Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!floyd!vax135!ariel!houti!hogpc!rosin
From: rosin@hogpc.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.misc
Subject: Re: Artificially Different Products
Message-ID: <208@hogpc.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 5-Jul-83 09:28:52 EDT
Article-I.D.: hogpc.208
Posted: Tue Jul  5 09:28:52 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 7-Jul-83 04:09:10 EDT
References: utcsrgv.1663
Lines: 15

IBM once marketed a "thrifty fifty" series of tab machines, including
a 407 'tabulating printer' (used by most universities as a way to list
a deck of punched cards without tying up a CPU).  This equipment was actually
factory reconditioned and rented for considerably less than (supposedly)
new facilities.  The 407, however, ran 2/3 the speed of the higher priced
model becuase 3 relays were ADDED to the machine to slow it down - printing
only two out of every three cycles, thus allowing for a reduced rental!!

(I also recall that some adders were removed/disabled as well.)

While on a lecture/visit to Tuskegee Institute in 1965 I constructed
a jumper to circumvent these relays on their printer.  It was probably
the most valuable outcome of the trip from their point of view.

Bob Rosin, Ameican Bell, houx_!hogpc!rosin, 201-576-3549