Since i can remember people have distinguished two types of competition in the computer world. macs and pc's. But i was thinking, and surely a mac is a pc? Seeing as pc actually means personal computer, surely thats what a mac is? What do you guys think?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
surely a mac is a pc?
- Thread starter mad-jamie16
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yes, Macs are personal computers. In spoken language, PC just refers to a computer running Windows while Mac refers to a computer running OS X. It's simply faster to type PC than a Windows computer and Apple calls their computers Macs so that's what people do as well.
When people have asked was PC i have, i now say Mac due to my recent purchase. Makes me sound arrogant like i don't want to call it a PC. haha
Its a nice feeling though
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)
Linux pcs?
Linux pcs?
True, so the computer world would go like this:
PC
>Linux PC
>Hakintosh
Mac
The Linux isn't popular enough yet to be its own breed - So its a type of PC. Just like the Hakintosh, which is a PC modded to run OSX
It comes from the time when the most popular computer...the one which now runs Windows...was called the "IBM PC" and computers that were similar in operations/compatible were called "PC-Compatible"...as the shortened version.
It helped to differentiate software that might run on an AppleII, Commodore 64, Atari, Mac...etc.
That term has stuck to this very day.
But you are correct, Macs certainly ARE Personal Computers.
It helped to differentiate software that might run on an AppleII, Commodore 64, Atari, Mac...etc.
That term has stuck to this very day.
But you are correct, Macs certainly ARE Personal Computers.
How dare you. Macs are magical. They were bestowed upon us by the almighty Steve Jobs.
True, so the computer world would go like this:
PC
>Linux PC
>Hakintosh
Mac
The Linux isn't popular enough yet to be its own breed - So its a type of PC. Just like the Hakintosh, which is a PC modded to run OSX
That's what I would say too. Linux ain't commercial either so there is no "official" name from any company (like there is Mac from Apple) since only very few computers come with Linux.
Maybe it's that Mac refers to a computer made by Apple while PC is basically any other home computer, no matter what OS it is running.
When people have asked was PC i have, i now say Mac due to my recent purchase. Makes me sound arrogant like i don't want to call it a PC. haha
Its a nice feeling though
It makes me feel like I've just taken a hand full of Viagra
Windows/Linux Boxes are PC's ( Personal Computer )
Apple Mac OSX Units are PPC's ( Perfect Personal Computers )
Apple Mac OSX Units are PPC's ( Perfect Personal Computers )
It always makes me laugh when i'm talking to BT (whenever our broadband goes down) and the conversation has been:
BT "Are you using windows 7?"
ME "no"
BT "windows vista?"
ME "no im using snow leopard"
BT "windows xp or xp professional?"
ME "no i use a Mac"
BT "what version of windows do you use?"
ME "i dont use windows, i have an Apple Mac"
BT "what is your operating system?
ME "snow leopard"
BT "is that an old version of windows?"
It's annoying how people assume you have Windows.
BT "Are you using windows 7?"
ME "no"
BT "windows vista?"
ME "no im using snow leopard"
BT "windows xp or xp professional?"
ME "no i use a Mac"
BT "what version of windows do you use?"
ME "i dont use windows, i have an Apple Mac"
BT "what is your operating system?
ME "snow leopard"
BT "is that an old version of windows?"
It's annoying how people assume you have Windows.
CLASSIC!
How cool does Snow Leopard sound in that conversation!! I cant Wait for GAZELLE to be released but will give EMU or DONKEY a miss though.
A Mac is a Mac and not a PC because I paid a ridiculous amount of money not to have a grey Box under my desk and want everyone else to know that
)
i only have one pc and thats my iMac intel core duo , as i do not class Mac's with intel processor as true Mac's as you are able to run windows on them without emulation , so its more of a hackintosh made by apple
for me a real Mac has a PowerPC processor and no the PC in PowerPC does not stand for personal computer its the abbreviation for
Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, , think different ..... think Mac
little side note windows nt 3.51 did run native on ppc architecture without emulation but that had been in the 90's ..some might remember these days...and microsoft is building the ppc processors in their x-box 360 , so even microsoft doesnt trust intel , neither does the us government and lockheed as the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is using PPC processors too
for me a real Mac has a PowerPC processor and no the PC in PowerPC does not stand for personal computer its the abbreviation for
Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, , think different ..... think Mac
little side note windows nt 3.51 did run native on ppc architecture without emulation but that had been in the 90's ..some might remember these days...and microsoft is building the ppc processors in their x-box 360 , so even microsoft doesnt trust intel , neither does the us government and lockheed as the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is using PPC processors too
Last edited:
And MacHamster is the acronym for Maybe apple can Help a macrumors subscriber to enjoy reading?
I'm... speechless, really. I sat here for 5 minutes trying to come up with a retort, but... there's just nothing to say.Everyone is entitled to have an opinion, I guess.
Yes, it is. And don't call me Shirley!
Haha brilliant, loved that guy, can't believe he's dead :/