Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Hot take: Macs are technically PCs

What’s a computer?

1773751637917.png
 
  • Haha
  • Like
Reactions: Paul1964, DankeBrutus and maflynn
On one hand yes obviously PC just means Personal Computer and therefor an Apple computer is a PC. Linux computers are PCs. Your phone is technically a PC. Your Apple Watch is technically a PC.

On the other hand I like this joke comment I saw years ago on this very subject where a dude was like "I spent enough money on it I'll call it a MacBook if I want."
 
Basic75 said:
Do you mean Apple's XServe G5, not that it was a blade server? Btw, Macs count as Unix systems, too. And outside of the Mac we mostly remember PowerPC for game consoles like the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii and Wii U.
Click to expand...
It wasn't just Apple. It seemed to get off to a good start but didn't really catch on. Apple did stick with it for a while though.

From Wikipedia:

When the first PowerPC products reached the market, they were met with enthusiasm. In addition to Apple, both IBM and the Motorola Computer Group offered systems built around the processors. Microsoft released Windows NT 3.51 for the architecture, which was used in Motorola's PowerPC servers, and Sun Microsystems offered a version of its Solaris OS. IBM ported its AIX Unix. Workplace OS featured a new port of OS/2 (with Intel emulation for application compatibility), pending a successful launch of the PowerPC 620. Throughout the mid-1990s, PowerPC processors achieved benchmark test scores that matched or exceeded those of the fastest x86 CPUs.
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: BSDnostalgia
tonmischa said:
Interesting discussion! Here is my take:


Language is a living thing and how people use language evolves constantly.
There are many examples for technically wrong words or phrases that are used everyday.
Just a few:
"ATM machine" (the M is redundant), "PIN number",
"added bonus" (a bonus is always something extra), "personal opinion" (an opinion is always personal),
"chai tea" (chai means tea in other languages),
"i literally died laughing" ("literally" used incorrectly)

While you are technically correct that a Mac is a personal computer, the term "PC" is no longer used in that sense. Consider other words that have changed their meaning over time. "Gay" is just one prominent example.

In other words:

The term "PC" is no longer understood as an abbreviation of "personal computer", but a synomyn of a "computer running Windows".
Click to expand...
Nice one!
 
Squidiey said:
I don’t like the term *PC* when people use it to refer a non-Mac since it stands for *Personal Computer*. and guess what? Macs are Personal Computers (aka. PCs)

So I prefer saying the following terms

Mac PC (If it’s made by Apple)
Non-Mac PC (If it’s made by a non-Apple company)
Click to expand...
Congratulations, you must use Internet Explorer. (This has been a long-running "debate"/conversation for literally decades.)

Yes, everyone knows a Mac is a "personal computer." You haven't figured out anything grand. But Apple did really well with marketing back in the day and convinced people that the options were "Mac" or "PC." "Non-Mac PC" is just too many words/syllables.

If you want to critique something truly dumb that people say, focus on how Apple has seemingly gotten an entire civilization to start speaking in grammatical errors by omitting articles (the, a, an) when referring to their products. Apple for years has said "buy iPhone" instead of the grammatically correct "buy an iPhone" (and similar things), and now you'll find that both tech reviewers and the average person will do the same thing, even about non-Apple products. I hear people saying "I own Galaxy S23" or "I use Pixel 10" or "I bought MacBook Pro today." No you didn't—unless you are Samsung, Google, or Apple, you don't "own" "Galaxy S23." You own a singular Galaxy S23, but Samsung owns the brand "Galaxy S23." You didn't "buy MacBook Pro." You bought "a MacBook Pro."

But grammar is seemingly going the way of human intelligence as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: conmee, Basic75 and Squidiey
I think the original term was microcomputer which morphed into personal computer with the advent of the ibm model 17, windows pc came later (after windows 3.0 - the earlier versions of windows were not satisfactory) : pc was always marketing terminology [ maybe the election of 92 solidified the name , but then again I could be wrong]
 
Squidiey said:
I don’t like the term *PC* when people use it to refer a non-Mac since it stands for *Personal Computer*. and guess what? Macs are Personal Computers (aka. PCs)

So I prefer saying the following terms

Mac PC (If it’s made by Apple)
Non-Mac PC (If it’s made by a non-Apple company)
Click to expand...

Hot take, this argument is pushing 45 years old now, and no one really cares anymore.

PC became "IBM compatible" when IBM launched the 5150. Everyone embraced it, even Apple.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dmr727, Paul1964 and Basic75
Do you call work devices WC for work computer or BC for business computer? CC at the library for community computer?
 
mansplains said:
Do you call work devices WC for work computer or BC for business computer?
Click to expand...
I have a personal work computer. I also had personal home computers. 😉

A non-personal computer would be a cloud computer, or a VPS, or a time-sharing system as they used to be called. A personal computer is a computer dedicated to a single user at a time.

But “PC” is generally understood to refer to Windows-capable x86 computers specifically.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Basic75
klasma said:
I have a personal work computer. I also had personal home computers. 😉

A non-personal computer would be a cloud computer, or a VPS, or a time-sharing system as they used to be called. A personal computer is a computer dedicated to a single user at a time.

But “PC” is generally understood to refer to Windows-capable x86 computers specifically.
Click to expand...
I think you're on to something, "personal computer" and "PC" should be treated separately. A "PC" is generally understood to be a descendent of the IBM PC while "personal computer" can also be understood as generic term.
 
  • Like
Reactions: klasma
izzy0242mr said:
Congratulations, you must use Internet Explorer. (This has been a long-running "debate"/conversation for literally decades.)

Yes, everyone knows a Mac is a "personal computer." You haven't figured out anything grand. But Apple did really well with marketing back in the day and convinced people that the options were "Mac" or "PC." "Non-Mac PC" is just too many words/syllables.

If you want to critique something truly dumb that people say, focus on how Apple has seemingly gotten an entire civilization to start speaking in grammatical errors by omitting articles (the, a, an) when referring to their products. Apple for years has said "buy iPhone" instead of the grammatically correct "buy an iPhone" (and similar things), and now you'll find that both tech reviewers and the average person will do the same thing, even about non-Apple products. I hear people saying "I own Galaxy S23" or "I use Pixel 10" or "I bought MacBook Pro today." No you didn't—unless you are Samsung, Google, or Apple, you don't "own" "Galaxy S23." You own a singular Galaxy S23, but Samsung owns the brand "Galaxy S23." You didn't "buy MacBook Pro." You bought "a MacBook Pro."

But grammar is seemingly going the way of human intelligence as well.
Click to expand...
I never speak like that. I always use "a" and "an" or "the" as appropriate.

According to Apple it's OK for a kid to not know what a computer is - I'm glad they're not in charge of education.
 
  • Like
Reactions: izzy0242mr
JPack said:
Industry definition vs. personal definition. Unless you live on an island or are still stuck in the 1970s, use the normal definition.

IBM coined the term IBM PC. After its tremendous success, the PC clones and PC compatible products that followed are all Intel and AMD based running a Microsoft OS.

After PC gained so much traction with IBM, Apple strategically replaced their references their computers to Mac.
Click to expand...
I have always referred to whatever I have as my "computer"if someone asked I tell them Mac or Mac laptop etc. if I ever had something diff I might say Lenovo or Dell, not likely to ever need that however.
 
Paul1964 said:
No - Apple dropped the "Macintosh" name in favour of "Mac" years ago.
Click to expand...
Mac is short for Macintosh, and Tim Cook has frequently referred to it as the “Macintosh” or “Macintosh platform” on several occasions over the years, including WWDC events and within interviews.
Just because it’s not on the product names or in the marketing doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s not still true. Apple doesn’t make iPods anymore but when they introduce “AirPods” or “HomePods” it’s obvious what they are referring to, even if they don’t come out and say it.
 
Paul1964 said:
It wasn't just Apple. It seemed to get off to a good start but didn't really catch on. Apple did stick with it for a while though.
Click to expand...

In re Wikipedia on PPC history: it really looked good for PPC. I'm not sure how that fizzled. ARM was able to pull it off, despite having what initially was an inferior architecture. PPC had low-power versions, but, I guess they never pulled off doing the ultra-low SOCs that made ARM the standard. (Somebody knows the inside story.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back