This is one of my 2011 additions to my collection and a great one for that matter: A Fujitsu FM-Towns computer, model Fresh-ET. I got this from a Yahoo auction in Japan from a reasonable price but it was kind of a crazy bet nonetheless. I had no idea what to expect from this computer since info about it is very, very scarce.

The original FM-Towns model was released in 1989 and the more famous FM Marty was released in 1993. But Fujitsu didn’t stop there; They still made a bunch of later models called FM-TownsII that were still compatible with the older FM-Towns/Marty but added many more “PC-like” features. There is a FM-TownsII that is somewhat common out there (this model – it looks like a VCR/TV combo) but the later FM-TownsII like mine look much more like an IBM-PC than any previous Towns computer. FM-TownsII ran Towns OS and Windows 3.1. There was an even later series called FMV-TOWNS that was active until 1997 and ran on Windows 95 and Pentium processors.

The Fresh-ET I got was released in 1995 and has a quite powerful 80486 DX2(66MHz) CPU and a default of 8Mb RAM. Mine has an extra 8Mb stick bringing it to 16Mb which is quite good for that time. It also has a CD-ROM, Hard drive and has the dual boot option (Towns OS and Windows 3.1). It has a gray Towns keyboard (maybe from the original TownsII model?) and a Marty mouse:

I was very lucky that my model arrived without a scratch and working perfectly. I haven’t figure out how to boot directly into Windows 3.1 yet but I can boot into the Towns OS and browse around all the installed programs (hard to tell what they do since its all Japanese but hey, I have time to learn 🙂 ). I can also boot into CDs and have been able to play some fantastic arcade conversions. I will post some pics/videos soon. Ah, there is also a built-in 3.5 floppy drive which is cleverly hidden behind a little trap door with the Fujitsu logo:

UPDATE
I got a new keyboard for my system. Here is how my setup looks like now:

Overall I am very happy with this new addition to my collection and I look forward to learn more about it.

Technical Specs:

NAME	FM-Towns II Fresh-ET
MANUFACTURER	Fujitsu
TYPE	Professional Computer
ORIGIN	Japan
YEAR	1995
KEYBOARD	Full stroke 123 keys with function keys and numeric keypad
CPU	486DX2 (66 MHz)
RAM	8Mb (Max of 64Mb)
GRAPHIC MODES	■640 Dot x 480 line / 768 x 512 lines (16.7 million colors in 256 colors) ■512 Dot x 480 line / dot 512 x 512 lines (32768 colors) ■640 Dot x 480 line / 768 x 512 line (16 colors out of 4096 colors x 2 screens side) ■320 Dot x 240 line / 384 dots × 256 lines (32768 colors x 2 screens side) ■640 Dot x 480 line / 768 x 512 lines (16.7 million colors) ■1024 Dots x 768 lines (256 colors) ■1024 Dots x 768 lines (16 colors × 2 screens side)
COLORS	Up to 16.7 million
I/O PORTS	VGA video, Atari Joystick/mouse, Proprietary FM-Towns keyboard, RS-232, Serial
BUILT IN MEDIA	3.5 Drive and CD-ROM
OS	DOS/Windows 3.1 and Towns OS
POWER SUPPLY	Built-in switching power supply unit
PERIPHERALS	Partially PC compatible and full FM-Towns compatible