RetroNET Software
Fueled by a family history with the NABU company, DJ Sures had created software for the NABU PC RetroNET project since November 2022, when he was the first to hack and revive the PC.
This software is for the NABU computer and is compatible with the Internet Adapter, Cloud CPM, Keyboard Emulator, Terminal Emulator, etc.
DJ Sures is dedicated to continuing the legacy of the NABU Corporation's vision of Personal Computers connected to a worldwide network without needing local storage.
If you want to get in contact with me or ask about using these programs, you can find me on the the NABU Discord (this one)
Note: These applications have been made with NABU-LIB and z88dk, which you can find on GitHub with all the source codes.
Quick Note Before Trying Software
Some software listed on this page may require specific features built into the NABU Internet Adapter. That means you will be required to have the latest version of the NABU Internet Adapter installed to run some of this software on your NABU Computer. In many cases, the video will mention the minimum version required for the software; otherwise, assume the latest version is needed.
NABUCAM Color
This is an updated version of NABUCAM that uses dithered colors to match the TMS9918a palette from a live webcam feed or a remote desktop (for windows). An update to my previous B&W webcam version, this one is in glorious 15 colors!
Found on:
- Demo channels of the Internet Adapter
Net Music
Stream live digital audio from the internet out of the little NABU-that-could. Using an exploit in the AY PSG (programmatical sound generator), I've been able to play digital audio. I went went step further and added the ability to stream live MP3 from the NABU!
Found on:
- Demo channels of the Internet Adapter
- A: User Area 1 "NETMUSE.COM" on Cloud CP/M
IA Headless
IA Control Headless allows selecting and running NABU Channels of the Internet Adapter from the NABU PC. This is useful if you have an embedded raspberry pi and want to operate the NABU without a monitor on the Pi.
In this video, watch at 3:10 for the Headless portion.
Found on:
- Settings menu of the Internet Adapter
8-Bit JukeBox
I added a UI to my 22,000+ 8-bit music collection for the NABU PC.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (jukebox.com)
Remote Desktop
After my full motion video, I felt it could be possible to create a Remote Desktop. This remote desktop controls your PC from the NABU and displays the image.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (nabucam.com)
Full Motion Video
All these firsts, this displays full motion video from a USB camera on the NABU
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (nabucam.com)
NABUTALK
First ever AY-3-8910 Speech Synthesis on the NABU
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (nabutalk.com)
FALKEN
First ever AY-3-8910 digital audio, and it is on the NABU!
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (falken.com)
CPMDRIVE
Create a CPM drive on demand from the files in your Internet Adapter store folder.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 0 (cpmdrive.com)
NABU & GPT
I added Chat GPT to the NABU RetroNET server that can be accessed by the NABU RetroNET Chat!
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (retronet.com)
InMoov Controller
Since I've made the trtlbot CPM program that controls a real robot, I figured it's a good idea to control a humanoid from my lab at work.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (inmoov.com)
NABU TurtleBot
A program similar to Logo that controls any robot from the NABU using Synthiam ARC robot software.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (trtlbot.com)
Redirect (TCP)
The Redirect utility allows easy configuration of the CPM IO Byte to redirect the console input and output. This also allows connecting to CPM using a Telnet Client for 80 column mode.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 0(redirect.com)
Game Man Yeah!
Game Man Yeah (also known as Game5) is a four-player space miner with flying UFOs, asteroids, and a timer. Collect the space crystals to earn points. Bump into other players to push them into asteroids. Beat the clock on who gets the most points.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (game5.com)
- IA NABU Channel List
Brick Battle
A two-player twist on Brick-Out. Add many balls, and each player hits the ball to change its color. Only then will the ball produce points for that player. Regain dominance of the ball by hitting it with your paddle to steal your opponent's points.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (BRIKBATL.COM)
- IA NABU Channel List
GAME 1
This is a four-player prototype of the GAME5 (Game Man Yeah!). It is text-based, and you control a rocket collecting crystal pellets. There is also a HOME BASE that you can order for extra points. Every time you collect a pellet, it turns into a bomb!
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (GAME1.COM)
HELP
Displays a single page for popular Cloud CP/M commands to get you started.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 0 (help.com)
KEYCODE
Display the keycodes from the keyboard or joystick. If you want to know what keys produce what values, this is the tool for you.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (keycode.com)
MODE
View and change Cloud CP/M settings. This utility allows you to change the terminal emulation mode and printing device.
The terminal emulation modes supported in the Cloud CP/M BIOS are ADM3a (default) and VT52.
The printing output device options allow you to print to a file on the Internet Adapter or to the physical parallel port on the NABU PC.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 0 (mode.com)
RNCMD
Also known as RetroNET Command, use this to Copy files between the Internet Adapter PC and the NABU Cloud CP/M drive. This tool also makes it easy to copy files between user areas in Cloud CP/M, which is usually daunting.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 0 (rncmd.com)
SUMMARY
Display a full-page summary of the Cloud CP/M drives and contents. There are many drives and user areas for Cloud CP/M, and this tool will help you navigate them.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 0 (summary.com)
TUTORIAL
A graphical slide-show tutorial for Cloud CP/M. It demonstrates how to navigate directories and user areas, a brief history of Cloud CP/M, and an example syntax for copying files.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 0 (tutorial.com)
Cloud CP/M BIOS
The Cloud CP/M BIOS (Basic Input Output System) is software that translates CPM BDOS commands into physical hardware functions. The CPM BDOS operating system is hardware agnostic, so it is unaware of how a drive, keyboard, or screen works. The BDOS portion of CPM calls functions into the BIOS, and the BIOS takes care of the hardware communication. The Cloud CP/M handles text, scrolling, font, graphics, input, drives, terminal emulation, and more.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 0
Bad Apple
But can it run Bad Apple? Since the mid-2010s, the Bad Apple demo has tested any computing device's capabilities. The demo has been created to run on anything from text editors to the NABU PC.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (BADAPPLE.COM)
- IA NABU Channel List
CLOUD GUI
A prototype-in-development graphical shell for Cloud CP/M that replaces the text command line. It uses windows for file management and configuration options, including configuring BIOS settings, such as emulation mode, printer output device, and more.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (CLOUDGUI.COM)
80's Musical Slideshow
DJ assembled a visual slideshow of images that remind him of his childhood in the 80s and 90s. Also, if the ping test utility is too dull for testing your internet adapter's cable communication, this slideshow is a more enjoyable test. Let the slideshow run overnight to ensure you have no cable issues.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (slidesho.com)
- IA NABU Channel List
CPMCURS
This example test program demonstrates how the CPM BIOS cursor can be accessed directly by memory programs rather than using terminal emulation.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1
DOOM
Can it run DOOM? DJ's attempt at getting the NABU PC to run the popular 3d first-person-shooter DOOM on an 8-bit PC with 64k RAM.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (DOOM.COM)
- IA NABU Channel List
DUMPRAM
Takes a snapshot of the NABU's RAM and uploads it to the internet adapter's RetroNET store folder.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (DUMPRAM.COM)
- IA NABU Channel List
HTTPTEST
Tests the communication protocol of the NABU-LIB File Storage library. The NABU-LIB File Store library can read and write files to the Internet Adapter's RetroNET storage folder. This tests downloading an HTTP file, modifying the file, saving it locally on the PC, and displaying it on the NABU.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (HTTPTEST.COM)
- IA NABU Channel List
IRC
An IRC (internet relay chat) client for the NABU. Uses the IRC protocol for compatibility with all IRC servers, such as dal.net, efnet, and more.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (IRC.COM)
- IA NABU Channel List
PINGTST
A utility to stress-test the Internet Adapter cable for communication issues. The suggested cable is a twisted pair, as RS422 was designed for it. However, the early NABU cables were straight-through shielded midi/serial cables, which caused communication issues. Communication issues are most noticeable in Cloud CP/M, as it is very demanding on the HCCA serial interface for accessing drives and data.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (PINGTST.COM)
RetroNET Chat
The "on-line" chat program is exclusive to the NABU PC. Chat with other NABU users like it's 1984!
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (RETRONET.COM)
- IA NABU Channel List
Slide You
This slide show program displays your photos. Place all your SC2 files in the IA's RetroNET Storage \SLIDESHOW folder.
Use the CONVERT9918.ZIP [author] to convert images to SC2 files.
1) Load CONVERT9918
2) Load your image into CONVERT9918
3) Press SAVE
4) Select MSX *.SC2 image
5) Navigate to the RetroNET Storage Folder
6) Create a subfolder "SLIDESHOW"
7) Put your SC2 images in the SLIDESHOW folder
8) Run slideyou.com and view your photos
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (slideyou.com)
Telnet
VT-52 compatible telnet client. You can telnet into your Linux box or Windows (if the service is installed). Even use this to connect to BBS' around the world. It supports 80-column VT-52 emulation so that you can use SCREEN or EMACS or NANO or or or....
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (telnet.com)
VTEST52
A utility that tests the current Cloud CP/M BIOS emulation mode (ADM3a or VT52). This will query the Cloud CP/M BIOS to identify its mode and use it to format text-based screen drawings.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (vtest52.com)
Merry Christmas
A Christmas demo of snowflakes and cheesy Christmas music. This was made in less than 30 minutes on Christmas morning - so give it a break :)
Found on:
- IA NABU Channel List
Scan Code Viewer
A utility for viewing the scancodes of the keyboard and joystick.
Found on:
- IA NABU Channel List
NABU Channel Pics
To learn the graphic modes of the TMS9918a found in the NABU PC, DJ created several homebrew programs that each displayed an image. These were the most graphical-intensive programs during the early NABU's re-introduction (now replaced by the Slide Show).
*Note: These stand-alone image programs have been deprecated from DJ's internet adapter because the Slide Show replaced them.
GREP
Ported from Digital Research to z80 Cloud CP/M. Grep is a piece of history. It was initially developed for the first UNIX on PDP-11.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (grep.com)
NEWS
A simple command that queries and displays the NEWS.TXT from cloud.nabu.ca in Cloud CP/M
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 0 (news.com)
TCPSRVR
This utility tests the TCP Server on the Internet Adapter in CPM.
Found on:
- Cloud CP/M A: User Area 1 (tcpsrvr.com)