Olivetti Programma 101: at the origins of the personal computer

Due to its limited RAM of 1,920 bits, the Programma 101 was mostly a machine conceived to make arithmetic calculations – sums, subtractions, divisions, multiplications, square roots -, yet, like modern computers, it could also perform logical operations, conditional and unconditional jumps, and print the data stored in a register, all through a custom-made alphanumeric programming language. This was, in the early ’60s, what set computers apart from calculators, indeed. Overall, in today’s terms, Programma 101 can be considered a sort of “transitional fossil” between desktop calculators and personal computers.

↫ Riccardo Bianchini

Olivetti sure is a name that carries an exceptional amount of weight in the retrocomputing world, as classic Olivetti computers, even standard Olivetti PCs, tend to be highly desirable. A Programma 101 in amazing condition is currently for sale on eBay for a massive €20000, and while there’s quite a few relatively cheap ’80s and ’90s Olivetti PCs for sale, a sizable number of them are far more desirable and carry massive premiums for their unique design.

It’s sad how many once great and influential computer makers have been relegated to the dustbin of history, outcompeted, acquired, or run into the ground. Some of these once great brands live on as mere badges on electronic junk, and Olivetti, too, was not spared this fate. In fact, what is generally considered the worst PDA ever made, the Olivetti daVinci, was a generic product that just had an Olivetti logo slapped onto it. I have one in-box, and intend to one day write about it, because its awfulness needs to be shared with the world.