This will be a bit of a rant. I've noticed several software manufacturers (more often video games) who use the phrases "PC version" and "Mac version" for different versions of their software, to allow people to choose the one that will run on their computer.
While this designation is true for most users of these types of computers, it's actually very misleading and I believe it prevents people from understanding computers better -and also their options. I'm going to explain why, as simply as I can.
I'm going to start with the very basic thing one should know, but I'll be brief: Computers are made up of hardware and software. Hardware is the tangible stuff; the devices in a computer that make it work and, well, make it a computer.
Software, on the other hand, is intangible: Software is sets of instructions that "tell" a computer how to work. And the most important bit of software on a modern computer is the Operating System (which I'll be calling by the abbreviation OS from here on), which takes charge of the computer's hardware and other software you can run on it.
A special kind of software is included inside pieces of hardware and lets them do what they're supposed to do; this is called Firmware.
The names "PC" and "Mac" refer mainly to the sets of hardware (and firmware) in a computer. Macs are always made by the company called Apple, but PCs are made by many different companies and, in fact, an experienced person can buy pieces of hardware separately and make a complete PC on their own!
Years ago, PCs and Macs were very different and, as such, each could use its own set of OSes. Nowadays however they're a lot more similar and so the same OSes can be used on either, with minor adjustments to the way they're started.
Finally getting to the important bit: As the OS on a computer is what tells the hardware what to do, and different OSes work differently, a program has to be made differently for each OS otherwise it won't work. The hardware's importance basically ends with the OS; the same software will run on practically any set of hardware, as long as it's made for the OS running on it and the OS itself works correctly.
So when a software company says they have a "PC version" and a "Mac version" available for a program they've made, what they actually mean is that they have a version that will run on the OS called Windows (the one most commonly used on a PC, made by Microsoft) and a version that will run on Mac OS.
As a single computer (either a PC or a Mac) can run different OSes, you understand that a "PC version" will not work on a PC that doesn't use Windows but another OS (probably a distribution of Linux in this case) and will work on a Mac that does use Windows. Similarly, a "Mac version" will only work on a Mac as long as that Mac is running Mac OS.
As I mentioned before, these cases are relatively rare. PC users usually use Windows and Mac users usually use Mac OS. I believe, though, that talking about "PC versions" and "Mac versions" of software instead of the more correct designation "Windows version" and "Mac OS version" is strengthening the misconception that users should only run these OSes on their computers and that a PC not running Windows isn't a "proper" PC (similarly for a Mac not running Mac OS).
As I firmly believe that people should not feel limited by what is commonly done but should look for what works best for them (a mindset I have for many things, not just computers), and also as admittedly a pedant, I'm annoyed by this misconception. Apple's adverts using the phrases "I'm a PC" and "I'm a Mac", only to describe mainly Windows and Mac OS doesn't help any, either.
PC: Hi, I'm a PC.
Mac: And I'm a Mac.
PC: How are you doing these days?
Mac: Not very well, I'm full of viruses.
PC: You know, when running Windows it's important to have a good anti-virus program.
Mac: You're right, I should install one. What do you use?
PC: I don't use any of them, I'm running Linux so I don't really get viruses.
Mac: I'd say "lucky you" but then again you can't play as many games as I can.
PC: That's true. I don't play so much though so it all works out.
See what I mean?
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