code: public static byte[] decode(String s) {
  		byte[] bytes;
  		try {
  			bytes = s.getBytes(PREFERRED_ENCODING);
  		} // end try
  		catch (java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException uee) {
  			bytes = s.getBytes();
  		} // end catch
  
  		// Decode
  		bytes = decode(bytes);
  
  		return bytes;
  	}
docs: Decodes data from Base64 notation, automatically detecting
  gzip-compressed data and decompressing it.
  
  @param s
  the string to decode
  @return the decoded data
  @since 1.4