Change PC to Win or Windows
Derek Martin
code at pizzashack.org
Mon Jul 21 12:50:25 EDT 2008
On Sat, Jul 19, 2008 at 02:56:07AM -0700, Lie wrote:
> government, etc. IBM PC is one of the first computers that ordinary
> people could possess, when IBM-clones appeared on the market, they're
> referred as PCs too because they are Personal Computer, a computer
> that is designed for personal use.
Just to be clear, this statement is WRONG. PC-clones were so called
because they were clones of the IBM-PC. The term is very specific to
IBM-compatible hardware.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pc_clone
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the
original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to
as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated
all the significant features of the PC, XT, or AT internal design,
facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to legally reverse
engineer the BIOS through cleanroom design.
Wikipedia's article on the personal computer accurately reflects
the multiple meanings of the term, and points out the common usage
to mean a Windows box:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_computer
Today a PC may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer or a
tablet computer. The most common operating systems are Microsoft
Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, while the most common microprocessors
are x86 compatible CPUs. However, the term "PC" is often used
only to refer to computers running Microsoft Windows.
So please stop your whining and get used to the idea that THE REST OF
THE WORLD uses PC to mean a Windows box.
--
Derek D. Martin
http://www.pizzashack.org/
GPG Key ID: 0x81CFE75D
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