Spectranext development continues. The latest work is focused on making the built-in tools more capable.
If you're interested to try this already (although it could be buggy), do
2 for BETAThere is still plenty to build, but these changes are moving Spectranext toward a system where built-in tools are easier to extend.
Spectranext now has persistent (permanent) file storage.
The recent update adds a second 4MB filesystem on top of the existing 4MB temporary storage. The temporary RAM storage is still there, and it is still useful: it is fast, good for quick iterations, and convenient for programs that need scratch space while they run. The new flash storage is for the files you want to keep.
HTTPS mounts are now possible on original Spectranet hardware.
Spectranext makes publishing resources much easier: host a folder on the internet, and the cartridge can mount it over HTTPS. That is good for new software, but it creates the same kind of problem the Spectrum 128K faced: developers want to use the newer capabilities, while still reaching the widest possible audience.
If a game, tool, catalogue, or update channel only works on Spectranext, it leaves original Spectranet users behind. That is not great for developers, and it is not great for users either.
Spectranext now supports Spectrum Next.
This was implemented with the help of an external tester, who provided access, testing, and feedback on real ZX Spectrum Next hardware while the compatibility work was being developed.
Spectranext will come with a companion multiplayer game, called Unbound, which will be available for free for everyone to play with Spectranext.
This article covers the setting and mechanics of the game.
Alpha testing has been going well so far, so the first batch of 50 devices is now in production
There is now a Hacker News demo you can try on Spectranext. It pulls the current front page from the real site and shows story titles and links on your Spectrum—so you can read what is hot today without any proxies.
Spectranext is built for the ZX Spectrum user port (48K, 128K “toastrack”, +2, +3). The cartridge has now been exercised on a +3 end-to-end; earlier revisions did not behave there even though 48K machines looked fine.
On the 48K edge connector, several user-port lines are unused or tied to VIDEO. On +3, the same physical lines drive on-board ROM chip selects: the cartridge’s ROM-disable outputs sit in that path. Both ROM CS lines are asserted together when the Spectranet ROM is paged in—electrically consistent, but the +3’s own ROM paging and reset timing are different from a rubber-key 48K.