February 2008 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

SIGCIS Panels and Grad Student travel awards for SHOT 2008
by Thomas Haigh 26 Aug '08

26 Aug '08

Hello everyone, This email is a request for people who are interested in participating in SIGCIS sponsored panels at the annual meeting to get in touch with me. The deadline is March 14, which means I need to hear from you within the next few days with an initial expression of interest. SHOT does not need full papers, but I would need an abstract and one page resume by March 9. The normal SHOT format is for three or four talks of 20-25 minutes each followed by a commentator and questions. I can't promise that all ideas can be fitted neatly into one of our panel proposals. However if I can't accommodate whatever you are interested in within a panel then you still have the option of submitting your abstract as an individual paper. What I've done for each of the past three conferences is to circulate a call like this and receive a short summary from interested people of the work they'd like to present. Then I look for connections among the ideas and group them into one or more thematically coherent panel proposals. I work with the authors to strengthen their abstracts and to tweak them to better fit the panel. This has worked well in the past. Last year we submitted three panels, all of which were accepted. For the previous year we had two panels, both accepted. Once we see how things are shaping up we may use the list again to appeal for additional papers on specific topics or for chairs or commentators. You've already seen a couple of reminders of the upcoming SHOT 2008 meeting from other people. Lisbon, October 10-14. Lots of information including maps, hotels, travel, etc. is now online at http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/meeting.htm. The call for papers is at http://shotnews.net/?p=401. It mentions looking for papers on how the history of technology might be written in the future, so this may lead to a panel of historiographical papers about the future of the history of computing. However other ideas are also welcome. It also appeals for papers "from those new to SHOT regardless of discipline." If you are a graduate student there is an additional reason to join one of our panels. At the last meeting we raised enough money with our collection and book auction to fund two graduate student travel awards of $300 each to support the cost of attending the meeting. Any student presenting in a SIGCIS sponsored panel will be eligible for consideration for one of these awards. It promises to be a great meeting, and I hope to see many of you there in Lisbon. At the last SHOT meeting we had far more history of computing panels than ever before - so let's try to set another record this year. Tom Haigh www.tomandmaria.com/tom

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Special Interest Group in user interface history @ CHI2008 in Florence
by Anker Helms Jørgensen 29 Feb '08

29 Feb '08

Dear Colleagues. Its a pleasure to announce a Special Interest Group in User Interface History at the HCI Conference CHI’2008 in Florence, April 5-10, 2008. This Special Interest Group will investigate the possibilities of launching a concerted effort towards creating a History of User Interfaces. It takes place on Thursday April 10th from 11.30 to 13.00. Brad Myers from Carnegie-Mellon University is co-organizer. The CHI conference is the leading HCI conference. It is expected to attract about 2000 HCI people from academia and industry, see www.chi2008.org. I don’t expect many historians of computing to attend, but if you happened to be in the neighbourhood ... The 4-page description of the Special Interest Group can be downloaded from http://itu.dk/people/anker/UI-History/UI-History-SIG.pdf The SIG welcomes anyone with an interest in the History of User Interfaces and Human-Computer Interaction, including, but not limited to: - pioneers and innovators that may provide insights on visions and driving forces behind their work, - interface developers that may report on the context of their work, - HCI scholars with a historical bent, and - historians of computing that may provide historical theory and methodology. Best wishes - Anker Helms Jorgensen -o-o-o-o-o-o-o- Anker Helms Jorgensen Associate Professor, PhD IT University of Copenhagen Rued Langgaardsvej 7 DK-2300 Copenhagen S Denmark anker(a)itu.dk http://www1.itu.dk/sw4489.asp +45 72 18 50 00

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PhD opening in user interface history
by Anker Helms Jørgensen 29 Feb '08

29 Feb '08

Dear Colleagues. Please pass this announcement to relevant parties. Thanks – Anker Helms Jorgensen At the IT University of Copenhagen a number of Ph.D. openings are offered, among these one in User Interface History. User interface history has so far largely been addressing the development of the graphical user interface and the influence of early visionaries such as Vannevar Bush, Douglas Engelbart and Alan Kay, i.e. “history from above”. Contrasting this, the intended approach in the present Ph.D. is ”history from below” where mundane aspects of user interfaces are addressed. Examples of such projects are plugboard programming, batch versus online-programming, portraits of user interface designers of the 1960s, the role of the pervasive IBM 3270 protocol, and WordPerfect (a loved and hated menu-driven word processor of the 1980s). Applicants are expected to submit a 3-5 page proposal on a project within the area. The deadline is April 7 at noon Danish time. Prerequisites: MA in Technology History, History, or similar. The Ph.D. project will be supervised by Anker Helms Jorgensen, an HCI-person who in recent years has been working with the history of user interfaces. For further information on the Ph.D., please visit http://www1.itu.dk/sw38325.asp http://www1.itu.dk/sw65235.asp http://www.itu.dk/research/inc/ For further info on Anker Helms Jorgensen see my (non-updated) webpage http://www1.itu.dk/sw4489.asp. For a more recent source, see my postings on the blog of my research group, many of which address UI History http://www.itu.dk/research/inc/?author=12 Please contact me for further information (but note that I’m away until March 10): Anker Helms Jørgensen, anker(a)itu.dk, phone: +45 72 18 50 20 -o-o-o-o-o-o-o- Anker Helms Jorgensen Associate Professor, PhD IT University of Copenhagen Rued Langgaardsvej 7 DK-2300 Copenhagen S Denmark anker(a)itu.dk http://www1.itu.dk/sw4489.asp +45 72 18 50 00

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Blog
by Ceruzzi, Paul 27 Feb '08

27 Feb '08

A couple of items: 1) Please note my new e-mail address: <ceruzzip(a)si.edu>. I've heard that e-mail to an older Smithsonian address has been returned. 2) At the request of the IT History Society, I've begun contributing to their blog. Here is the link: <http://ithistory.org/blog/>. Comments welcome! 3) Don't forget the SHOT meeting in Lisbon this fall; proposals are due to the Program Committee by 14 March. Here is the link: <http://shotnews.net/?p=401>. Note that proposals do not go to me but to the Chair of the Committee at this address: <shot(a)em.uni-frankfurt.de>. I am willing to give informal advice if you like. Paul E. Ceruzzi National Air & Space Museum MRC 311; PO Box 37012 Washington, DC 20013-7012 202-633-2414

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CBI --> Cortada bibliography
by tmisa＠umn.edu 20 Feb '08

20 Feb '08

CBI is pleased to announce the electronic availability of Jim Cortada's computer-applications bibliography. You can download the book-length document (a large PDF file) here: http://www.cbi.umn.edu/hostedpublications/index.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Bibliographic Guide to the History of Computer Applications, 1950-1990 By James W. Cortada (compiler) Published by Greenwood Press in 1996, and electronically published here with permission, this was the first bibliography on the applications of computing. The 1600 annotated entries are divided into two dozen sections on (e.g.) accounting, agriculture, airline reservations, architecture, banking, construction, education, insurance, legal, medical, military, and many more. This 100 MB PDF file contains bookmarks to assist readers in locating entries. The book formed groundwork for Cortadas _Digital Hand_ trilogy. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Best, Tom -- Thomas J. Misa Director, Charles Babbage Institute 211 Andersen Library 222 - 21st Avenue South University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455 612 624.5050 tel 612 625.8054 fax http://www.cbi.umn.edu Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Program for History of Science, Technology & Medicine ===========================================================

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UCL STS seminar on the Antikythera Mechanism
by James Sumner 16 Feb '08

16 Feb '08

(Crosspost from mersenne: the event is at University College London, UK. Probably too short notice for most current listmembers who might have attended... but I think it's sometimes worth posting these announcements anyway, so that people know the research is going on and is being presented.) -------- Original Message -------- Subject: UCL STS seminar on the Antikythera Mechanism Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:12:33 +0000 To: MERSENNE(a)JISCMAIL.AC.UK You are invited to: ***************************************************************************** Monday 18 February 2008 5pm Room G3, 22 Gordon Square Dr. Tony Freeth Antikythera Mechanism Research Project Decoding The Antikythera Mechanism **All welcome** ***************************************************************************** For further information about the seminars, or to be removed from this list, please contact: Juliet Zhong Administrative Assistant Department of Science & Technology Studies, UCL phone: 020 7679 4371 fax: 020 7679 2328 email: juliet.zhong(a)ucl.ac.uk http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sts

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4S Conference Deadline -- 16 Feb -- Rotterdam, August 2008
by Thomas Haigh 15 Feb '08

15 Feb '08

Hello Everyone, The deadline for proposals for the joint meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science with the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST) is fast approaching. The meeting will be held in Rotterdam from August 20-23. It should be great fun, as 4S is always diverse and lively and the added influx of Europeans from EASST will spice things up further. (Europeans, please feel free to reverse that to avoid hints of Anglo-Saxon imperialism). The call is on the web at http://www.4sonline.org/meeting.htm. Recent 4S meetings have suffered from a combination of the democratic impulse to accept as many panels and papers as possible with the physical constraints of conference hotels. This sometimes led to 12 minute papers in curtained off alcoves. I heard that this is being addressed, though I'm not sure whether a higher rejection rate or a bigger hotel is the immediate solution. The CFP this year asks for 20 minute papers, and asks for 2 hour sessions with 5 papers, a discussant, and 10 minutes of questions. Factoring in gaps between presenters and so on I wouldn't count on getting more than 15 minutes in such a situation. You might get lucky with a panel of 4 papers. However, in the past the organizers have been aggressive in adding extra papers to less packed panels, so I wouldn't risk submitting one with only 3 as it might be packed with random additions. My other advice is to leave out dates from your titles. 4S audiences do not always pack history sessions. SIGCIS has organized panels for the two previous 4S meetings, and also held informal dinners for members. If you have some ideas, please feel free to send them to the list or to me. (However, with our tiny new addition to the family my time is a little less flexible than usual, so I'd need details ASAP). Best wishes, Tom www.tomandmaria.com/tom

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Fwd: [COMPHIST] Fw: Bugos on Lecuyer, _Making Silicon Valley: Innovation and the Growth of High Tech, 1930-1970_
by Brent Jesiek 06 Feb '08

06 Feb '08

Just a quick reminder that we will soon be turning off the old COMPHIST list - please post to members(a)sigcis.org instead. Much thanks, and apologies for the cross-cross-post! :) Brent ----- Forwarded message from Neil Barton <neil.barton(a)uclmail.net> ----- Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:23:20 +0000 From: Neil Barton <neil.barton(a)uclmail.net> Reply-To: Neil Barton <neil.barton(a)uclmail.net> Subject: [COMPHIST] Fw: Bugos on Lecuyer, _Making Silicon Valley: Innovation and the Growth of High Tech, 1930-1970_ To: comphist(a)uwm.edu Apologies for cross posting ----- Original Message ----- From: <eh.net-review(a)eh.net> To: <eh.net-review(a)eh.net> Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 2:02 AM Subject: Bugos on Lecuyer,_Making Silicon Valley: Innovation and the Growth of High Tech,1930-1970_ > ------------ EH.NET BOOK REVIEW -------------- > Published by EH.NET (February 2008) > > Christophe Lecuyer, _Making Silicon Valley: Innovation and the Growth of > High Tech, 1930-1970_. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005. x + 393 pp. $40 > (cloth), ISBN: 0-262-12281-2. > > Reviewed for EH.NET by Glenn Bugos, Moment LLC. > > > In this remarkable introduction to the early history of Silicon Valley, > Christophe Lecuyer weaves a rich tale around the centrality of > manufacturing -- sometimes mass manufacturing, but more often batch > manufacturing to precision and reliability. He argues that manufacturing > expertise diffused through the Valley through tacit knowledge and > engineers in motion between firms. Planar technology for manufacturing > integrated circuits in the late 1960s, he concludes, represented the > pinnacle of manufacturing in Silicon Valley. > > Lecuyer has multiple goals for this book. He seeks to define Silicon > Valley as an industrial district, akin to the Marshallian industrial > districts that economic historians have begun to explore. Also, he > integrates into his story the many extant, divergent strands of Silicon > Valley historiography. Into his manufacturing-driven narrative, we see the > trends other historians have emphasized -- > military funding, the shake-out following the McNamara consolidation, the > role of Stanford University in generating expertise, and the importance of > workplace culture. > > His chapters are structured around firm histories, beginning in their > start-up years. These are concise histories of the early years of Litton, > Fairchild, Varian, and Intel. These firms reflect broader trends in their > industry and, Lecuyer shows, their founders thought hard about an ideal of > Silicon Valley culture. > > The first chapter discusses the power tube industry in the 1930s and > 1940s, focusing on Eitel-McCullough in the context of the region's amateur > radio community. Eitel-McCullough's manufacturing prowess positioned them > to become the largest manufacturer of vacuum tubes for radar during World > War II. Lecuyer does a great job describing these pre-silicon electronics > technologies. > > Litton Industries, powered by hard-charging entrepreneur Charlie Litton, > is the focus of the next chapter on microwave tubes and magnetrons in the > post-war period. The third chapter looks at Varian Associates and the > manufacture of klystrons, a type of microwave tube used in defense > applications. Perhaps most notable about Varian is the explicit > idealization of an engineering republic -- of a cooperative approach to > engineering that remained a fixture of Silicon Valley start-up culture. > > Fairchild Semiconductor in the 1950s and 1960s adopted the same structure > and work culture of the earlier vacuum tube makers, but moved it into an > entirely different material and technology -- > silicon semiconductors. High frequency silicon transistors were needed for > guidance and control systems for missiles and aircraft. As reliability > grew paramount, Fairchild developed a new manufacturing technology, > leading to the planar process and the integrated circuit. > > Chapter 5 looks not at one firm, but rather at the previously highlighted > firms in their transition from military to commercial markets, battered by > macro-economic forces in the wake of the McNamara procurement reforms of > the early 1960s. Eitel merged with Varian, which itself diversified into > instrumentation and medical equipment. Fairchild created new customers for > its integrated circuits, and moved from a precision manufacturing model to > a mass manufacturing model. Litton surrendered to the cyclical nature of > its business yet sought to manage it by becoming a defense conglomerate. > > Lecuyer ends with a short chapter on Apple Computer and how it shifted > these manufacturing ideas into a new generation of personal computing > technology. His notes and sources are also fascinating reading, reflecting > the richness of primary materials now available on Silicon Valley firms. > Lecuyer started this book as a graduate student in the history of science > and technology at Stanford University, and is now an economic policy > analyst with the University of California. > > What about the book that Lecuyer did not write? This book is limited in > time. It's the story of the Valley in the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, > when the leading industrial sector was fairly well defined around tubes > and silicon. The explosive growth in the Valley came after this period, > when personal computers, software and internetworking soared as industries > in the 1980s and 1990s, supplemented by biotechnology and medical devices. > Yet Lecuyer expertly shows how the preconditions for these later > industries emerged years earlier. More importantly, even within his > limited time frame, Lecuyer shows how the concept of "generations" is > important in understanding the Valley. Silicon Valley has never been about > just silicon. New types of technologies constantly appear, and follow > similar cycles of boom and bust, only to be replaced by the next > generation of technology. > > Furthermore, this is good, but not great business history in that he says > little about the rampant innovation in firm structure and financing. A > constant refrain is frustration, or glee, in getting stock options, with > little discussion of where stock options came from. Still, Lecuyer has a > good ear for the importance of customers, and emphasizes the role of > marketing and sales people in defining new markets for products. For > example, Fairchild wrote "operational notes" that hesitant customers could > use to manufacture consumer products around the new silicon chips: what he > calls "educating consumers rather than occupying their space" (298). > > He neglects broader trends that enabled the rapid growth of electronics > manufacturing. The machinery industry that emerged in The Valley of > Heart's Delight, as the agricultural pre-history of Silicon Valley is > known, trained a labor force able to build plants around clean, batch > processing. The tilt-up architecture that flourished in the Valley enabled > constant reconfiguration of laboratory and fabrication space. Lecuyer does > discuss Hewlett Packard as an instrumentation company, but says little on > the importance of test and measurement precision to other Valley > manufacturers. And Lecuyer does discuss Lockheed Missiles and Space, the > largest employer in the Valley in the 1960s, but only incidental to his > narrative. > > This book should become, nonetheless, the new starting point for those > seeking to emulate Silicon Valley in their regions. What can they learn? > The Valley pioneers truly cared about being able to make the first of > anything. Office space was less important than lab space and fab space. > Silicon Valley enjoyed less a culture of conspicuous consumption, and more > a culture of conspicuous production. > > > Glenn Bugos is historian with Moment LLC, a corporate history consultancy > based in Silicon Valley. > > Copyright (c) 2008 by EH.Net. All rights reserved. This work may be copied > for non-profit educational uses if proper credit is given to the author > and the list. For other permission, please contact the EH.Net > Administrator (administrator(a)eh.net; Telephone: 513-529-2229). Published > by EH.Net (February 2008). All EH.Net reviews are archived at > http://www.eh.net/BookReview. > > -------------- FOOTER TO EH.NET BOOK REVIEW -------------- > EH.Net-Review mailing list > EH.Net-Review(a)eh.net > http://eh.net/mailman/listinfo/eh.net-review > This email is relayed from comphist(a)uwm.edu, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://listserv.uwm.edu/mailman/private/comphist/ and you can change your subscription options at http://listserv.uwm.edu/mailman/listinfo/comphist. ----- End forwarded message -----

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