Sellam,
> It seems to come down to agreement (or lack thereof) on the definition of
> "personal computer".
One criteria to me is not so much about the machine/system itself, but on
how it is originally financed.
If it costs more than a house or has to be financed by a committee, then
it's not personal in the same sense as something like "my toothbrush."
Because the use of that system is (generally) then under the control and
whims of that committee or owners - they paid for it, so they get to decide
what to do with it and who is authorized to use it.
Once such a system retires or gets replaced, and then becomes part of 2nd
hand market or surplus, then it's a "found object" that could
coincidentally become "personally owned." But I think the original context
on how the system came to exist stands.
Then a second criteria (to me) is like the "my toothbrush" sentiment - it
is something small enough or compact enough that an individual can manage
putting it where they personally want it to be. That doesn't necessarily
mean it fits in a pocket - but something about the size of small furniture
or a typical kitchen appliance or smaller is about right.
A third criteria is that it was built as a consumer product - meaning not
just a hand full exist. The rationale here is that it is a "repeatable
product" and the process of how the thing was made isn't so esoteric or
obscure (or enough "production line" effort was made to make it repeatable,
if only for a time), This helps draw the line between one-off custom
builds -- which those are the ultimate personal computer ("I made it") but
(to me) are just a different category (I didn't make my toothbrush, but
the process for making it is so well understood its become a consumer
product).
-Steve
>
