[SIGCIS-Members] Response on course design from James Sumner

Ian S. King isking at uw.edu
Mon Sep 30 17:32:19 PDT 2013


I'd disagree: any 'proud Brit' would replicate the EDSAC - oh waitaminute,
TNMOC is doing that!  :-)  The last time I was there (beginning of
February) they showed me some bent tin and electronic components, but I
understand they have some working functional units completed (I think
that's been discussed here).  That's only 3,000 vacuum tubes (excuse me,
valves - it's a UK project).  Of course, getting the mercury delay lines
approved by modern environmental agencies would likely take longer than
actually constructing the remainder of the machine.

The other thing they showed me last time I was there was the running WITCH.
 I like these people.  Functional technological artifacts are the primary
sources of the history of computer technology.  And if you don't have the
original, how about a *physical* emulation, like the EDSAC project?  It
just makes me feel good.  :-)  -- Ian


On Mon, Sep 30, 2013 at 5:20 PM, James Cortada <jcortada at umn.edu> wrote:

> And after you buy the 17000 + tubes, really step up to the challenge to
> get this done in your time frame unlike normal common people taking  4 or 5
> times as long.  If you get that done Annals will want to publish a lead
> article by you and I'll get all 60,000 members of the IEEE to download it
> and cite it in their publications so that your citations count makes you a
> rock star on your campus.  I am sure Paul Ceruzzi will want to exhibit it
> at the Smithsonian and since Martin Campbell-Kelly as a rightfully a proud
> Brit will want another built and exhibited at his campus or at the fancy
> science museum in London.
>
> This project has the potential of making your career.
>
> Cheers!!
>
>
> On Mon, Sep 30, 2013 at 7:13 PM, Ian S. King <isking at uw.edu> wrote:
>
>> There are Russian companies who would be glad to supply you with brand
>> new vacuum tubes.  However, buy extras: my experience has been mixed with
>> these sources!  I needed to replace a tube in the four-channel plug-in for
>> my Tektronix 561A oscilloscope (late 1960s).  After trying three tubes, I
>> found one that worked.  Good thing they sold them in lots of five.  Caveat
>> emptor -- Ian King
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Sep 29, 2013 at 9:34 PM, Aron Levy <aronpublic at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On that note, after discussing with a friend of mine, the thought of
>>> sourcing nearly 17,500 vacuum tubes, many I which are no longer available
>>> seems to render the idea of rebuilding ENIAC somewhat remote.
>>>
>>> Unless Washington and Lee happens to have an entire warehouse full of
>>> tubes! (Stranger things have been known to happen.)
>>>
>>> Aron Levy
>>>
>>> I typed this with my thumbs. Please excuse my brevity.
>>>
>>> On Sep 30, 2013, at 12:11 AM, "Thomas Haigh" <thaigh at computer.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> > [James is still having problems sending to the list, but has a good
>>> reply
>>> > below. Tom]
>>> >
>>> > -------- Original Message --------
>>> > Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Seeking help -- if you could design your
>>> ideal
>>> > Computer/Information History course, what would you include?
>>> > Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2013 11:11:34 +0100
>>> > From: James Sumner <james.sumner at manchester.ac.uk>
>>> > To: members at sigcis.org
>>> >
>>> > Dear all
>>> >
>>> > What an excellent question -- and it's remarkable to see that the
>>> discussion
>>> > very quickly worked its way round to early hardware and games. My first
>>> > thought before seeing the follow-up messages was to give the students
>>> a task
>>> > something like this:
>>> >
>>> > "It's 1951. The firm you work for has just announced an electronic
>>> digital
>>> > computer -- the first to be offered for commercial sale. You have no
>>> > established competition, but this also means you're promoting an
>>> unfamiliar
>>> > idea. Many of the people you're trying to sell to are happy relying on
>>> human
>>> > clerical labour or existing punched-card technology, which they see as
>>> cheap
>>> > and reliable. And many people more generally don't have a clear sense
>>> of
>>> > what 'electronic digital computer' means at all.
>>> >
>>> > "Your big opportunity to do something about this arrives with a major
>>> public
>>> > exhibition on new science and technology of the future, to be hosted at
>>> > [insert name of suitable big expo venue]. Your firm has been offered a
>>> prime
>>> > space of [insert dimensions] for a display introducing computers to the
>>> > public. Your task is to build the display. You have X weeks."
>>> >
>>> > This is loosely based on the situation facing the British firm
>>> Ferranti when
>>> > it produced the Nimrod machine (http://www.goodeveca.net/nimrod/)
>>> > for the 1951 Festival of Britain. There was not enough time to
>>> implement a
>>> > full-scale working computer, and in any case there were questions about
>>> > whether a complex machine would be either reliable enough or
>>> intelligible
>>> > enough for public display. The engineers instead put together some
>>> > relatively straightforward electronics to play a simple interactive
>>> game
>>> > (Nim -- one step up from tic-tac-toe), and housed it in an enormous,
>>> > imposing case. The result worked well enough for attracting column
>>> inches,
>>> > but was judged a partial failure on the marketing side because it
>>> didn't
>>> > lead people to find out more about fundamental computer concepts.
>>> >
>>> > The idea behind this kind of project, of course, is to play to the
>>> strengths
>>> > of a class with a mixture of study backgrounds and skills. A clear
>>> > understanding of the conceptual principles of digital information
>>> processing
>>> > has to be present and correct, but there are avenues for taking the
>>> social
>>> > history seriously -- what kind of promotional technique were
>>> conventional to
>>> > 1950s audiences? What sections of the public would show up to this
>>> > exhibition? Would it be wise to address possible labour fears? -- and
>>> for
>>> > thinking about the practicalities of display, the style to aim for in
>>> any
>>> > written materials, and the performance aspects of any demonstration
>>> > involved.
>>> >
>>> > It might even rival "costumed battle on the front quad" if it could
>>> really
>>> > be built, assuming the students followed Ferranti in going for the
>>> > big-and-imposing spectacle approach.
>>> >
>>> > The main headache would be in determining what rules to play by on the
>>> > practical construction. Insisting on only "materials that could have
>>> existed
>>> > in 1951" would create major problems if rigorously enforced, and would
>>> focus
>>> > a lot of time and attention on elements which would probably be most
>>> > interesting to a small minority of students. Tolerating too much
>>> simulation,
>>> > on the other hand, would defeat the key point that equipment was
>>> inherently
>>> > unreliable, and that the question of whether digital automation was
>>> > worthwhile or not was still a live one. Perhaps experienced
>>> replicationists
>>> > might be able to advise here?
>>> >
>>> > All best
>>> > James
>>> >
>>> > _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Ian S. King, MSCS ('06, Washington)
>> Ph.D. Student
>> The Information School
>> University of Washington
>>
>> "Be yourself, everyone else is already taken."  - Oscar Wilde
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list
>> of SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at
>> http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ and you can change your
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>
>
>
> --
> James W. Cortada
> Senior Research Fellow
> Charles Babbage Institute
> University of Minnesota
> jcortada at umn.edu
> 608-274-6382
>



-- 
Ian S. King, MSCS ('06, Washington)
Ph.D. Student
The Information School
University of Washington

"Be yourself, everyone else is already taken."  - Oscar Wilde
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