The Poly 88 Microcomputer System - from PolyMorphic

PolyMorphic had started out making expansion cards for the [#Altair 8800] - the micro launched in January 1975 that as well being the first affordable microcomputer in the modern sense also gave the world what would become known as the S-100 bus.

As more and more manufacturers started producing cards to the new format, a market opened up for other micros which could also use them, including this - the Poly 88, or as it was previously nicknamed the Micro Altair, or even the Orange Toaster[source: https://oldcomputers.net/poly-88.html].

It was much smaller and simpler, but lacked the lights and switches of the original Altair so could only be accessed via a terminal, at additional expense. 

Whilst it could be programmed in machine code, this wasn't very user-friendly and so the company also offered its own version of BASIC, however this had to be loaded from tape and required at least 16K RAM.

[picture: POLYMORPHIC_byte_apr77.webp|Polymorphic's BASIC - a microcomputer without software is a tool without a handle. This PolyMorphic advert also features a few more "systems", including System 7 with only 8K RAM and a cut-down 8K BASIC, for $1,750]

Several versions of the Poly 88 were available for sale. The cheapest was System 0 for $525, or about [[350|1977]] in [[now]] money. 

This included the Poly as a bare board, video circuit and tape interface. It was kit form only, which the advert helpfully suggests should only be assembled by "persons familiar with digital circuitry".

The top-of-the-range offering was System 16, which was assembled and tested and which came with 16K RAM, monitor, keyboard, BASIC and a cassette player - all for $2,250, or about [[1500|1977]] in [[now]].

