My Selectric III went in the local metal-recycle bin quite a few years ago. It was getting sticky and needed a thorough cleaning. The local IBM service center wanted $125 just to take a look at it, so enough was enough. I have not used a typewriter in the last 8 or so years, and don't miss it. I had a second Selectric my brother gave me, but during a move, one of the cast-metal parts gave up the ghost. It seemed too expensive to get it replaced, so it, too, went to the metal recycle bin. I suspect many other typewriters, Selectrics et al., met the same fate. My mother, 89, still uses a manual typewriter, but her sight is failing and she has a hard time getting the right roy of keys. Sometimes we have to sit at the keyboard and "decipher" her notes. She recently found a typewriter repair shop on Long Island (NY) that would repair and clean her manual unit. She got new type and a cleaned unit for about $85. That's a deal. Jon Jon Titus 36 Sunset Drive Milford, MA 01757-1362 USA Phone: +1-508-478-8040 E-mail: jontitus(a)attbi.com Member, National Association of Science Writers