updated 28 jan 2026
Friendly fZ80 is a new, modern desktop computing machine that runs CP/M 2.2 and MP/M II 2.1, Digital Research's multi-tasking, multi-user operating system for the 8-bit 8080 and Z80 microprocessor. It uses a modern (VGA) display, and modern keyboard and storage.
These are semi-hand-made in painted aluminum chassis with nice attention to detail. They are rugged and reliable, approximately 8" x 4" x 2".
Release Notes for fZ80 ownersSee ReleaseNotes for the most recent set of changes. |
Friendly fZ80 got a write-up in Hackster.IO!
At this time (December 2025) none are available, they sold in 24 hours. I will soon start on another, larger, batch. Should be available in early 2026.
Here are a few simple videos of the fZ80 in use, to get a sense of what it's like to use; boot CP/M, run MP/M, multiple "busy" screen programs, an example compile, etc.
There is a fZ80 Operator's Manual and documentation for all of the software and hardware involved. A printed paper copy (5" x 8", 120 pages) will be included with every machine.
In 1979 MP/M provided true preemptive multi-programming, spooling and queueing to the CP/M world; unix was four years old when MP/M was released. MP/M is arguably the most sophisticated software ever written for the 8080.
MP/M was intended as a way for many people to share one computer; Digital Research was surprised to see instead it's use by a single user, to do multiple things on the same computer. fZ80 is designed for this latter "off label" use. To this end fZ80 has a build-in window manager; you switch between and resize windows ("consoles") at any time with keystrokes.
SD card technology replaces floppy disks and hard disks both. Much of CP/M's "work flow" is built around the concept of removable media; a removable SD card "floppy" is 32 megabytes, and multiple built-in hard disks reside on one high-performance micro-SD card inside the machine. File interchange with modern machines is designed in.
fZ80 provides a hands-on material experience comparable to a 1978 machine, minus the downsides of actually old gear.
Source is available for all of the software involved, including the PC board.
Required but not included: a modern keyboard with USB interface; compact "60 percent" keyboards are fine. A display, likely modern LCD, capable of 1024 x 768 resolution, with a VGA interface, or an HDMI to VGA adapter, not provided. You must provide a USB power supply capable of 500 mA (nearly any).
The Z80 CPU core and peripheral components -- disk interface, serial and parallel ports -- are emulated within a 600 MHz MCU core, but all of the system software is 8080/Z80 assembly language and BDS C 1.6, written on the machine itself, using CP/M and MP/M programs and tools. This provides a close to idealized "1980" experience using the machine.
fZ80 comes with a suite of software utilities, sources and compilers for the utilities, curated abandonware from the best of the era, and major software packages from that time (WordStar, SuperCalc2, etc) pre-configured (screen and keyboard) to run. fZ80 will run any CP/M software you might have or find on the net.
fZ80 exists partly to demonstrate early intent in computing -- computers that do things that humans want, directly, within the abilities of the machines and programmers of the time. Small desktop machines on which you could write and edit text, experiment with spreadsheets, write your own programs were a revolution. There was no third-party exploitation, data extraction or (external) privacy worries.
The relationships between Digital Research, the other major software providers of the time, and end users was that of peers, necessarily so. Software at this scale was novel, and feedback between authors and customers fairly intimate. Nostalgia aside (always a danger), the ways in which problem-solutions were provided is worth looking at, in spite of the obvious and severe limitations of this ancient software today. No one will be replacing modern machines with old; but there is much to learn from, not so much in code, but in intent and relationships.
Modern software really is better; we have learned so much about computing in the last half century. But we let so much be taken away from us, primarily our autonomy using machines for our own ends, unencumbered. Being able to taste MP/M's vision provides some insight into what has been lost, what might have been, and what might be again, with some effort.
I would like to see a little community of MP/M program writing and tool making. xP/M (CP/M and MP/M) is a seductive environment in many ways; the OS and hardware is right there, wide open, with copius, high quality documentation. There's tons of xP/M software. There's plenty of usable languages, BDS C, Manx C, Turbo Pascal, BASIC. There's essentially no overhead. MP/M imposes some modern-ish restrictions that were alien to x80 programmers at the time; to unix folk it will seem like a vacation. There's XDOS system flags for inter-task management, moderately able file sharing and locking.
There are not many choices of xP/M hardware platforms to play with, though desktop emulation is trivially easy. I know a lot of people would prefer a more traditional hardware-centric approach; more power to ya, go make one! Or many!
What I really want is an MP/M II laptop. fZ80 in a box with a fat battery would almost do; the issue is display interface (hardware). But with near-zero boot and shutdown times all the complexity of sleep and hibernation could be tossed out; though emulation affords easy saving all RAM (including display planes) to disk and restarting. A CP/M portable would be a great writing machine and PDA.