i want to know the difference between an Apple and a Mac, or are they the same? what's the most common?

Question

computer software? microsoft? then what is it for an Apple?

Answer 1

They are not really the same as Ford and Bronco are not exactly the same. Apple Computer is the company. Macintosh was the name of their new computer (It all fits together because there is a variety of apple, the fruit, called McIntosh. Apple Computer changed the spelling to avoid an infringement lawsuit as fruit varieties have patents.) that hit the market in December 1983 although only a few hundred were sold before January, 1984. It was announced by a world-famous TV ad, directed by Ridley Scott, during the Super Bowl game 1984 that is credited with starting the huge money spending trend for Super Bowl ads. The TV ad actually was broadcast once at 1:00am on a local TV station in Iowa on December 15, 1983.

http://www.uiowa.edu/~commstud/adclass/1984_mac_ad.html

That made it eligible for the Clio Award for Best TV Commercial, which it won.

The name of the operating system software that ran on the Macintosh was just called System 1.0 and did not acquire the name Mac OS until version 7.6 in 1996.

The most common what? The most common hardware platform for computers until recently has been the IBM style platform (often just called PC) that is typically matched with the Windows operating system. Other systems that can run on an IBM type platform include IBM OS-2 and various flavours of Unix such as Linux but 98 percent of the PCs come with Windows pre-installed so almost nobody thinks of making a choice.

The Mac platform formerly could use the Apple Macintosh OS, BE-OS or various flavours of Unix. But incrementally, Apple has been changing their platform to incorporate the most advanced technology such as open firmware and, more recently, UEFI boot support. The changes not only improve options for the Mac OS but also allowed Apple to announce that their platform can now run both the Mac operating system (based on BSD Unix) and the Windows OS. UEFI boot support will also be needed for Windows Vista that should be released sometime in the next 6 months (hard to predict!!!). This means that, interestingly, most of the people who are buying Apple computers are ready to install Windows Vista as soon as they get it but lots of PC owners will have to buy a new computer, or at the very least, a new main board, to install Vista.

Apple has had some turmoil in its ranks that resulted in the founder, Steve Jobs, being forced out of the company for a few years. He developed a cube-shaped computer and the predecessor to Mac OS X (both called "NeXT") while away and brought the ideas back to Apple. The Cube is dead but the Mac OS X is very alive.

But I think your real question is meant to get come decision making info. Most people think they need to buy the most common type of computer because they think back on the days of the BetaMax video tape recorder and they think they will be stuck with a lemon. It's really more like choosing between a Chevy and a Lexus. Whatever floats your boat.

Answer 2

Nowadays, yup, they're the same.

"Apple" refers to the company, Apple Computer, started in 1976. They made several different computers (e.g. the Apple I, the Apple II, the Apple Lisa). In 1984, they made a computer called the Macintosh (shortened to "Mac" or "Apple Mac").

Nowadays, Apple refers to all the computers they make as Macs, as they all descended from the first Macintosh.

As for the most common, that's hard to say without looking at Apple's sales figures over the past 30 years :) However, the original iMac (from 1998) sold 6 million units, and has been credited with rescuing Apple Computer from going bankrupt.

Answer 3

They are the same. The Macintosh logo is an apple, so the Mac computers are sometimes called Apples.

Answer 4

They're the same. You will have to use different software. It needs to be Apple/Mac compatible. It will say on the label.

Answer 5

they are the same.