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Jan 25th, 2024
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  1. [quote]
  2. TEST COMPUTER
  3.  
  4. OLIVETTI ON THE ATTACK WITH THE “LITTLE” M 19
  5.  
  6. by MICHELE PADDA
  7.  
  8. Small is beautiful, this motto seems to be the source of inspiration for the design philosophy of a new personal computer from Olivetti: M-19 a machine which, while maintaining full compatibility with other computers in the same Olivetti line and, more importantly, with the "de facto" PC-IBM standard, it presents several innovative aspects, not least the price.
  9.  
  10. M-19 is defined by Olivetti as a "transportable" computer, in full agreement with Steve Ciarcia's maxim, which states that any computer can be defined as portable, as long as you own a large enough truck.
  11.  
  12. Jokes aside, the dimensions of the new arrival from Olivetti are decidedly small: the central unit, whose aesthetic design somewhat reflects that of its older brother M-24, is a gray parallelepiped only 32 cm wide, 38 deep and 9.1 tall, two slim disk drives are housed side by side on the front of the machine.
  13.  
  14. The reset button, together with the trimmer for adjusting the volume of the internal beeper, is located on the right of the machine and has an apparently fragile appearance.
  15.  
  16. On the back of the machine we find all the computer connection sockets, the fixing of which is ensured by practical screws with "knob" heads which do not require the use of a screwdriver, which is usually unobtainable, especially when you need it most.
  17.  
  18. The cabinet of the machine is made entirely of rough painted metal sheet, except for the monitor and the keyboard, whose "bodywork" is in ABS.
  19.  
  20. To facilitate the connection of the computer with the various peripherals, there are raised icons which indicate the function of each individual socket, even if, due to the project followed, the possibility of making a wrong connection is virtually impossible.
  21.  
  22. The controls for the brightness and contrast of the video, as well as the power switch, are placed on the front panel of the monitor, a less original solution than that used on the M-24, on which all the controls and switches have been cleverly hidden on the back useful except the hardware reset button. On the entire machine, and in particular on the monitor, there are ventilation slots, which are extremely necessary, given the absence of a special fan. (If you want a decent air conditioner for the price of just the computer, then do as the author does and buy an M-24.)
  23.  
  24. The monitor is not adjustable, which is rather strange in an Olivetti machine and decidedly anti-ergonomic. This is probably a design choice due to the greater weight of the monitor, a weight given by the presence of the entire computer's power supply in the monitor itself.
  25.  
  26. CPU
  27.  
  28. The CPU used is the Intel 8088 microprocessor, with a clock of 4.77 MHz, thus obtaining a processing speed virtually identical to that of the IBM PC and halved compared to that of the M-24. The clock can be increased to 8 MHz, but, since the internal bus has only 8 bits multiplexed to carry 16 bits, the calculation speed of an M-24 at 8 MHz will always be approximately 33% higher than that of an M-19, which works with the same clock frequency.
  29.  
  30. However, the use of an 8-bit bus probably contributed to the design of a more compact board and, as the designers intended, a calculator of much smaller dimensions compared to its performance.
  31.  
  32. *'On board' and mass storage
  33.  
  34. The sample we tested was equipped with 256K of RAM memory, which, as on the M-24, can be expanded to 640K on the main board, without resorting to expansion cards, but simply by changing the type of memory chips used . At the initial bootrap, during the testing phase, the machine we tested declared that it did not have parity control over the memory, present, at least to the best of our knowledge, on the IBM-PC and all other compatible ones. The absence of the parity check should not represent a problem with regards to the overall reliability of the machine (on other compatible systems, the presence of a parity error causes the machine to stop with System crash: the computer freezes and refuses to perform any operation), it could instead perhaps constitute a compatibility problem if some company came up with the idea of using parity control to create software protection schemes. For now, the problem does not arise, on the contrary, M-19 seems to be more IBM compatible than its older brother, given that it manages to run even those few programs for IBM, the execution of which presented problems on M-24 (such as Burger Time , the famous bar video game).
  35.  
  36. The disk drives present on the sample under test were the typical 360K slim, with knob front, slightly noisier than normal, enough to compensate, at least as regards ambient noise, the absence of the cooling fan.
  37.  
  38. How about the alter Olivetti calculators under MS-DOS, it is possible to mount 720K disk drives, which however do not appear to have had particular commercial success, given that almost all users have purchased the standard 360K drives. It is then possible to expand the mass of the computer via a dedicated 10 Mega internal hard disk, which replaces one of the two floppy disk drives. The hard disk also occupies one of the two bus slots contained within the M-19.
  39.  
  40. Interfaces
  41.  
  42. M-19 was born equipped with a parallel interface for Centronics printers and an RS-232 serial interface, usually used for particular peripherals such as plotters or some printers, or, more typically, to connect a modem to the computer. It's all that's needed in most applications, and it's also all that comes with the machine, which doesn't require any special expansions to implement these functions.
  43.  
  44. This detail must be considered when comparing the prices of M-19 with those of other similar products, which however often require separate cards for each expansion.
  45.  
  46. Expansion bus
  47.  
  48. There are two expansion slots internally, which can be used for cards specially made by Olivetti or for the hard disk controller.
  49.  
  50. The internal expansion bus of the M-19 is 8 bit, but it is not compatible with the IBM Standard Bus, therefore it cannot mount standard IBM cards. This fact does not constitute a real handicap with regards to memory expansion and the main interfaces, already present or in any case installable "on board", but it makes the use of non-Olivetti hard disk controllers very difficult. If you want to expand your computer using a hard disk, before deciding to purchase an M-19 it would be advisable to also consider this aspect, which is otherwise irrelevant. It is possible to install an "I/O BOX" externally containing a slot for the IBM Standard Bus, or a slot plus the circuitry for powering a color video. The I/O BOX allows the connection of IEEE GPIB interface cards, local networks, etc.
  51.  
  52. it can be expanded to 640K on the main board, without resorting to expansion cards, but simply by changing the type of memory chip used. At the initial bootrap, during the testing phase, the machine we tested declared that it did not have parity control over the memory, present, at least to the best of our knowledge, on the IBM-PC and all other compatible ones. The absence of the parity check should not represent a problem with regards to the overall reliability of the machine (on other compatible systems, the presence of a parity error causes the machine to stop with System crash: the computer freezes and refuses to perform any operation), it could instead perhaps constitute a compatibility problem if some company came up with the idea of using parity control to create software protection schemes. For now, the problem does not arise, on the contrary, M-19 seems to be more IBM compatible than its older brother, given that it manages to run even those few programs for IBM, the execution of which presented problems on M-24 (such as Burger Time , the famous bar video game).
  53.  
  54. The disk drives present on the sample under test were the typical 360K slim, with knob front, slightly noisier than normal, enough to compensate, at least as regards ambient noise, the absence of the cooling fan.
  55.  
  56. As on other Olivetti calculators under MS-DOS, it is possible to mount 720K disk drives, which however do not appear to have had particular commercial success, given that almost all users have purchased the standard 360K drives. It is then possible to expand the computer mass storage via
  57.  
  58. a dedicated 10 Mega internal hard disk, which replaces one of the two floppy disk drives. The hard disk also occupies one of the two bus slots contained within the M-19. Interfaces
  59.  
  60. M-19 was born equipped with a parallel interface for Centronics printers and an RS-232 serial interface, usually used for particular peripherals such as plotters or some printers, or, more typically, to connect a modem to the computer. It's all that's needed in most applications, and it's also all that comes with the machine, which doesn't require any special expansions to implement these functions.
  61.  
  62. This detail must be considered when comparing the prices of M-19 with those of other similar products, which however often require separate cards for each expansion.
  63.  
  64. Expansion bus
  65.  
  66. There are two expansion slots internally, which can be used for cards specially made by Olivetti or for the hard disk controller.
  67.  
  68. The internal expansion bus of the M-19 is 8 bit, but it is not compatible with the IBM Standard Bus, therefore it cannot mount standard IBM cards. This fact does not exist
  69. represents a real handicap with regards to memory expansion and the main interfaces, already present or in any case installable "on board", but makes the use of non-Olivetti hard disk controllers very difficult. If you want to expand your computer using a hard disk, before deciding to purchase an M-19 it would be advisable to also consider this aspect, which is otherwise irrelevant. It is possible to install an "I/O BOX" externally containing a slot for the IBM Standard Bus, or a slot plus the circuitry for powering a color video. The I/O BOX allows the connection of IEEE GPIB interface cards, local networks, etc.
  70.  
  71. Keyboard
  72.  
  73. Aesthetics, functionality and ergonomics The M-19 keyboard is decidedly improved, both in terms of aesthetics, more sober and of a more pleasant color, and from an ergonomic point of view: there are more LEDs that indicate the status of the special keys; the most important keys are finally large enough; some keys (“<“ “>“ “\“) have been moved to the right, simplifying their use.
  74.  
  75. The decision to translate the control key labels into Italian appears rather disconcerting, especially for those used to the old keyboard, which however is completely irrelevant for all those who were to purchase the M-19 as their first machine. Compared to old keyboards, there are two additional keys: SIST and PC/WP. SIST is not mentioned either in the scant documentation provided, nor in the presentation and self-instruction program supplied as a demo together with the machine, its use therefore remains a mystery; PC/WP is used to modify the operation of the "toggle" keys (all the others to which a LED is associated on the keyboard). And finally there is a duplicate of the RETURN button to the right of the numeric keypad, even if barbarously renamed IMMISS.
  76.  
  77. It is possible to request a more complete keyboard with more keys, called KEYBOARD 2, which however, in our opinion, is more awkward to use than the standard keyboard. Like the M-24, the M-19 will be sold in Italy with a QWERTY keyboard, on which however the Italian accented letters are present and for which the specific software driver for the KEYBIT Italian keyboard must be installed.
  78.  
  79. Touch and general considerations
  80.  
  81. The touch of the keyboard is good, although not as exceptional as that of the IBM PC keyboard, which is, at least as far as we have been able to ascertain, the best ever, although certainly not the cheapest.
  82.  
  83. Overall the M-19's keyboard is very good overall, and definitely improved over the M-24's, although we expected a better touch.
  84.  
  85. This may seem like an irrelevant detail, yet it is very important if the computer is used very often for word processing on long texts.
  86.  
  87. Monitors
  88.  
  89. Connection with the computer
  90.  
  91. The M-19 monitor is connected to the computer via two sockets: one for the video signals and one for the power supply, given that the power supply is contained inside the monitor.
  92.  
  93. On the left of the monitor front panel, under the screen, there are two knobs for adjusting contrast and brightness; on the right we find the rocker switch for powering monitors and computers.
  94.  
  95. Resolution, phosphor permanence and brightness Contrary to what is stated in the demo supplied with the machine, the maximum resolution of the M-19 video is 640x400 pixels, a resolution which, strangely, is not used on the demo, perhaps prepared and compiled separately on non- Olivetti. However, the 640x400 pixel text and 320x200 and 640x200 pixel graphics modes, typical of the IBM PC, are also supported. The brightness and contrast leave something to be desired and are completely different from the high quality that Olivetti had accustomed us to; in particular, the phosphors of the monochrome version are painfully slow and tiring. In conclusion, the quality of the monochrome video is practically identical to that of the IBM and far inferior to the typical Olivetti one, too bad!
  96.  
  97. The 640x400 graphics mode is very interesting, especially now that software packages are starting to arrive on the market that provide for its use, which until now was confined only to the Olivetti GWBASIC.
  98.  
  99. Final thoughts
  100.  
  101. Olivetti personal line M-19 is part of what has now become a complete line of Olivetti products for personal and professional computing: from the small M22 portable personal computer to a high-performance medium desktop like the M-28. The truly innovative aspect of the Ivrea company is the full compatibility of all the models in the line with each other and with IBM personal computers.
  102.  
  103. The unfortunate M-20 accident therefore appears to have been completely forgotten, not compatible with anything and practically devoid of software and the documentation necessary to develop it
  104.  
  105. However, the competition is very fierce, the battle for control of a significant share of the market is not only fought on the field of quality, but also and above all on prices, reliability and user support. It is too early to know whether M-19 will be a replica of the success, at least initially, of M-24, much will depend on the final sales price, given that M-19 is not intrinsically superior to PC-IBM (as M-24 and the other higher-end models) and it is now possible to find a compatible one for very little money. In hindsight, M-24 could have been a smash success if it had cost a little less; the same could be true for the M-19 in the future.
  106.  
  107. Documentation
  108.  
  109. The documentation supplied together with M-19 is one of the few dark sides of this very interesting machine: all we found was a computer installation guide booklet, devoid of any indication on the use of MS-DOS, which is sold aside, and even the procedure for loading and running a program. In our opinion, the difference in the selling price is not such as to justify this serious deficiency and leaves room for serious doubts about the future of Olivetti's commercial policy towards the user. This choice would perhaps have been justifiable in a calculator whose main use should be that of a "second machine" for already expert users and not that of a cheap "M-24", which the majority of users will purchase as their first machine. Cheapness is fine, but documentation is one of the things on which saving is dangerously stupid.
  110.  
  111. MS-DOS & Compatibility
  112.  
  113. Here ends the review of yet another IBM compatible machine, equipped with some peculiar characteristics, but, at least from a certain point of view, technologically quite obvious.
  114.  
  115. Maybe the world was more dangerous and wild when no one cared about respecting other people's standards and everyone happily built innovative and interesting machines, but it certainly was more fun. We end here waiting for the breath of fresh air brought by machines like AMIGA.
  116. ​[quote]
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