Brad's Impulse Launch Review

Tuesday, June 17, 2008 by Frogboy | Discussion: Personal Computing

Impulse is the greatest thing since sliced bread...yada yada yada.

But how good is it really? Ultimately, only you will be able to decide.  What I'm going to do here is give my personal opinion on how Impulse stands on the eve of its launch.

The Comparisons

Let's just get this out of the way, Impulse is not Steam or Direct2Drive or Xfire or whatever.  It's has a very different design philosophy.  So let me just say this: You would have to pry Steam out of my cold dead hands.  You should judge Impulse as how well it addresses your problems.

First Impressions

image

So I double click on the Impulse icon.  How fast does it load?  On my ThinkPad T60 it's about 5 seconds but YMMV.  In its phase 2 edition (August) I think we need to make it more multithreaded so that when you launch it, it comes up like a window. I.e. instantly.  But it is pretty snappy (a lot faster for me than the betas were).

My next question would be, how much RAM is this thing using?

image

On load up, about 15 megabytes which is pretty good given that Internet Explorer uses 84 megabytes! 

The Store

From a digital e-commerce point of view, the million dollar question is, how good is the selection in the Impulse store?  With Steam or Direct2Drive, I can get a gazillion different games.  So what about Impulse? The answer depends on what you're looking for. 

The first week of the Impulse launch will be spent handling the logistics of getting hundreds of gigabytes of games, utilities, and applications up on the servers. So what is available at say 1pm on the day of the launch will be different from what is available at 5pm of the same day with each day adding more and more stuff.

imageBut by Christmas, I suspect it won't be selection that makes one choose one digital store over another but rather the features and services that these things provide.  Impulse, for instance, supports refunds for users having technical issues. That's a pretty big deal IMO. As far as I know, that will be unique to Impulse.

Community Features

So that we're all on the same page, Impulse isn't just a download manager ala Stardock Central.  It is a full blown digital distribution platform.  The platform comes in the form of Impulse Reactor which is a server-side virtual API set for developers.

A developer could, for instance, using the free Impulse Reactor SDK (which will be launched in mid August) type into their game: CVP.SaveGame() and save their game to the player's virtual drive.  Or CVP.LoadPreferences() to get a game's preferences.

The first game to make use of the Common Virtual Platform will be The Political Machine.  Unfortunately, The Political Machine v1.1 wasn't ready by the Impulse launch so we had to hide the "Games" button from the community area for multiplayer match making.  As soon as it's ready, the button will come back and players will be able to find games either there or within The Political Machine itself.  Other games that will be using it include Sins of a Solar Empire, Galactic Civilizations II v2.0, and Demigod.  We are also working with a number of third party developers to begin using this.

Blogging

I am very biased in favor of non-website whenever possible. I just find website stuff slow. 

The blogging and forum behavior on Impulse is pretty fast but I'd like to see it much faster.  As in, instantaneous.

I think in the coming weeks you'll see a lot of improvements to performance across the whole thing as the initial launch was largely about just getting stuff in there.

My Friends

image The friends stuff is a pretty big deal for me as both a user and as a gamer.  It's only in its beginning stages really.  Eventually, you'll be able to easily get games going and filter by friends or friends of friends to help improve the multiplayer experience.

When I play on-line, my biggest gripe is the griefing and such I run into.  I'm 36 years old, I just don't have time to waste in a multiplayer game with some 15 year old whose out to "max their ranking".

Features that didn't make to the launch that make me sad

There are 3 big features that had to be put into phase 2 (August) that make me sad. The Impulse side was done but we just didn't have enough time on the game side to make use of them yet.

Those are:

  1. Multiplayer Matchmaking.  People could start and join games right from Impulse.
  2. Achievements.
  3. Game Rankings.

They'll get in there, we just have to update The Political Machine and other games to make use of them so that we can show off what's possible to game developers.

The same is true for NAT negotiation and such.  One of the biggest pains in the butt on the PC is getting ports and firewalls set up right for a game. In Impulse phase 3, the Impulse back end will be set up to act as a kind of back-up for games that use our platform.  So a user could connect to another user without knowing anything about routers and what not.  We're hoping Demigod will be the first game to make use of this.

Getting Updates

image So right now, there's a tab called "Updates" that shows up if there are updates to ones programs.  I'd like to see an option put in asap that simply has Impulse download these updates automatically.

My other request is that when downloading updates, I want to see my actual bandwidth speed. I realize this is cosmetic but somewhere, techies should be able to get some idea of how fast their connections are.

Getting to my stuff

imageImpulse lets users add new categories to  their applications and move things around via the dock (we'll talk about that more soon).

If there's an update, an exclamation point shows up next to it.

What's not in the launch version are forums for every application or a chat channel. Eventually everything will get its own forum and chat channel.

Registering your stuff

image Users can associate various programs with their account.  Right now, the only commercial programs that you can associate with your account are Stardock ones and programs you bought from Impulse. But the next step is to let you be able to associate any program with your account regardless of where you purchased it.

This way, when are setting up a new machine, you can just let Impulse download and install all your stuff (freeware, shareware, games, whatever).

Preferences

image Clicking on the orb in the top left opens up additional options.  You can set up where things install on a per category basis:

image

The Dock

Impulse is designed to customizeable.  The initial launch doesn't have the skinning selection features in. That's coming "real soon now(TM)". But you can add and edit your own categories:

image 
Extending Impulse

When you press the minimize to dock, Impulse launches the dock:

image
Impulse Dock

The dock displays the same content as the Impulse client. By default, it is set to auto-hide so it will hide to the taskbar edge with the user able to bring it up by moving their mouse to the bottom edge of the screen.

The dock is pretty powerful and yet light weight.

We plan to release later on an Impulse Tray applet that users can optionally use to stay in touch with friends, posts, updates, etc.  It will not be part of Impulse itself as it will be designed to be as tiny as possible. 

So what's next?

I think most people will find Impulse pretty compelling. Initially, its game content is not on par with Steam or Direct2Drive but that should change over time.  Obviously on the non-game software side, it enjoys a tremendous advantage. 

Impulse itself is pretty snappy but I found the forums and blog services be a bit on the slow side. This will be something Stardock will need to improve.

Download speeds of new programs, by contrast are fast. Faster than anything I've ever used anywhere.

The customization features, while decent, could be a lot better. I.e. I'd like to be able to select from a list of skins.  Stardock's the leader in this area so it's something that it will be adding and supporting through its skinning site, WinCustomize.com.

It will be important that Impulse show off the features of Impulse Reactor as quickly as possible.  Getting the Multiplayer matchmaking in should be up by the end of the month.  Achievements, rankings, etc. are all going to be crucial as well.

I'd like to be able to filter out programs that are available but not installed. I'm an extreme case since I have a ton of things linked to my account but still.

I think people will be pleasantly surprised at how fast and memory efficient the overall program is.  Given how pretty it is, on might expect it to be slow and a memory hog but even in its first release, it's really snappy.

First Previous Page 3 of 7 Next Last
PuterDudeJim
Reply #41 Tuesday, June 17, 2008 10:42 PM
To follow this line of thinking:My car has 4 doors,I only use 1,therefore it's bloated by those extra 3 doors.It's also painted,all it needs to prevent rust is primer.I only use "D" and "R" on the shifter,more bloat.The rear windows that go up and down,useless to me.It has the name/logo on the trunk,floor-mats,grill,hubcaps,dashboard,etc.ADWARE!!! Why can't they make a decent one door sedan,4-windowed,2 speed,plain and unmarked for me?


You missed your calling. that is not only on the money, but hilarious to boot! I am rolling on the floor!!!   
Mumblefratz
Reply #42 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 12:16 AM
I think your stance on SDC is somewhat flawed. Nothing is stopping you from installing, updating what you will, then uninstalling. Repeat at whatever interval you feel necessary

I have done this. The interesting thing is that when you uninstall SDC it conveniently deletes all of your serial numbers out of your registry. The result of this is that I was unable to submit a game to the metaverse that I had spent 6 weeks playing. Plus of course the additional time it took me to debug the issue. Somewhat annoying.

The problem is that the uninstall process is never as well tested as the install and usually all sorts of dangling keys are left in your registry.

The issue is that I have no interest in installing Impulse and spending time learning it's features and I have even less interest in spending my time debugging the unintended side effects of uninstalling Impulse.

I have no problem. As I said I prefer to forgo updates rather than be forced to install a piece of software that I simply don't want on my machine. That is certainly a legitimate choice on my part.
Mythor
Reply #43 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 12:53 AM

If you do poke the developermonkeys into adding auto-updates, please make sure there's a corresponding option in the Preferences to disable it if people want, or do as SDC has always done and pop up a window on load, tell us X, Y and Z have updates, do you want them?

I'd probably leave the autoupdating on, to be honest, but it's very frustrating to have the choice taken out of your hands.

drank
Reply #44 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 1:38 AM

As a paying customer of every game Stardock has released in the last 5 years, did I ask for any of this? I thought Stardock Central was overkill. I could care less about blogs, docks, skins, friends or the rest of it. I just want to update my freakin' games, not install some massive app that tries to do a bunch of stuff I don't need.

Quite honestly, I was thinking about buying Political Machine. But then I went to your website, saw that I'd need this Impulse thing, clicked through to this article, read about a whole lot of stuff that doesn't interest me, and decided that maybe I should hold off on that new game! Who needs the hassle?

If I want to buy a game from you and play it, how are you benefiting by putting annoying obstacles in my path?

ZubaZ
Reply #45 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 8:30 AM
Quite honestly, I was thinking about buying Political Machine. But then I went to your website, saw that I'd need this Impulse thing, clicked through to this article, read about a whole lot of stuff that doesn't interest me, and decided that maybe I should hold off on that new game!
YOu should be able to buy it at retail by the end of the week.  For updates, you'll need Impulse though.
ZJBDragon
Reply #46 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 10:22 AM
drank
Quite honestly, I was thinking about buying Political Machine. But then I went to your website, saw that I'd need this Impulse thing, clicked through to this article, read about a whole lot of stuff that doesn't interest me, and decided that maybe I should hold off on that new game!
Zubaz
YOu should be able to buy it at retail by the end of the week. For updates, you'll need Impulse though.
Yeah, I saw that there's a box version on the way in another thread, so, drank, check your local stores soon.

However, Impulse appears, to me, as tag-along invasive software no different from the Google, Yahoo, and MSN toolbars that sometimes install themselves with other software without giving you the option to prevent the installation. iTunes is another great example of tag-along invasive software. On Firefox 3, the new 'smart address bar' is something else I consider tag-along and invasive. I don't want that. I spent an hour getting rid of it and fully restoring the older bar. Yes, it's great to be able to play and download games without dealing with DRM, but it seems you get everything plus the kitchen sink along with Impulse. It's like you're stuck driving around in an RV (recreational vehicle -- motor home) when all you really need is a small car or SUV. It would be nice if there were a slimmed down Steam-like version without the extra community and utility bloat. I just want to update games and perhaps consider purchasing some that won't make it into boxed copies.

Even though I have this stance and agree with Mumble on almost all points, there's no point in launching a tirade against Impulse because, if I were managing Stardock, I'd do the exact same thing -- it makes perfect business and strategic sense especially while barriers to entry into digital distribution and communities are low. I don't see the utility of this stuff, but driving traffic and customers to your assets is always good business.

However, I see that Epic Games has teamed up on Stardock's Impulse thing -- absolutely terrible considering how bad that company is. That company is on its way down the crapper due to abusing, banning, deceiving, and mistreating its customers, not '40+ million pirated copies'. Frogboy/Stardock, it's rather disturbing that you've teamed up with Epic Games at all given their anti-PC stance. You need to rethink this partnership and/or drop it lest you get associated with everything from comments about the PC being in 'disarray' to company leaders not knowing why they made a game for PC. I will not even remotely support Epic Games and their endeavors after what happened at the start of this year. Chris Taylor wasn't sitting on his company's forums banning customers left and right, but Jeff Morris and his cronies have actively been doing so even to people who give bug reports and debugging output. Teaming up with Epic Games will be a serious problem for you.
Wizard1956
Reply #47 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 10:48 AM
As I said I prefer to forgo updates rather than be forced to install a piece of software that I simply don't want on my machine.


I don't know it's possible to install Impulse on a usb drive, at least in a limited sense,but that would seem like a viable alternative.Plus,it would make it portable.Maybe in some future incarnation?
kryo
Reply #48 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 10:57 AM
However, Impulse appears, to me, as tag-along invasive software no different


Impulse doesn't "invade" anything. The dock and such are there so that people are more likely to want to use it, but if that's not your taste, simply turn the dock off and only run Impulse when you need to download something. It loads to the tab you left it on last, so if you don't want to see the community or store stuff, you won't need to after the first time you start it.
Mumblefratz
Reply #49 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 12:36 PM
Impulse doesn't "invade" anything.

I believe this to be true. In my case I just don't want extra stuff that I don't need and don't want.

Merely not looking at it isn't enough because I'll still know it's there and it will annoy me by it's mere presence.

I felt the same about SDC and Impulse has even more "bells and whistles" than SDC. All in all even I must admit that SDC did uninstall itself fairly cleanly. At least except for the part about deleting your game serial numbers without notice so that you spend weeks playing an unsubmitable game.

Last month in Brad's life philosophy, for what it's worth, Brad posted the following words.

My personal and professional objectives have always been the same: I want to do what I want to do.

That is my top priority. Freedom.

As per everything else in this country freedom applies only to the rich and powerful.

My freedom is to basically like it or lump it. How free is that?
MarkMcQ
Reply #50 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 12:49 PM
As per everything else in this country freedom applies only to the rich and powerful.My freedom is to basically like it or lump it. How free is that?


You're free to not use the program. You're free to code your own.
Don't really see what your issue is. Personally I don't use any of the bells and whistles in Impulse. I fire it up, go to the updates tab, download the updates, close Impulse, done.
Mumblefratz
Reply #51 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 1:01 PM
You're free to not use the program. You're free to code your own.

That's precisely what like it or lump it means. As I've said I will in fact vote with my feet and merely not use the program and thereby forgo updates.

The only reason I respond here at all is because Impulse is being promulgated as the best thing since sliced bread (the opening statement of the OP in point of fact) and I merely wish to add my opinion that I disagree to what otherwise is basically an Impulse love fest.

Consider this a minority opinion that you're perfectly free to ignore but I am still perfectly free to express or at least I don't think the First Amendment has been repealed quite yet. I don’t deny you the right to your opinion, why do you wish to deny me the right to express mine?
ZubaZ
Reply #52 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 2:06 PM
Consider this a minority opinion that you're perfectly free to ignore but I am still perfectly free to express or at least I don't think the First Amendment has been repealed quite yet. I don’t deny you the right to your opinion, why do you wish to deny me the right to express mine?
I don't think the first amendment applies on a privately owned server but you are welcome to your opinion.
Gambler
Reply #53 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 2:27 PM

I'd like to say that your (plural) replies to Mumblefratz aren't really fair

First, saying "our target audience is people who like our software, so if you don't like it, then we don't care about you" is not a valid (albeit commonly used) reply at all. Target audience is for authors to consider while they develop their product. It's not a valid classification of actual end users.

Second, the things that are lost when moving from downloadable patches to some kind of "distribution platform" should not be so easily ignored. For example, I like to play relatively old games. Recently I bought a copy of Thief 2. If it was tied into some distribution system, it would probably be either unplayable, or unpatchable. In some cases the latter implies the former, since initial releases of many games are not really playable.

Essentially, what many distribution and update systems do is to make the game a kind of temporary service rather than a thing you buy. Now, the law treats software as a licensed service, but that's because the law is disconnected from reality. When I buy a game I think about it exactly the same way I think about buying a book. So far nobody managed to show me that this mode of thinking is somehow wrong, and I saw plenty of examples that the alternatives are flawed.

Third, what would happen if every publisher tried to push their distribution system with every game they sell? Just think about it.

...

My primary concern is as follows: after I bough the game and downloaded the patches through Impulse, what would happen if I have to resinatall the OS? With standalone patches, I could back them up, reinstall the system, reinstall the game, and apply the patches, without ever connecting to the Internet. I don't like the idea of the game being forever tied to some online service, since their lifespans are incomparable.

...

You're free to not use the program. You're free to code your own.

Translation: I don't like what you said, so shut up. That's not a valid reply either. You're not addressing the criticism,  just telling people what to do.

ZubaZ
Reply #54 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 2:55 PM
My primary concern is as follows: after I bough the game and downloaded the patches through Impulse, what would happen if I have to resinatall the OS? With standalone patches, I could back them up, reinstall the system, reinstall the game, and apply the patches, without ever connecting to the Internet. I don't like the idea of the game being forever tied to some online service, since their lifespans are incomparable.
Impulse (and Stardock Central before it) supports archiving your apps (with patches and running anywhere you want without internet connections.
You're free to not use the program. You're free to code your own.

Translation: I don't like what you said, so shut up. That's not a valid reply either. You're not addressing the criticism, just telling people what to do.
That comment, in context, is about freedom (freedom based on class even [and a bit of research would indicate that Brad's "class" came from hard work]) and is an accurate acknowledgment of options.  The criticism is that the user doesn't like something . . OK.  Fair enough.  Tough.  If you like the product you use the service.  Don't like this service? Find another (like retail without patches) or do without.
Mumblefratz
Reply #55 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 2:59 PM
I don't think the first amendment applies on a privately owned server but you are welcome to your opinion.

That is indeed correct but Brad has in the past shown a fair amount of reverence for the principle and as we all know and understand Brad is King of Stardock and these forums.

"It's good to be King". I think it was Mel Brooks that said this but that makes it no less true. I do understand that I walk a fine line subject to his tolerance but to the best of my knowledge I have been both respectful and civil.

I'd like to say that your (plural) replies to Mumblefratz aren't really fair

Thanks.

I'm really trying to get across a very simple concept.

I love GalCiv2.

I would like to receive GalCiv2 updates.

I dislike Impulse.

All of the above are personal opinions with which people are free to disagree but no one can deny are legitimate ones to have.

Since I must make a choice between receiving GalCiv2 updates and using Impulse I will forgo GalCiv2 updates. However, I'm not required to be happy about it and I do believe I have the right to express this unhappiness as long as it's done in a respectful and civil manner subject to the whim of the owner of this privately owned site.

Most objections to my simple expression of my opinion have been basically to deny that my opinion is a reasonable one to hold. I maintain that argument is itself an unreasonable argument.

I object to installing apps I don't want. I take great care to only install things I both use and want. Uninstall does not restore the system to its original state. Any services installed cannot be uninstalled. Any installed services can be disabled but usually aren't by the uninstall process. The uninstall process usually leaves dangling registry keys. Over time your registry becomes an unknowable mess. Basically this is why I object to installing things that I don't want.

You may say, SDC/Impulse doesn't do any of this, but how do I know it doesn't. Why should I take my time and effort installing and having to understand an app that I simply don't want on my PC.

You cannot say that my opinion is invalid. I came by my predilections honestly. I keep a very clean PC. I have a pretty good knowledge and understanding of everything on my PC. That's the way I insist upon it. You can disagree with my opinion and hold any counter opinion that you wish however you cannot say that I am wrong simply to hold the opinion that I do.

I'm merely a voice crying in the wilderness knowing full well nothing will change because of it. I merely express it so that people will realize that the acceptance of Impulse is not universal. Those that criticize me for merely holding a contrary opinion somehow seem threatened by this lack of universal acceptance. I don't quite understand how the simple expression of an isolated contrary opinion seems so threatening.
Mumblefratz
Reply #56 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 3:07 PM
If you like the product you use the service. Don't like this service? Find another (like retail without patches) or do without.

There is a third legitimate option.

Use the product, forgo the service and respectfully complain to those in charge about having to forgo the service. This is at least what I've been trying to do.

The problem has been that at every turn I've been either ridiculed or basically told that the opinion is not a valid opinion to have.

I acknowledge that Impulse is and will be the update mechanisim for GalCiv2 updates and the only choice I have is to use it or go without updates. I'm fine with that.

What I'm not fine with is to essentially be told that my opinion is wrong and I should just shut up.
Frogboy
Reply #57 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 3:36 PM

There is a good discussion going here and it pains me to see people flaming dissenters.  I don't want our forums to be an environment where only advocates feel welcome.  If people can't voice their disagreements and concerns without fear of retribution, we'll lose a very valuable resource.

That said, the PC needs a platform like this. It needs it badly. And if it isn't made by Stardock, it'll be made by someone else.  And I suspect other alternatives won't be as open as Impulse is.

A combination of unresistable factors are forcing companies to build or use platforms like this. Support costs. Piracy. Cost of development.

The belief that the long term option is something like Impulse or some minimalistic installer is a false belief. It's not going to work out that way any more than people who didn't like GUIs when they were first coming online ever had a realistic option of living totally by the DOS command prompt.

If it's not Stardock it'll be digital river, or Amazon, or EA, or Steam, or someone else. The question is only a matter of which platform do you think is the most acceptable.

The industry has seen how well these things work on consoles. So it's not a matter of if. It's when.

That was one of my motivations for us making Impulse.  I know there's plenty of minimalists out there but I also know that we have the capability to make a truly great digital platform that is minimally invasive and works in an open way so that developers aren't tied into us.

So while I appreciate the feedback, this is the direction we've chosen to go.  We think it's the direction most of our customers want us to go and the one that will benefit consumers the most in the long haul.

 

Mumblefratz
Reply #58 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 4:25 PM
There is a good discussion going here and it pains me to see people flaming dissenters. I don't want our forums to be an environment where only advocates feel welcome. If people can't voice their disagreements and concerns without fear of retribution, we'll lose a very valuable resource.

I don't feel particularly flamed except by one or two whose opinion I don't value hence their flames are meaningless. It's mostly the response to voicing my opinion that goes something like, "just don't use the features you don't like" or "install to get the update then uninstall" and variations on these themes. Basically these arguments say that my opinion is not valid. This is the only aspect of this discussion to which I object.

That said, the PC needs a platform like this. It needs it badly. And if it isn't made by Stardock, it'll be made by someone else. And I suspect other alternatives won't be as open as Impulse is.
A combination of unresistable factors are forcing companies to build or use platforms like this. Support costs. Piracy. Cost of development.
The belief that the long term option is something like Impulse or some minimalistic installer is a false belief. It's not going to work out that way any more than people who didn't like GUIs when they were first coming online ever had a realistic option of living totally by the DOS command prompt.
If it's not Stardock it'll be digital river, or Amazon, or EA, or Steam, or someone else. The question is only a matter of which platform do you think is the most acceptable.
The industry has seen how well these things work on consoles. So it's not a matter of if. It's when.

I guess. I mean all of this seems very centric to the game industry and I certainly can't speak to that. The only modern game that I own is GalCiv2 and I see no move to implement something like this for any of the other few limited apps that I have on my PC. In any case I'll take your word that this kind of distribution mechanism is essential to the PC Gaming industry and would most certainly agree that if such is the case I would trust something from Stardock versus something from any of the other companies mentioned.

However relating this to a GUI versus command line OS seems a bit of a stretch, every PC requires an OS, every PC most certainly isn't used for gaming or is merely used as an alternative to consoles. Now if you're telling me that I'll have to use Impulse or it's like to update my Office suite or Visio or my Mentor Graphics Schematic Design tools, or VHDL simulation and synthesis tools or PCB layout tools then that's a much different story. However like I said I've seen no move towards anything like this except in the PC gaming industry and to me that is a very small and isolated part of why I own a PC.

this is the direction we've chosen to go. We think it's the direction most of our customers want us to go and the one that will benefit consumers the most in the long haul.

I know, understand and acknowledge this. I would just like the simple acknowledgement that my opinion is a valid one for me to hold without people telling me that I'm somehow deluded or backwards or ignorant for holding it.
zakai1369
Reply #59 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 4:42 PM
It's mostly the response to voicing my opinion that goes something like, "just don't use the features you don't like" or "install to get the update then uninstall" and variations on these themes. Basically these arguments say that my opinion is not valid. This is the only aspect of this discussion to which I object


I would consider those to be suggested alternatives to going without rather than looking at them as statements that your opinion is invalid.

But that's just my opinion
ogremech
Reply #60 Wednesday, June 18, 2008 4:53 PM
YOU LEFT OUT THAT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO INSTALL GAMES IF YOU ARE RUNNING XP64

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