> We're talking about different things. YOu're saying that a personal
> computer is any computer to which the adjective personal may be
> applied. I mean a phrase used by various manufacturers after the mid
> 70's
I was making a small joke (a very small joke, Mr. Checkov). Note the smiley.
> >:)
Seriously though, the advent of 32 and 64 bit desktop boxes has so muddied the
definition the term "personal computer" has long since ceased to have any
meaning hardware wise. Likewise it has destroyed the categories of workstation,
and minicomputer, since again, you can get a 64 bit alpha "workstation" or
"minicomputer" in a wintel case for a wintel price and put it on your desk.
It seems to me computers have become so ubiquitus it's better to describe them
by what they DO, or maybe something about their architecture or what OS they
have loaded. An example:
I have a win95 p2 box on my desk, connected by a lan to a dx4 Linux box I'm
using as a server.
Which is the personal computer? Which is the minicomputer? No clue. Which
is my "workstation?" I guess that would be the one on my desk, as opposed to
the one 3 feet away on the shelves with its monitor turned off. Which one
is my win95 box? which one is hte linux server machine? Those are meaningful
questions. As far as mainframes go, I'm told by members of this list that
mainframes are MUCH more transaction oriented, so there is still a clear
distinction between THEM and the rest of the world.
You could argue that personal computer now means your PDA. Although THAT water
is now being muddied by that wierd thing Apple built that runs newton's OS but
is the size of a laptop. A few years from now, personal computer might mean
the ones implanted in your body. (hint. Don't use any bionics with rev x.0
software. You could die of the crash)
--
Jim Strickland
jim_at_DIESPAMMERSCUMcalico.litterbox.com
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Vote Meadocrat! Bill and Opus in 2000 - Who ELSE is there?
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Received on Mon Nov 02 1998 - 15:40:21 GMT