Personal computer

A personal computer (PC) is a computer whose price, size, and capabilities make it useful for individuals.

In their early years the term personal computer was used interchangeably with microcomputers and home computers.'’ Often, the term personal computer'' is used to refer to computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, but this is erroneous. For example, a Macintosh running Mac OS and an IBM PC compatible running Linux are both personal computers. This confusion stems from the fact that the term PC is often used as a shorthand form for IBM PC compatible and historically Mac OS has run on non-IBM compatible hardware like the PowerPC architecture.