Learn English – Word to refer to computers as opposed to consoles

computingsingle-word-requests

I'm looking for a word that you'd use to refer to all computers that distinguishes them from gaming consoles. The word "computer" is too general – that would include servers and other industrial machines – and technically consoles as well. I could go with "home computer" or "personal computer", but I'd like to find a single word that works. My gut tells me that "PC" fits the bill, but most people who see "PC" associate it with one running some version of Windows – Mac and Linux machines are not included (even though they do meet the original definition of "personal computer"). I thought "desktop" would be a good word, but it excludes laptops and tablets. It's specifically needed relating to games. For the opposite, there's one word: "console" is generally considered to include all versions of XBox, Playstation, and Nintendo (and Sega, Atari, etc. if you go back far enough). What I'm looking for is the opposite. The sentence is:

More and more, game consoles are starting to resemble ___s, with internal hard drives, network connections, etc.

Best Answer

I think the lay (non-technical) person still thinks of "computer" as being a laptop or desktop. Of course, anything with a processor in it is technically a computer, which these days means your phone, gaming console, tablet, but also quite possibly your television, media device, and even devices like washing machines, microwave ovens and so on.

However, since you posted this question in the English stack exchange, I'm going to focus on how the general public understands the terminology, rather than technical definitions. I don't actually know of a single word which defines the concept of general-purpose computer, but that's what most people understand by "computer".

It is unfortunate that "PC" has come to mean a personal computer running Windows as its operating system, but that's the connotation in the public consciousness.

There's also "microcomputer" which once conveyed the same meaning, but it's become archaic since technically most servers now are also microcomputers.

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