AOL is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by Verizon Media; the service traces its history to an online service known as PlayNET, which hosted multi-player games for the Commodore 64. PlayNET licensed their software to a new service, Quantum Link, who went online in November 1985. PlayNET shut down shortly thereafter; the initial Q-Link service was similar to the original PlayNET, but over time Q-Link added many new services. When a new IBM PC client was released, the company focused on the non-gaming services and launched it under the name America Online; the original Q-Link was shut down on November 1, 1995, while AOL grew to become the largest online service, displacing established players like CompuServe and The Source. By 1995, AOL had about 3 million active users. AOL was one of the early pioneers of the Internet in the mid-1990s, the most recognized brand on the web in the United States, it provided a dial-up service to millions of Americans, as well as providing a web portal, e-mail, instant messaging and a web browser following its purchase of Netscape.

In 2001, at the height of its popularity, it purchased the media conglomerate Time Warner in the largest merger in U. S. history. AOL declined thereafter due to the decline of dial-up and rise of broadband. AOL was spun off from Time Warner in 2009, with Tim Armstrong appointed the new CEO. Under his leadership, the company invested in media brands and advertising technologies. On June 23, 2015, AOL was acquired by Verizon Communications for $4.4 billion. AOL began in 1983, as a short-lived venture called Control Video Corporation, founded by William von Meister, its sole product was an online service called GameLine for the Atari 2600 video game console, after von Meister's idea of buying music on demand was rejected by Warner Bros. Subscribers paid a one-time US$15 setup fee. GameLine permitted subscribers to temporarily download games and keep track of high scores, at a cost of US$1 per game; the telephone disconnected and the downloaded game would remain in GameLine's Master Module and playable until the user turned off the console or downloaded another game.

In January 1983, Steve Case was hired as a marketing consultant for Control Video on the recommendation of his brother, investment banker Dan Case. In May 1983, Jim Kimsey became a manufacturing consultant for Control Video, near bankruptcy. Kimsey was brought in by his West Point friend Frank Caufield, an investor in the company. In early 1985, von Meister left the company. On May 24, 1985, Quantum Computer Services, an online services company, was founded by Jim Kimsey from the remnants of Control Video, with Kimsey as chief executive officer, Marc Seriff as chief technology officer; the technical team consisted of Marc Seriff, Tom Ralston, Ray Heinrich, Steve Trus, Ken Huntsman, Janet Hunter, Dave Brown, Craig Dykstra, Doug Coward, Mike Ficco. In 1987, Case was promoted again to executive vice-president. Kimsey soon began to groom Case to take over the role of CEO, which he did when Kimsey retired in 1991. Kimsey changed the company's strategy, in 1985, launched a dedicated online service for Commodore 64 and 128 computers called Quantum Link.

The Quantum Link software was based on software licensed from Inc.. The service was different from other online services as it used the computing power of the Commodore 64 and the Apple II rather than just a "dumb" terminal, it provided a fixed price service tailored for home users. In May 1988, Quantum and Apple launched AppleLink Personal Edition for Apple II and Macintosh computers. In August 1988, Quantum launched PC Link, a service for IBM-compatible PCs developed in a joint venture with the Tandy Corporation. After the company parted ways with Apple in October 1989, Quantum changed the service's name to America Online. Case promoted and sold AOL as the online service for people unfamiliar with computers, in contrast to CompuServe, well established in the technical community. From the beginning, AOL included online games in its mix of products. In the early years of AOL the company introduced many innovative online interactive titles and games, including: Graphical chat environments Habitat and Club Caribe from LucasArts.

The first online interactive fiction series QuantumLink Serial by Tracy Reed. Quantum Space, the first automated play-by-mail game. In February 1991, AOL for DOS was launched using a GeoWorks interface followed a year by AOL for Windows; this coincided with growth in pay-based online services, like Prodigy, CompuServe, GEnie. 1991 saw the introduction of an original Dungeons & Dragons title called Neverwinter Nights from Stormfront Studios. During the early 1990s, the average subscription lasted for about 25 months and accounted for $350 in total revenue. Advertisements invited modem owners to "Try America Online FREE", promising free software and trial membership. AOL discontinued Q-Link and PC Link in late 1994. In September 1993, AOL added Usenet access to its features; this is referred to as the "Eternal September", as Usenet's cycle of new users was dominated by smaller numbers of college and university freshmen gaining access in September and taking a few weeks to acclimate. This coincided with a

The Agadir air disaster was a chartered Boeing 707 passenger flight on Sunday, August 3, 1975, that crashed into a mountain on approach to Agadir Inezgane Airport, Morocco. All 188 passengers and crew on board were killed, it is the deadliest aviation disaster involving a Boeing 707, as well as the deadliest in Morocco. The 707, owned by Alia, was chartered by the national airline of Morocco, Royal Air Maroc, to fly 181 Moroccan workers and their families from France home for the holidays. There was heavy fog in the area and the aircraft was flying in from the northeast over the Atlas Mountains; as the 707 was descending from 8,000 feet for a runway 29 approach, its right wingtip and no. 4 engine struck a peak at 2,400 feet altitude. Part of the wing separated; the aircraft crashed into a ravine. Rescue teams found wreckage over a wide area; the destruction was nothing bigger than 10 square feet in size was found. The cause of the crash was determined to be pilot error in not ensuring positive course guidance before beginning descent.

The aircraft had not followed the usual north-south corridor used for flights to Agadir

The energy sector in Switzerland is, by its structure and importance, typical of a developed country. Apart from hydroelectric power and firewood, the country has few indigenous energy resources: oil products, natural gas and nuclear fuel are imported, so that by 2013 only 22.6% of primary energy consumption will have been covered by local resources. Final energy consumption in Switzerland has increased more than fivefold since the beginning of the 20th century, from around 170,000 to 896,000 terajoules per year, with the largest share now being captured by transport; this increase was made in parallel with the strong development of its economy and the increase in population. As the sector is liberalised, the federal energy policy aims to accompany the promises made in Kyoto by promoting a more rational use of energy and since the 1990s, the development of new renewable sources. Thanks to the high share of hydroelectricity and nuclear power in electricity production, Switzerland's per capita energy-related CO2 emissions are 28% lower than the European Union average and equal to those of France.

Following the earthquake that struck Japan in March 2011 and the Fukushima nuclear accident, the Federal Council announced on 25 May 2011 a phase-out of nuclear energy scheduled for 2034. This "2050 energy strategy" was accepted by 58.2% of the population in a popular vote on May 21, 2017, the new legislation came into force in 2018. The energy economy in Switzerland developed to the rest of Europe, but with some delay until 1850. There are three different periods. An agrarian society until the mid-nineteenth century, Switzerland's small scale energy economy was based on wood and biomass, in general renewable energy. Used were wind power and hydraulic power, from the eighteenth century, indigenous coal; the industrial society, from 1860 to 1950, had to import coal as it was the main source of energy but not available as a natural resource. Another important source of energy was water power at high pressure; the current consumer society, developed using oil, natural gas, water power to a lesser extent, nuclear energy.

The oil crisis and pollution of the environment prompted the increased use of renewable energy. It is notable; the high proportion of energy generated through hydroelectric power and the lack of natural resources help to explain why such a situation is strategically beneficial in Switzerland. On 21 May 2017, Swiss voters accepted the new Energy Act establishing the'energy strategy 2050'; the aims of the energy strategy 2050 are: to reduce energy consumption, to increase energy efficiency and to promote renewable energies. The Energy Act of 2006 forbids the construction of new nuclear power plants in Switzerland; the Swiss government has set a target to cut fossil fuel use 20% by the year 2020 Most of the energy produced within Switzerland is renewable from Hydropower and biomass. However this only accounts for around 15% of total overall energy consumption as the other 85% of energy used is imported derived from fossil fuels and nuclear power. Based on the estimated mean production level, hydropower still accounted for 90% of domestic electricity production at the beginning of the 1970s, but this figure fell to around 60% by 1985 following the commissioning of Switzerland's nuclear power plants, is now around 56%.

Hydropower therefore remains Switzerland's most important domestic source of renewable energy. Hydro energy was meaning to be taken down in 2013 with new laws on energy to be put in place but they were scrapped for a more eco friendly plan. Hydroelectric companies received support from the state. Critics pointed out the lack of independence of the political institutions, of which several elected members are connected with the hydroelectric industry. There has been a proposal to produce around 600 GWh of electricity per annum using wind turbines by 2030. Solar energy in Switzerland only accounts for 0.04% of total energy production. The cost of solar energy is higher than competing sources in Switzerland such as hydro; as costs of solar come down it is to become more market competitive. It is subsidised in an attempt to make it more competitive and attractive. 2019 Switzerland announced plans of large scale solar auctions. Switzerland's per capita electricity consumption is higher than that of its neighbours.

Production of electricity: Hydropower plants, 56% Nuclear power plants, 39% Thermal power and other power plants, 5%The Swiss Federal Office of Energy is within the Federal Department of Environment, Transport and Communications. SwissEnergy is a program aiming at promoting energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy with the collaboration of the cantons and municipalities, partners from trade and industry and consumer organisations. A report was published in 2011 by the World Energy Council in association with Oliver Wyman, entitled Policies for the future: 2011 Assessment of country energy and climate policies, which ranks country performance according to an energy sustainability index; the best performers were Switzerland and France. A study published in 2009 showed that the emissions of carbon dioxide due to the electricity consumed in Switzerland are seven times higher than the emissions of carbon dioxide due to the electricity produced in Switzerland; the study showed that