Shameless self promotion... was Poly88 on ebay

From: Dwight K. Elvey <dwight.elvey_at_amd.com>
Date: Thu Sep 30 18:14:58 2004

>From: "Bryan Blackburn" <oldcomp_at_cox.net>
---snip---
>
>I may be whacked in the head, but what did the Poly 88 innovate other
>than cuteness? Or maybe that doesn't matter because it is has an s-100 buss?

Hi
 Actually it did provide a turning point in micro processors.
It was the first S-100 to have only a power and reset button on the front.
It had a monitor ROM built in that provided a display of memory and
registers, using the memory mapped video. The ROM also had the
tape read code built in. They'd have put the tape write code in
it as well but that was all they could squeeze into the 1K EPROM.
The tape was capable of both Byte format and a high speed ( I forget
if it was 9600 or 4800 ). To write to the tape, one could enter
the program through the monitor. Of course, it made sense to save
that program as your first tape program. The Poly88 had its problems.
cooling was a big issue.
 I have two of these, fully operational :)
Dwight
Received on Thu Sep 30 2004 - 18:14:58 BST