The trajectory of the term “PC” will never not amuse me.
It used to be a specific brand of a category of products (“PC” was IBM’s “Home Computer”. That was the name of the category. “Home computers”, computers for the home)
Then because the IBM PC was 99% off-the-shelf parts and 1% a proprietary bios, as soon as a cleanroom clone of that bios was written, every manufacturer under the sun made their own “IBM Compatible”, and eventually, as IBM’s role in the whole thing became less and less relevant (… And eventually they tried to move to a new, incompatible format with the IBM PS/2, and this failed hard) it became “PC Compatible” – But what a “PC Compatible” was, even back then, was something that was constantly changing due to the multitude of companies making them. Their unifying factor being… Uhh… x86 architecture and some variation of DOS, which made them run the same programs more or less.
Eventually “PC” and “Computer” became interchangeable to most normies. With the word “Computer” even being considered “Old fashioned” by some.
The word console is less fun because it’s not a brand that somehow got ship-of-theseused into no longer being a brand. Such things are exceedingly rare. Getting a brand name to become the product name is common, but to have the brand that originated that disappear in the process is not.
Console is just a generic term, it originated in architecture, where it meant “bit that protrudes out of the wall”. It took on the meaning of “cabinet” and eventually started being used for the part of a machine that would have its meter readouts and its control bits and bobs. A gaming console is a console because it’s… A machine. In an alternate universe we call it a “contraption”. Has the same effect.
One other fairly important detail in that 99% off the shelf parts 1% copyrighted BIOS: IBM contracted with Microsoft for the operating system, PC-DOS. And for some reason this deal was non-exclusive, so if someone else built compatible hardware, you could just buy a copy from Microsoft without the IBM branding on it and it’ll run. Which is exactly what Eagle, and then Compaq, did.
Microsoft out-sleazed them by exploiting their pride, that’s the reason. IBM was in a huge rush to get SOME Home Computer out before the 80s were over. They had snubbed the very idea of computers in the home and let Apple and Commodore steal a rich market from under their feet.
So they didn’t even bother scrutinising the contract: They didn’t think that the BIOS could ever be cloned, and if it was, they figured they’d just sue any company that did out of business. So Microsoft having their own version of DOS was “no threat”, as without the BIOS, DOS could run on any 8086 processor but that wouldn’t make it work with IBM software.
But the court ultimately sided with Compaq (not Eagle, Eagle got into trouble) as their BIOS clone was a cleanroom reverse-engineering project and therefore “fair use”, and that was curtains for IBM.
The trajectory of the term “PC” will never not amuse me.
It used to be a specific brand of a category of products (“PC” was IBM’s “Home Computer”. That was the name of the category. “Home computers”, computers for the home)
Then because the IBM PC was 99% off-the-shelf parts and 1% a proprietary bios, as soon as a cleanroom clone of that bios was written, every manufacturer under the sun made their own “IBM Compatible”, and eventually, as IBM’s role in the whole thing became less and less relevant (… And eventually they tried to move to a new, incompatible format with the IBM PS/2, and this failed hard) it became “PC Compatible” – But what a “PC Compatible” was, even back then, was something that was constantly changing due to the multitude of companies making them. Their unifying factor being… Uhh… x86 architecture and some variation of DOS, which made them run the same programs more or less.
Eventually “PC” and “Computer” became interchangeable to most normies. With the word “Computer” even being considered “Old fashioned” by some.
Now do the word console
The word console is less fun because it’s not a brand that somehow got ship-of-theseused into no longer being a brand. Such things are exceedingly rare. Getting a brand name to become the product name is common, but to have the brand that originated that disappear in the process is not.
Console is just a generic term, it originated in architecture, where it meant “bit that protrudes out of the wall”. It took on the meaning of “cabinet” and eventually started being used for the part of a machine that would have its meter readouts and its control bits and bobs. A gaming console is a console because it’s… A machine. In an alternate universe we call it a “contraption”. Has the same effect.
I just like the “oh, it’s the same as a PC” that inevitably gets concluded
One other fairly important detail in that 99% off the shelf parts 1% copyrighted BIOS: IBM contracted with Microsoft for the operating system, PC-DOS. And for some reason this deal was non-exclusive, so if someone else built compatible hardware, you could just buy a copy from Microsoft without the IBM branding on it and it’ll run. Which is exactly what Eagle, and then Compaq, did.
“for some reason”
Microsoft out-sleazed them by exploiting their pride, that’s the reason. IBM was in a huge rush to get SOME Home Computer out before the 80s were over. They had snubbed the very idea of computers in the home and let Apple and Commodore steal a rich market from under their feet.
So they didn’t even bother scrutinising the contract: They didn’t think that the BIOS could ever be cloned, and if it was, they figured they’d just sue any company that did out of business. So Microsoft having their own version of DOS was “no threat”, as without the BIOS, DOS could run on any 8086 processor but that wouldn’t make it work with IBM software.
But the court ultimately sided with Compaq (not Eagle, Eagle got into trouble) as their BIOS clone was a cleanroom reverse-engineering project and therefore “fair use”, and that was curtains for IBM.
This makes me suddenly want to re-watch Half and Catch Fire