Is a linux box considered "PC" still?

[Mado]

I was just thinking about this and wanted to know what you people thought. There's a lot of places that say things like "PC Only" and they mainly mean windows, but some don't. I general there are two categories they generally list, "PC" or "Mac". I see it this way; A PC is anything running on an x86 architecture, and a Mac is something running on PPC architecture. What do you think?

[CopperTop]

I would tend to agree with you.

But quite literally, PC means personal computer. So then, even a Mac is a PC, right?. Doesn't really matter how you distingush them, software providers have their own jargon. Instead of the antiquated "IBM compatible", a lot have adopted the term PC to refer to (often Windows based) non PPC machines.

Just means that as non M$-centric users, we have to be a bit more vigilant about what software we attempt to run under Linux.

[big_k105]

i completely agree with copper on this one. cause even a mac is still technically a PC by the definision of pc.

[Nerderello]

I'm old enough to remember PCs running Operating systems such as DR-DOS, Zenix, OS/2, PC-DOS, MS-DOS, and BeOS. And we called those boxes PCs.

It used to be we called them IBM PCs ('cos IBM designed the PC), but the IBM seems to have fallen by the wayside.

have fun

Nerderello

[flw]

It used to be we called them IBM PCs ('cos IBM designed the PC), but the IBM seems to have fallen by the wayside.

For the computer that we see today that is true in a generic sense. There was the hobbist computer with its only output a series of blinking lights that was one of gates first real computer successes after the traffic counter he and another guy came up with.

Also many of the devices we think of as part of the orignal IBM PC used hardware designed and built by others. No apple didn't invent the graphically point device or as most of you know it as a mouse, Xerox did.

DOS wasn't developed from scratch by bill and his buddies. He bought it from another programmer and made some fixes to the core system. His role and co-founders role in the original DOS was minor, luck had the major role. Don't misunderstand me, I don't mean they added some prefab fixes in a afternoon and then leased it to IBM. They spent alot of time getting it to a functional level but the foundation was already done by someone else.

[sarumont]

I have a mac fanatic friend that got into an argument with his composition prof. about the mac being a PC last year...funny stuff.