A worldwide hobbyist network of personal computers which exchanges e-mail , discussion groups, and files. Founded in 1984 and originally consisting only of IBM PC s and compatibles, FidoNet now includes such diverse machines as Apple II s, Atari s, Amiga s, and Unix systems. Though it is much younger than Usenet , FidoNet is already (in early 1991) a significant fraction of Usenet 's size at some 8000 systems.
[ Jargon File ]