MAC is an abbreviation. In the computing world, MAC stands for Media Access Control. Every networked device has a MAC address. Go read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAC_address.

PC is an abbreviation. In the computing world, PC stands for Personal Computer. A Personal Computer is any computer intended for personal use. That includes a laptop, a desktop, or generally anything that is not a Thin Client, Workstation, Mainframe, or Server. PC does not exclusively describe Windows computers. PC describes all Personal Computers, independent of whatever OS (Operating System) they happen to be running.

When I see somebody compare MACs and PCs, I want to break things. Every networkable PC has a MAC address. Period.

When one is referring to an Apple Macintosh computer, or any computer running Apple Mac OS, one may use the terms “Mac” (notice the capitalisation), “Macintosh”, “Macintosh PC”, “Apple PC”, or any derivative thereof; though it is generally best to specify the operating system, rather than the hardware platform, so one might go so far as to refer to Apple computers by the OS they run, such as “OS X.”

When one is referring to a computer that is running Microsoft Windows, one may use the terms “Windows”, “Windows PC”, “Microsoft PC”, or any derivative thereof.

When one is referring to a computer that is running a variety of Linux, one may use the terms “Linux”, “Linux PC”, or any derivative thereof.

In summary:
1. One should specify the operating system when comparing operating systems, not the hardware.
2. One should not use inappropriate abbreviations such as MAC or PC (since every networked device has a MAC address, and every personal computer is a PC).

Here is an example of an incorrect comparison:

“The ideal candidate should be comfortable working with MACs PCs and Linux.”

Here is an example of a correct comparison:

“The ideal candidate should be comfortable working with Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, and the hardware they run on.”

Do you see the difference? A little extra work goes a loooong way. Please please please stop misusing computer acronyms and abbreviations.

Thank you.

I am a big fan of SparkFun’s work and products. I wish I lived in Colorado so I could attend their classes. I am prepared to go to battle for them, if necessary, to maintain the lines between what is acceptable use of the law and what is not.

The hacker/DIY/electronics engineering community has slowly become aware of the situation and the level of protest is high. In fact, the sole author of this blog accepted SparkFun’s invitation to write to SPARC by email.

Here is a copy of the original cease-and-desist letter from SPARC to SparkFun.

Here is a copy of the response I sent them.

I doubt anything much will come of this threat from SPARC, but if it should come to a lawsuit, I am prepared to be on the defensive to protect small companies from being abused by larger companies and their expansive legal departments. Cisco can do what it wants to Apple, no matter how much of a fanboy I may be, but this is crossing a line. Under no circumstances should this hacking of the legal system be allowed.

Original Source – SparkFun
Secondary Source – Hack-a-Day