Large Calculator…or Small Computer?
Olivetti Programma 101
This printing programmable calculator was made from discrete transistors and an acoustic delay-line memory. 40,000 were sold.
Large Calculator…or Small Computer?
As calculators increasingly incorporated computer technology, the line between computers and calculators blurred.
William Kahn’s 1962 Mathatronics Marathon was probably the first solid-state, programmable calculator. In 1965, Italy’s Olivetti unveiled the Programma 101. With its ability to store programs and data on magnetic stripe cards, Programma quickly eclipsed the Marathon.
Olivetti Programma 101 advertisement
Olivetti combined programming and data-storage power with Italian style and called the Programma 101 a "computer."
View Artifact DetailAdvertisement for the HP 9100A
Hewlett-Packard did not always call the 9100A a computer, so that customers could buy one without asking permission from their corporate computer departments.
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