Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday November 12 2019, @03:11PM   Printer-friendly
from the not-sure-whodunnit dept.

Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956

Hitting the Books: Did the advent of the first desktop computer lead to murder?

Welcome to Hitting the Books. With less than one in five Americans reading just for fun these days, we've done the hard work for you by scouring the internet for the most interesting, thought provoking books on science and technology we can find and delivering an easily digestible nugget of their stories.

The Mysterious Affair at Olivetti: IBM, the CIA, and the Cold War Conspiracy to Shut Down Production of the World's First Desktop Computer
by Meryle Secrest

The world's first desktop computer didn't take shape in a Menlo Park garage or the bowels of a corporate production facility. It was created in a workshop in Northwest Italy owned and operated by the Olivetti family. Already renowned for their mechanical typewriters, the Olivetti pioneered electronic calculation a decade before Apple or IBM, which (as you'll read below) debuted at the New York World's Fair in 1964. The first of its kind, the P101, became an instant smash hit -- everyone from NASA to the US military was clamoring for these highly sought after "super-calculators."

But was the Olivetti family's fortune actually a curse? Shortly after the P101's debut, Adriano Olivetti, the head of the family suffered a mysterious and fatal heart attack at the age of 58, just 18 months before the company's talented engineer, Mario Tchou, died in an equally suspicious car accident. In The Mysterious Affair at Olivetti, author Meryle Secrest reveals the incredible behind-the-scenes story of the first desktop computer.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by barbara hudson on Tuesday November 12 2019, @07:46PM (4 children)

    by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Tuesday November 12 2019, @07:46PM (#919525) Journal
    Claiming that only 1 in 5 people read for entertainment ignores everyone on the internet, especially social media and news sites. The summary implies if it's not a book, it can't be entertaining.
    --
    SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +2  
       Insightful=2, Total=2
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   4  
  • (Score: 3, Funny) by martyb on Tuesday November 12 2019, @08:04PM (2 children)

    by martyb (76) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday November 12 2019, @08:04PM (#919529) Journal
    I, for one, found your comment to be entertaining.

    =)
    --
    Wit is intellect, dancing.
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by barbara hudson on Tuesday November 12 2019, @11:50PM (1 child)

      by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Tuesday November 12 2019, @11:50PM (#919607) Journal
      And I find your reply a relief that all is going better for you. And I know I am not alone.
      --
      SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
      • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 14 2019, @05:53PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 14 2019, @05:53PM (#920438)

        Barbara (tom) Hudson CHEMICALLY CASTRATED itself with estrogen since you failed as a man lol! You also FAIL as a "woman" you NEUTERED delusional freakazoid! What is is like knowing you are a living mockery? A parody of both a 'woman' or a man! You know that. Everyone knows it about you "TraNsTeSticLe" hohohohoho. Barbara Hudson is a twistoid mental case deluding itself it is a REAL woman. Clue: You will never EVER be able to pass a DNA test due to the fact you do not, nor did you ever, possess female mitochondrial material you crackpot weirdo. It isn't logical to attempt to "fix" bodyparts that work with no issues. You had a working (extremely small) penis and balls you sawed off with estrogen hahahaha! Barbara Hudson breaks laws by possessing a SAWED OFF SHOTGUN, rotflmao!!!

  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 14 2019, @05:55PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 14 2019, @05:55PM (#920439)

    Barbara (tom) Hudson CHEMICALLY CASTRATED itself with estrogen since you failed as a man lol! You also FAIL as a "woman" you NEUTERED delusional freakazoid! What is is like knowing you are a living mockery? A parody of both a 'woman' or a man! You know that. Everyone knows it about you "TraNsTeSticLe" hohohohoho. Barbara Hudson is a twistoid mental case deluding itself it is a REAL woman. Clue: You will never EVER be able to pass a DNA test due to the fact you do not, nor did you ever, possess female mitochondrial material you crackpot weirdo. It isn't logical to attempt to "fix" bodyparts that work with no issues. You had a working (extremely small) penis and balls you sawed off with estrogen hahahaha! Barbara Hudson breaks laws by possessing a SAWED OFF SHOTGUN, rotflmao!!!!!!