View source for Olivetti M24

{{Short description|Computer sold by Olivetti in 1983 using the Intel 8086 CPU}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020|cs1-dates=y}}
{{Infobox computer
| Photo = Olivetti M24 (1987 - 1988).jpg
| Name = Olivetti M24
| manufacturer = [[Olivetti]]
| Type = [[Personal computer]]
| Released = {{Start date and age|1983|df=yes}}
| Discontinued = 1989
| CPU = [[Intel 8086]]; [[Intel 80286]] (PC 6300 Plus, PC 6310, PC 6312)
| Memory = 128&nbsp;KB or 256&nbsp;KB (expandable to 640&nbsp;KB)
| OS = [[MS-DOS]] 2.1, [[CP/M-86]], [[UCSD p-System|UCSD-P]], [[Olivetti M20#PCOS|PCOS]], [[Xenix]], UNIX System V (on  6300 Plus)
| predecessor = 
| successor = Olivetti M240, [[Olivetti M28]]
| display = 320 x 200,  640 x 200, 640 x 400 with up to 16 colors; 512 x 256 with up to 8 colors
| graphics = Video Enhanced Adapter EGC 2413, [[Motorola 6845]] <br> (Enhanced CGA-compatible video card)
| sound = Beeper
| aka = LogAbax Persona 1600, AT&T PC 6300, PC 6300 Plus, PC 6310, PC 6312, Xerox 6060, M24 SP
| caption = Original Olivetti M24
| memory card = floppy disk
| CPUspeed = 8&nbsp;MHz; 10&nbsp;MHz (M24 SP); 6&nbsp;MHz (PC 6300 Plus); 8&nbsp;MHz (PC 6310); 12&nbsp;MHz (PC 6312)
| storage = 20 MB hard disk (Xerox 6060)
}}
The '''Olivetti M24''' is a [[computer]] that was sold by [[Olivetti]] in 1983 using the [[Intel 8086]] [[Central processing unit|CPU]].<ref name="musit"/>

The system was sold in the United States under its original name by [[Docutel]]/Olivetti of Dallas.<ref name="sales"/> [[AT&T Computer Systems|AT&T]] and [[Xerox]] bought rights to rebadge the system as the '''AT&T PC 6300'''<ref name="sales"/><ref name="CW1985"/><ref name="pcmag85"/> and the '''Xerox 6060''' series, respectively.<ref name="BYTE_1986_Xerox6060"/><ref name="CW_1985_M24"/> (AT&T owned 25% of Olivetti around this time.<ref name="sales"/>) The AT&T 6300, launched in June 1984, was AT&T's first attempt to compete in the [[PC compatible]] market.<ref name="CW1985"/>

It was also available in France as the '''PERSONA 1600''',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=154 | title=PERSONA 1600 Logabax }}</ref> built by [[LogAbax]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.silicium.org/site/index.php/catalogue/28-catalogue/france/202-logabax-histoire|title=Logabax histoire|website=www.silicium.org}}</ref>

==Versions==
[[Image:Vintage ATT 6300.jpg|thumb|An AT&T 6300, circa 1996, displaying the game ''[[Rogue (video game)|Rogue]]'']]
The initial 1984 US version named '''AT&T 6300''' came with either one or two 360&nbsp;KB 5.25" floppy drives; a hard disk was not offered.[[File:Olivetti M24SP with manuals.jpg|thumb|Olivetti M24SP with manuals]]
[[File:Olivetti M24SP IO Board.jpg|thumb|Olivetti M24SP I/O Board]]In Europe, Olivetti launched a 10&nbsp;MHz version: the '''Olivetti M24 SP''', announced in November 1985,<ref name="CW_1985_Olivetti" /> a contender for the title of "highest clocked 8086 computer" as its processor was the fastest grade of 8086-2, rated for a maximum speed of exactly the same 10&nbsp;MHz. To support this, the motherboard now featured a switchable 24/30&nbsp;MHz master crystal, still divided by 3 to produce the 33% duty CPU clock, with an additional 4&nbsp;MHz crystal to maintain that clock signal for peripherals that required it, and the video board receiving its own 24&nbsp;MHz crystal to maintain the same image size and scan frequencies at both processor speeds.

In October 1985, AT&T launched the '''6300 Plus'''<ref name="Petrosky_1985" /> that used a 6&nbsp;MHz [[Intel 80286|286 microprocessor]] in the same case as the 6300. Prior to release, this machine had been referred to as the '''8300''' and codenamed "Safari 5" ([[AT&T UNIX PC|PC 7300]] was "Safari 4").<ref>{{cite news |last1=McCarthy |first1=Michael |title=AT&T Tests 8300 AT Clone/UNIX Box |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cy8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13 |work=InfoWorld |volume=7|issue=28|date=July 15, 1985 |page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Petrosky |first1=Mary |title=AT&T PC AT Compatible Waits for Multiuser Xenix |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jC8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15 |work=InfoWorld |volume=7|issue=40|date=October 7, 1985 |page=15}}</ref> On the hardware level, this machine was criticized by an ''[[InfoWorld]]'' reviewer for being incompatible with [[Industry Standard Architecture|AT cards]].<ref name="IW86" /> On the other hand, AT&T sold a package of the 6300 Plus bundled with [[Simultask]], which ran [[MS-DOS]] and [[UNIX System V]] simultaneously, at a cost—with all [[software license]]s included—on par with the [[IBM PC AT|IBM PC/AT]] with MS-DOS alone.<ref name="IW_1986_Simultask" /> A review in ''[[PC Magazine]]'' declared that AT&T's 6300 Plus was "flat out the better machine" compared to the IBM PC/AT.<ref name="PCMag_1986_Ziff" />

The version of Simultask included with the 6300 Plus was based on [[Locus Computing Corporation]]'s [[Merge (software)|Merge software]].<ref name="Petrosky_1985" /><ref name="Welch_1986" /> In order to allow MS-DOS applications to run as "concurrent UNIX tasks", a non-standard hardware unit known as OS Merge was provided, allowing DOS applications to "think" that they had "complete control over the system" and offering "almost complete compatibility with IBM PC software", with a reported performance penalty when running applications such as ''[[Microsoft Flight Simulator]]'' of around 15 percent.<ref name="byte198512_pc6300plus">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1985-12/page/n37/mode/1up | title=AT&T's 80286-based System Merges UNIX with MS-DOS | work=Byte | date=December 1985 | access-date=17 September 2021 | pages=38 }}</ref> Such additional hardware was necessary to support these [[virtualisation]] features due to the limitations of the 80286.<ref name="Prestinario_1986" /> The PC 6300 Plus shipped with MS-DOS in 1985 though, because its [[UNIX System V|Unix System V]] distribution would not be ready until the end of March 1986.<ref name="WithoutUnix_1986" /> The 6300 Plus did not sell as well as the original 6300.<ref name="IW86d" /> [[Forrester Research]] estimated in December 1986 that AT&T's financial losses in PC market were about $600M for the year.<ref name="IW86d" />

In 1986, AT&T began offering 3.5" 720&nbsp;KB [[Floppy disk|floppies]] and 20&nbsp;MB [[Hard disk drive|hard disks]]. The '''Xerox 6060''' came standard with a single 360&nbsp;KB 5.25" drive and a 20&nbsp;MB hard drive. An [[Bernoulli Box|Iomega Bernoulli]] 10/10 removable cartridge drive was also offered as a factory option, as well as a "small expansion" sidecar hosting a hard drive for users who found themselves with no internal space left between floppies and expansion cards.

After the 6300 Plus, AT&T announced that it was turning over both production and development of its PC products to [[Olivetti computers|Olivetti]].<ref name="IW86d" /> In 1987, AT&T offered a true AT-based 286, their '''6310'''— a rebadge of [[Olivetti M28]].<ref name="IW_1987_Delay" /> Equipped with a one-[[wait state]] 8&nbsp;MHz processor, it was a pretty slow machine for its class, even slower than the [[IBM XT 286]].<ref name="IW1987" /> Simultask was also an option for the 6310. The later-released '''6312''' addressed the speed problem with a 12-MHz CPU.<ref name="IW1987" /> After the announcement of the 6310, in April 1987, AT&T announced price cuts across its 6300 PC product line, with the 6300 Plus discounted by 27-38%, while the original 6300 was discounted by 17-23% (depending on configuration).<ref name="CW_1987_Joins" />

6300s made in 1986-1987 have [[BIOS]] Version 1.43 which added proper support for 3.5" floppies and fixed a number of bugs. As with all contemporary systems, a BIOS upgrade required a physical chip replacement, which AT&T provided for $35.<ref name="Mueller" />

==Features==
The M24 was designed to be highly compatible with [[IBM PC]]. One of its characteristics was the use of the more powerful 8.0&nbsp;MHz [[Intel 8086]] CPU rather than the 4.77&nbsp;MHz [[Intel 8088]] used in [[IBM]]'s own [[IBM Personal Computer XT|PC XT]],<ref name="oldcomp" /> configured for "maximum mode" that allowed direct installation of an [[Intel 8087|8087 math co-processor]] (also at 8&nbsp;MHz) to the [[motherboard]]. The CPU clock, along with most others in the machine (other than the serial [[baud]] rate generator and an IBM-standard 14.3&nbsp;MHz crystal used on the expansion board), was divided down from a 24.0&nbsp;MHz master crystal, with the CPU timing in particular using an [[Intel 8284]] [[clock generator]], as per the IBM PC, to produce the 33% [[duty cycle]] [[pulse wave]] required by the 8086.

The system was designed "split-level", with the motherboard screwed onto the underside of the computer case and connected to the [[Industry Standard Architecture|ISA bus]] backplane in the top section of the case via the video card which, rather than occupying an ISA slot, has two female [[edge connector]]s and plugs onto the ends of both the motherboard and the [[backplane]], doubling as a bridge between them. The M24 has seven 8-bit ISA slots, as were standard for its time, but a number of slots (exact figure seeming to vary between one and at least four across extant machines) have proprietary second connectors to accept Olivetti-specific 16-bit cards. The machine had the bad luck of launching just a few months before the IBM PC/AT, which introduced the entirely different 16-bit connector and signalling standard extension to the PC bus now known simply as "ISA", and so ended up featuring slots incompatible on all three fronts of physical configuration, complement and arrangement of signals, and data transfer rate, significantly restricting the number of compatible 16-bit cards produced for it.

===CGA compatible video card===
The M24/6300 had an unusual enhanced 32&nbsp;KB [[Color/Graphics Adapter|CGA]]-compatible video card (Video Enhanced Adapter - EGC 2413)<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://dusted.dk/pages/Olivetti-M6-460-suprema/docs/pocketguide-olivetti-m.pdf |title=PERSONAL COMPUTER POCKET SERVICE GUIDE, Volume 1, 6th Edition |publisher=OP Computers S.p.A. |pages=8}}</ref> which, in addition to standard 200-line CGA graphics modes (automatically line doubled, transparent to software, with text modes also using 400 scanlines with higher quality 8×16 pixel fonts, or even 16×16 in 40-column mode with an expansion [[read-only memory|ROM]]), also supported an additional 640×400 pixel graphics mode, as well as a poorly documented 512×256 mode for compatibility with the earlier [[Olivetti M20|M20]] model (in conjunction with a [[Z8000]]-based emulator card that included a necessary additional clock source). All modes were [[non-interlaced]], albeit running at a then-common 50&nbsp;Hz [[Refresh rate|Vsync]] rate, and required the dedicated [[Original equipment manufacturer|OEM]] 26.3&nbsp;kHz, 12" monitor (either colour or multi-level monochrome) because of their comparatively high line frequency, with all but the M20 mode using the 24&nbsp;MHz system master crystal to drive the pixel clock either directly or (320×200 and 8×16 40-character only) divided in two (in comparison, contemporary IBM displays ran at 15.8 to 21.9&nbsp;kHz with 14.3 to 16.3&nbsp;MHz dot clocks).<ref name="M24_TOO" />

[[Colour depth]] remained the standard fixed 4-colour [[CGA palettes]] in 320×200, and "monochrome" in all higher modes (any selectable [[RGB(I)]] foreground colour/one of 15 shades, with a fixed black background), but could be expanded to 4 or 8 colours/greyscales in all resolutions, and 16 in all but 512×256, with the addition of a graphics memory expansion board holding between 32 and 96&nbsp;KB RAM (the resolution:colour relationship being unintuitive due to [[Motorola 6845|Motorola HD6845 CRTC]] bandwidth and addressing limitations - 16 colours in the 640-pixel modes effectively combined the standard and expansion memory spaces into a single 64-bit wide bank); the expansion card also had its own monitor port built in allowing native dual-monitor support.

CGA compatibility was necessarily limited to "RGB" modes, and "well behaved" software that only used the BIOS-preset modes and didn't attempt too much clever direct reprogramming of the CRTC registers (including setting of pseudo-text hack modes like 160×100 16 colours), as there was no [[composite video]] output available and although some basic register settings remained the same, others were necessarily very different because of the line doubling trickery (itself a type of CRTC hack) and altered scan rates, and Olivetti's protective "scrambler" chip that attempted to convert custom settings to the nearest safe equivalents could only go so far. In its turn, the machine's headline 640×400 graphics mode received a moderate level of support from software developers, mostly for "serious" applications such as [[Lotus 1-2-3]] and [[Lotus Symphony (MS-DOS)|Symphony]] (''[[Earl Weaver Baseball]]'' is however an example of a game that can use it), and was for a time both supported and emulated (as well as extended to e.g. 752x410) by various "Super [[Enhanced Graphics Adapter|EGA]]"/"any mode on any monitor" cards such as the [[ATI Wonder series#EGA Cards|ATI EGA Wonder]]. These, as well as any other replacement video card, could be used in the 6300 so long as they were designed to work either specifically with the machine (for high speed 16-bit cards), or in an IBM PC compatible mode (necessarily 8-bit at 4.77&nbsp;MHz). However, the original graphics card had to remain in place even if no longer in use, as it formed an essential part of the bridge connecting the expansion board to the motherboard, and although it featured [[DIP switch]] jumpers to select between [[IBM Monochrome Display Adapter|MDA]]/[[Hercules Graphics Card|Hercules]], 40 and 80 column CGA, and expanded video options including its own (as per the IBM motherboard settings), there was no "disable" switch. Instead, the (socketed) Motorola HD6845 CRTC main controller chip had to be removed, and replaced with a simple but remarkably expensive bridging circuit (or a user installed set of jumper wires to the correct half-dozen socket terminals) to bypass the necessary bus signals through the card untouched.

Some plasma-screen and early [[LCD]] based portables from [[Compaq]] and other manufacturers also copied the M24/6300's graphics hardware to make better use of early [[square-pixel]] 640×400 panels popular for Japanese and other non-IBM portables (still well suited to the basic CGA/EGA resolutions, but not so much EGA-high or MDA/EGA text, and unable to show [[Multi-Color Graphics Array|MCGA]]/VGA-high or Hercules graphics without [[Cropping (image)|cropping]] or losing details) in an IBM Compatible hardware ecosystem that otherwise avoided the mode. However, it remained on the whole a poorly supported oddity, much like IBM's own [[Professional Graphics Controller|PGC]] and most Super EGAs outside of their limited library of applications with direct [[device driver|driver]] support, and PC graphics on the whole did not exceed 640×350 in 16 colours or 720×348 in monochrome until the arrival of both the [[VGA]] standard, and [[Windows 3.0]] which provided a simple one-driver-for-all-programs framework for future expansion cards to build on.

===Keyboard===
Olivetti produced 2 official keyboards for the M24
* Keyboard 1 - ANK 2463 (With 83 keys)
* Keyboard 2 - ANK 2462 (With 92 keys)

The keyboard used a proprietary [[D-subminiature|9-pin D-sub]] connector built into the system board and had the unconventional option of plugging a mouse into the keyboard via another 9-pin D-sub connector. The mouse could be configured to simulate the usage of the keyboard's [[arrow keys]] in DOS applications without mouse support, aided by the choice of a parallel quadrature encoding design (as per the [[Bus mouse|Microsoft Bus Mouse]], [[Amiga]], and [[Atari ST]] mice, all of which can be modified to work with the 6300) instead of the latterly more common 9-pin serial transmission.

==Reception==
{{expand section|date=February 2014}}
A January 1985 review in ''[[InfoWorld]]'' declared it "a fair performer, better than the 8088-equipped IBM PC and PC XT and about equal to the 8086-based Compaq [[Deskpro]]", and taking pricing into account concluded that it was "a good deal, but by no means perfect." The reviewer wondered how the "5&nbsp;MHz" 8086 in the Compaq ran as fast as the same processor at 8&nbsp;MHz in the AT&T machine;<ref name="Satchell_1985"/> however, this appears to be a misunderstanding given that the Compaq was switchable between a guaranteed IBM PC-compatible 4.77&nbsp;MHz and an enhanced-performance 7.16&nbsp;MHz clock rate (respectively one-third and one-half of the same [[NTSC]] [[colourburst]] crystal used in the IBM, but ''not'' the Olivetti/AT&T), and defaulted to the latter on boot, as detailed in other publications of the time,<ref name="BYTE_1985_Deskpro"/> and endlessly misreported (including as "8&nbsp;MHz", about as frequently as the miscalculated "7.14&nbsp;MHz") ever since. The reason behind the M24/6300's failure to perform any better than equal with the 1/9th-slower Deskpro may be traceable, as hinted at in the InfoWorld review, to poorly optimised graphics routines in the BIOS, which would have a particularly noticeable effect in the high resolution 640x400 and extended colour modes.

A November 1985 review in ''[[PC Magazine]]'' of the hard drive-equipped version found it on par with the (6&nbsp;MHz, [[80286]] equipped) [[IBM PC AT]] as far as processor performance was concerned, but with considerably slower I/O.<ref name="pcmag85"/>

The initial model of the AT&T 6300 (no hard disk and only 360K floppy) had slow sales in 1984 with only {{val|28500}} sold compared to 1.5 million IBM PCs.<ref name="Lockwood_1985"/> The sales were not much better in the first three months of 1985, with only {{val|8500}} sold in that time period.<ref name="sales"/> If fact, worldwide sales of the Olivetti M24 were only {{val|42000}} in the first year, well below the planned production capacity of {{val|200000}}.<ref name="Strebel1992"/> As a result, AT&T introduced the faster models with hard drive and a math co-processor in March.<ref name="sales"/> Still, after about one year on the market, AT&T had only claimed about 1% of the PC market, on par with that of [[TeleVideo]] and [[Columbia Data Products]], but well below that of Compaq and [[Kaypro]].<ref name="CW1985"/> By December 1986 however, AT&T's PC line (including the 6300 Plus, described below) put it in the fourth place in terms of market share in the US.<ref name="IW86d"/>

Olivetti's M24 did much better in Europe, where it became the market leader in 1986.<ref name="Roche1992"/> The company produced almost half a million M24 machines that year, about {{val|200000}} of which went to the United States.<ref name="Toniolo2013"/> As it claimed the crown of most PC machines sold in Europe that year, Olivetti also became the third largest PC manufacturer worldwide.<ref name="Toniolo2013"/> Olivetti would however be unable to repeat the feat in the subsequent years, and so 1986 represents the company's apogee in terms of PC market share.<ref name="Toniolo2013"/>

The 6300 was also supported by Unix-based operating systems particularly by [[Venix]]/86 Encore, released in September 1984,<ref name="Enterprise1984"/> and by a version of [[Xenix]] adapted for the machine by the [[Santa Cruz Operation]], and announced in June 1985.<ref name="BYTE_1985_PT"/>

==Successors in Olivetti's product line==
In response to IBM's launch of their [[PS/2]] line, Olivetti revamped their product line in July 1987 to include 3.5" floppy drives (in 5.25-to-3.5" converted bays though) and also introduced new [[I386|80386]]-based products. The M24 (and M24 SP) were succeeded by the M240 (8086 at 10&nbsp;MHz, which AT&T marketed in the USA as the 6300 WGS) while the [[Olivetti M28|M28]] (and M28 SP) was succeeded by the M280 (80286 at 12&nbsp;MHz). Olivetti also introduced an M380 series (both tower and desktop) using the 80386 processor.<ref name="CW_1987_PS2"/>

==See also==
* [[AT&T UNIX PC]] (7300)
* [[Computing for All]], a French government plan to introduce computers to the country's pupils
* [[Olivetti M19]]
* [[Polaroid Palette]]<ref name="CP_1985_Palette"/>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="musit">{{cite web |url=http://www.computermuseum.it/museum/Olivetti_M-24.htm |title=Olivetti M-24 @ Computer Museum .it |website=Computermuseum.it |date= |access-date=2016-04-01}}</ref>
<ref name="BYTE_1986_Xerox6060">[https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1986-09 Xerox 6060] review in Byte Magazine Volume 11 Number 09, (September 1986) pp. 275-278</ref>
<ref name="CW_1985_M24">{{cite web |url=http://www.computerwoche.de/a/olivetti-liefert-auf-oem-basis-m24-mikro-auch-an-xerox,1169141 |title=Zweites Bein im amerikanischen Mikromarkt:: Olivetti liefert auf OEM-Basis M24-Mikro auch an Xerox |website=Computerwoche.de |date=1985-05-10 |access-date=2016-04-01}}</ref>
<ref name="sales">{{cite journal |title=AT&T Faces AT Clone Dilemma |journal = InfoWorld|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CC8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA21 |date=8 July 1985 |publisher=InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. |page=21 |issn=0199-6649}}</ref>
<ref name="CW1985">{{cite journal |title=AT&T having trouble in computer market |journal = Computerworld: The Newspaper for IT Leaders|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WKyJOEl_vlsC&pg=RA1-PA93 |date=13 May 1985 |publisher=Computerworld |pages=93, 100 |issn=0010-4841}}</ref>
<ref name="oldcomp">{{cite web |url=http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=535 |title=The Museum |website=Old-Computers.Com |date= |access-date=2016-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070507145723/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=535 |archive-date=7 May 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="Mueller">{{cite book |author-first=Scott M. |author-last=Mueller |title=Upgrading and Repairing PCs |date=1994 |publisher=Que Publishing |isbn=1-56529-932-9 |edition=4th |page=[https://archive.org/details/upgradingrepairi00muel_7/page/858 858] |url=https://archive.org/details/upgradingrepairi00muel_7/page/858}}</ref>
<ref name="M24_TOO">{{cite web |url=http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/olivetti/m21_m24/Olivetti_M21_M24_Theory_of_Operation_Nov84.pdf |title=Olivetti M21/M24 Theory of Operation |date=1984 |website=Bitsavers.de |access-date=2018-07-11}}</ref>
<ref name="CW_1985_Olivetti">{{cite web |url=http://www.computerwoche.de/a/olivetti-mikro-verfuegbar,1171852 |title=Olivetti-Mikro verfügbar |website=Computerwoche.de |date=1985-11-22 |access-date=2016-04-01}}</ref>
<ref name="Satchell_1985">{{cite journal |author-first=Stephen |author-last=Satchell |title=AT&T 6300 Personal Computer. Ma Bell wants to be your computer company. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-i4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA49 |date=1985-01-14 |journal=InfoWorld |pages=49, 53 |issn=0199-6649}}</ref>
<ref name="BYTE_1985_Deskpro">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1985-05/1985_05_BYTE_10-05_Multiprocessing#page/n263/mode/2up |date=May 1985|title=The Compaq Deskpro |author-first=Jerry |author-last=Grady |publisher=Byte Magazine |pages=260–267}}</ref>
<ref name="pcmag85">{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9NSDMoEcJPcC&pg=PA112 |title=PC Mag |page=112 |website=Books.google.com |date=1985-11-12 |access-date=2016-04-01}}</ref>
<ref name="Lockwood_1985">Russ Lockwood, [https://archive.org/details/creativecomputing-1985-06/page/n33/mode/2up?view=theater AT&T 6300 Clash of the Titans: Round one] (review) [[Creative Computing]] Volume 11 Number 06 (June 1985), pp. 32-34</ref>
<ref name="Strebel1992">{{cite book |author-first=Paul |author-last=Strebel |title=Breakpoints: How Managers Exploit Radical Business Change |url=https://archive.org/details/breakpointshowma00stre |url-access=registration |date=1992 |publisher=Harvard Business Press |isbn=978-0-87584-369-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/breakpointshowma00stre/page/124 124]}}</ref>
<ref name="Roche1992">{{cite book |author-first=Edward Mozley |author-last=Roche |title=Managing Information Technology in Multinational Corporations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ik0VyfSQR0C&pg=PA185 |date=1992 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-02-402690-3 |page=185}}</ref>
<ref name="Toniolo2013">{{cite book |author-first=Gianni |author-last=Toniolo |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Italian Economy Since Unification |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=upVpAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA435 |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-993670-0 |page=435}}</ref>
<ref name="Enterprise1984">{{cite journal |title=Enhanced Venix/86 out |journal = Computerworld: The Newspaper for IT Leaders|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwWa0N_4NgsC&pg=RA1-PA76 |date=17 September 1984 |publisher=Computerworld |page=76 |issn=0010-4841}}</ref>
<ref name="BYTE_1985_PT">[https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1985-06-rescan Byte Magazine Volume 10 Number 06: Programming Techniques (June 1985)], p. 42</ref>
<ref name="Petrosky_1985">{{cite news |author-first=Mary |author-last=Petrosky |title=6300 Plus Launched By AT&T |date=1985-10-14 |newspaper=[[InfoWorld]] |volume=7 |issue=41 |publisher=[[Popular Computing, Inc.]]<!-- a subsidiary of CW Communications, Inc. --> |issn=0199-6649 |pages=1, 8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ii8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 |access-date=2020-02-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200210164729/https://books.google.de/books?id=ii8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1&redir_esc=y |archive-date=2020-02-10}}</ref>
<ref name="IW86">[https://books.google.com/books?id=Yi8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42 6300 Plus: Paradoxical computer a poor value] InfoWorld 21 Jul 1986, p. 42</ref>
<ref name="IW_1986_Simultask">[https://books.google.com/books?id=pzwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA54 With Simultask, 6300 Plus Is Transformed. Providing Cost-Effective Access to Unix System V, MS-DOS], InfoWorld 29 Sep 1986, pp. 54-55</ref>
<ref name="PCMag_1986_Ziff">{{cite journal |title=PC Mag |journal = PC Magazine: The Independent Guide to IBM-Standard Personal Computing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UFvuOLZA2D0C&pg=PA136 |date=25 February 1986 |publisher=Ziff Davis, Inc. |pages=136–137 |issn=0888-8507}}</ref>
<ref name="Welch_1986">{{cite news |author-first=Mark J. |author-last=Welch |title=Another Unix Project to Run DOS on 80386 |date=1986-06-30 |newspaper=[[InfoWorld]] |volume=8 |issue=26 |publisher=[[Popular Computing, Inc.]] |issn=0199-6649 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wi8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3 |access-date=2020-02-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200210165236/https://books.google.de/books?id=Wi8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&focus=viewport&hl=de |archive-date=2020-02-10 |quote=[…] [[Locus Computing Corp.|Locus]] previously developed Merge 286, now used by [[AT&T]]'s Simultask program to run one [[MS-DOS]] program under Unix on the [[80286]]-based [[6300 Plus]], according to Judi Uttal, director of marketing for Locus. […]}}</ref>
<ref name="Prestinario_1986">{{cite news |author-first=Jerry A. |author-last=Prestinario |title=Simultask Response |series=Review Responses |date=1986-12-15 |issn=0199-6649 |newspaper=[[InfoWorld]] |volume=8 |issue=50 |publisher=[[Popular Computing, Inc.]] |pages=71 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bDwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA71 |access-date=2020-02-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200210170019/https://books.google.de/books?id=bDwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA71&redir_esc=y |archive-date=2020-02-10 |quote=[…] A recent Review Response stated that no special hardware is required to run Simultask [and therefore it could run on any 80286 computer]. Every [[PC 6300 Plus]] comes standard with special circuitry on the motherboard. This hardware is activated with Simultask to prevent programs from interfering with one another when they are running simultaneously. This is necessary because many [[MS-DOS]] programs have complete control of the hardware. Simultask uses this circuitry to ensure that, no matter what one program does, other programs that are running simultaneously will not be affected. Other computers can't provide this assurance. […]}}</ref>
<ref name="WithoutUnix_1986">{{cite news |title=Even without Unix, Byers Like AT&T's PC 6300 |date=1986-01-13 |newspaper=[[InfoWorld]] |series=News |volume=8 |issue=2 |publisher=[[Popular Computing, Inc.]] |issn=0199-6649 |location=Morristown, NJ, USA |page=13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mi8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13 |access-date=2020-02-09 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200210165635/https://books.google.de/books?id=mi8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13&redir_esc=y |archive-date=2020-02-10}}</ref>
<ref name="IW86d">{{cite journal |author-first=Rachel |author-last=Parker |title=Analysts See AT&T Drifting in Micro Industry. Focus on Communications Imperils Standing in PC Market |journal=InfoWorld |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ejwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31 |date=1 December 1986 |publisher=InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. |page=31 |issn=0199-6649}}</ref>
<ref name="IW_1987_Delay">{{cite journal |title=Close Call: AT&T Delays Incompatible 6310PC |journal = InfoWorld|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BDwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA78 |date=9 February 1987 |publisher=InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. |page=78 |issn=0199-6649}}</ref>
<ref name="IW1987">{{cite journal |author-first=Stephen |author-last=Satchell |title=AT&T 6310: Costly AT Clone Lacks Speed, Missing Crucial Documentation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ljsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA80 |date=28 September 1987 |journal=InfoWorld |pages=80–81 |issn=0199-6649}}</ref>
<ref name="CW_1987_Joins">{{cite journal |title=AT&T joins PC compatible price cut parade |journal = Computerworld: The Newspaper for IT Leaders|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pcVsK0mWULwC&pg=PA18 |date=27 April 1987 |publisher=Computerworld |page=18 |issn=0010-4841}}</ref>
<ref name="CW_1987_PS2">{{cite web |url=http://www.computerwoche.de/a/neue-pc-familie-nach-altem-standard,1160324 |title=Olivetti kontert PS2-Announcement des Marktführers:: Neue PC-Familie nach altem Standard |language=de |website=Computerwoche.de |date=1987-07-03 |access-date=2016-04-01}}</ref>
<ref name="CP_1985_Palette">{{cite web |url=http://www.channelpartner.de/a/olivetti-mikro-verfuegbar,1171852 |title=Olivetti-Mikro verfügbar |publisher=channelpartner.de |date=1985-11-22 |access-date=2016-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124100555/http://www.channelpartner.de/a/olivetti-mikro-verfuegbar,1171852 |archive-date=24 November 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
* [https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1985-12 Bob Troiano's review of the AT&T PC 6300], BYTE, December 1985, page 294-302
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=zC4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16 The Man who Plots AT&T's Computer Strategy], [[InfoWorld]], April 15, 1985, p.&nbsp;16
* [http://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/pubsto/quastoeco/QSE_15/QSEn_15.pdf Bancaditalia.it]

==External links==
*{{YouTube|id=L5s3u3A1b-0|title=Olivetti M24 - A look inside the computer}}
*{{YouTube|id=gyIm_7TX8ic&t=10s|title=Olivetti Keyboard 1 - ANK 2463}}
*{{YouTube|id=vfpuw2zFfoM&t=7s|title=Olivetti Keyboard 2 - ANK 2462}}
*{{YouTube|id=4w2I0eRrdJk&t=1364s|title=Olivetti M24SP}}
* [http://olivettim24.hadesnet.org Olivettim24.hadesnet.org]
* [http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=531 Old-Computers.com - AT&T PC 6300]
* https://web.archive.org/web/20090515115421/http://home.online.no/~kr-lund/olivetti.htm
* [http://www.thecomputerarchive.com/archive/Computers/PC%20desktops/ATT%206300%20Plus.pdf AT&T product announcement brochure for the 6300 Plus]
* [http://gallery.retrocenter.de/index.php/Kataloge-Prospekte/Olivetti/Olivetti-M24-SP M24 SP brochure (in German)]
*{{YouTube|id=mUCh46_MzZU|title=The AT&T PC 6300: A Retrospective}}
* [http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/att/6300/ Bitsavers.trailing-edge.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080807172716/http://armchairarcade.com/neo/node/1679 Web.archive.org]

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{{Olivetti computers}}

[[Category:Olivetti personal computers]]
[[Category:IBM PC compatibles]]
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1983]]
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[[Category:Computing for All]]
[[Category:Computers Designed in Italy]]