[BCC PRS at the Computer History Museum] Hi Peter, reading some Macsyma functions just now, I was momentarily puzzled by the line ?*plotnum\-3d\-limit\*:false$ PLOTNUM0 and PLOTNUM1 are the number of x and y subdivisions in a 3D plot. Why would anyone add a feature to limit them? And why would its name be so obscurely and inconveniently punctuated? In fact this controls one of those evil disabilities inflicted on the cheaper version of a product that cost extra to have removed. The lucky gnurds queueing up for time on the RLE-PDP1 were indebted to the unlucky tools who chose instead to hang out at the Civil Engineering Dept IBM1401, which, a tool told me, had a 407 E8 that cost $tens of thousands less because it was only 2/3 the speed of a regular 407. By virtue of a plugboard with an extra relay circuit to discard every third cycle! Yank the relays and be fully upgraded. Except during scheduled visits by the IBM field service representative. It amazes me that IBM was able to maintain its hypnotic sway over market opinion while pulling stunts like that. Perhaps someone at the Computer History Museum can propose an earlier example such a deliberate disfeature. Perhaps even provide a name for the practice. (Failing which: disfeaturement.) geb trats --rwg EDGAR T IRONS DENIGRATORS