document_title: Designated Survivor (TV series)

question_text: who plays the president's son on designated survivor

question_tokens: who plays the president 's son on designated survivor

text: Designated Survivor (TV series)

text: Plot[edit]

text: On the night of the State of the Union speech, an explosion claims the lives of the President and everyone in the line of succession except for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Thomas Kirkman, who had been named the designated survivor. Kirkman is immediately sworn in as President, unaware that the attack is just the beginning of what is to come.

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Kiefer Sutherland as Thomas "Tom" Kirkman (season 1 - present), the President of the United States and the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who is sworn in following an unprecedented attack.[5]
Natascha McElhone as Alexandra "Alex" Kirkman (season 1 - 2), Tom's devoted wife and a former immigration lawyer, who finds herself thrust into a role she was not prepared to take on.[6]
Adan Canto as Aaron Shore (season 1 - present), the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, who becomes Chief of Staff in the days following the bombing; he resigns after being interrogated about the attack. He works as an aide to Speaker of the House Kimble Hookstraten before returning to the White House as Tom's National Security Advisor.[7]
Italia Ricci as Emily Rhodes (season 1 - present), Tom's Chief of Staff from his days as HUD Secretary, who becomes his Special Advisor and, following Aaron's resignation, his Chief of Staff.[6]
LaMonica Garrett as Mike Ritter (season 1 - present), a Secret Service agent originally assigned to Tom's personal security detail, who tries to ensure the Kirkman family's safety following the bombing.[8]
Tanner Buchanan as Leo Kirkman (season 1;[a] recurring season 2), Tom's teenaged son, who does everything he can to support his little sister, but struggles to keep it together after a shocking secret about his past comes to light.[9]
Kal Penn as Seth Wright (season 1 - present), a speechwriter who initially harbors doubts about Tom's abilities to lead the country but quickly becomes one of his closest advisors and the new White House Press Secretary.[6]
Maggie Q as Hannah Wells (season 1 - present), an FBI agent assigned to investigate the events surrounding the bombing who suspects that the people responsible are not yet finished with what they started.[6]
Paulo Costanzo as White House Political Director Lyor Boone (season 2 - present), a highly skilled yet socially inept political consultant hired to help develop the Kirkman administration's political strategy.[10]
Zoe McLellan as White House Counsel Kendra Daynes (season 2 - present)[11]
Ben Lawson as Damian Rennett (season 2 - present), an MI6 agent assigned to find the bombing's chief architect who develops a competitive relationship with Wells.[12]

text: Jump up ^ Tanner Buchanan was credited as a series regular through season 1, episode 13. From season 1, episode 14 onward, he is credited as recurring.

tag: ol

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Mckenna Grace as Penny Kirkman, Tom's daughter and Leo's younger sister.[9]
Peter Outerbridge as Charles Langdon, the former Chief of Staff and one of the survivors of the Capitol bombing who provides Wells with information about the conspiracy.
Malik Yoba as Jason Atwood, the Deputy Director of the FBI who initially spars with Wells over her investigation into the bombing but quickly becomes one of her most trusted allies.[13]
Kevin McNally as General Harris Cochrane, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who refuses to accept Tom as the new Commander in Chief and attempts to take matters into his own hands.[14]
Virginia Madsen as Congresswoman Kimble Hookstraten, a Republican from Missouri and the designated survivor for the Republican Party who supports Tom's authority while secretly harboring her own agenda.
Ashley Zukerman as Congressman Peter MacLeish, a third-term representative from Oregon who becomes a national hero following the bombing but struggles to hide a dark secret.[15]
George Tchortov as Nestor Lozano, a former CIA agent and wanted mercenary operating under the name "Catalan" who is heavily involved in the conspiracy.
Reed Diamond as John Forstell, the former Assistant Director of the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility and the current Director of the FBI who occasionally assists Wells in her investigations.
Mykelti Williamson as Admiral Chernow, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who quickly becomes one of Tom's most trusted advisors.[16]
Michael Gaston as James Royce, the Governor of Michigan who openly defies the Kirkman administration and tries to establish his own supreme authority.[17]
Mariana Klaveno as Brooke Mathison, a clandestine operator in league with the people behind the Capitol bombing.
Jake Epstein as Chuck Russink, an FBI analyst who occasionally assists Wells in her investigation.
Lara Jean Chorostecki as Beth MacLeish, Peter MacLeish's wife and a member of the conspiracy who goads him into following through with their agenda.
Rob Morrow as Abe Leonard, a disgraced investigative journalist determined to expose the Kirkman administration's secrets.[18]
Geoff Pierson as Cornelius Moss, a former President of the United States whom Tom appoints as his Secretary of State.[19]
Mark Deklin as Senator Jack Bowman, a Republican from Montana who seeks to raise his national profile by opposing Tom's legislative agenda.
Kearran Giovanni as Senator Diane Hunter, a Democrat from Massachusetts and the Senate Minority Leader who has a habit of sparring with Bowman.
Terry Serpico as Patrick Lloyd, the CEO of a defunct private military firm and the mastermind behind the conspiracy.
Richard Waugh as Jay Whitaker, the Homeland Security Advisor and a member of the conspiracy.

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Season 1 (2016–17)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

1
1
"Pilot"
Paul McGuigan
David Guggenheim
September 21, 2016 (2016-09-21)
10.04[20]

2
2
"The First Day"
Brad Turner
Story by : Jon Harmon Feldman
Teleplay by : David Guggenheim
September 28, 2016 (2016-09-28)
7.97[21]

3
3
"The Confession"
Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
Jennifer Johnson & Paul Redford
October 5, 2016 (2016-10-05)
7.05[22]

4
4
"The Enemy"
Paul Edwards
Dana Ledoux Miller & Jon Harmon Feldman
October 12, 2016 (2016-10-12)
7.00[23]

5
5
"The Mission"
Paul Edwards
Sang Kyu Kim & Michael Russell Gunn
October 26, 2016 (2016-10-26)
5.96[24]

6
6
"The Interrogation"
Michael Katleman
Barbie Kligman & Jenna Richman
November 9, 2016 (2016-11-09)
5.56[25]

7
7
"The Traitor"
Frederick E. O. Toye
Jennifer Johnson & Michael Russell Gunn
November 16, 2016 (2016-11-16)
5.52[26]

8
8
"The Results"
Chris Grismer
Paul Redford & Sang Kyu Kim
November 30, 2016 (2016-11-30)
5.45[27]

9
9
"The Blueprint"
Richard J. Lewis
Dana Ledoux Miller & Michael Russell Gunn
December 7, 2016 (2016-12-07)
5.18[28]

10
10
"The Oath"
Frederick E. O. Toye
David Guggenheim
December 14, 2016 (2016-12-14)
6.18[29]

11
11
"Warriors"
Stephen Surjik
Paul Redford & Carol Flint
March 8, 2017 (2017-03-08)
5.86[30]

12
12
"The End of the Beginning"
Mike Listo
David Guggenheim
March 15, 2017 (2017-03-15)
5.74[31]

13
13
"Backfire"
Tara Nicole Weyr
Sang Kyu Kim & Pierluigi Cothran
March 22, 2017 (2017-03-22)
5.21[32]

14
14
"Commander-in-Chief"
Frederick E. O. Toye
Michael Russel Gunn
March 29, 2017 (2017-03-29)
5.15[33]

15
15
"One Hundred Days"
Kenneth Fink
Dana Ledoux Miller
April 5, 2017 (2017-04-05)
5.19[34]

16
16
"Party Lines"
Mike Listo
Jenna Richman
April 12, 2017 (2017-04-12)
4.82[35]

17
17
"The Ninth Seat"
Frederick E. O. Toye
Paul Redford
April 19, 2017 (2017-04-19)
5.06[36]

18
18
"Lazarus"
Chris Grismer
Jennifer Johnson
April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)
5.11[37]

19
19
"Misalliance"
Norberto Barba
Dana Ledoux Miller & Jenna Richman
May 3, 2017 (2017-05-03)
4.62[38]

20
20
"Bombshell"
Sharat Raju
Sang Kyu Kim
May 10, 2017 (2017-05-10)
4.92[39]

21
21
"Brace for Impact"
Frederick E. O. Toye
David Guggenheim
May 17, 2017 (2017-05-17)
5.07[40]

text: Season 2 (2017)[edit]

text:
No.
overall
No. in
season
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date
U.S. viewers
(millions)

22
1
"One Year In"
Chris Grismer
Keith Eisner
September 27, 2017 (2017-09-27)
5.50[41]

23
2
"Sting of the Tail"
Frederick E. O. Toye
Keith Eisner
October 4, 2017 (2017-10-04)
4.80[42]

24
3
"Outbreak"
Chris Grismer
Ashley Gable
October 11, 2017 (2017-10-11)
4.61[43]

25
4
"Equilibrium"
Joe Lazarov
Paul Redford & Keith Eisner
October 18, 2017 (2017-10-18)
4.34[44]

26
5
"Suckers"
Fred Gerber
Bill Chais
October 25, 2017 (2017-10-25)
3.94[45]

27
6
"Two Ships"
Leslie Libman
Jessica Grasl
November 1, 2017 (2017-11-01)
3.92[46]

28
7
"Family Ties"
Milan Cheylov
Pierluigi Cothran
November 15, 2017 (2017-11-15)
4.05[47]

29
8
"Home"
Ian Toynton
Pat Cunnane
November 29, 2017 (2017-11-29)
4.03[48]

30
9
"Three-Letter Day"
Jeannot Szwarc
Bill Chais & Ashley Arena
December 6, 2017 (2017-12-06)
3.91[49]

31
10
"Line of Fire"
Chris Grismer
Keith Eisner
December 13, 2017 (2017-12-13)
4.39[50]

32
11
TBA
TBA
TBA
February 28, 2018 (2018-02-28)
TBD

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: Designated Survivor was ordered straight to series by ABC in December 2015,[51] with a formal announcement of 13 episodes in May 2016.[52][53] A month later, ABC revealed that the series would premiere on September 21, 2016.[54] Eight days after the premiere, on September 29, 2016, ABC gave the series a full season order.[55]

text: Created by David Guggenheim, the series is executive produced by Simon Kinberg, Sutherland, Suzan Bymel, Aditya Sood, and Nick Pepper. Paul McGuigan directed the pilot episode. Amy B. Harris was set to be the showrunner in February 2016, but after the series' official pick-up in May, it was announced she would be stepping down due to creative differences, and that Jon Harmon Feldman was in talks to replace her.[56] In July 2016, Feldman was confirmed as showrunner/executive producer.[13] In December 2016, Jeff Melvoin was hired as showrunner, replacing the departing Feldman.[57] Kal Penn, formerly associate director in the White House's Office of Public Engagement, serves as a consultant for the series as well as acting in the main cast.[58]

text: The series is produced by ABC Studios and The Mark Gordon Company, and is filmed in Toronto, Ontario.[59]

text: Writing[edit]

text: Producers Jon Harmon Feldman and Guggenheim described the series as more than one genre, drawing inspiration from other thriller-dramas, with Guggenheim explaining, "There is a West Wing component of a man governing and his team governing our nation at this critical time. It's also the Homeland aspect of investigating the conspiracy. It also has a House of Cards component, which is the characters and the business of government through the eyes of these characters."[60][61]

text: Casting[edit]

text: Kiefer Sutherland joined the cast in December 2015, playing Tom Kirkman, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development who suddenly becomes President.[62] Sutherland had no intention of returning to television; he read the first script of the series and changed his mind, saying, "I remember getting to the end of the script and thinking I was potentially holding the next 10 years of my life in my hands."[61]

text: In February 2016, it was announced that Kal Penn, Maggie Q, Natascha McElhone, and Italia Ricci had been cast as Kirkman's speech writer; Hannah, the lead FBI agent on the bombing of the Capitol; Kirkman's wife, an EEOC attorney; and Emily, Kirkman's Chief of Staff, respectively.[6] Shortly after, Adan Canto had joined the series as Aaron Shore, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff.[7] In early March, LaMonica Garrett joined the cast as Mike Ritter, Kirkman's Secret Service agent,[8] and Tanner Buchanan and Mckenna Grace had been cast as Kirkman's children.[9]

text: In July 2016, Malik Yoba was announced for a recurring role as Jason Atwood, the seasoned Deputy Director of the FBI, to appear in seven episodes,[13] while Virginia Madsen had been cast in the recurring role of Kimble Hookstraten, a conservative Congresswoman and the designated survivor for the rival political party.[63] A month later, Ashley Zukerman joined the series in a recurring role as Peter MacLeish, an Afghan War veteran and popular third-term Congressman.[15] In September 2016, Mykelti Williamson was cast as Admiral Chernow, a career military man and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[16] On November 4, 2016, it was announced that Mariana Klaveno had been cast for the show as the Dark-Haired Woman, a clandestine operator in league with the people behind the Capitol attack.[64]

text: For the second season, Paulo Costanzo, Zoe McLellan, and Ben Lawson joined the cast as series regulars, portraying White House Political Director Lyor Boone,[10] White House Counsel Kendra Daynes,[11] and Damian Rennett,[12] respectively.

text: Release[edit]

text: Broadcast[edit]

text: Designated Survivor began airing on September 21, 2016, on ABC in the United States,[54] and CTV in Canada.[65] Netflix airs the series outside the U.S. and Canada, adding the episodes weekly,[66][67] with distribution handled by eOne.[68]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: A teaser trailer for Designated Survivor was released on May 6, 2016,[52] with the full trailer released on May 17.[69] Producers and some of the cast members promoted the series at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2016, showing a special preview screening with co-stars Maggie Q and Kal Penn in attendance.[70]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave Season 1 of the series an approval rating of 85% based on 53 reviews, with an average rating of 6.98/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Kiefer Sutherland skillfully delivers the drama in Designated Survivor, a fast-paced, quickly engrossing escapist political action fantasy."[71] Metacritic reported a score of 71 out of 100 based on 35 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[72]

text: Terri Schwartz from IGN gave the first episode a rating of 8.0/10, saying, "Designated Survivor is a strong debut for a show that will fit well alongside Quantico and Scandal in ABC's government-set political drama lineup."[73] Variety said that the episode "does everything it needs to, checking off the necessary boxes for the unwilling American hero-president in efficient, compelling scenes."[74] Chuck Barney from Mercury News called the first episode "suspenseful".[75] Writing for TV Insider, Matt Roush compared Designated Survivor with other series as he said "fall's niftiest new drama has West Wing idealism, Homeland suspense and House of Cards political intrigue in its robust and compelling DNA."[76] Zack Handlen from The A.V. Club wrote positively about the show and the premiere, praising Sutherland's performance and commented on the symbol of Sutherland's glasses as he said, "The glasses he's wearing serve as a way to tell us this is a different kind of hero, but they're also a form of camouflage, making it easier for us to understand why so many people would underestimate this man."[77]

text: The editors of TV Guide placed Designated Survivor first among the top ten picks for the most anticipated new shows of the 2016–17 season. In writer Alexander Zalben's overall review, he pointed out the keys to one of the strongest pilots he had seen so far: "Designated Survivor is the rare show that delivers on the hype, and surpasses it," and later stating "It's shocking that a show can balance all of these elements, but credit a magnetic cast that hits the ground running, a crack script that makes the first hour feel like 10 minutes and, of course, Sutherland as the anchor that keeps it all grounded." Zalben's review concluded with this recommendation: "There's a reason Designated Survivor wasn't just the top pick across all of our Editors' lists, but also on the list compiled from TVGuide.com viewers' Watchlist adds: this is a show that delivers on its premise, feels timely, and most importantly, is a ton of fun."[78]

text: On the other hand, after watching the first episode of the first season, The Guardian's Brian Moylan criticized the dialogue, writing in his review that "this drama needs dialogue that won't make the citizenry's eyeballs roll", adding that the show features "meaningless platitudes" of a "we're going to do this my way" attitude, and concluded by writing, "All we're left with is a really great concept without the backing of a real leader behind it." Moylan also wrote that "there's not enough family tension for it to be a domestic drama, not enough government intrigue to make it a political show, and not enough investigation to make it a procedural."[79] TVLine's Dave Nemetz drew references between Kirkman and Jack Bauer, Kiefer Sutherland's role in drama thriller 24, writing that "Sutherland does a good job portraying Kirkman's deep ambivalence about the situation he's been handed. But when he has to play hardball with an Iranian ambassador, the tough talk comes too easily to him. It's like Kirkman has been possessed by the ghost of Jack Bauer". Nemetz also questioned the series' longevity; "As compelling as Designated Survivor's concept is, it's hard to see how it will sustain itself as a weekly series".[80]

text: Ratings[edit]

text: The first episode set a record for DVR viewers with 7.67 million, surpassing the September 25, 2014, record of almost 7 million set by the pilot of How to Get Away with Murder.[81][82]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Recipient(s)
Result
Ref.

2016
TV Guide
Most Exciting TV Series
Designated Survivor
Won
[83]

Critics' Choice Television Awards
Most Exciting New Series
Designated Survivor
Won
[84]

2017
People's Choice Awards
Favorite New TV Drama
Designated Survivor
Nominated
[85]

Favorite Actor In A New TV Series
Kiefer Sutherland
Nominated

Saturn Awards
Best Action/Thriller Television Series
Designated Survivor
Nominated
[86]


document_title: Reservation against Cancellation

question_text: what do you mean by rac in reservation

question_tokens: what do you mean by rac in reservation

root

text: Reservation against Cancellation

text:
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tag: table

text: A Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) is a type of ticket that can be sold for travel on the Indian Railways. Although it ensures certainty of travel, it does not guarantee a berth. A berth will be allocated to the person who reserves an RAC ticket if passengers who already have a confirmed ticket do not turn up before the train departure or get their confirmed ticket cancelled.[1][2] A berth is split into 2 seats for 2 RAC ticket holders. If there’s any last minute cancellations, or if any quota allocations remain unsold, or if any confirmed ticket holders are given a free upgrade (more later), an RAC ticket holder is given the empty berth, the other RAC ticket holder can then convert the 2 seats into a berth.[3]

tag: p

text: Generally, RAC/WL tickets will have two numbers - RAC8/RAC2, WL20/WL15, WL12/RAC2, etc. The first number shows the status of the ticket at the time of booking. The second number after the slash (/) shows the current status of your ticket. So, RAC8/RAC2 means that when you purchased the ticket, it may be that yours was the 8th such ticket under RAC category, which has moved 6 places after 6 cancellations before your position which is moved to the 2nd (you can assume that you were the 8th person in the queue and you are the 2nd person now). You can check the current status of your booking by entering 10-digit PNR number in Indian Railway website. So having a RAC ticket means that you can travel sharing a berth with another person.[4]


document_title: An Officer and a Gentleman

question_text: where did they film an officer and a gentleman

text: An Officer and a Gentleman

text: Plot[edit]

text: Zachary "Zack" Mayo (Richard Gere) is preparing to report to Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS). As he is doing so, he has brief flashbacks of his childhood. After the death of his unnamed mother (who committed suicide), an adolescent Zack was sent to live with his only living relative, his father Byron Mayo (Robert Loggia), who is stationed in US Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines. The elder Mayo, a Navy Chief Petty Officer/Chief Boatswain's Mate, made no attempt to hide his heavy drinking and hiring of prostitutes from a young Zack. When Zack said he needed help, Byron said he did not ask to get married nor be a father, because he is always out on sea all the time. But seeing the look on his face, he decides to let him stay with him. Mostly Zack became a Navy brat and travelled with his father. The flashbacks advance to the present, where Zack has just graduated from college and informs his father he will be going to AOCS. Byron, who hates officers, tells Zack that his dream of becoming an officer is as unrealistic as hoping to become President. Despite his father's discouragement, Zack is determined to go through with his childhood dreams of becoming a Navy pilot as well as prove to him that he can make it and in the end Byron would have to "salute" Zack.

text: Upon arrival at AOCS, Zack and his fellow AOCs are shocked by the harsh treatment they receive from their head drill instructor, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley (Louis Gossett Jr.). Foley makes it clear that the 13-week program is designed to eliminate OCs who are found to be mentally or physically unfit for commission as an ensign in the U.S. Navy, which will earn them flight training worth over $1,000,000. Foley warns the male candidates about the "Puget Sound Debs"—young women in the area who dream of marrying a Naval Aviator to escape their dull, local lives. Foley claims they scout the regiment for OCs, and will feign pregnancy or even stop using birth control to become pregnant to trap the men.

text: Zack becomes friends with fellow candidates Topper Daniels (David Caruso), Sid Worley (David Keith), Emiliano Santos Della Serra (Tony Plana), Lionel Perryman (Harold Sylvester), and Casey Seeger (Lisa Eilbacher). Zack and Sid meet two local young women—factory workers—at a Navy Ball. Zack begins a romantic relationship with Paula Pokrifki (Debra Winger) and Sid with Lynette Pomeroy (Lisa Blount).

text: Foley rides Zack mercilessly, believing he lacks motivation and is not a team player. When Zack's side business of selling pre-shined shoes and belt buckles is discovered, Foley hazes him for a weekend in an attempt to make him DOR ("Drop on Request", a Navy term for requesting termination of training[4]), but Zack refuses. Foley states Zack will be declared unfit, which frightens Zack into admitting he has no options in civilian life. Satisfied that Zack has come to a crucial self-realization and realizing what he's made of, Foley decides to let him stay. He punishes Zack by making him clean all the urinals, but does not recommend attrition. Henceforth, Zack starts behaving like a team player.

text: Zack and Paula spend the next weekend together, and she takes him home for dinner to meet her family. Her stepfather behaves strangely, and when Zack asks why, Paula shows him an old picture of her biological father. He was an AOC who had an affair with her mother but deserted her following his commissioning and refused to marry her when she became pregnant with Paula.

text: Zack is close to breaking the record time for negotiating the obstacle course, but Casey faces disqualification when she cannot negotiate the 12-foot-high wall (3.7 m). Zack abandons his attempt to break the course record in order to coach Casey over the wall, and she makes it.

text: Zack attends dinner with Sid and his parents and learns that Sid has a long-time girlfriend back home. Sid plans to marry her after he receives his commission. Meanwhile, Lynette has been dropping hints to Sid that she may be pregnant. Sid agonizes over this possibility, especially when Lynette tells him she will not have an abortion. After having a severe anxiety attack during a high-altitude simulation in a pressure chamber, Sid realizes he joined the officer training program out of a sense of obligation to his family, and he Drops On Request ("DOR"s, meaning he voluntarily resigns). He leaves the base without saying goodbye, so Zack and Paula go out to look for him.

text: Sid goes to Lynette's house and proposes marriage. She is elated until he tells her he DORed, and she would not be marrying a Naval Aviator after all. Disgusted, Lynette turns him down and admits she was never pregnant with his child. She says she thought he understood. She wants to marry an aviator, escape from her small town and live an exciting life overseas. She berates him for dropping out and gives back the engagement ring he bought her. Crushed, Sid goes to the motel where he and Lynette spent his free weekends, asks for their old room, and begins drinking.

text: Zack and Paula arrive at Lynette's shortly after Sid leaves and ask about Sid's whereabouts. Zack curses Lynette for trying to trick Sid, and he and Paula rush off to search for him. Zack goes to the motel and is heartbroken when he finds Sid has committed suicide out of grief. Paula tries to comfort Zack, but he rejects her and heads back to base with the intent to DOR himself. Foley will not let him quit so close to graduation and feels bad about what happened to Sid. Zack challenges Foley to an unofficial martial arts bout. Although Zack eventually appears to take control of the fight, Foley wins by kicking Zack in the groin and then tells him he can quit now if he still wishes to do so.

text: Zack shows up for graduation and is sworn into the Navy with his class. Following naval tradition, he receives his first salute from Foley in exchange for a US silver dollar. While tradition calls for the drill instructor to place the coin in his left shirt pocket, Foley places the coin in his right pocket, acknowledging that Zack was a special candidate. Zack thanks him for not giving up on him and tells him he would never have made it without the hardships Foley delivered. While leaving the base, he sees Foley initiating a set of new AOCs for AOCS who are in the same position he was 13 weeks prior.

text: Zack, now Ensign Mayo with orders to undertake flight training, seeks out Paula at the factory where she works and declares his love to her. He picks her up and walks out with her in his arms to the applause of her co-workers, including Lynette.

text: Cast[edit]

text: (in credits order)

text:
Richard Gere as Aviation Officer Candidate Zack Mayo
Debra Winger as Paula Pokrifki
David Keith as AOC Sid Worley
Robert Loggia as Chief Petty Officer Byron Mayo (Zack's father)
Lisa Blount as Lynette Pomeroy
Lisa Eilbacher as AOC Casey Seeger
Louis Gossett Jr. as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley, USMC
Tony Plana as AOC Emiliano Della Serra
Harold Sylvester as AOC Lionel Perryman
David Caruso as AOC Topper Daniels
Victor French as Joe Pokrifki (Paula's stepfather)
Grace Zabriskie as Esther Pokrifki (Paula's mother)
Tommy Petersen as Young Zack
Elizabeth Rogers as Betty Worley
John Laughlin as Troy
Ed Begley Jr. as Altitude Chamber Instructor (voice)

tag: ul

text: Production[edit]

text: Locations[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: The film was shot in late 1981 on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, at Port Townsend and Fort Worden. The U.S. Navy did not permit filming at NAS Pensacola in the Florida panhandle, the site of the actual Aviation Officer Candidate School[5] in 1981. Deactivated U.S. Army base Fort Worden stood in for the location of the school, an actual Naval Air Station in the Puget Sound area, NAS Whidbey Island. However, that installation, which is still an operating air station today, was and is a "fleet" base for operational combat aircraft and squadrons under the cognizance of Naval Air Force Pacific, not a Naval Air Training Command installation.

text: A motel room in Port Townsend, The Tides Inn on Water Street (48°06′38″N 122°45′54″W / 48.1105°N 122.765°W / 48.1105; -122.765), was used for the film.[6] Today, there is a plaque outside the room commemorating this (although the room has been extensively refurbished in the interim). Some early scenes of the movie were filmed in Bremerton, with ships of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in the background.

text: The "Dilbert Dunker" scenes were filmed in the swimming pool at what is now Mountain View Elementary School (Port Townsend Jr High School during filming).[6] According to the director's commentary on the DVD, the dunking machine was constructed specifically for the film and was an exact duplicate of the actual one used by the Navy. As of 2010, Mountain View Elementary is closed and is now home to the Mountain View Commons, which holds the police station, food bank and the YMCA, the latter of which holds the pool.

text: The filming location of Paula Pokrifiki's house was 1003 Tremont in Port Townsend.[6] As of 2009, the house was shrouded by a large hedge, and the front porch had been remodeled. The neighboring homes and landscape look identical to their appearance in the film, including the 'crooked oak tree' across the street from the Pokrifiki home. This oak tree is visible in the scene near the end of the film in which Richard Gere returns to the home to request Paula's help in finding his friend Sid. In the film, the plot has Paula living a ferry ride away from the naval base. In reality, Paula's home is located approximately 8 blocks from Fort Worden.

text: Lynette Pomeroy's house was located on Mill Road, just west of the main entrance of the Port Townsend Paper Corp. mill. The house no longer exists, but the concrete driveway pad is still visible.

text: The interior of the USO building at Fort Worden State Park was used for the reception scene near the beginning of the film.

text: The concrete structure used during the famous Richard Gere line "I got nowhere else to go!" is the Battery Kinzie located at Fort Worden State Park. The scene was filmed on the southwest corner of the upper level of the battery. The 'obstacle course' was constructed specifically for the film and was located in the grassy areas just south and southeast of Battery Kinzie.

text: The decompression chamber was one of the only sets constructed for the film and as of 2013, it is still intact in the basement of building number 225 of the Fort Worden State Park. It can be seen through the windows of the building's basement.

text: Building 204 of Fort Worden State Park was used as the dormitory and its porch was used for the film's closing 'silver dollar' scene.

text: The blimp hangar used for the famous fight scene between Louis Gossett Jr. and Richard Gere is located at Fort Worden State Park and as of 2013 is still intact, but has been converted into a 1200-seat performing arts center called the McCurdy Pavilion.

text: The filming location for the exterior of 'TJ's Restaurant' is located at the Point Hudson marina in Port Townsend. The space is now occupied by a company that makes sails. The fictional "TJ's" is an homage to the Trader Jon's bar in Pensacola, Florida, as a naval aviator hangout until it closed later in November 2003. For years, it was traditional for graduating Aviation Officer Candidate School classes to celebrate their commissioning at "Trader's."[citation needed]

text: Casting[edit]

text: Originally, folk music singer and occasional actor John Denver was signed to play Zack Mayo. But a casting process eventually involved Jeff Bridges, Christopher Reeve, and Richard Gere.[7][8] Gere eventually beat all the other actors for the part. John Travolta had turned down the role, as he did with American Gigolo (another Richard Gere hit).[8][9]

text: The role of Paula was originally given to Sigourney Weaver,[10] then to Anjelica Huston[10] and later to Jennifer Jason Leigh, who dropped out to do the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High instead.[11] Eventually, Debra Winger replaced Leigh for the role of Paula. Rebecca De Mornay,[11] Meg Ryan,[10] and Geena Davis[10] auditioned for the role of Paula.

text: In spite of the strong on-screen chemistry between Gere and Winger, the actors didn't get along during filming. Publicly, she called him a "brick wall" while he admitted there was "tension" between them. Thirty years later, Gere was complimentary towards Winger when he said that she was much more open to the camera than he was, and he appreciated the fact that she presented him with an award at the Rome Film Festival.[12]

text: Taylor Hackford kept Louis Gossett Jr. in separate living quarters from other actors during production; so, Gossett could intimidate them more during his scenes as drill instructor.[13] In addition, Gossett was advised by US Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Buck Welscher.[13]

text: Props[edit]

text: Richard Gere rides a 750cc T140E Triumph Bonneville. Two T140E Bonnevilles were supplied by Dewey's Cycle Shop in Seattle. One had Receipt no.16787 dated April 8, 1981, as sold to Paramount Pictures. In the United Kingdom, Paramount successfully linked with Triumph Motorcycles (Meriden) Ltd to do a mutual promotion. Triumph's then-chairman, John Rosamond, in his book Save The Triumph Bonneville! (Veloce 2009), states it was agreed cinemas showing the film would be promoted at their local Triumph dealer, and T140E Triumph Bonnevilles supplied by the dealer would be displayed in the cinema's foyers.

text: Ending[edit]

text: Richard Gere balked at shooting the ending of the film, in which Zack arrives at Paula's factory wearing his naval dress whites and carries her off the factory floor. Gere thought the ending would not work because it was too sentimental. Director Taylor Hackford agreed with Gere until, during a rehearsal, the extras playing the workers began to cheer and cry. When Gere saw the scene later, with a portion of the score (that was used to write "Up Where We Belong") played at the right tempo, he said it gave him chills. Gere is now convinced Hackford made the right decision.[14] Screenwriter Michael Hauge, in his book Writing Screenplays That Sell, echoed this opinion: "I don't believe that those who criticized this Cinderella-style ending were paying very close attention to who exactly is rescuing whom."

text: Release[edit]

text: Two versions of the film exist. The original, an uncensored R-rated cut and edited-for-broadcast television cut (which first aired on NBC in 1986) are nearly identical. The main difference is that the nudity and a majority of the foul language are edited out when the film airs on regular television. However, the group marching song near the beginning of the film and Mayo's solo marching song are not voiceover edits; they are reshoots of those scenes for television. Also, the sex scene between Mayo and Paula is cut in half, and the scene where Mayo finds Sid's naked body hanging in the shower is also edited.

text: Reaction[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: An Officer and a Gentleman was an enormous box office success and went on to become the third-highest-grossing film of 1982, after E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial and Tootsie.[15] It grossed $3,304,679 in its opening weekend[16] and $129,795,554 overall at the domestic box office.[17] It sold an estimated 44 million tickets in the US.

text: Reception[edit]

text: An Officer and a Gentleman was well received by critics and is widely considered one of the best films of 1982.[18][19][20] The film holds an 81% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 27 reviews, with the consensus: "Old-fashioned without sacrificing its characters to simplicity, An Officer and a Gentleman successfully walks the fine line between sweeping romance and melodrama".[21] It received rave reviews from critics, most notably from Roger Ebert, who gave it four stars. Ebert described An Officer and a Gentleman as "a wonderful movie precisely because it's so willing to deal with matters of the heart...it takes chances, takes the time to know and develop its characters, and by the time this movie's wonderful last scene comes along, we know exactly what's happening, and why, and it makes us very happy."[22]

text: Rex Reed gave a glowing review where he commented: "This movie will make you feel ten feet tall!" The British film critic Mark Kermode, an admirer of Taylor Hackford observed, "It's a much tougher film than people remember it being; it's not a romantic movie, it's actually a movie about blue-collar, down-trodden people."

text: The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

text:
2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions—#29[23]
2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:

"Up Where We Belong"—#75[24]

2006: AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers—#68[25]

text: Awards[edit]

text: Film Award wins:

text:
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor—Louis Gossett Jr.
Best Music, Original Song—"Up Where We Belong", Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie (music), Will Jennings (lyrics). Producer Don Simpson complained, "The song is no good. It isn't a hit," and unsuccessfully demanded it be cut from the film. "Up Where We Belong" later became the number one song on the Billboard charts.
BAFTA Film Award for Best Original Song—"Up Where We Belong", Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie (music), Will Jennings (lyrics)
Award of the Japanese Academy for Best Foreign Language Film
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture

text: Academy Award nominations:

text:
Best Actress—Debra Winger
Best Music, Original Score
Best Film Editing
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.

text: Other Award wins:

text: "Up Where We Belong" vocalists Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes earned a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Duo or Group [26]

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text: The soundtrack was released on August 13, 1982 and reached #38 on the Billboard 200, it stayed on the chart for 23 weeks and top 50 for one week.[27][28] The CD version doesn't include some of the instrumental selections that were available on the original record.[29]

text: "Up Where We Belong" was released as a single and became a global hit peaking at number one in the US, Canada, and Australia, and reaching the top 10 in many other countries.

text: Track Listing (Original Record)[edit]

text:
Song
Lyrics by
Performed by

"Up Where We Belong"
Will Jennings
Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes

"Theme from 'An Officer and a Gentleman"
Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie
Lee Ritenour

"Treat Me Right"
D. Lubahn and Pat Benatar
Pat Benatar

"Hungry for Your Love"
Van Morrison
Van Morrison

"Be Real"
D. Sahm
Sir Douglas Quintet

"Tush"
B. Gibbons, D. Hill and F. Beard
ZZ Top

"Tunnel of Love"
M. Knopfler
Dire Straits

"Feelings"
Morris Albert
Morris Albert

"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree"
Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown

"Anchors Aweigh"
Charles A. Zimmerman, George D. Lottman and Alfred Hart Miles

"Moon River"
Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer

"Big Money Dollars"
John Thomas Lenox

"Gamelan Gong: Barong Dance"
David Lewiston

"The Plains of Mindanao"
Bayanihan 7

"Galan Kangin"
Gong Kebyar, Sebatu

"Love Theme From 'An Officer And A Gentleman"
Lee Ritenour
Lee Ritenour

"The Morning After Love Theme"
Jack Nitzsche
Jack Nitzsche

text: Adaptations[edit]

text:
The Takarazuka Revue adapted the movie as a musical in 2010 in Japan (Takarazuka Grand Theater; Tokyo Takarazuka Theater). The production was performed by Star Troupe and the cast included Reon Yuzuki as Zack Mayo, Nene Yumesaki as Paula Pokrifki and Kaname Ouki as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley.[30]
A stage musical, with book by Douglas Day Stewart and Sharleen Cooper Cohen and songs by Ken Hirsch and Robin Lerner, directed by Simon Phillips, opened on May 18, 2012 at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney, Australia.[31] The production received mixed reviews[32] and closed after six weeks.[33]


document_title: Personal computer

question_text: when was the first pc sold to the public

question_tokens: when was the first pc sold to the public

text: Personal computer

text: Terminology[edit]

text: "PC" is an initialism for "personal computer". The IBM Personal Computer incorporated the designation in its model name, but IBM has not used this brand for many years. It is sometimes useful, especially in a marketing context, to distinguish personal computers of the "IBM Personal Computer" family from personal computers made by other manufacturers. For example, "PC" is used in contrast with "Mac", an Apple Macintosh computer.[2][3][4][5] This sense of the word is used in the Get a Mac advertisement campaign that ran between 2006 and 2009, as well as its rival, I'm a PC campaign, that appeared in 2008. Since none of these Apple products were mainframes or time-sharing systems, they were all "personal computers" and not "PC" (brand) computers

text: History[edit]

text: The “brain” [computer] may one day come down to our level [of the common people] and help with our income-tax and book-keeping calculations. But this is speculation and there is no sign of it so far.

text: In the history of computing there were many examples of computers designed to be used by one person, as opposed to terminals connected to mainframe computers. It took a while for computers to be developed that meet the modern definition of a "personal computers", one that is designed for one person, is easy to use, and is cheap enough for an individual to buy.[7]

text: Using the narrow definition of "operated by one person", the first personal computer was the ENIAC which became operational in 1946.[8] It did not meet further definitions of affordable or easy to use.

text: An example of an early single-user computer was the LGP-30, created in 1956 by Stan Frankel and used for science and engineering as well as basic data processing.[9] It came with a retail price of $46,000—equivalent to about $414,000 today.[10]

text: Introduced at the 1965 New York Worlds Fair, the Programma 101 was a printing programmable calculator[11][12] described in advertisements as a "desktop computer".[13][14][15][16] It was manufactured by the Italian company Olivetti and invented by the Italian engineer Pier Giorgio Perotto, inventor of the magnetic card system for program storage.[citation needed]

text: The Soviet MIR series of computers was developed from 1965 to 1969 in a group headed by Victor Glushkov. It was designed as a relatively small-scale computer for use in engineering and scientific applications and contained a hardware implementation of a high-level programming language. Another innovative feature for that time was the user interface combining a keyboard with a monitor and light pen for correcting texts and drawing on screen.[17] In what was later to be called the Mother of All Demos, SRI researcher Douglas Engelbart in 1968 gave a preview of what would become the staples of daily working life in the 21st century: e-mail, hypertext, word processing, video conferencing and the mouse. The demonstration required technical support staff and a mainframe time-sharing computer that were far too costly for individual business use at the time.

text: By the early 1970s, people in academic or research institutions had the opportunity for single-person use of a computer system in interactive mode for extended durations, although these systems would still have been too expensive to be owned by a single person. Early personal computers—generally called microcomputers—were often sold in a kit form and in limited volumes, and were of interest mostly to hobbyists and technicians. Minimal programming was done with toggle switches to enter instructions, and output was provided by front panel lamps. Practical use required adding peripherals such as keyboards, computer displays, disk drives, and printers. Micral N was the earliest commercial, non-kit microcomputer based on a microprocessor, the Intel 8008. It was built starting in 1972 and few hundred units were sold. This had been preceded by the Datapoint 2200 in 1970, for which the Intel 8008 had been commissioned, though not accepted for use. The CPU design implemented in the Datapoint 2200 became the basis for x86 architecture used in the original IBM PC and its descendants.[18]

text: In 1973 the IBM Los Gatos Scientific Center developed a portable computer prototype called SCAMP (Special Computer APL Machine Portable) based on the IBM PALM processor with a Philips compact cassette drive, small CRT and full function keyboard. SCAMP emulated an IBM 1130 minicomputer in order to run APL\1130.[19] In 1973 APL was generally available only on mainframe computers, and most desktop sized microcomputers such as the Wang 2200 or HP 9800 offered only BASIC. Because SCAMP was the first to emulate APL\1130 performance on a portable, single user computer, PC Magazine in 1983 designated SCAMP a "revolutionary concept" and "the world's first personal computer".[19][20] This seminal, single user portable computer now resides in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.. Successful demonstrations of the 1973 SCAMP prototype led to the IBM 5100 portable microcomputer launched in 1975 with the ability to be programmed in both APL and BASIC for engineers, analysts, statisticians and other business problem-solvers. In the late 1960s such a machine would have been nearly as large as two desks and would have weighed about half a ton.[19]

text: A seminal step in personal computing was the 1973 Xerox Alto, developed at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). It had a graphical user interface (GUI) which later served as inspiration for Apple Computer's Macintosh, and Microsoft's Windows operating system. The Alto was a demonstration project, not commercialized, as the parts were too expensive to be affordable.[7]

text: Also in 1973 Hewlett Packard introduced fully BASIC programmable microcomputers that fit entirely on top of a desk, including a keyboard, a small one-line display and printer. The Wang 2200 microcomputer of 1973 had a full-size cathode ray tube (CRT) and cassette tape storage.[21] These were generally expensive specialized computers sold for business or scientific uses. The introduction of the microprocessor, a single chip with all the circuitry that formerly occupied large cabinets, led to the proliferation of personal computers after 1975.

text: 1974 saw the introduction of what is considered by many to be the first true "personal computer", the Altair 8800 created by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS).[22][23] Based on the 8-bit Intel 8080 Microprocessor,[24] the Altair is widely recognized as the spark that ignited the microcomputer revolution[25] as the first commercially successful personal computer.[26] The computer bus designed for the Altair was to become a de facto standard in the form of the S-100 bus, and the first programming language for the machine was Microsoft's founding product, Altair BASIC.[27][28]

text: In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak sold the Apple I computer circuit board, which was fully prepared and contained about 30 chips. The Apple I computer differed from the other kit-style hobby computers of era. At the request of Paul Terrell, owner of the Byte Shop, Steve Jobs was given his first purchase order, for 50 Apple I computers, only if the computers were assembled and tested and not a kit computer. Terrell wanted to have computers to sell to a wide range of users, not just experienced electronics hobbyists who had the soldering skills to assemble a computer kit. The Apple I as delivered was still technically a kit computer, as it did not have a power supply, case, or keyboard as it was delivered to the Byte Shop.

text: The first successfully mass marketed personal computer was the Commodore PET introduced in January 1977. However, it was back-ordered and not available until later in the year.[29] Five months later (June), the Apple II (usually referred to as the "Apple") was introduced,[30] and the TRS-80 from Tandy Corporation / Tandy Radio Shack in summer 1977, delivered in September in a small number. Mass-market ready-assembled computers allowed a wider range of people to use computers, focusing more on software applications and less on development of the processor hardware.

text: During the early 1980s, home computers were further developed for household use, with software for personal productivity, programming and games. They typically could be used with a television already in the home as the computer display, with low-detail blocky graphics and a limited color range, and text about 40 characters wide by 25 characters tall. Sinclair Research,[31] a UK company, produced the ZX Series—the ZX80 (1980), ZX81 (1981), and the ZX Spectrum; the latter was introduced in 1982, and totaled 8 million unit sold. Following came the Commodore 64, totaled 17 million units sold.[32][33]

text: In the same year, the NEC PC-98 was introduced, which was a very popular personal computer that sold in more than 18 million units.[34] Another famous personal computer, the revolutionary Amiga 1000, was unveiled by Commodore on July 23, 1985. The Amiga 1000 featured a multitasking, windowing operating system, color graphics with a 4096-color palette, stereo sound, Motorola 68000 CPU, 256 KB RAM, and 880 KB 3.5-inch disk drive, for US$1,295.[35]

text: Somewhat larger and more expensive systems (for example, running CP/M), or sometimes a home computer with additional interfaces and devices, although still low-cost compared with minicomputers and mainframes, were aimed at office and small business use, typically using "high resolution" monitors capable of at least 80 column text display, and often no graphical or color drawing capability. Workstations were characterized by high-performance processors and graphics displays, with large-capacity local disk storage, networking capability, and running under a multitasking operating system. Eventually, due to the influence of the IBM PC on the personal computer market, personal computers and home computers lost any technical distinction. Business computers acquired color graphics capability and sound, and home computers and game systems users used the same processors and operating systems as office workers. Mass-market computers had graphics capabilities and memory comparable to dedicated workstations of a few years before. Even local area networking, originally a way to allow business computers to share expensive mass storage and peripherals, became a standard feature of personal computers used at home.

text: In 1982 "The Computer" was named Machine of the Year by Time magazine. In the 2010s, several companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Sony sold off their PC and laptop divisions. As a result, the personal computer was declared dead several times during this period.[36]

text: Types[edit]

text: Stationary[edit]

text: Workstation[edit]

text: A workstation is a high-end personal computer designed for technical, mathematical, or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. Workstations are used for tasks such as computer-aided design, drafting and modeling, computation-intensive scientific and engineering calculations, image processing, architectural modeling, and computer graphics for animation and motion picture visual effects.[37]

text: Desktop computer[edit]

text: Prior to the widespread usage of PCs, a computer that could fit on a desk was remarkably small, leading to the "desktop" nomenclature. More recently, the phrase usually indicates a particular style of computer case. Desktop computers come in a variety of styles ranging from large vertical tower cases to small models which can be tucked behind an LCD monitor. In this sense, the term "desktop" refers specifically to a horizontally oriented case, usually intended to have the display screen placed on top to save desk space. Most desktop computers have an external display screen and an external keyboard, which are typically plugged into the computer case.

text: Gaming computer[edit]

text: A gaming computer is a standard desktop computer that typically has high-performance hardware, such as a more powerful video card, processor and memory, in order to handle the requirements of demanding video games, which are often simply called "PC games".[38] A number of companies, such as Alienware, manufacture prebuilt gaming computers, and companies such as Razer and Logitech market mice, keyboards and headsets geared toward gamers.

text: Single unit[edit]

text: Single-unit PCs (also known as all-in-one PCs) are a subtype of desktop computers that combine the monitor and processor unit of the computer within a single unit. The monitor often utilizes a touchscreen as an optional method of user input, but separate keyboards and mice are normally still included. The inner components of the PC are often located directly behind the monitor and many of such PCs are built similarly to laptops.

text: Nettop[edit]

text: A subtype of desktops, called nettops, was introduced by Intel in February 2008, characterized by low cost and lean functionality. A similar subtype of laptops (or notebooks) is the netbook, described below. The product line features the new Intel Atom processor, which specifically enables nettops to consume less power and fit into small enclosures.

text: Home theater PC[edit]

text: A home theater PC (HTPC) is a convergence device that combines the functions of a personal computer and a digital video recorder. It is connected to a TV set or an appropriately sized computer display, and is often used as a digital photo viewer, music and video player, TV receiver, and digital video recorder. HTPCs are also referred to as media center systems or media servers. The general goal in a HTPC is usually to combine many or all components of a home theater setup into one box. More recently, HTPCs gained the ability to connect to services providing on-demand movies and TV shows. HTPCs can be purchased pre-configured with the required hardware and software needed to add television programming to the PC, or can be cobbled together out of discrete components, what is commonly done with software support from MythTV, Windows Media Center, GB-PVR, SageTV, Famulent or LinuxMCE.

text: Portable[edit]

text: Laptop[edit]

text: A laptop computer, also called a notebook, is a small personal computer designed for portability. Usually, all of the hardware and interfaces needed to operate a laptop, such as the graphics card, audio devices or USB ports (previously parallel and serial ports), are built into a single unit. Laptops usually have "clamshell" design, in which the keyboard and computer components are on one panel and a flat display screen on a second panel, which is hinged to the first panel. The laptop is opened for use and closed for transport. Closing the laptop also protects the screen and keyboard during transportation. Laptops have both a power cable that can be plugged in and high-capacity batteries that can power the device, enhancing its portability. Once the battery charge is depleted, it will have to be recharged through a power outlet. In the interests of saving power, weight and space, laptop graphics cards are in many cases integrated into the CPU or chipset and use system RAM, resulting in reduced graphics performance when compared to an equivalent desktop machine. For this reason, desktop or gaming computers are usually preferred to laptop PCs for gaming purposes.

text: One of the drawbacks of laptops is that, due to the size and configuration of components, usually relatively little can be done to upgrade the overall computer from its original design or add components. Internal upgrades are either not manufacturer-recommended, can damage the laptop if done with poor care or knowledge, or in some cases impossible, making the desktop PC more modular and upgradable. Desktop PCs typically have a case that has extra empty space inside, where users can install new components. Some internal upgrades to laptops, such as memory and hard disk drive upgrades are often easily performed, while a display or keyboard upgrade is usually difficult or impossible. Just like desktops, laptops also have the same input and output ports for connecting to a wide variety of devices, including external displays, mice, cameras, storage devices and keyboards, which may be attached externally through USB ports and other less common ports such as external video. Laptops are also a little more expensive compared to desktops, as the miniaturized components for laptops themselves are expensive.

text: A subtype of notebooks, called subnotebook, has most of the features of a standard laptop computer, but with smaller physical dimensions. Subnotebooks are larger than hand-held computers, and usually run full versions of desktop or laptop operating systems. Ultra-Mobile PCs (UMPC) are usually considered subnotebooks, or more specifically, subnotebook tablet PCs, which are described below. Netbooks are sometimes considered to belong to this category, though they are sometimes separated into a category of their own (see below).

text: Desktop replacement[edit]

text: A desktop replacement computer (DTR) is a personal computer that provides the full capabilities of a desktop computer while remaining mobile. Such computers are often actually larger, bulkier laptops. Because of their increased size, this class of computers usually includes more powerful components and a larger display than generally found in smaller portable computers, and can have a relatively limited battery capacity or none at all in some cases. Some use a limited range of desktop components to provide better performance at the expense of battery life. Desktop replacement computers are sometimes called desknotes, as a portmanteau of words "desktop" and "notebook", though the term is also applied to desktop replacement computers in general.[39]

text: Netbook[edit]

text: Netbooks, also called mini notebooks or subnotebooks, are a subgroup of laptops[40] acting as a category of small, lightweight and inexpensive laptop computers suited for general computing tasks and accessing web-based applications. They are often marketed as "companion devices", with an intention to augment other ways in which a user can access computer resources.[40] Walt Mossberg called them a "relatively new category of small, light, minimalist and cheap laptops."[41] By August 2009, CNET called netbooks "nothing more than smaller, cheaper notebooks."[40] Initially, the primary defining characteristic of netbooks was the lack of an optical disc drive, requiring it to be a separate external device. This has become less important as flash memory devices have gradually increased in capacity, replacing the writable optical disc (e.g. CD-RW, DVD-RW) as a transportable storage medium.

text: At their inception in late 2007—as smaller notebooks optimized for low weight and low cost[42]—netbooks omitted key features (e.g., the optical drive), featured smaller screens and keyboards, and offered reduced specifications and computing power. Over the course of their evolution, netbooks have ranged in their screen sizes from below five inches[43] to over 13 inches,[44] with weights around ~1 kg (2–3 pounds). Often significantly less expensive than other laptops,[45] by mid-2009 netbooks had been offered to users "free of charge", with an extended service contract purchase of a cellular data plan.[46] In the short period since their appearance, netbooks have grown in size and features, converging with new smaller and lighter notebooks. By mid-2009, CNET noted that "the specs are so similar that the average shopper would likely be confused as to why one is better than the other," noting "the only conclusion is that there really is no distinction between the devices."[40]

text: Tablet[edit]

text: A tablet is a type of portable PC that de-emphasizes the use of traditional input devices (such as a mouse or keyboard) by using a touchscreen display, which can be controlled using either a stylus pen or finger. Some tablets may use a "hybrid" or "convertible" design, offering a keyboard that can either be removed as an attachment, or a screen that can be rotated and folded directly over top the keyboard. Some tablets may run a traditional PC operating system such as Windows or Linux; Microsoft attempted to enter the tablet market in 2002 with its Microsoft Tablet PC specifications, for tablets and convertible laptops running Windows XP. However, Microsoft's early attempts were overshadowed by the release of Apple's iPad; following in its footsteps, most tablets use slate designs and run mobile operating systems such as Android and iOS, giving them functionality similar to smartphones. In response, Microsoft built its Windows 8 operating system to better accommodate these new touch-oriented devices.[47] Many tablet computers have USB ports, to which a keyboard or mouse can be connected.

text: Ultra-mobile PC[edit]

text: The ultra-mobile PC (UMP) is a specification for small-configuration tablet PCs. It was developed as a joint development exercise by Microsoft, Intel and Samsung, among others. Current UMPCs typically feature the Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Linux operating system, and low-voltage Intel Atom or VIA C7-M processors.

text: Pocket PC[edit]

text: A pocket PC is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer (personal digital assistant, PDA) that runs the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system. It may have the capability to run an alternative operating system like NetBSD or Linux. Pocket PCs have many of the capabilities of desktop PCs. Numerous applications are available for handhelds adhering to the Microsoft Pocket PC specification, many of which are freeware. Some of these devices also include mobile phone features, actually representing a smartphone. Microsoft-compliant Pocket PCs can also be used with many other add-ons like GPS receivers, barcode readers, RFID readers and cameras. In 2007, with the release of Windows Mobile 6, Microsoft dropped the name Pocket PC in favor of a new naming scheme: devices without an integrated phone are called Windows Mobile Classic instead of Pocket PC, while devices with an integrated phone and a touch screen are called Windows Mobile Professional.[48]

text: Hardware[edit]

text:
Scanner
CPU (Microprocessor)
Memory (RAM)
Expansion cards (graphics cards, etc.)
Power supply
Optical disc drive
Storage (Hard disk or SSD)
Motherboard
Speakers
Monitor
System software
Application software
Keyboard
Mouse
External hard disk
Printer

text: Computer hardware is a comprehensive term for all physical parts of a computer, as distinguished from the data it contains or operates on, and the software that provides instructions for the hardware to accomplish tasks. The boundary between hardware and software has become blurred, with the existence of firmware that is software "built into" the hardware. For example, a 2010-era LCD display screen contains a small computer inside. Mass-market consumer computers use highly standardized components and so are simple for an end user to assemble into a working system. Most 2010s-era computers only require users to plug in the power supply, monitor, and other cables. A typical desktop computer consists of a computer case (or "tower"), a metal chassis that holds the power supply, motherboard, hard disk drive, and often an optical disc drive. Most towers have empty space where users can add additional components. External devices such as a computer monitor or visual display unit, keyboard, and a pointing device (mouse) are usually found in a personal computer.

text: The motherboard connects all processor, memory and peripheral devices together. The RAM, graphics card and processor are in most cases mounted directly onto the motherboard. The central processing unit (microprocessor chip) plugs into a CPU socket, while the memory modules plug into corresponding memory sockets. Some motherboards have the video display adapter, sound and other peripherals integrated onto the motherboard, while others use expansion slots for graphics cards, network cards, or other I/O devices. The graphics card or sound card may employ a break out box to keep the analog parts away from the electromagnetic radiation inside the computer case. Disk drives, which provide mass storage, are connected to the motherboard with one cable, and to the power supply through another cable. Usually, disk drives are mounted in the same case as the motherboard; expansion chassis are also made for additional disk storage.

text: For large amounts of data, a tape drive can be used or extra hard disks can be put together in an external case. The keyboard and the mouse are external devices plugged into the computer through connectors on an I/O panel on the back of the computer case. The monitor is also connected to the input/output (I/O) panel, either through an onboard port on the motherboard, or a port on the graphics card. Capabilities of the personal computers hardware can sometimes be extended by the addition of expansion cards connected via an expansion bus. Standard peripheral buses often used for adding expansion cards in personal computers include PCI, PCI Express (PCIe), and AGP (a high-speed PCI bus dedicated to graphics adapters, found in older computers). Most modern personal computers have multiple physical PCI Express expansion slots, with some of the having PCI slots as well.

text: Computer case[edit]

text: A computer case is an enclosure that contains the main components of a computer. They are usually constructed from steel or aluminum combined with plastic, although other materials such as wood and tempered glass have been used for specialized units. Cases are available in different sizes and shapes; the size and shape of a computer case are usually determined by the configuration of the motherboard that it is designed to accommodate since this is the largest and most central component of most computers. The most popular style for desktop computers is ATX, although microATX and similar layouts became very popular for a variety of uses. Companies like Shuttle Inc. and AOpen have popularized small cases, for which FlexATX is the most common motherboard size. In the 1990s, desktop computer cases were larger and taller than 2010-era computer cases.

text: Power supply unit[edit]

text: The power supply unit (PSU) converts general-purpose mains AC electricity to direct current (DC) for the other components of the computer. The rated output capacity of a PSU should usually be about 40% greater than the calculated system power consumption needs to be obtained by adding up all the system components. This protects against overloading the supply, and guards against performance degradation. Power supply capacities range from 250 to 2000 watts for desktop computers.

text: Processor[edit]

text: The central processing unit (CPU) is a part of a computer that executes instructions of a software program. In newer PCs, the CPU contains over a million transistors in one integrated circuit chip called the microprocessor. In most cases, the processor plugs directly into the motherboard. The processor chip may have a heat sink and a fan attached for cooling. IBM PC compatible computers use an x86-compatible microprocessor, manufactured by Intel, AMD, VIA Technologies or Transmeta. Apple Macintosh computers were initially built with the Motorola 680x0 family of processors, then switched to the PowerPC series; in 2006, they switched to x86-compatible processors made by Intel.

text: Motherboard[edit]

text: The motherboard, also referred to as system board or main board, is the primary circuit board within a personal computer, and other major system components plug directly into it or via a cable. A motherboard contains a microprocessor, the CPU supporting circuitry (mostly integrated circuits) that provide the interface between memory and input/output peripheral circuits, main memory, and facilities for initial setup of the computer immediately after power-on (often called boot firmware or, in IBM PC compatible computers, a BIOS or UEFI). In many portable and embedded personal computers, the motherboard houses nearly all of the PC's core components. Often a motherboard will also contain one or more peripheral buses and physical connectors for expansion purposes. Sometimes a secondary daughter board is connected to the motherboard to provide further expandability or to satisfy space constraints.

text: Main memory[edit]

text: A PC's main memory is a fast primary storage device that is directly accessible by the CPU, and is used to store the currently executing program and immediately needed data. PCs use semiconductor random-access memory (RAM) of various kinds such as DRAM, SDRAM or SRAM as their primary storage. Which exact kind is used depends on cost/performance issues at any particular time. Main memory is much faster than mass storage devices like hard disk drives or optical discs, but is usually volatile, meaning that it does not retain its contents (instructions or data) in the absence of power, and is much more expensive for a given capacity than is most mass storage. As a result, main memory is generally not suitable for long-term or archival data storage.

text: Storage drive[edit]

text: Mass storage devices store programs and data even when the power is off; they do require power to perform read and write functions during usage. Although flash memory has dropped in cost, the prevailing form of mass storage in personal computers is still the hard disk drive. If the mass storage controller provides additional ports for expandability, a PC may also be upgraded by the addition of extra hard disk or optical disc drives. For example, BD-ROMs, DVD-RWs, and various optical disc recorders may all be added by the user to certain PCs. Standard internal storage device connection interfaces are PATA, SATA and SCSI. Solid state drives (SSDs) are a much faster replacement for traditional mechanical hard disk drives but are also more expensive in terms of cost per gigabyte. Solid state drives connect using several connectors, including SATA, M.2, and U.2. Some models use the NVMe protocol, which have vastly improved performance over standard hard disk drives and older SSDs that use the older AHCI protocol.

text: Visual display unit[edit]

text: A visual display unit, computer monitor or just display, is a piece of electrical equipment, usually separate from the computer case, which displays visual images without producing a permanent computer record. A display device was usually either a CRT in the 1980s, but by the 2000s, flat panel displays such as a TFT LCD had largely replaced the bulkier, heavier CRT screens. Multi-monitor setups are quite common in the 2010s, as they enable a user to display multiple programs at the same time (e.g., an email inbox and a word processing program). The display unit houses an electronic circuitry that generates its picture from signals received from the computer. Within the computer, either integral to the motherboard or plugged into it as an expansion card, there is pre-processing circuitry to convert the microprocessor's output data to a format compatible with the display unit's circuitry. The images from computer monitors originally contained only text, but as graphical user interfaces emerged and became common, they began to display more images and multimedia content. The term "monitor" is also used, particularly by technicians in broadcasting television, where a picture of the broadcast data is displayed to a highly standardized reference monitor for confidence checking purposes.

text: Video card[edit]

text: The video card—otherwise called a graphics card, graphics adapter or video adapter—processes the graphics output from the motherboard and transmits it to the display. It is an essential part of modern multimedia-enriched computing. Graphics circuitry may be integrated with the motherboard, or may be on cards istalled in PCI, AGP, or PCI Express slots. When the IBM PC was introduced, most existing business-oriented personal computers used text-only display adapters and had no graphics capability. Home computers at that time had graphics compatible with television signals, but with low resolution owing to the limited memory available to the eight-bit processors available at the time.

text: Keyboard[edit]

text: A keyboard is an arrangement of buttons that each correspond to a function, letter, or number. They are the primary devices used for inputting text. In most cases, they contain an array of keys specifically organized with the corresponding letters, numbers, and functions printed or engraved on the button. They are generally designed around an operators language, and many different versions for different languages exist. In English, the most common layout is the QWERTY layout, which was originally used in typewriters. They have evolved over time, and have been modified for use in computers with the addition of function keys, number keys, arrow keys, and keys specific to an operating system. Often, specific functions can be achieved by pressing multiple keys at once or in succession, such as inputting characters with accents or opening a task manager. Programs use keyboard shortcuts very differently and all use different keyboard shortcuts for different program specific operations, such as refreshing a web page in a web browser or selecting all text in a word processor. In addition to the alphabetic keys found on a typewriter, computer keyboards typically have a numeric keyboard and a row of function keys and special keys, such as CNTRL, ALT, DEL and Esc

text: Many keyboards include LED lights under the keys that increase the visibility of the letters or symbols in dark environments.

text: Mouse[edit]

text: A computer mouse is a small handheld device that users hold and slide across a flat surface, pointing at various elements of a graphical user interface with an on-screen cursor, and selecting and moving objects using the mouse buttons. Mice may be plugged into a dedicated mouse socket, or a USB port, or, may be connected wirelessly. Mice include one or more buttons to allow a user to signal the computer to carry out some operation, such as selecting an item from a menu of choices on the screen. A mouse may have a scroll wheel, to allow users to move the displayed image. The scroll wheel can also be pressed down, and used as a third button. Some mouse wheels may be tilted from side to side to allow sideways scrolling. Different programs make use of these functions differently, and may scroll horizontally by default with the scroll wheel, open different menus with different buttons, etc. These functions may be also user-defined through software utilities. Mechanical mice used a ball, which drove pulse generators to detect movement along "north-south" or "east-west" axies. Optical mice use a special mouse pad with a printed grid to allow detection of motion, or else use an imaging chip that allows detection of motion on almost any opaque surface.

text: Other components[edit]

text: All computers require either fixed or removable storage for their operating system, programs and user-generated material. Early home computers used compact audio cassettes for file storage; these were at the time a very low cost storage solution, but were displaced by floppy disk drives when manufacturing costs dropped, by the mid-1980s. Initially, the 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch floppy drives were the principal forms of removable storage for backup of user files and distribution of software. As memory sizes increased, the capacity of the floppy did not keep pace; the Zip drive and other higher-capacity removable media were introduced but never became as prevalent as the floppy drive. By the late 1990s, the optical drive, in CD and later DVD and Blu-ray Disc forms, became the main method for software distribution, and writeable media provided means for data backup and file interchange. As a result, floppy drives became uncommon in desktop personal computers since about 2000, and were dropped from many laptop systems even earlier.[note 1]

text: A second generation of tape recorders was provided when videocassette recorders were pressed into service as backup media for larger disk drives. All these systems were less reliable and slower than purpose-built magnetic tape drives. Such tape drives were uncommon in consumer-type personal computers but were a necessity in business or industrial use. Interchange of data such as photographs from digital cameras is greatly expedited by installation of a card reader, which is often compatible with several forms of flash memory devices. It is usually faster and more convenient to move large amounts of data by removing the card from the mobile device, instead of communicating with the mobile device through a USB interface.

text: A USB flash drive performs much of the data transfer and backup functions formerly done with floppy drives, Zip disks and other devices. Mainstream operating systems for personal computers provide built-in support for USB flash drives, allowing interchange even between computers with different processors and operating systems. The compact size and lack of moving parts or dirt-sensitive media, combined with low cost and high capacity, have made USB flash drives a popular and useful accessory for any personal computer user.

text: The operating system can be located on any storage, but is typically installed on a hard disk or solid-state drive. A Live CD represents the concept of running an operating system directly from a CD. While this is slow compared to storing the operating system on a hard disk drive, it is typically used for installation of operating systems, demonstrations, system recovery, or other special purposes. Large flash memory is currently more expensive than hard disk drives of similar size (as of mid-2014) but are starting to appear in laptop computers because of their low weight, small size and low power requirements. Computer communications involve internal modem cards, modems, network adapter cards, and routers. Common peripherals and adapter cards include headsets, joysticks, microphones, printers, scanners, sound adapter cards (as a separate card rather than located on the motherboard), speakers and webcams.

text: Software[edit]

text: Computer software is any kind of computer program, procedure, or documentation that performs some task on a computer system.[50] The term includes application software such as word processors that perform productive tasks for users, system software such as operating systems that interface with computer hardware to provide the necessary services for application software, and middleware that controls and co-ordinates distributed systems.

text: Software applications are common for word processing, Internet browsing, Internet faxing, e-mail and other digital messaging, multimedia playback, playing of computer game, and computer programming. The user may have significant knowledge of the operating environment and application programs, but is not necessarily interested in programming nor even able to write programs for the computer. Therefore, most software written primarily for personal computers tends to be designed with simplicity of use, or "user-friendliness" in mind. However, the software industry continuously provide a wide range of new products for use in personal computers, targeted at both the expert and the non-expert user.

text: Operating system[edit]

text: An operating system (OS) manages computer resources and provides programmers with an interface used to access those resources. An operating system processes system data and user input, and responds by allocating and managing tasks and internal system resources as a service to users and programs of the system. An operating system performs basic tasks such as controlling and allocating memory, prioritizing system requests, controlling input and output devices, facilitating computer networking, and managing files.

text: Common contemporary desktop operating systems are Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Solaris and FreeBSD. Windows, macOS, and Linux all have server and personal variants. With the exception of Microsoft Windows, the designs of each of them were inspired by or directly inherited from the Unix operating system, which was developed at Bell Labs beginning in the late 1960s and spawned the development of numerous free and proprietary operating systems.

text: Microsoft Windows[edit]

text: Microsoft Windows is the collective brand name of several operating systems made by Microsoft which, as of 2015, are installed on PCs built by HP, Dell and Lenovo, the three remaining high volume manufacturers.[51] Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985,[52] as an add-on to MS-DOS and in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs)[53][54] generated by Apple's 1984 introduction of the Macintosh.[55] As of January 2017[update], the most recent client and server version of Windows are Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016.

text: macOS[edit]

text: macOS (formerly OS X) is a line of operating systems developed, marketed and sold by Apple Inc. macOS is the successor to the original Mac OS, which had been Apple's primary operating system since 1984. macOS is a Unix-based graphical operating system, and Snow Leopard, Leopard, Lion, Mountain Lion, Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan and Sierra are its version codenames. The most recent version of macOS is codenamed macOS High Sierra.

text: Linux[edit]

text: Linux is a family of Unix-like computer operating systems. Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free software and open source development: typically all underlying source code can be freely modified, used, and redistributed by anyone.[56] The name "Linux" refers to the Linux kernel, started in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. The system's utilities and libraries usually come from the GNU operating system, announced in 1983 by Richard Stallman. The GNU contribution is the basis for the alternative name GNU/Linux.[57]

text: Known for its use in servers, with the LAMP application stack as one of prominent examples, Linux is supported by corporations such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Novell, Oracle Corporation, Red Hat, Canonical Ltd. and Sun Microsystems. It is used as an operating system for a wide variety of computer hardware, including desktop computers, netbooks, supercomputers,[58] video game systems such as the Steam Machine or PlayStation 3 (until this option was removed remotely by Sony in 2010[59]), several arcade games, and embedded devices such as mobile phones, portable media players, routers, and stage lighting systems.

text: Applications[edit]

text: This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Generally, a computer user uses application software to carry out a specific task. System software supports applications and provides common services such as memory management, network connectivity and device drivers, all of which may be used by applications but are not directly of interest to the end user. A simplified analogy in the world of hardware would be the relationship of an electric light bulb (an application) to an electric power generation plant (a system): the power plant merely generates electricity, not itself of any real use until harnessed to an application like the electric light that performs a service that benefits the user.

text: Typical examples of software applications are word processors, spreadsheets, and media players. Multiple applications bundled together as a package are sometimes referred to as an application suite. Microsoft Office and LibreOffice, which bundle together a word processor, a spreadsheet, and several other discrete applications, are typical examples. The separate applications in a suite usually have a user interface that has some commonality making it easier for the user to learn and use each application. Often, they may have some capability to interact with each other in ways beneficial to the user; for example, a spreadsheet might be able to be embedded in a word processor document even though it had been created in the separate spreadsheet application.

text: End-user development tailors systems to meet the user's specific needs. User-written software include spreadsheet templates, word processor macros, scientific simulations, graphics and animation scripts; even email filters are a kind of user software. Users create this software themselves and often overlook how important it is.

text: Gaming[edit]

text: PC gaming is popular among the high-end PC market. According to an April 2014 market analysis, Gaming platforms like Steam (software), Uplay, Origin, and GOG.com (as well as competitive eSports titles like League of Legends) are largely responsible for PC systems overtaking console revenue in 2013.[60]

text: Sales[edit]

text: Market share[edit]

text: In 2001, 125 million personal computers were shipped in comparison to 48,000 in 1977.[61] More than 500 million personal computers were in use in 2002 and one billion personal computers had been sold worldwide from the mid-1970s up to this time. Of the latter figure, 75% were professional or work related, while the rest were sold for personal or home use. About 81.5% of personal computers shipped had been desktop computers, 16.4% laptops and 2.1% servers. The United States had received 38.8% (394 million) of the computers shipped, Europe 25% and 11.7% had gone to the Asia-Pacific region, the fastest-growing market as of 2002. The second billion was expected to be sold by 2008.[62] Almost half of all households in Western Europe had a personal computer and a computer could be found in 40% of homes in United Kingdom, compared with only 13% in 1985.[63]

text: The global personal computer shipments were 350.9 million units in 2010,[64] 308.3 million units in 2009[65] and 302.2 million units in 2008.[66][67] The shipments were 264 million units in the year 2007, according to iSuppli,[68] up 11.2% from 239 million in 2006.[69] In 2004, the global shipments were 183 million units, an 11.6% increase over 2003.[70] In 2003, 152.6 million computers were shipped, at an estimated value of $175 billion.[71] In 2002, 136.7 million PCs were shipped, at an estimated value of $175 billion.[71] In 2000, 140.2 million personal computers were shipped, at an estimated value of $226 billion.[71] Worldwide shipments of personal computers surpassed the 100-million mark in 1999, growing to 113.5 million units from 93.3 million units in 1998.[72] In 1999, Asia had 14.1 million units shipped.[73]

text: As of June 2008, the number of personal computers in use worldwide hit one billion,[74] while another billion is expected to be reached by 2014. Mature markets like the United States, Western Europe and Japan accounted for 58% of the worldwide installed PCs. The emerging markets were expected to double their installed PCs by 2012 and to take 70% of the second billion PCs. About 180 million computers (16% of the existing installed base) were expected to be replaced and 35 million to be dumped into landfill in 2008. The whole installed base grew 12% annually.[75][76]

text: Based on International Data Corporation (IDC) data for Q2 2011, for the first time China surpassed US in PC shipments by 18.5 million and 17.7 million respectively. This trend reflects the rising of emerging markets as well as the relative stagnation of mature regions.[77]

text: In the developed world, there has been a vendor tradition to keep adding functions to maintain high prices of personal computers. However, since the introduction of the One Laptop per Child foundation and its low-cost XO-1 laptop, the computing industry started to pursue the price too. Although introduced only one year earlier, there were 14 million netbooks sold in 2008.[78] Besides the regular computer manufacturers, companies making especially rugged versions of computers have sprung up, offering alternatives for people operating their machines in extreme weather or environments.[79]

text:
2014 worldwide PC vendor unit shipment estimates

Source
Date
Lenovo
HP
Dell
Acer Inc.
Asus
Others

IDC[80]
Q2 2014
19.6%
18.3%
14.0%
8.2%
6.2%
33.6%

Gartner[81]
Q2 2014
19.2%
17.7%
13.3%
7.9%
6.9%
35.0%

text: In 2011, Deloitte consulting firm predicted that, smartphones and tablet computers as computing devices would surpass the PCs sales[82] (as has happened since 2012). As of 2013, worldwide sales of PCs had begun to fall as many consumers moved to tablets and smartphones for gifts and personal use. Sales of 90.3 million units in the 4th quarter of 2012 represented a 4.9% decline from sales in the 4th quarter of 2011.[83] Global PC sales fell sharply in the first quarter of 2013, according to IDC data. The 14% year-over-year decline was the largest on record since the firm began tracking in 1994, and double what analysts had been expecting.[84][85] The decline of Q2 2013 PC shipments marked the fifth straight quarter of falling sales.[86] "This is horrific news for PCs," remarked an analyst. "It's all about mobile computing now. We have definitely reached the tipping point."[84] Data from Gartner Inc. showed a similar decline for the same time period.[84] China's Lenovo Group bucked the general trend as strong sales to first time buyers in the developing world allowed the company's sales to stay flat overall.[84] Windows 8, which was designed to look similar to tablet/smartphone software, was cited as a contributing factor in the decline of new PC sales. "Unfortunately, it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only didn’t provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market," said IDC Vice President Bob O’Donnell.[85]

text: In August 2013, Credit Suisse published research findings that attributed around 75% of the operating profit share of the PC industry to Microsoft (operating system) and Intel (semiconductors).[87] According to IDC, in 2013 PC shipments dropped by 9.8% as the greatest drop-ever in line with consumers trends to use mobile devices.[88]

text: Average selling price[edit]

text: Selling prices of personal computers steadily declined due to lower costs of production and manufacture, while the capabilities of computers increased. In 1975, an Altair kit sold for only around US$400, but required customers to solder components into circuit boards; peripherals required to interact with the system in alphanumeric form instead of blinking lights would add another $2,000, and the resultant system was only of use to hobbyists.[89]

text: At their introduction in 1981, the US$1,795 price of the Osborne 1 and its competitor Kaypro was considered an attractive price point; these systems had text-only displays and only floppy disks for storage. By 1982, Michael Dell observed that a personal computer system selling at retail for about $3,000 US was made of components that cost the dealer about $600; typical gross margin on a computer unit was around $1,000.[90] The total value of personal computer purchases in the US in 1983 was about $4 billion, comparable to total sales of pet food. By late 1998, the average selling price of personal computer systems in the United States had dropped below $1,000.[91]

text: For Microsoft Windows systems, the average selling price (ASP) showed a decline in 2008/2009, possibly due to low-cost netbooks, drawing $569 for desktop computers and $689 for laptops at U.S. retail in August 2008. In 2009, ASP had further fallen to $533 for desktops and to $602 for notebooks by January and to $540 and $560 in February.[92] According to research firm NPD, the average selling price of all Windows portable PCs has fallen from $659 in October 2008 to $519 in October 2009.[93]

text: Use[edit]

text: Toxicity[edit]

text: Personal computing can fulfill individual needs, but that fulfillment may come at a cost to society as well, especially in terms of environmental impact, although this impact differs between desktop computers and laptops.[94]

text: Electronic waste regulation[edit]

text: Personal computers have become a large contributor to the 50 million tons of discarded electronic waste that is being generated annually, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. To address the electronic waste issue affecting developing countries and the environment, extended producer responsibility (EPR) acts have been implemented in various countries and states.[95] Organizations, such as the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, Basel Action Network, Toxics Link India, SCOPE, and Greenpeace have contributed to these efforts. In the absence of comprehensive national legislation or regulation on the export and import of electronic waste, the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and BAN (Basel Action Network) teamed up with 32 electronic recyclers in the US and Canada to create an e-steward program for the orderly disposal of manufacturers and customers electronic waste. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition founded the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, a coalition that advocates for the production of environmentally friendly products. The TakeBack Coalition works with policy makers, recyclers, and smart businesses to get manufacturers to take full responsibility of their products. There are organizations opposing EPR regulation, such as the Reason Foundation. They see flaws in two principal tenets of EPR: First EPR relies on the idea that if the manufacturers have to pay for environmental harm, they will adapt their practices. Second EPR assumes the current design practices are environmentally inefficient. The Reason Foundation claims that manufacturers naturally move toward reduced material and energy use.