Z80 FUZIX is like OLD FASHIONED UNIX

traditional Z80 computers tend to run CP/M. If you’re a purist you’ll be pleased keeping that since that’s definitely what many major Z80 computers ran back in the day. However, for actual use, CP/M does feel dated these days. Linux is much more comfortable however isn’t likely to run on a Z80. Or is it? Linux borrows from Unix as well as back in the 1980s [Doug Braun] composed a Unix-like OS for the Z80 called UZI. There have been great deals of forks of it over the years, as well as a job called FuzixOS aims to make a helpful Z80 Unix-like OS.

Of course, 1980 Unix was a great deal different from contemporary Linux, however it is still better to a contemporary system than CP/M. Fuzix also adds a number of contemporary features like 30 character data names as well as updated APIs. The kernel isn’t just for the Z80, by the way. It can target a range of older processors including the 6502, the 6809, the 8086, as well as others. As you may expect, the system can in shape in a quite little system.

The video below shows [Scott Baker’s] RC2014 computer running Fuzix. You’ll see it looks a great deal like a Linux system, although that analogy only goes so far.

Although the kernel is quite portable, there are some tool issues. According to the Fuzix page, there’s no 8086 compiler, as well as restriction on a few of the other C compilers it targets. However, there are a big number of platforms working including Amstrad, Atari, Radio Shack computers, N8VEM boards as well as numerous more.

We are always amazed we don’t see much more vintage computers running MINIX, which was a typical Unix alternating back in the day. If you are thinking about discovering out much more about the RC2014, we’ve evaluated it for you.