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Comment by natas | Hacker News Reader

Note that none of the machines in this article are actually PCs or PC-compatible. They are what europe wrongfully called "micro-computers", but not PC or PC-compatibles.

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Saying "microcomputer" (we didn't use a hyphen) is wrong is incredibly arrogant.

They're computers based on microprocessors. Hence, microcomputer. We often called them "micros" for short. Many Brits still do.

I know that "PC" now means "capable of running Windows", but back in the 80s and early 90s it usually meant more literally "personal computer", which was a synonym for "a computer small enough to fit on your desk".

A "PC" capable of running (Microsoft) Windows is also capable of running a wide variety of other operating systems as well. Despite what some would like to believe, Microsoft compatibility does not define what a personal computer is, even today. The PC is the machine, Windows is just software running on the machine.

"Microcomputers" (or "micros" in the magazines of the era) is a fine term for these machines. It distinguished these affordable home/school/small business machines from professional workstations, minicomputers, and mainframes that were larger and orders of magnitude more expensive. I had an Amstrad CPC at home and used BBC Micros (hey, it's even in the name!) at school. My friends had ZX Spectrums, Acorn Electrons, and the occasional rare MSX or C64.

The only not-really-an-exception exception in the article would be the 32-bit Acorn Archimedes; it was generations ahead of the other (8-bit) machines listed, and "microcomputer" is really associated more with the 8-bit machines in my mind, but I think that's because by the time I encountered 16/32-bit machines (Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, 386-based PCs, the Archimedes) in the early 90s, the term "microcomputer" was falling rapidly out of fashion. Those more powerful (and expensive) machines actually launched in the mid-80s and were absolutely still microcomputers in the parlance of the day.

The closest to PC's as we know them now (in that they actually ran MS-DOS) would have been Apricot's range of machines.

The Apricot PC ('83), Apricot PC Xi ('84), and Apricot XEN ('85).

I actually used the XEN at the time, since a relative had one.

However these were not IBM compatible, in that they used different support chips, and had different memory maps.

The Apricot XEN-i ('86) actually was IBM PC compatible.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apricot_Computers

And of course the Amstrad PCs which were hugely popular over here (until the hard disk disaster). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC1512 They were only mostly PC compatible with a few rough edges, eg proprietary mouse and keyboard, PSU integrated into the monitor (oh Amstrad!) They were all exceptionally cheap compared to similar american PCs of the time.

They called themselves PCs at the time. The term existed before IBM-PC became a defacto standard.

Agreed. One is the Amstrad CPC, which literally stood for Colour Personal Computer.

PC is only synonymous with Wintel because everything else died except the Mac, so the terms were essentially interchangeable.

I think you're confusing a Personal Computer with an IBM PC compatible.

Why wrongfully? Is there something wrong with the term "micro-computer" that I'm not aware of?

I don't see any problem with it either, my understanding was that the following weight classes existed around (and slightly before) that time:

Mainframes = room sized montrosities

Minicomputers = multi-cupboard units

Superminicomputers = just one cupboard or small fridge

Microcomputers or personal computers = these guys in the article

I don't see an issue either. Micros aren't just C64s and Spectrums. It's everything below a mini. An early IBM PC was a shadow of the class dominating supercomputers they are today.

If they aren't PCs, and aren't correctly called microcomputers, what are these?

If they aren’t PCs, and they aren’t microcomputers, then what should they be called?

In Germany they were usually called what translates to "home computer".

Sure, but that was the “microcomputer” of the time. Room-sized main-frames were the computers, the file-cabinet sized PDP-8 was a mini-computer, and something that could fit on your desk was therefore the next size down, the micro-computer.

This was around when the most portable computer was not known as a “laptop” but a “luggable” due to its mini-fridge-like nature.

? Micro-computer was used in North America too. And before the IBM PC and IBM PC compatible clones took over the market it wasn't uncommon for personal computers to be called PCs either.

PC = personal computer

Since it is so personal, the iPhone should probably be named PC above any other device.

I'd consider it valid to think of "PC" as being "Personal Computer" when it's a home machine (too unwieldy to wander around outdoors with), and "PC" maybe = "Portable Computer" or "Pocket Computer" when dealing with the average smartphone, tablet, laptop, netbook, e-reader, etc, since they're all computers. Definitely don't mean "Windows" computer though. Where's the letter "P" in "Windows"?

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