When manufacturing systems integrators get together, one of the prime
topics is the PC vs. PLC. The programmable logic controller (PLC)
— which had been an earlier user of the acronym "PC" in industry
— has been around for a few decades now and they are literally
around everywhere. PCs, meaning personal — a true misnomer these
days — computers, are also everywhere, but not doing the same
work as PLCs. Well, not doing it in as many places. OK, they are
doing the same work, in most of the same places, and that's what the
discussions are about. The question isn't "are they," the question is
"should they" be acting as industrial controls?
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