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The Macintosh marketed as Mac, is a line of personal computers (PCs)

What's more, MACs are personal computers.

Then why distinguish between PC and MAC?

Vorac
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  • Everybody will have their own opinion on this. Depends on how you define "PC". Actually, it's an apples vs. oranges comparison since "Mac" as a brand is on a different level than what a Personal Computer is. See for example: [Macs Are PCs, Dammit! | Lance Ulanoff](http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2327233,00.asp) – slhck Sep 11 '13 at 09:44
  • The term Personal Computer (PC) was introduced by IBM in 1981 when they first released a computer that was suitable for personal use. It came with the MS-DOS operating system. Since then, the term has been used to indicate sort-like computers with Windows operating systems. – codd Sep 11 '13 at 09:46
  • @codd - No, the term "PC" predates IBM's version by a few years. – sawdust Sep 11 '13 at 09:52
  • You may also be interested in [this](http://superuser.com/q/405947/151431) post. – terdon Sep 11 '13 at 10:04
  • gotta love terminology Q's and A's. always a pain. – Lorenzo Von Matterhorn Sep 14 '13 at 00:57

2 Answers2

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They are different. PCs generally mean an open-platform that usually runs the Windows operating system. MACs conversely are a closed-platform that usually run OS X. The different terms apply because they are different and the terms provide an immediate understanding of which eco-systems you are referring towards.

headkase
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  • How is a MAC closed-llatform? What is closed-platform? – Vorac Sep 11 '13 at 10:20
  • You cannot legally run OS X on commodity PC hardware. You are contractually bound to run OS X on Apple branded hardware. That is what makes it "closed." You can run Windows, or also Linux, on any hardware that supports it but you cannot run OS X - legally - on anything but Apple hardware. – headkase Sep 11 '13 at 10:23
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MAC is a line of products - PC is a technical term. Same why someone would say Foo brands' product rather then Bar object

To accommodate the nit picking (Terms in computer science that use the abbreviation mac)

.mac, a file extension for macros in Agilent ChemStation

.Mac, a former name of MobileMe

MAC address, Media Access Control address or Ethernet Hardware Address (EHA)

Mac OS, an operating system of Apple's Macintosh

MAC times, file system metadata which record when an object was last "modified" (contents), "accessed" (read), and "changed" (permissions) (the last one varies between operating systems; for instance, Unix/Linux tracks "change", while Windows tracks "creation" instead)

Macintosh, a brand of personal computers and computer operating systems made by Apple Inc.

Mandatory access control, a type of access control in computer security

Media Access Control, sublayer of Data Link layer

Message authentication code, used to authenticate a message in cryptography

Migration Authorisation Code, a unique code used when switching between DSL Internet service providers in the UK

Mission Assurance Category, a designation used in the United States Department of Defense, reflecting the importance of an information system for the successful completion of a DoD mission, especially in regard to availability and integrity

Multiplexed Analogue Components

Multiply–accumulate or Multiplier–accumulator

Source - Wikipedia

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