On 6/24/08 9:58 AMJun 24, "Howard Brazee" <howard@brazee.net> wrote:
> On Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:19:26 -0400, Robert Haar <rlhaar@comcast.net> > wrote: > >> Macs have always been personal computers (PCs). It is just that Microsoft >> hijacked the term. > > Microsoft? When did Microsoft hijack it? I've seen Apple ads use > it to describe Windows based computers. I saw IBM use "PC" to > describe its personal computer. I've seen Compaq use the term "PC > compatible".
I also had two AT&T machines that were sold as "UNIX PCs". You are correct that there was many systems were branded as XYZ PCs.
However, Microsoft did two things that feed the public's narrow minded understanding of the term Personal Computer. First and most importantly is their predatory marketing behavior that included building into contracts with PC vendors the requirement to ship machines with only MS Windows installed, thus equating a personal computer to a system running a MS OS. Second, their advertizing suggested the same notion - that a personal computer had to run Windows.