However, because of the success of the IBM Personal Computer, the term came to mean more specifically a microcomputer compatible with IBM's PC products. It was used as early as 1972 to characterize Xerox PARC's Alto.
IBM Personal Computer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaĪlongside "microcomputer" and "home computer", the term "personal computer" was already in use before 1981. And starting in 1984 the Macintosh with it's "GUI" interface was head & shoulders ahead of any Intel Based computer.Īlso.I'm pretty sure the whole "PC label" that got attached to Intel/Windows based computers really took off with the success of the "IBM Personal Computer" Model 5150 which was introduced August 1981. People still call Linux boxes PCs so why is a machine that shares the same hardware but a different OS in this case not classified as a PC?ĭon't forget.the first Macintosh came out in January 1984.
The real differentiation between Macs and "PCs" is down to software and this has little to nothing to do with how Mac is classified as a computer. Again, I bring back the example of Boot Camp - if you were to give someone a Mac with Windows installed, took off the Apple logo on the machine and replaced it with a Dell, HP.etc decal, would they be able to tell the difference? No (unless they recognized the design) because they would be using a PC. It confuses people because Apple differentiates itself from others which makes people think it can't do the same things despite the fact that the machines can do the same things (for the most part) and share 90% of the same "DNA" so to speak. Those "I'm a Mac and I'm a PC" ads do nothing more that confuse consumers and prop up Apple's reputation by denigrating Windows (that's outside the scope of this argument though so I will leave it at that).
The best evidence for this is Boot Camp - you can install Windows and have the installation and operation work no different than if it were done on a Dell.Īn analogy: It would be like calling all cars on the road cars except for Fords, which would somehow be called Fords (and never cars) despite the fact that the principal means and methods of production and usage are essentially identical.įor what it's worth, I call my Mac a PC and that won't change because of a semantic distortion brought about to a great extent by Apple in its quest to differentiate Macs from PCs (at least in contemporary society). Trying to differentiate a Mac from a PC doesn't make much sense when you consider that both use the same hardware (essentially). I do the same thing on my Mac that I would with a non-Mac. A Mac is a personal computer and regardless of how you want to define PC, a Mac is a personal computer. So basically there are.Windows PC's.and Macintosh PC's. because that's what they are, and they have no company branding!!! If Apple Macintosh's ran Windows as their primary OS like HP, ACER, IBM, DELL, Compaq, Toshiba, Sony.etc, etc.then Apple Macintosh's would be commonly referred to as "PC's" as well.because they would just be one more company making a Windows based "PC"!Īnd of course what the heck do you call all of those "generic.build your own" Windows desktop computers.PC's what else!. The reason why Macintosh's are Macintosh's is because they're NOT like the other guys. "Xerox" referring to almost anything related to photocopying "Kleenex" referring to almost any brand of facial tissue The whole confusion regarding the meaning of "PC" is similar to: I agree with you about what most people think "PC" means.and believe me the idea that a "PC" meant that it was a Windows based computer has been around a long time.since the 1980's.so it's definitely not a new thing! But if folks took 2 seconds to actually think what "PC" (personal computer) would make total sense.