COMPUTE!’s FujiNet Report

COMPUTE!’s Gazette – Volume 1 – Issue 1 – July, 2025

Thomas Cherryhomes

A Bridge to Tomorrow: The FujiNet Revolution is Here

It’s not often that a single piece of hardware completely redefines what’s possible with our beloved classic computers. For years, the retro experience has been one of careful preservation—maintaining drives and disks. But as revealed in the first issue of COMPUTE!’s Gazette, the FujiNet project is changing everything.

In “COMPUTE!’s FujiNet Report,” project leader Thomas Cherryhomes introduces a device that is nothing short of a quantum leap forward: a powerful Wi-Fi network adapter that connects our vintage machines directly to the modern, interconnected world.

What is FujiNet?

FujiNet is a versatile, open-source peripheral for an ever-growing list of classic computers, including the Atari 8-bit, Apple II, TRS-80 Color Computer, and Coleco Adam, with ports for Commodore and others in development. It’s a single, compact module that provides a whole suite of virtual devices:

Virtual Disk Drives: Load software directly from a local SD card or, more incredibly, from servers across the internet.
A Virtual Printer: Print from your favorite classic software (like Print Shop!) and download a perfect PDF of your creation from FujiNet’s web interface on a modern computer.
A Hayes-compatible Modem: Use your favorite old terminal programs to dial into BBSes just like you did in the old days, but over Wi-Fi.
A True Network Adapter: This is where FujiNet truly shines. Using simple BASIC commands, your retro computer can access network protocols like TCP, HTTP, FTP, and more. You can pull live data from websites or even run a program directly from a URL.
And More: FujiNet also includes CP/M emulation, a SAM speech synthesizer, and a real-time clock that syncs to the internet.

An Experience That Just Works

Getting started with FujiNet is remarkably simple. When you turn on your computer, the device boots its own CONFIG program directly from its built-in flash memory. From there, you can scan for your Wi-Fi network, enter your password, and you’re online.

The interface allows you to mount disk images from “Host Slots” (pre-configured servers full of software) into one of several “Drive Slots,” which your computer sees as a standard disk drive. Want to play Jumpman on your Atari? Just select it from the fujinet.online server, mount it to Drive 1, and reboot. The game loads directly from the internet, and your Atari is none the wiser.

A New Frontier for Creativity

As Editor-in-Chief Edwin Nagle notes in his commentary on the report, FujiNet doesn’t just preserve the past; it breathes new, vibrant life into it. The possibilities are staggering:

New Games: Imagine developers creating new games with real-time, online multiplayer capabilities for the Atari 8-bit or Commodore 64.
Live Data Applications: Create programs that fetch live weather, news, or stock prices from the internet and display them on your 8-bit screen.
A Connected Community: Participate in online forums and connect with other enthusiasts directly on your favorite retro platform.

The FujiNet project is a testament to the passion of the retro computing community. It’s an open-source marvel that has thrown open the door to a new, connected future. The report is a call to arms for every programmer, tinkerer, and dreamer to get involved and help bring this power to even more classic platforms. The future of retro computing is not in isolated nostalgia, but in a shared, connected universe.

Read the full story and discover more about the world of retro computing in the first issue of COMPUTE!’s Gazette in 35 years!