Thread Subject: customizing scatter plots

hello,
i have a few questions about plotting scatter plots and changing
their
axes.
1] if i have a simple scatter plot, like
a = [0:.01:10];
b = a.*rand(1,length(a));
scatter(a,b);
set(gca, 'Box', 'off', 'LineWidth', 1);
set(gca, 'TickDir', 'out');
how can i make it so the two axes do not cross at 0? with the above
they extend past each other. how can i prevent the two ticks from
coming out just at the (0, 0) point?

2] is there a way to add a box plot for the marginals (a and b) for
this plot on the sides? like scatterhist(a,b) except showing box
plots
rather than the histogram?

3] is there a way in matlab to make the x and y axes separate from
each other, like Tufte axes? for example, see:
http://addictedtor.free.fr/graphiques/RGraphGallery.php?graph=81
thanks you for your help, i appreciate it!