noun
compatible machine; clone; workalike
Computing term for hardware or a system designed to be compatible with another, especially a clone of a well-known model such as an IBM PC.
この互換機はIBMのソフトウェアをそのまま動かせる。
This compatible machine can run IBM software as is.
当時は安価なPC互換機が多く出回ってい
At that time, many cheap PC clones were on the market.
クローン is a more direct loanword for 'clone', often used in biology or general copying, while 互換機 is a technical computing term.
Compound of 互換 (compatibility) and 機 (machine). A straightforward technical term formed from Sino-Japanese elements.