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Mac or Macintosh?

anirban

anirban

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 9, 2007
689
0
Houston, TX
Hello all!

I am a PC user, but I recently placed an order for an MBP, which will hopefully be delivered by Tuesday. So I have been hanging out with a couple of my friends who use apple computers, and whenever I have to refer to an apple machine, I always say "Macintosh" instead of "Mac" (call me oldfashioned). For example: "I just ordered a macintosh machine".

My friends have been telling me that "Macintosh" no longer exists, it has been replaced with "Mac". Using "Macintosh" is totally wrong- I should always use "Mac".

I am sorry for bringing up this superfluous post, but I just want to get a quick clarification on if "Macintosh" has been erased from the books, and replaced by "Mac". I have a feeling that my friends are misinformed.
 
B

Blue Velvet

Moderator emeritus
Jul 4, 2004
21,929
265
I have never heard anyone in real life or on this board referring to 'Macintosh'... think that went out with flares, somehow.

Mac. The Mac. Getting a Mac. Great year for the Mac... what does Steve Jobs say? What do their ads say?
 
bartelby

bartelby

macrumors Core
Jun 16, 2004
19,795
34
I'm stuck in the 90s and will often refer to them as a Macintosh.:eek: But I'll type Mac, as it's shorter.:)
 
yippy

yippy

macrumors 68020
Mar 14, 2004
2,087
3
Chicago, IL
Mac is simply short for Macintosh. Now the names of specific products it matters (example: Macintosh Mini would be incorrect) but Macintosh is still correct to use to refer to Apple's whole line of computers.
 
psycoswimmer

psycoswimmer

macrumors 65816
Sep 27, 2006
1,302
1
USA
yippy said:
Mac is simply short for Macintosh. Now the names of specific products it matters (example: Macintosh Mini would be incorrect) but Macintosh is still correct to use to refer to Apple's whole line of computers.
Click to expand...

I never hear Macintosh anymore, really. Mac is the new word.

I have an iMac, not an iMacintosh. :p
 
plinden

plinden

macrumors 601
Apr 8, 2004
4,029
142
"Macintosh" is almost gone from the Apple website. I just did a search and although there were 3080 links returned, it seems most don't actually have "macintosh" visible any where on the page (not even hidden in the source) and many of those that did have it mentioned were old fossil pages.
 
dpaanlka

dpaanlka

macrumors 601
Nov 16, 2004
4,869
34
Illinois
You're all forgetting one major thing:

Picture 5.png

Oh, and here it is in Leopard:

Picture 7.png

Every new computer that Apple ships comes with a reference to "Macintosh" right on the desktop. And apparently, it will continue to be this way in Leopard.

In speech, it really doesn't matter what you say. The names are interchangeable. Mac is short for Macintosh. Nobody calls me Daniel but that is my name. I still often (but not always) say Macintosh when referring abstractly to the platform itself just because I'm used to saying that:

I just got a new Macintosh.
Click to expand...

When I'm referring to a plural amount of Macintosh computers, it usually just comes out shortened:

There were a lot of Macs in that lab!
Click to expand...

Obviously when referring to actual product names, it's whatever the official name is:

I just got a Mac Pro, and my friend just got an iMac.
Click to expand...
 
dpaanlka

dpaanlka

macrumors 601
Nov 16, 2004
4,869
34
Illinois
Here is one of the many references to "Macintosh" in the Mac Help system:

Picture 1.png

Golly, here's 3 references in the most basic Mac Help document of all, About the Mac OS:

Picture-2.jpg

It seems that all the references are in the same fashion as I described in the post above: it is most proper to say "Macintosh" when referring to the platform.
 
rockthecasbah

rockthecasbah

macrumors 68020
Apr 12, 2005
2,395
2
Moorestown, NJ
It hasn't been replaced as the members above have posted still existing images of the phrase, though most people and much of Apple's written information about their computers will refer to it as "Mac." Personally, it's just easier saying Mac and i always called it that even from the early 90s when my mom bought her first Mac, so i stick with it :)
 
Q

Queso

Suspended
Mar 4, 2006
11,821
8
From my experience it changed when Apple started calling the OS MacOS and came out with the PowerMac brand. Early-ish 90s. Prior to that it was always "I have a Macintosh LC" or similar. At least how I remember it.
 
dpaanlka

dpaanlka

macrumors 601
Nov 16, 2004
4,869
34
Illinois
notsofatjames said:
But... the title of the article is Mac. Explain that one!! :p
Click to expand...

Well "Mac OS" is the official name of the product, just as "Mac Mini" and "Mac Pro" are the official product names of those products. It's not "the Mac's OS" but the "Mac OS."

It seems that "Mac" and "Macintosh" have been interchanged freely since the first Macintosh came out, spawning "Macworld" magazine and such.

I still consider "Macintosh" to mean the platform itself, and find myself saying it all the time. I actually think it sounds cooler.

dynamicv said:
Early-ish 90s. Prior to that it was always "I have a Macintosh LC" or similar. At least how I remember it.
Click to expand...

"Power Macintosh" was printed on the machines and all related materials all the way up through the early G4s. Here is the 8600/200 that sits next to my Mac Pro:

IMG_3648.jpg

In this Blue & White G3 commercial the announcer says "Macintosh" and not Mac:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ioGmIY-Xh0

And in this early G4 commercial "Macintosh" is also used:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQJvFUmDE-Y

But by this G5 commercial "Mac" was the preferred nomenclature:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iDbHeuRACU

So sometime between 2000 and 2003 the product names began switching over to "Mac" although plenty of "Macintosh" references still exist even in current Macs as we've seen.
 
G

GhostPhase310

macrumors newbie
Jun 19, 2007
5
0
all i can say is that i love my MacBook. best purchase of the year.
it is so much easier to use than normal pc's
 
Masquerade

Masquerade

macrumors 6502a
May 16, 2007
654
0
Macintosh is often used to establish difference between personal computers and personal computers from apple... not a single mac today.
 
Lixivial

Lixivial

macrumors 6502a
Jan 13, 2005
947
16
Between cats, dogs and wanderlust.
anirban said:
I have a feeling that my friends are misinformed.
Click to expand...

I have a feeling your friends are not only wrong, but also patently anal retentive about something incredibly trivial. I use Macintosh in reference to everything except proper product names. But really, it doesn't even matter.

plinden said:
I just did a search and although there were 3080 links returned, it seems most don't actually have "macintosh" visible any where on the page (not even hidden in the source) and many of those that did have it mentioned were old fossil pages.
Click to expand...

Aside from having the old layout -- its content is up to date -- does http://guide.apple.com refer to an old fossil page? ;)

Macintosh is still used a lot of times in the minimum reqs of programs; heck even Mac OS X's page references Macintosh computers. It also seems there are certain groups that mention "Macintosh" more than others -- it seems the networking, science, education stuff gets more mention. And it's usually when referencing the platform as a whole, as dpaanlka pointed out. So, as with all the other evidence/background dpaanlka provided, it's quite apparent that "Macintosh" is still an appropriate term for Apple's computers.
 
Maui

Maui

macrumors 6502a
May 18, 2007
869
0
Just say "I have an Apple."

(and never MAC, as I have found out the hard way)
 
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