• TimeSquirrel@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    “PC” actually refers to a specific architecture based on the original IBM PC. PCs are personal computers but not all personal computers are PCs.

    It’d be like as if we still referred to ARM-based devices as being “Acorn” devices. It’s one of those brand names that the public has turned into a generalized noun, like Kleenex and Bandaids.

    • palordrolap@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      1 year ago

      Yep. The phrase “Personal Computer” is fairly old at this point. Everyone and their dog called their computer product a “Personal Computer” back in the 80s. The id-plate on the Commodore 128 and 64C computers had that exact phrase under the computer name.

      “IBM-compatible personal computer” is a wordy phrase, and even before the “IBM-compatible” part became somewhat anachronistic, it was being abbreviated to just “PC”, heralding the death-knell for most other systems that otherwise had every right to use the name.