MAC

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
mac
    n 1: a waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric [syn:
         {macintosh}, {mackintosh}, {mac}, {mack}]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Mac \Mac\ prop. n.
   Shortened form of {Macintosh}, a brand name for a personal
   computer; as, the latest Mac has great new features.
   [PJC]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Mac \Mac\ [Gael., son.]
   A prefix, in names of Scotch origin, signifying son.
   [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
mac \mac\ n.
   Shortened form of {mackintosh}, a waterproof raincoat made of
   rubberized fabric.

   Syn: mackintosh, mac, mack.
        [WordNet 1.5]
    
from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
Macintosh
Apple Macintosh
beige toaster
Mac

   <computer> (Mac) The name of a product line and {operating
   system} {platform} manufactured by {Apple Computer, Inc.},
   originally based on the {Motorola 68000} {microprocessor}
   family and a proprietary {operating system}.  The Mac was
   Apple's successor to the {Lisa}.

   The project was proposed by {Jef Raskin} some time before
   {Steve Jobs}'s famous visit to {Xerox PARC}.  Jobs tried to
   scuttle the Macintosh project and only joined it later because
   he wasn't trusted to manage the {Lisa} project.

   The {Macintosh user interface} was notable for popularising
   the {graphical user interface}, with its easy to learn and
   easy to use {desktop} metaphor.

   The {Macintosh Operating System} is now officially called
   Mac OS.

   The first Macintosh, introduced in January 1984, had a
   {Motorola 68000} {CPU}, 128K of {RAM}, a small {monochrome}
   screen, and one built-in {floppy disk} drive with an external
   slot for one more, two {serial ports} and a four-voice sound
   generator.  This was all housed in one small plastic case,
   including the screen.  When more memory was available later in
   the year, a 512K Macintosh was nicknamed the "Fat Mac."

   The standard Macintosh screen {resolution} is 72 {dpi} (making
   one {point} = one {pixel}), exactly half the 144 dpi
   resolution of the ancient {Apple Imagewriter} {dot matrix}
   printer.

   The Mac Plus (January 1986) added expandability by providing
   an external {SCSI} port for connecting {hard disks}, {magnetic
   tape}, and other high-speed devices.

   The Mac SE (March 1987) had up to four megabytes of {RAM}, an
   optional built-in 20 megabyte hard disk and one internal
   expansion slot for connecting a third-party device.

   The Mac II (March 1987) used the faster {Motorola 68020} {CPU}
   with a 32-bit {bus}.

   In 1994 {PowerPC} based Macs, {Power Macs}, were launched, and
   in 1999, the {iMac}, updated on 2002-01-07.  The Power Mac G4
   (Quicksilver 2002) was the first Power Mac to clock at 1GHz and
   "Superdrives" (combined DVD-ROM, DVD-RW, CD-ROM, CD-RW)
   appeared in the iMac in 2002.  In mid 2003 the first G5
   Power Mac was released, the first Mac to be based on a 64-bit
   architecture.  {IBM} and not Motorola manufactured the CPU for
   this new generation of Power Macs.  The clock speed was
   initially 1.6GHz but a dual 2GHz system was available in
   September.

   Mac OS X is the successor to Mac OS 9, although its
   technological parent is the {NEXTSTEP} OS from {Next, Inc.},
   founded by Steve Jobs after he left Apple the first time.  OS
   X is based largely on the {BSD} UNIX system.  The core of the
   OS X operating system is released as free {source code} under
   the project name {Darwin}.

   If "Macintosh" were an acronym, some say it would stand for
   "Many Applications Crash, If Not, The Operating System Hangs".
   While this was true for pre Mac OS 9 systems, it is less true
   for Mac OS 9, and totally incorrect for Mac OS X, which has
   protected memory, so even if one application crashes, the
   system and other applications are unaffected.

   See also {Macintosh file system}, {Macintosh user interface}.

   Apple Home (http://apple.com/).

   (2004-07-20)
    
from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
MAC

   1. {Media Access Control}.

   2. Early system on {Ferranti} {Mercury}.  Listed in CACM
   2(5):16 (May 1959).
    
from V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (June 2006)
MAC
       Mandatory Access Control (MLS, DAC)
       
    
from V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (June 2006)
MAC
       Media Access Control (ISO, OSI, LAN, , WLAN, ...)
       
    
from V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (June 2006)
MAC
       Membership Advisory Committee (ICANN)
       
    
from V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (June 2006)
MAC
       Message Authentication Code (SSL, SRT, cryptography)
       
    

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