# Difference between Apple and Mac



## mbveau (Jun 7, 2005)

I'm a relative newcomer to the Mac world, and I have yet to figure out the relationship between Apple and Mac. Mac is a sort of sub-brand, right? Or a specific line of products? For instance, the iPod isn't a Mac, but all the computers are.... right??? Any comments would be much appreciated.


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## Mikuro (Jun 7, 2005)

Apple is the company. "A Mac" refers to a computer than runs any Mac OS (Macintosh System 7, Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, etc.). "The Mac" refers to the OS itself (more commonly, people will just say "OS X"). The grammar has variations. Some people will refer to the Mac OS simply as "Mac", the way you'd simply call Microsoft's OS "Windows". There's certainly logic to that, but...I dunno, it just doesn't _sound_ right (to me), so I say "the Mac [OS]".

Mac is not a company or sub-division or anything like that. And it is never ever an acronym, so anyone calling it MAC (all caps) is just yelling stupidly.


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## nixgeek (Jun 7, 2005)

Think of the Apple Mac terminology (company/model) as being similar (although not in quality ) as a Compaq Presario, or an IBM ThinkPad, or a Sony VAIO.

Apple is the company, Macintosh/PowerBook/Mac mini/etc is the name of the model of computer


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## nixgeek (Jun 7, 2005)

One more thing.  Macintosh can be general meaning all the machines (since they are all in essence "Macs")  But it can also be specific, like the Mac mini, PowerBook, etc.

Using "Mac" or "Macintosh" as a broad term for Apple's line of full-fledged desktop/laptop computers is like using the term "PC" for an IBM or a Dell or any other brand of IBM compatible computer ("IBM compatible" since IBM created the first commercial x86-based Personal Computer off of which IBM compatible clones like Compaq, Dell, etc came from).

Of course, considering the true definition of a PC, or "Personal Computer", would mean any of the above.....


Confused yet???


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## Shookster (Jun 7, 2005)

Where did the name "Macintosh" come from in the first place? It seems strange to name fashionable computers after unfashionable clothing.


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## nixgeek (Jun 7, 2005)

According to Jef Raskin, the Macintosh got its name because of a spelling error.  They originally wanted to name it like the McIntosh apple.  But someone mispelled McIntosh as Macintosh, and it just stuck.  As for the Apple name, I read in a manual for the Apple IIc that the name came from the fact that both Steves (Jobs and Wozniak) who cofounded the company needed a name and they were at the deadline without the name.  One of them noticed the other eating an apple and the apple had a bite taken out of it.  Thus, the name Apple became the name of the company and the logo is as it is now (although it had the colors of the rainbow instead of the solid color it has now).


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## texanpenguin (Jun 8, 2005)

nixgeek, that story is a lie, if only for the fact that the Apple logo wasn't an apple with a bite out of it until the Apple II was released.

Before that it was a picture of Newton under a tree. A big, illustrative logo, drawn by Apple co-founder Ron Wayne:

http://img92.echo.cx/img92/9731/ronwayne8rx.jpg


Sites often claim that the Apple name was chosen because:

1. Starts with an 'A' - top of alphabetical lists
2. Apple is an organic, non-computational term, so has a high recall rate when used amongst acronyms and techno-words.
3. Apple has good health connotations (an Apple a day keeps the doctor away)


The current logo, designed by Rob Janoff, has varying explanations. Some say the bite is a subtle link to a "Byte", others say it's supposed to be the dent left in the apple by Newton's head (I find this very hard to believe).

The rainbow is accused of being a relationship with the gay/lesbian pride movement, however the colours are out of rainbow order (often said to mean anarchy, naughtiness). My feelings are that a rainbow was just something else that stood out in corporate identities.

According to popular rumour, the Apple logo was initially plain red (as Apples often are), but was changed to differentiate itself from a tomato. Apparently this was officially corroborated.


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## Mikuro (Jun 8, 2005)

The story I always heard was that the two Steves (Jobs and Wozniak, the founders of Apple) just couldn't decide on a name, so Jobs eventually said "look, if we can't come up with something better in a few days, let's just use 'Apple'". And they couldn't, so they did. 'Apple' is kind of a generic name, so I don't think it needed much inspiration, really.

But yes, the Macintosh was named after the kind of Apple. Another name they considered was 'Golden Delicious'. I kid you not. (I got that from the ancient 'Label Secrets' made for System 7 by David Pogue.)


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## delsoljb32 (Jun 8, 2005)

there is a book called "Apple Confidential 2.0" 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1593270100/103-8037061-9237464?v=glance

i was bored one day and read the first few chapters, in there it goes through the origins of the company, the name, logo, etc. 

heheh, one story i found funny was that Jobs worked for Atari, but his friend Wozniac was better at coding, and actually wrote the code for 'Breakout' FOR Jobs, so they could have money for the company (or something like that, dunno, its early  )


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## nixgeek (Jun 8, 2005)

texanpenguin said:
			
		

> nixgeek, that story is a lie, if only for the fact that the Apple logo wasn't an apple with a bite out of it until the Apple II was released.
> 
> Before that it was a picture of Newton under a tree. A big, illustrative logo, drawn by Apple co-founder Ron Wayne:
> 
> ...



Touche sir...I stand corrected. 

I had forgotten about that old logo.  Man, I wish I could find the manual that said that about Apple's logo and the company name.

And thanks for the other information...I truly didn't know about the disorder of the rainbow color.  Pretty cool.


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## Lt Major Burns (Jun 8, 2005)

now, Mac is the name for a desktop apple computer running MacOS. (eMac, iMac, Mac Mini, PowerMac)

Book's are the portables runnig MacOS. these are not macs though, officially (iBook, PowerBook)

the i is the consumer line (iMac, iBook), born from the abbrieviation of internetMac, internetBook, because it was easy to access the internet on them

the Power is the pro-user lines. (PowerBook, PowerMac), from the fact they use PowerPC chips, and are powerful.

Newton (long dead now) was not a mac, because it didn;t run MacOS, it ran NewtonOS. they were the Apple Newtons, not Apple Mac Newtons.


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## mbveau (Jun 8, 2005)

That makes sense, isn't the Newton a type of apple? Anyway; thanks for the history lesson guys!


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## Lt Major Burns (Jun 9, 2005)

Newton was a range of (too) ahead-of-it's-time PDA's, and also the eMate education "laptop" (which was like a big chunky psion 7, again using the e for education, like the eMac).  they were an independent line of apple products, designed and made by apple, running apples portable os, NewtonOS. it talked to MacOS, but was independent, like PalmOS.  But yes, they all came with multi-coloured apple badges on them. it was definately an apple product.


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## fryke (Jun 15, 2005)

Just a few corrections. (Ah...) Lt., we certainly don't really call the 'Books just 'Books. They're Macs, too.  Mikuro: The Mac was a Mac even before System 7, of course. (And just as an addition, the first Macintosh System to be officially called "Mac OS" was 7.6, although the term Mac OS already was in the startup screen of System 7.5.3 IIRC.) Also, MAC in all-caps _does_ exist, of course, although it has nothing to do with the Mac we know, besides that Macs have NICs (Network Interface Cards), too. MAC stands for "Media Access Control address, a hardware address that uniquely identifies each node of a network" according to webopedia.

Apart from _all_ of that, I really hope that one day, Apple will release a product that is simply referred to as "Macintosh" or "Mac". Even the early Macs had a description in their product names: Macintosh 128K, Macintosh 512K, Macintosh Plus, Macintosh SE, Macintosh II etc. (see www.apple-history.com for info about any old Macs...)

About those "lies" on how the name Apple came to be: I guess even the Steves might have trouble remembering how _exactly_ the story goes. So let's just say that  the early logo was about the apple that fell on Newton's head.


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