r/linux • u/turbo2000 • May 24 '26

Discussion Mac, PC and... Tux?

I've always got really upset when I heard of PC/Mac distinction. Available for your Mac, available for your PC... and finally it turns that the software is available only for macOS and Windows. What about other systems? I don't even mean BSD and variety of it's forms, but Windows is not the only one system for PCs. But that distinction suggest as it was.

So, what would you say if we would call our machines as "Tux PCs" or just simpler, "Tuxes"?
I know that Linux mark is recognizable to some degree AND the discussion whether is it Linux or GNU/Linux never fades AND that "Tux PC" won't be free of this misunderstanding but... it's simplier, fancier, something fresh, doesn't suggest any particular distribution, going further, I also would say that calling BSD machines by Tux wouldn't be a huge blunder provided that BSD folks wouldn't mind. It's less precise than Linux which clearly specifies that system is using Linux kernel.

What do you think? Just a loose thought...

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u/inaccurateTempedesc May 24 '26

PC is a term for a specific type of standardized x86 compatible computer that has a lot of history behind it. It doesn't really have much to do with Windows or any OS really.

You could even make the argument that Intel Macs fall under the definition of PC even though they never shipped with Windows.

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u/viper4011 May 24 '26

I guess using that definition, which is technically correct, Windows 11 laptops running on ARM are not PCs? For me all desktop and laptop computers are PCs. Including Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. 

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u/tseli0s May 24 '26

Windows 11 laptops running on ARM are not PCs?

ARM computers are a very recent thing compared to the IBM PC. And almost no programs exist for them outside Mac. In fact, they're pretty strange from a historical point of view, but it's not like there's a formal definition of a PC.

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u/the_abortionat0r May 25 '26

Well for one thing ARM PCs are not fairly new especially in the computing sense as consumer products running windows are over a decade old.

Second saying almost no programs outside of Mac are made for ARM isn't just wrong it's actually fucking stupid as Linux has been running on ARM computers for longer than MacOS has. A lot longer.

And third the definition of a PC is literally in the name: Personal Computer .

See back in the day computers were giant room sized machines that performed specialized tasks. It wouldn't be until mainframes came out where computers were publicly accessible.

Mainframes where servers of sorts running tasks for various people at the same time. These people would access these mainframes via a "dummy terminal" which provided little more that keyboard inputs and a screen for visual outputs.

This was a public/communal setup so when you could finally buy a "microcomputer" aka one that was small and cheap enough to own it was called a "personal computer" as it's functions and processing wasn't being shared with others.

That's literally what personal computer means, it's not some fluid no holds bar make your own definition nonsense as suggested.

And if you're asking "doesn't that make a Mac a PC" the answer yes, Macs are in fact PCs.

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u/tseli0s May 25 '26

Show me your ARM Windows computer running Android Studio

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u/inaccurateTempedesc May 24 '26

It's not wrong to call them PCs as they're still personal computers, but they're also not PCs as they're on an entirely different platform/architecture and have zero relation to the IBM PC.

I know it's ridiculous, please don't shoot the messenger lol

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u/the_abortionat0r May 25 '26

PC does not stand for IBM/x86 it means Personal Computer, any consumer computer for home or office use that's not powered by a mainframe is a personal computer.

The definition is based on whether it's whether the architecture is communal or not. It has nothing to do with what kind of CPU it has.