[SIGCIS-Members] Twentieth Century Computer Product Proposals: A Wealth of Information About Information Technologies and Their Uses

[Brian Randell]

Hi Jim:

I’ve just received the latest issues of the Annals, and have read with great interest your excellent article "Twentieth Century Computer Product Proposals: A Wealth of Information About Information Technologies and Their Uses”. You make a very persuasive case regarding the historical value of such Product Proposals.

Your admirably succinct Abstract is worth repeating:


      "This article introduces the contents of information technology (IT) vendor sales proposals and argues

      that they represent a large body of useful, if hidden, information about computing. It describes IBM’s

      proposals since the firm dominated the sale of data processing equipment for the bulk of the twentieth

      century. These documents are a rare form of gray corporate literature that needs to be preserved and

      understood. The article concludes with several recommendations for next steps.”


I do hope your article gets the attention it deserves, and indeed leads to a growth in the location, preservation, accessibility and detailed study of Computer Product Proposals, ideally not just those from IBM.


Cheers


Brian Randell








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School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG

EMAIL = Brian.Randell at ncl.ac.uk<mailto:Brian.Randell at ncl.ac.uk>   PHONE = +44 (0)786 7805578

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