5 ms·

Programma 101

66 points by dictum 13y ago

auvrw 13y ago
i used to want an olivetti typewriter... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Olivetti-Valentine.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Olivetti-Valentine.jpg ... didn't know they made computers.
- fhars 13y ago
  Kids these days... :-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivetti_M24 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivetti_M24
- riffraff 13y ago
  I own this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivetti_Lettera_32 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivetti_Lettera_32 and while I haven't used it in ten years or so, I still think it's an amazing piece of industrial design.
danmaz74 13y ago
I was looking for a video showing how the device worked... didn't find anything good, but this one is interesting anyway! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpkqdbz1R_s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpkqdbz1R_s
ot 13y ago
The story of Olivetti is interesting and sad. They had many opportunities to be the Italian Apple (they even owned ARM from 1985 to 1998!), all of them missed because of terrible management choices. The Programma 101 was a perfect combination of innovative technology, usability and industrial design. When it was introduced at the New York World's Fair it stole the show. However, the management decided not to pursue any more r&d on the project. Some of the reasons: - They were afraid it would jeopardize their mainframe business (which they sold soon after that anyway) - They thought it was useless. One of the managers even told Perotto "if nobody is building this, it means nobody needs it" This gave HP enough time to copy the design and rule the market. A couple of years ago a documentary was made on the history of the Programma 101, I found it very instructive. Unfortunately only the trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noN0zNYFs9I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noN0zNYFs9I) has English subtitles, the documentary is only in Italian.
- danmaz74 13y ago
  Actually, when the product was displayed at the World Fair, the mainframe business had already been sold, so, that's not the reason.
  - ot 13y ago
    You're right, I've got the timeline a bit messed up. Anyway, I'm sure that the project met resistance at some point because of the competition with the mainframe business.
    - danmaz74 13y ago
      Maybe at its inception. I guess that the real problem there was that the project wasn't the pet of any specific big manager in the company - a real pity.
- carlob 13y ago
  As an interesting aside it's also interesting to read about Adriano Olivetti [1]. He advocated revenue sharing, increasing of fringe benefits and reducing of working hours during his time at the helm of the company. This is all the more incredible if you think he managed to do all this during fascism, while also helping the underground resistance. Some commenters think that even if Programma 101 was designed shortly after Adriano's death, it's the culture he helped build which allowed Olivetti to produce such advanced and beautiful products. It is also worth noting that Olivetti's attitude towards workers and work-life balance could not be any more anti-Apple… [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriano_Olivetti http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriano_Olivetti
- Kronopath 13y ago
  Sounds like a cookie-cutter case of the Innovator's Dilemma. An established company with high-end, high-margin customers ignores or neglects a low-end market due to lower margins and the threat of cannibalizing their high-margin business, allowing for someone else to swoop in and do it instead, again becoming the top of the heap.
georgeoliver 13y ago
This is an incredible bit: "Developed between 1962 and 1964, it was saved from the sale of the computer division to GE thanks to an employee who one night changed the internal categorization of the product from "computer" to "calculator", leaving the small team in Olivetti and creating some awkward situations in the office, since the building except that office was then owned by GE"
phkamp 13y ago
The Danish Computer History Museuem is currently restoring a Programma 101. Right now we're trying to construct some magnetic cards for the card-reader. http://datamuseum.dk/wiki/Olivetti/Programma_101/Revive http://datamuseum.dk/wiki/Olivetti/Programma_101/Revive
- danmaz74 13y ago
  Great; I would really love to see it working in a video. Keep us updated!
  - thorkilnaur 13y ago
    There are a few videos available: Please check the links at the end of the sections http://datamuseum.dk/wiki/Olivetti/Programma_101/Revive#2013-Oct-17:_hello.2C_world http://datamuseum.dk/wiki/Olivetti/Programma_101/Revive#2013... and http://datamuseum.dk/wiki/Olivetti/Programma_101/Revive#2013-Oct-31:_Adjusting_the_printer_and_the_keybord_lock_mechanism http://datamuseum.dk/wiki/Olivetti/Programma_101/Revive#2013....
bernarpa 13y ago
Perotto wrote the Programma 101's story itself. It's on the web, but in Italian only, sadly: http://www.piergiorgioperotto.it/libriperotto/programma%20101/101pag.htm http://www.piergiorgioperotto.it/libriperotto/programma%2010... He wrote that indeed the management didn't put many resources in the Programma 101 development. Was it because of mainframes or what? We don't know.
antirez 13y ago
There is a documentary that explains a lot of technical details and the history of the project, but unfortunately it is in italian only without english subtitles... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYB2oBc1BpA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYB2oBc1BpA
- danmaz74 13y ago
  I can't volunteer at the moment, but it would great if somebody created the English subtitles for that...

66 points by dictum 13y ago

auvrw 13y ago

i used to want an olivetti typewriter... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Olivetti-Valentine.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Olivetti-Valentine.jpg ... didn't know they made computers.

fhars 13y ago
Kids these days... :-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivetti_M24 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivetti_M24
riffraff 13y ago
I own this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivetti_Lettera_32 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivetti_Lettera_32 and while I haven't used it in ten years or so, I still think it's an amazing piece of industrial design.

danmaz74 13y ago

I was looking for a video showing how the device worked... didn't find anything good, but this one is interesting anyway! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpkqdbz1R_s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpkqdbz1R_s

ot 13y ago

The story of Olivetti is interesting and sad. They had many opportunities to be the Italian Apple (they even owned ARM from 1985 to 1998!), all of them missed because of terrible management choices. The Programma 101 was a perfect combination of innovative technology, usability and industrial design. When it was introduced at the New York World's Fair it stole the show. However, the management decided not to pursue any more r&d on the project. Some of the reasons: - They were afraid it would jeopardize their mainframe business (which they sold soon after that anyway) - They thought it was useless. One of the managers even told Perotto "if nobody is building this, it means nobody needs it" This gave HP enough time to copy the design and rule the market. A couple of years ago a documentary was made on the history of the Programma 101, I found it very instructive. Unfortunately only the trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noN0zNYFs9I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noN0zNYFs9I) has English subtitles, the documentary is only in Italian.

danmaz74 13y ago
Actually, when the product was displayed at the World Fair, the mainframe business had already been sold, so, that's not the reason.
- ot 13y ago
  You're right, I've got the timeline a bit messed up. Anyway, I'm sure that the project met resistance at some point because of the competition with the mainframe business.
  - danmaz74 13y ago
    Maybe at its inception. I guess that the real problem there was that the project wasn't the pet of any specific big manager in the company - a real pity.
carlob 13y ago
As an interesting aside it's also interesting to read about Adriano Olivetti [1]. He advocated revenue sharing, increasing of fringe benefits and reducing of working hours during his time at the helm of the company. This is all the more incredible if you think he managed to do all this during fascism, while also helping the underground resistance. Some commenters think that even if Programma 101 was designed shortly after Adriano's death, it's the culture he helped build which allowed Olivetti to produce such advanced and beautiful products. It is also worth noting that Olivetti's attitude towards workers and work-life balance could not be any more anti-Apple… [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriano_Olivetti http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriano_Olivetti
Kronopath 13y ago
Sounds like a cookie-cutter case of the Innovator's Dilemma. An established company with high-end, high-margin customers ignores or neglects a low-end market due to lower margins and the threat of cannibalizing their high-margin business, allowing for someone else to swoop in and do it instead, again becoming the top of the heap.

georgeoliver 13y ago

This is an incredible bit: "Developed between 1962 and 1964, it was saved from the sale of the computer division to GE thanks to an employee who one night changed the internal categorization of the product from "computer" to "calculator", leaving the small team in Olivetti and creating some awkward situations in the office, since the building except that office was then owned by GE"

phkamp 13y ago

The Danish Computer History Museuem is currently restoring a Programma 101. Right now we're trying to construct some magnetic cards for the card-reader. http://datamuseum.dk/wiki/Olivetti/Programma_101/Revive http://datamuseum.dk/wiki/Olivetti/Programma_101/Revive

danmaz74 13y ago
Great; I would really love to see it working in a video. Keep us updated!
- thorkilnaur 13y ago
  There are a few videos available: Please check the links at the end of the sections http://datamuseum.dk/wiki/Olivetti/Programma_101/Revive#2013-Oct-17:_hello.2C_world http://datamuseum.dk/wiki/Olivetti/Programma_101/Revive#2013... and http://datamuseum.dk/wiki/Olivetti/Programma_101/Revive#2013-Oct-31:_Adjusting_the_printer_and_the_keybord_lock_mechanism http://datamuseum.dk/wiki/Olivetti/Programma_101/Revive#2013....

bernarpa 13y ago

Perotto wrote the Programma 101's story itself. It's on the web, but in Italian only, sadly: http://www.piergiorgioperotto.it/libriperotto/programma%20101/101pag.htm http://www.piergiorgioperotto.it/libriperotto/programma%2010... He wrote that indeed the management didn't put many resources in the Programma 101 development. Was it because of mainframes or what? We don't know.

antirez 13y ago

There is a documentary that explains a lot of technical details and the history of the project, but unfortunately it is in italian only without english subtitles... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYB2oBc1BpA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYB2oBc1BpA

danmaz74 13y ago
I can't volunteer at the moment, but it would great if somebody created the English subtitles for that...