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Stupid questions.

N

novetan

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 3, 2010
404
12
I'm a little confused over these terms which may have already discussed somewhere else. I like to get the right answer.

1) Generally people said Mac vs PC. I find strange as Pc refers to Personal computers. Mac is not?

2) It seems like PC or windows are used interchangably. Which is correct?

3) Isn't OS X also uses windows? I mean the format or style (whatever you call it) also has individual windows that can open, minimise and close? Why they are not called windows?

Sorry, I only know how to on/off a laptop.
 
1. "PC" has become a marketing colloquialism for any machine that runs windows. In the general sense "personal computer" can refer to pretty much anything with a CPU in it these days.

2. Neither is correct or incorrect, it depends on the context.

3. Windows is a brand name. A "window" is a general term describing a viewing pane that displays information.
 
miles01110 said:
3. Windows is a brand name. A "window" is a general term describing a viewing pane that displays information.
Click to expand...

Somewhere I read that mentioned more correctly to say would be "OS X vs Windows (meaning microsoft)"

As I see it, OS X also uses window principle, so how now to phase it more correctly and yet people will not misunderstand you without embarassing oneself.
 
novetan said:
As I see it, OS X also uses window principle, so how now to phase it more correctly and yet people will not misunderstand you without embarassing oneself.
Click to expand...

You are missing the point. Everyone knows that if you say "Windows" in a conversation about operating systems, it's understood that you're talking about the Windows operating system and not a "window" in OS X.

How a graphical user interface is implemented has nothing to do with "OS X vs Windows" because yes- they share various features.
 
Mac = An Apple Macintosh computer
Mac OS X = The operating system used by Mac computers. (also known as OS X)
PC = Personal Computer, which, in the strictest definition, would include Macs
PC = More commonly used in a Mac vs PC discussion to refer to a PC that runs Windows
Windows = Brand name of Microsoft's operating system for PCs (excluding Macs)
windows = Application windows that appear on most operating systems.
Stupid Question = A question that isn't asked.
 
GGJstudios said:
Mac = An Apple Macintosh computer
Mac OS X = The operating system used by Mac computers. (also known as OS X)
PC = Personal Computer, which, in the strictest definition, would include Macs
PC = More commonly used in a Mac vs PC discussion to refer to a PC that runs Windows
Windows = Brand name of Microsoft's operating system for PCs (excluding Macs)
windows = Application windows that appear on most operating systems.
Stupid Question = A question that isn't asked.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Now at least I can speak with more confidence
 
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