View source for 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]]<ref name=techmanual>{{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}}</ref>
| type            = Computer operating system
| genre           = Science fiction
| affiliation    = [[Starfleet]]
}}

[[File:LCARS panel from Star Trek Voyager at Filmwelt Center.jpg|thumb|An LCARS panel from ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'', similar to one shown in the third-season episode "[[Displaced (Star Trek: Voyager)|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.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite magazine |title=Michael Okuda interview |magazine=[[Star Trek: The Magazine]] |volume=1 |issue=7 |page=22 |date=November 1999}}</ref> This minimalized look was designed to give a sense that the technology was much more advanced than in the original ''Star Trek''.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

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."<ref name=techmanual />

==PADD==
{{redirect|PADD|"PADD" in the U.S. petroleum industry|Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts}}
[[File:Star Trek PADD.jpg|thumb|Close-up of a PADD, as seen in ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'']]

The LCARS interface is often seen used on a '''PADD''' (''Personal Access Display Device''), a hand-held computer.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

At {{convert|7|in|spell=in|adj=on}}, similarly sized modern [[tablet computer]]s such as the [[Nexus 7 (2012)|Nexus 7]], [[Amazon Fire tablet|Amazon Fire]], [[BlackBerry PlayBook]], and [[iPad Mini]] have been compared with the PADD.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref>  Several [[mobile app]]s were created  which offered an LCARS-style interface.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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 (magazine)|Wired]] |first=Ryan |last=Paul |date=July 16, 2011}}</ref>

==Legal==
[[CBS Television Studios]] claims to hold the [[copyright]] on LCARS. Google was sent a [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act|DMCA]] letter to remove the [[Android (operating system)|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.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{Memory Alpha}}
*{{Memory Alpha|PADD}}

{{Star Trek}}

[[Category:Fictional software]]
[[Category:Operating systems]]
[[Category:Star Trek terminology]]