Browsing the modern Internet from an 8-bit computer is no small feat. SymZilla was originally developed by SymbOS’s Prodatron as a document viewer. My contribution was to add networking and support for displaying simplified HTML pages, helping bring web browsing to SymbOS on classic machines.

The browser relies on GB-proxy, a companion proxy designed to reduce the complexity of today’s web. GB-proxy retrieves pages on behalf of the client, handles SSL/TLS connections, strips pages down to a simpler form of HTML, and shrinks and converts images into a format SymbOS can display. This lets the browser concentrate on presenting a practical, lightweight version of the web within the limits of the platform.

After some initial setbacks, we are finally making progress with the Omega MSX.

The first problem was a defective Yamaha 8139 chip, which prevented the system from booting at all. Once that was resolved, we were able to get the machine to display C-BIOS and its diagnostic screens.

That revealed a second fault: capacitor C64 was measuring only 68 µF, rather than its specified 220 µF. This was responsible for a strange yellow ghosting effect on the display.