DiscoverEEVblogEEVblog 1705 – The World’s First Desktop Personal Computer TEARDOWN
EEVblog 1705 – The World’s First Desktop Personal Computer TEARDOWN

EEVblog 1705 – The World’s First Desktop Personal Computer TEARDOWN

Update: 2025-08-29
Share

Description

The world’s first desktop personal computer wasn’t the Apple 1 or the Altair 8800. It wasn’t even the HP 9100A, it was the Olivetti Programma 101 from 1965! Computer Teardowns don’t get much more vintage than this.


Forum: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-1705-the-worlds-first-desktop-computer-teardown/



Links:

http://www.oldcomputers.arcula.co.uk/calc3.htm

https://bellini.it/portfolio-articoli/mario-bellini-designer/

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

https://ub.fnwi.uva.nl/computermuseum/delayline.html

https://ub.fnwi.uva.nl/computermuseum/p101dl.html

https://avvocatostella.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Il-primo-personalcomputer-lOlivetti-La-Programma-101.pdf

https://www.oldcalculatormuseum.com/c-programma101.html

https://www.fondazioneadrianolivetti.it/en/p101-cecam/

https://www.inexhibit.com/case-studies/olivetti-programma-101-at-the-origins-of-the-personal-computer/

https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php?threads/olivetti-programma-101-documentations-and-experiences.1239428/

https://handwiki.org/wiki/Engineering:Programma_101


Service manual: https://vintagecomputer.ca/files/Olivetti/Programma%20101/repair/RepairManualP101.pdf

Reference Manual: http://www.curtamania.com/curta/database/brand/olivetti/Olivetti%20Programma%20101/more/General%20Reference%20Manual.pdf

In Operation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcaNhfOKjIE

TV Commercial from 1966: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnItIQSwfSw

Memory of Future with the designers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpkqdbz1R_s


00:00 – What was the world’s first desktop personal computer?

00:37 – The Olivetti Programma 101

01:11 – Original 1966 TV commercial for the Programma 101

05:47 – History of the Olivetti Programma 101

07:15 – Let’s have a look

11:00 – The teardown begins

11:58 – Italian design wankery from Mario Bellini

14:51 – DTL Logic modules, none of that TTL rubbish

16:52 – Removing the front panel

19:40 – The electro-mechnical goodness

21:21 – The cooling system

22:21 – The capacitor has come-a-gutsa

22:38 – The Analog Acoustic Delay Line

24:36 – Serial number

25:22 – The logic cards and the vertical construction

28:09 – Flipping out the mechanical keyboard assembly

31:17 – Conclusion

Comments 
In Channel
loading
00:00
00:00
x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

EEVblog 1705 – The World’s First Desktop Personal Computer TEARDOWN

EEVblog 1705 – The World’s First Desktop Personal Computer TEARDOWN

David L. Jones