Subj : Re: Old Geek Thoughts...
To   : Jeff
From : Jeff
Date : Fri Jan 07 2022 00:23:36

On 06 Jan 2022, Jeff said the following...
 Je>  Mc>  Je> No problem. I have one and enjoy it immensely. ByteDelight.com i
 Je>  Mc>  Je> Netherlands will occasionally make a batch, but I don't know if 
 Je>  Mc>  Je> any in stock right now. (I am not affiliated with ByteDelight.)
 Je>  Mc> Not really an issue, as I don't have an actual ZX Spectrum. I just
 Je>  Mc> thought it was a cool invention...

In my opinion, the FujiNet device is the coolest of them all. Inspired by the
Spectranet and TI-99/4a TIPI (which contains an RPi Zero), and the lack of
such a device for the Atari 8-bit home computers, it delivered that
functionality and so much more. It was originally developed for the Ataris,
but development has been extended to the C64, Apple ][, even the Coleco Adam!

The FujiNet offers local disk image hosting on an SD card and access to disk
image servers on the internet. But there's so much more to it! Its driver is
written in such a way that sockets can be treated exactly like disk files in
AtariBASIC and other languages. The FujiNet itself handles the encryption
needed for secure connections, meaning that it's entirely transparent to the
Atari. It can decode JSON files/responses and the Atari can request them
record-by-record. It even features a SAM speech synthesizer* that can be
accessed as a printer.

Speaking of printers, it can also act as a period-appropriate printer. By
accessing its built-in web server over a network connection, the type of
printer can be selected from a range of options (OkiData, Epson, etc.). When
the Atari prints something, it gets converted into a PDF using the actual
font (dot matrix and all!) of the emulated printer. This PDF can then be
downloaded to a computer via the built-in web server and printed (or
whatever).

There was an unusual peripheral for the Ataris known as the ATR8000 that was
essentially a CP/M computer that used the Atari as a terminal. The FujiNet
contains an emulated Z80 processor running CP/M; all that need to be done to
access it is to load a terminal program, set the baud rate to 9600, and enter
the pseudo-Hayes-style command ATCPM.

I have two of these and they are absolutely amazing. Users developed
networked apps to monitor the 2020 election results in real time (and that's
as political as I'm going to get), as well as a weather app that displays the
current weather in the user's area -- in real time -- as well as a forecast
for upcoming days. On an Atari 8-bit!

Jeff.

* The Atari itself does not do the speech synthesis; the FujiNet does. The
Atari Home computers had a cassette interface, but only one track of the
cassette was used for data. The other track could contain music or other
audio data, and this would be patched directly to the television speaker,
providing something for the user to listen to while a program was being
loaded. The FujiNet exploits this to send speech synthesis audio directly to
the TV speaker.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
 * Origin: Cold War Computing BBS (21:1/180)

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