On Tue, May 9, 2023 at 1:03 PM steve shumaker via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:
> A mostly similar variation has it that they shipped the unit via Railway > Express Agency (remember REA??) and as the story goes, it was in > transit when REA closed their doors unexpectedly and with no warning, > went bankrupt. > I don't believe I ever heard that story. Then again, I'm not sure where I got "UPS" from. Perhaps just an assumption on my part. I'm too young to remember REA, let alone having ever even heard of it. Interestingly, there is a tidbit in the REA Stupidpedia article about the Altair 8800 prototype: *In November 1975, REA Express terminated operations and filed for bankruptcy. During the railroad strike of October 1974, the first Altair 8800 microcomputer was lost. It had been shipped from Albuquerque to Popular Electronics magazine in New York via REA and never arrived.* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_Express_Agency Very interesting. So it's now more plausible that a former REA employee might have the prototype stuffed away in their garage somewhere. Sellam
