day.  I’ve come to the conclusion that not only is that just plain nuts but it’s counterproductive too.  Some days are just plain dull and I have nothing to say – so, on those days I’m going to say  “nothing”!

I took Carrie and Mason out for dinner before Poker on Wednesday

Mason still loves to pull on my beard

My new blog, Rick’s Bits ‘n Bytes, Pics and News, isn’t going to be drastically different from my old one other than I am going to severely limit talk about my daily routines like mowing the lawn or getting a haircut and other personal stuff that is not even interesting to me. Keep in mind that I’m not making any iron-clad rules here and I’ll no doubt wander off the beaten path once in a while. It may take a while for me to adjust to my own guidelines.

Pounding on the table at the restaurant – “where’s my pizza”?

By popular demand, followed up by threat of a revolt, from my friend John (RV Life on Wheels) our Little Man will definitely continue to be an important part of my blog including pics.  It was interesting and heart-warming to read all the comments left by readers on my previous post expressing the hope that somehow Mason wouldn’t be “left off my new blog”.  As for me perhaps quitting – “hey, no problemo, hasta la vista”!  I agree.  Mason rules!

This is Malware – DO NOT ‘Accept and Install’

Enough philosophizing – on with the show! A few days ago, Paulette called me upstairs to check out the above pop-up that appeared on her computer screen asking her to install a new Video Player for her Chrome browser.  It looked official but I knew right away that this was just another malware scam designed to make money because this is not how Google updates Chrome.  Beware of this as this same pop-up appears on Firefox and IE.

If you do agree to ‘Accept and Install” this update you won’t be getting a new  Video Player.  Instead, you’ll download a malicious adware program that may install unwanted programs like toolbars (Sweet-Page Toolbar, AwesomeHP Toolbar), adware (EnhanceTronic, Feven 1.8, CouponBuddy) or other forms of malware. Always be very careful what you agree to install on your computer and if in doubt then simply exit and don’t do it.

I received many requests to leave my old blog available online….

I was surprised to read in comments and emails that so many readers were hoping I would leave Rick & Paulette’s RV Travels available online rather than sending it off into deep cyberspace. I want everyone to come to this new blog so I inserted a line of code in my old blog to auto-redirect everyone to this one.  I thought that was pretty clever as the majority of my blog traffic is generated from Google Searches.  But, fear not, I have another solution.

….So….I created a full Archive of Rick and Paulette’s RV Travels

Yesterday, I created another new blog named Archive of Rick and Paulette’s RV Travels. Next, I exported my original blog posts to my computer and then imported all of them into the Archive blog.  The link to Archive of Rick and Paulette’s RV Travels will remain on this blog’s sidebar for anyone wishing to go back and have a look for any particular post or photo.  Good deal, eh?

Syria, Iraq, Russia, North Korea, and nine other nations Sen. John McCain has been eager to bomb, invade, or destabilize. 

Sen. John McCain, not deterred by the deaths of thousands of American troops in gawd-forsaken Iraq and Afghanistan, now wants to add the jungles of Nigeria to the list of countries he wants the US to attack by saying about the kidnapped Nigerian school girls "If they knew where they were, I certainly would send in U.S. troops to rescue them, in a New York minute I would, without permission of the host country.”

Have these 2 Republicans gone completely mad?

Many young Americans, it seems, literally “dodged a bullet” when Barack Obama defeated Sen. McCain in the 2008 Presidential election. The world, I’m sure, also dodged a bullet with McCain’s loss as we were all spared the lunacy of  Sarah ‘the nitwit’ Palin becoming Vice-President.

Instead of riding off into the sunset and being known rightly as a war hero, McCain is in danger of being enshrined in the Hall of Shame with the artful draft-dodger and war monger supreme Dick Cheney. These two old men need to be moved to the Smithsonian Museum with all the other dinosaurs.

5 13 14  Desktop, Taskbar, and New Stuff*   

Dear Classmates,

Special treat:

Mike Seiler will demonstrate Microsoft's OneDrive which
use to be SkyDrive.

OneDrive is now an integral part of the Windows 8.1 for users
logging in with a Microsoft account.  Mike Seiler will demonstrate how to
use OneDrive and some of the App’s that are embedded within it.

 One of the best reasons for OneDrive is to access files you upload
to OneDrive From different computers over the Internet. It also works with
Windows 7.

--------------------------------

Other demonstrations that will take place.

1. Windows 8.1 update, big improvement.

2. To upgrade your Windows Essentials 2011 to 2012 go to:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-live/essentials

This includes Windows Live Mail, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, etc..

3. Super Taskbar;  Jump
Lists and Notification Area

4. Microsoft hopes to deliver the Start menu to
Windows 8.1 users by August. This is a big deal.

5. Mouse pointer trick: Go to Control Panel, Mouse, Pointer Options and check: Automatically move pointer to the default button in a dialog
box. Works great with: Empty Recycle Bin and more.

6. Rename and reduce long icons on desktop

When Windows 8.1 Update came down the chute, Microsoft tossed in a
surprise: if you want Windows 8.1 security patches in the future, you have to
install Win8.1 Update first.

--------------------------------

For the very latest news about computing go to: http://www.ckcs.org/joetips.pdf

Kindest regards,

Joe Isaac

=======================  

Take a look at this website. 
Enter your birthday at the top of the screen, and it will tell you the newspaper
headlines on the day you were born, sports headlines for the year, popular
songs of the year, price of gas, etc.   Just
click on this website, then click on Quick Page.

http://dmarie.com/timecap/

When I got married in 1947, gas was .23₵ a gallon, stamps were 3₵,
Dow was at 181, minimum wage was 40₵ an hour.

=======================  

376
DUMMIES.COM HOW-TO VIDEOS From calculus to home repair, how-to videos show you
how to get things done quickly, easily, and accurately.

http://www.dummies.com/search.html?filter=VIDEO&cid=dn_promo_videos

====================

SENIOR
HEALTH:     http://nihseniorhealth.gov/

----------------------------------------

From Myra
Engle:

The Civil
War, Part 1: The Places:  Many great
historical photos

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/02/the-civil-war-part-1-the-places/100241/

----------------------------------------

Windows
operating systems are supported as follows:

Windows XP
   until 
  April 8, 2014

Windows
Vista until April 11, 2017

Windows 7
until  January 14, 2020

Windows 8
until  January 10, 2023

--------------------------------

Q. Sent:
Monday, April 21, 2014 

Subject: Question
about Windows 8

Hi, Joe,

Is there
a recycle bin on Windows 8?  If so, what is it called?  I've
accidentally deleted a file and it's an important one.  Not sure what to
do now, except panic.  Thanks for any help!

A. RIGHT CLICK on the Desktop, left click on Personalize, in the
upper left hand corner click on Change desktop icons, then put a check mark in Recycle Bin, then OK.

Response: Like a charm.  You are just too
wonderful for words!  Thanks, Joe (again!!!).

--------------------------------

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