LCARS
{{Short description|Fictional computer operating system utilized in Star Trek}}
{{Infobox fictional artifact
| name = LCARS
| image = Lcars wallpaper.svg
| caption = LCARS-style desktop
| alt =
| source = Star Trek
| source_type = franchise
| first = Star Trek: The Next Generation
| creator = Michael Okuda{{cite book |title=Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual |publisher=Pocket Books |first1=Rick |last1=Sternbach |first2=Michael |last2=Okuda |date=1991 |isbn=0-671-70427-3}}
| type = Computer operating system
| genre = Science fiction
| affiliation = Starfleet
}}
File:LCARS panel from Star Trek Voyager at Filmwelt Center.jpg, similar to one shown in the third-season episode "Displaced". The colors of the backlit artwork have faded over time; the panel looks more yellow and blue in the episode.]]
In the Star Trek fictional universe, LCARS ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛ|l|k|ɑr|z}}; an acronym for Library Computer Access/Retrieval System) is a computer operating system. Within Star Trek chronology, the term was first used in the Star Trek: The Next Generation series.
Production
The LCARS graphical user interface was designed by scenic art supervisor and technical consultant Michael Okuda. The original design concept was influenced by a request from Gene Roddenberry that the instrument panels not have a great deal of activity on them.{{cite magazine |title=Michael Okuda interview |magazine=Star Trek: The Magazine |volume=1 |issue=7 |page=22 |date=November 1999}} This minimalized look was designed to give a sense that the technology was much more advanced than in the original Star Trek.
On Star Trek: The Next Generation, many of the buttons were labeled with the initials of members of the production crew and were referred to as "Okudagrams."
PADD
{{redirect|PADD|"PADD" in the U.S. petroleum industry|Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts}}
The LCARS interface is often seen used on a PADD (Personal Access Display Device), a hand-held computer.{{cite book |title=Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual |publisher=FASA Corporation |first1=Rick D. |last1=Stuart |first2=John |last2=Terra |date=September 1988 |isbn=1-55560-079-4}}
At {{convert|7|in|spell=in|adj=on}}, similarly sized modern tablet computers such as the Nexus 7, Amazon Fire, BlackBerry PlayBook, and iPad Mini have been compared with the PADD.{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/make-it-so-what-star-trek-tells-us-about-how-to-make-tablets/260337/ |title=Make It So: What Star Trek Tells Us About How to Make Tablets |work=The Atlantic |first=Brian |last=Fung |date=26 July 2012}}{{cite news |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/09/how-star-trek-artists-imagined-the-ipad-23-years-ago/ |title=How Star Trek artists imagined the iPad… nearly 30 years ago |work=Ars Technica |first=Chris |last=Foresman |date=September 10, 2016}} Several mobile apps were created which offered an LCARS-style interface.{{cite news |url=https://trekmovie.com/2010/04/11/new-lcars-ipad-application-released/ |title=New 'LCARS' iPad Application Released |website=TrekMovie.com |first=Anthony |last=Pascale |date=April 11, 2010}}{{cite news |url=https://www.wired.com/2011/07/star-trek-padd-ipad/ |title=Make It So: Hands-On With Official Star Trek iPad App |magazine=Wired |first=Ryan |last=Paul |date=July 16, 2011}}
Legal
CBS Television Studios claims to hold the copyright on LCARS. Google was sent a DMCA letter to remove the Android app called Tricorder since its use of the LCARS interface was un-licensed. The application was later re-uploaded under a different title, but it was removed again.{{cite web |url=http://code.google.com/p/moonblink/wiki/Tricorder |title=Tricorder - Android Projects by Moonblink |website=Google Project Hosting |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027024019/http://code.google.com/p/moonblink/wiki/Tricorder |archive-date=October 27, 2012}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Memory Alpha}}
- {{Memory Alpha|PADD}}
{{Star Trek}}