<> have well payed jobs, or even jobs at all. I couldn't consider spending <> twice my _annual_ income on an Altair. Heck, I have to stop and think <> before I spend my weekly income on common 8-bit micro. < <!!! Even some of us in the US have had really bad years where trade, free or very nearly so was the only possibility. There are very few machines I'd pay much for and what "much" is varies with my fiscal health. Most thankfully were gotten for free or minimally the effort needed to collect them. Maybe it's also my slightly different twist, I'm collecting machines I could never afford (but wanted to have) when they were new. Also there is the matter of my preference for systems that work, and having the Altair I know enough to not bother with that one. <Germany, Japan, or whatever developed country we may live in? Are foriegn <electronics and computer industries (again, assuming that many of <us are in the industry) really in that bad of shape? The industries in many of the foreign countries are quite healthy but the admission price (education REQUIRED) is far higher so it's not as easy to get in. That also does not allow for retired, people that don't wish to work in electrotechnical fields for a living and for some reason far to many women. Allison