PC-compatible

English

Adjective

PC-compatible (not comparable)

  1. (computing, historical) Of a computer, offering the compatibility of the IBM Personal Computer regarding software, and―to a lesser degree―hardware.
    Synonym: IBM-compatible

Usage notes

In the 1980s, following the launch of the IBM Personal Computer, the term IBM-compatible designated computers highly compatible with the IBM PC’s design, capable of running software designed for the IBM PC, most importantly MS-DOS. Following the advent of IBM PC clones and―in the 1990s―the obsolescence of DOS, it was replaced by PC-compatible, which became synonymous with support for Microsoft Windows (and continued support for x86 hardware).

Concerning hardware, tremendous evolution in the decades following the IBM PC’s launch made the sense evolve to the point of becoming a misnomer or at best most vague, and even the sense of supporting Microsoft operating system became superfluous with the Apple–Intel architecture.[1] The sense concerning software applications (compatibility with Microsoft operating systems) is now better described as "compatible with Microsoft Windows".

Noun

PC-compatible (plural PC-compatibles)

  1. A computer of this kind.
    Synonym: IBM-compatible
    • 1998, Douglas A. Downing, Michael A. Covington, Melody Mauldin Covington, “bus”, in Dictionary of Computer and Internet Terms, 6th edition, Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barron’s Educational Series, →ISBN, page 65:
      Most personal computers today use a 32-bit bus, but on PC-compatibles, the bus can also work in 8-bit and 16-bit mode.

References

  1. ^ IBM PC compatible § The IBM PC compatible today on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Further reading

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