<The original design for the Altair as presented in those fateful issues of <"Popular Electronics" had no bus or backplane, but was just four circuit <boards wired together with ribbon cable. (as shown in a picture in part on <of the article) < <It would seem, that true seekers of the 'Holy Grail' would be trying to <determine if any machines in that original configuration were ever actuall <shipped! And then the task would be to find one of those! There were only a few and they were the prototypes. <Now, THAT would be on a par with the Apple I ! Eh? No that would exceed the Apple I as they are like flies (it was a production machine) compared to prototypes. Allison