RCR Episode #265: Poolside computing arrives. 1965 brought us Moore's Law, the PDP-8, and a Programma 101 computer you can use by the pool or in the bathtub. We also talk Visual BASIC, Xerox Alto, Globus, LZW, and more!— https://rcrpodcast.com/2023/05/19/rcr-episode-265-poolside-computing-arrives/

#retrocomputing #lzw #programma101 #globus #visualbasic #mooreslaw

@schmudde @foone

I used a #Programma101 in middle school. As best I can tell, the school system bought one, stopped using it, and it shuffled its way into the land of cast-off gear next to the typewriter lab in the library.

No one had an idea how it worked so I was on my own, and I can't say I ever figured it out.

The system had an "acoustic delay line" memory, a coil of magnetostrictive wire along which acoustic pulses travelled, holding about 2000 bits.

More: http://www.curtamania.com/curta/database/brand/olivetti/Olivetti%20Programma%20101/index.html