Olivetti M20 Cruise Guidance - NeXuS23 Brøderbund

Last updated on January 19th, 2025 at 07:50 am

The Olivetti M20 was a personal computer designed and released by Olivetti in 1982. Although it offered good performance, it suffered from a lack of software due to its use of the Zilog Z8000 processor and custom operating system, PCOS.

To alleviate a lack of applications, Olivetti sold a CP/M emulator for US$300 and distributed certain CP/M software packages (dBase II and SuperCalc) for their computer.

Olivetti later introduced the “Alternate Processor Board” (APB 1086), based on an 8 MHz Intel 8086 CPU for compatibility with MS-DOS and CP/M-86.

The Olivetti M20 was not designed for missile guidance, but the M20’s computing power was used in the development of the M20 Short-Range Ballistic Missile.

This missile was fitted with both inertial and satellite guidance systems and could be retargeted in flight. Each missile could be targeted independently.

In terms of design, the M20 came with a 12” monochrome or color custom-built monitor.

The international version had a grey plastic case, while the Italian version had a brown one.

A rare original vintage advertising poster for the Olivetti M20 exists, advertising the M20 typewriter, designed in 1922-1923 by brothers Manlio and Erminio Olivetti.

Although it suffered from a lack of software, it was used in the development of the M20 Short-Range Ballistic Missile.

The M20 came with a 12” monochrome or color custom-built monitor and had different case colors for international and Italian versions.

A rare original vintage advertising poster for the Olivetti M20 exists, advertising the M20 typewriter.

CPU :	Zilog Z8001
Clock :	4MHz
RAM:	128kB extended to 512kB
ROM:	8kB with bootloader and I/O options
O.S. :	PCOS, CP/M8000, MS-DOS ( APB 8086 adapter )
Display :	Black and White , Color
Resolution :	512×256 pixel
Text Grid :	80×25 or 64×16 characters
Floppy Drive :	160kB-320kB-640kB and 5″1/4
Hard Disk:	11.5MB Winchester (optional)
Interfaces :	RS232 e Parallel (Centronics)
Optional Interfaces	RS232 and IEEE488