We need a name for Linux Computers!!! Apple is a Mac, Windows is a PC, Linux is a...
 

I hear it all the time; Apple fans call their computers for Macs, they are now even intel based, but it is still a Mac. On the other hand a Windows computer is a PC, you see it on games: "made for pc-cdrom" and if someone asks you if you have got a PC, they are not asking if you've got a intel-based computer, they are asking if you run Windows.

So I want a name for a computer running Linux! If you for instance buy a Mac, format the drive and load only Linux on it then we should not call it a Mac, we should NOT call it a PC! What do you think?

By the way, I want credit for the linKit name;)

It might be somewhat self intuitive, but linKit is something to run Linux on, it's your Linux-Kit, also it's network oriented, so you link it:)

It's also not at all a technical subject and has thus been posted in the wrong forum. Thank you for playing our little game.

It's just a GNU machine..

I'd say call it a gLoc (GNU/Linux Operating Computer)

Don't most people just call them Linux boxes? I sometimes call my computer a Debian box.

I think PC/Mac refers to the hardware.
x86 = PC
PPC = Mac

For instance, you can install some distributions on a Mac as well, and it doesn't stop being a Mac. I call my linux box a PC, and i probably will for a very long time

It's brand spanking GNU;)

[QUOTE=The-Bison]I think PC/Mac refers to the hardware.
x86 = PC
PPC = Mac
/QUOTE]

Apple still calls their computers for macs, they were also called mac before they got the PPC chip. I'm sure they will continue to call it mac with the intel processor in it.

Also, if software or hardware has got "made for PC" on the box, it certainly is not guaranteed to run on any x86 OS, so the current naming scheme is not sufficient.

So no, it is not the processor type. The "Pc" initially reffered to the hardware, but now most people use it as shorthand for "Windows PC". With Apple's move to intel, all that separates a mac from ordinary PC hardware is the software, so I think a computer should sease to be only a PC once it boots Linux:)

We should take into concideration that most users of Linux know that "PC" originally meant only "personal computer", and not "a computer with Windows", but I bet many inexperienced users are totally ignorant of this. As Linux reaches new markets, users might get confused.

Besides all that, Apple created a unique name for a reason, and so should we!

"PC" refers to the type of hardware, not the software on it. A PC running Linux is just as much a PC as a PC running Wndows.

This thread is founded on an entirely false premise!

I agree, but I want to expand on this. A PC is just a microcomputer whose price, size, and capabilities make it suitable for personal usage. Anything that runs Windows is refered to as an IBM compatible PC (others apply too). People erroneously just refer to PCs as something running Windows. PC applies to a very broad range of computers, including Macs.

My girlfriend suggested NUX;)

pronounced nuuks as in Linux, not nucks. the name would benefit from beeing short, since few would bother saying "gnu/linux IBM compatible computer" ;)

So that means that the new Macs are actually cleverly disguised PCs? :)

Moved: This thread is more suitable in General and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

Macs are called Macs because they run the Mac OS X operating system (or Mac OS 9).

Windows computers are called Windows PCs because they run the Windows XP operating system (or Windows 2000, or 98...)

So it depends on what distribution you're running. Each distribution (and not the Linux kernel) is its own operating system. So if you got a Koobox, it'd be a Linspire PC. If you got a System 76, it's be a Ubuntu PC.