{"id":11143,"date":"2021-03-02T07:52:02","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T07:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=11143"},"modified":"2022-09-18T15:24:43","modified_gmt":"2022-09-18T15:24:43","slug":"potato-computer-definition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/potato-computer-definition\/","title":{"rendered":"The Definition of a &#8220;Potato Computer&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>img#mv-trellis-img-1::before{padding-top:56.25%; }img#mv-trellis-img-1{display:block;}<\/style><p>Technology is ubiquitous, and these days, it&rsquo;s hard to live without a myriad of devices. A person may have a work computer, home computer, tablet, personal phone, work phone, smartwatch, and so much more.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/as-for-now-vs-as-of-now\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Now<\/a><\/strong>, it&rsquo;s not even surprising to hear someone talk about their smart fridge!<\/p>\n<p>While technology may be abundant, that doesn&rsquo;t mean that everybody has access to the latest or greatest models. Many people just have what they need to get by.<\/p>\n<p>They&rsquo;re using older hardware because they don&rsquo;t want to spend an arm and a leg on newer equipment.<\/p>\n<p>Such outdated or underpowered hardware may not be able to play the best games, run the sleekest software, or operate at lightning speed.<\/p>\n<p>Even if they can run a game or software, it may be slow, and they may have to turn the settings down.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, when a person&rsquo;s electronic device isn&rsquo;t up to the most demanding tasks, they may refer to it as a &ldquo;potato computer&rdquo; or simply a &ldquo;potato.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What Is a &ldquo;Potato Computer?&rdquo;<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>A &ldquo;potato computer&rdquo; is a computer that can&rsquo;t easily run the best games and software. Whether it&rsquo;s too old or too cheap, a potato computer doesn&rsquo;t have the right hardware to operate quickly and provide stellar graphics. If it&rsquo;s old or incapable of performing certain tasks, a phone, tablet, camera, smartwatch, or any other lackluster digital device can be referred to as a &ldquo;potato.&rdquo;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>How to use the term &ldquo;potato computer&rdquo;<\/h2>\n<p>In the following example, one friend wants another friend to install a game on her computer, but she&rsquo;s not so sure if his computer is capable of the task.<\/p>\n<p>Chuck: With all of that extra birthday money, you should buy the new Call of Duty game so that we can play online together!<\/p>\n<p>Akari: I totally would, but I don&rsquo;t think that my potato computer could handle it. I may put my money towards a better graphics card and more RAM instead.<\/p>\n<p>In the next example, Jared takes a picture with his phone, but he&rsquo;s not very pleased about how it looks.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">\n<p><strong>Allan:<\/strong> Hey, can you take a picture of my new truck? I want to post it online. Thanks, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/broski-meaning\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bro<\/a><\/strong>!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jared:<\/strong> Unfortunately, it&rsquo;s a potato-quality photo. My phone&rsquo;s camera just isn&rsquo;t good enough to take clear pictures in the evening.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>On top of referring to something as a &ldquo;potato&rdquo; or &ldquo;potato device,&rdquo; you can also deem images, videos, media, and devices as &ldquo;potato-quality.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Your old computer may be able to run a new game, but it may only be able to operate with &ldquo;potato-quality&rdquo; graphics, and that&rsquo;s because you&rsquo;re playing it on a &ldquo;potato!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The next example details what could happen if you carelessly refer to someone else&rsquo;s device as a &ldquo;potato.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\" style=\"border-color:#e5e54c;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#FFFF66;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\">\n<p><strong>Candace:<\/strong> Oh my goodness! Rick, is that tablet even from this century! The thing looks so old. What could you possibly do with such a potato of a device?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rick:<\/strong> I&rsquo;d buy something new, but since the company laid me off, money has been tight. Luckily, a friend gave this tablet to me so that I can more easily look for jobs online. I&rsquo;d have something better if I could afford it.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Candace made a big faux pas here. Unless someone has already joked about the quality of their digital device before, you shouldn&rsquo;t call someone else&rsquo;s device a &ldquo;potato.&rdquo; It could hurt their feelings and make you come across as an elitist.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-after-after-all\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">After all,<\/a><\/strong> new devices are expensive, and people are sensitive about money. If someone can&rsquo;t afford a new tablet, then you really shouldn&rsquo;t rub it in their face.<\/p>\n<p>As illustrated above, this term can be offensive in certain circumstances.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/the-meaning-of-fugazi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">It is also very informal<\/a><\/strong> to refer to a digital device as a &ldquo;potato,&rdquo; so you shouldn&rsquo;t use this phrase at work or in any professional environment.<\/p>\n<p>Much like many other modern phrases, older people <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/thank-you-for-your-understanding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">may not understand<\/a><\/strong> what you mean when you refer to something as a &ldquo;potato.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Most millennials, members of Generation Z, and younger members of Generation X will understand this term.<\/p>\n<p>Unless you want to explain it to an older person, you should try to find a more standard way to describe the device&rsquo;s quality.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Background and origin of the expression &ldquo;potato computer&rdquo;<\/h2>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11148\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin.jpg\" alt=\"Potato Computer Origin\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin.jpg 854w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-720x405.jpg 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-320x180.jpg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-735x413.jpg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-335x188.jpg 335w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-347x195.jpg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-520x293.jpg 520w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-640x360.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin.jpg\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11148 eager-load\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201280%20720'%3E%3Crect%20width='1280'%20height='720'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"Potato Computer Origin\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin.jpg\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin.jpg 854w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-480x270.jpg 480w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-720x405.jpg 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-320x180.jpg 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-735x413.jpg 735w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-335x188.jpg 335w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-347x195.jpg 347w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-520x293.jpg 520w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Potato-Computer-Origin-640x360.jpg 640w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\">People started using &ldquo;potato&rdquo; to express the low quality of a device around the early to mid-2010s. Since potatoes are cheap and ugly, older devices reflect the qualities of a potato. They&rsquo;re usually cheap, and their graphics tend to be pretty bad when compared to newer models.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Before this use of the term &ldquo;potato&rdquo; became commonplace, it was normal to use the term to refer to inactive people or animals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Technology is ubiquitous, and these days, it&rsquo;s hard to live without a myriad of devices. A person may have a work computer, home computer, tablet, personal phone, work phone, smartwatch, and so much more. Now, it&rsquo;s not even surprising to hear someone talk about their smart fridge! While technology may be abundant, that doesn&rsquo;t mean &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"Article","disable-critical-css":false,"_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,1117],"tags":[399],"class_list":["post-11143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-vocabulary","tag-potato-computer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11143"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11152,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11143\/revisions\/11152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}