October 2009 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Anecdotes for _IEEE Annals of the History of Computing_
by Dave Walden 23 Oct '09

23 Oct '09

Hello all, As Anecdotes Editor of the _IEEE Annals of the History of Computing_, I am always seeking stories from the history of computing. Our Anecdotes are 3,000 words or less and are not peer reviewed but, if accepted, are edited as appropriate in collaboration with the author. Typically our Anecdotes are first person accounts, but they can also be secondary accounts. Perhaps you have stumbled on a story you think is worth recounting but it doesn't fit in a more scholarly report you are doing. Or perhaps you know a historical participant who has a good story to tell; if so, please refers him or her to me (or just tell me about him or her and the topic). Dave Walden dave(a)walden-family.com www.walden-family.com -- home address: 12 Linden Rd., E. Sandwich, MA 02537; ph/fax=508-888-7655/4168 email address: dave(a)walden-family.com; website(s): http://www.walden-family.com/

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Thanks to everyone -- the SIGCIS lunch at SHOT was a big success
by Thomas Haigh 21 Oct '09

21 Oct '09

Hello everyone, I had a great time at SHOT in Pittsburgh last weekend, and hope you did too. It was a very important meeting for SIGCIS as we successfully held our first annual one day workshop, sponsored two sessions on the main program, and presented the Computer History Museum book prize (http://www.sigcis.org/?q=node/56) for the first time. Look for separate reports on those activities soon. However I have been getting some messages from people eager to know how what the final tally was from our official lunch meeting. For those of you who have not yet been able to attend one, our annual lunch meetings at the main SHOT conference are a combination of informal mingling, announcements, introductions of new members, presentation of prizes and grants and annual general meeting. SIGCIS has no dues, so we rely on donations made at the lunch and the proceeds from our auction of donated history of computing books to cover our annual operating expenses. We had 53 registered guests for the lunch. They set a new fundraising record for SIGCIS (and I suspect for any SHOT SIG). This was thanks in large part to the energy and enthusiasm of David Anderson as auctioneer and the generosity of MIT Press (in the person of Margurite Avery) in providing a large consignment of books to supplement those carried by our individual members). The auction is great fun, helps make people aware of new titles, and sometimes offers some bargains. The out of print CBI/MIT reprint edition of Wilkes, Wheeler and Gill, which is unavailable via Amazon for any price, sold for just $35! (The only option Amazon does have right now is $400 for the first edition). MONEY RAISED from the 2009 MEETING: We raised a total of $1,117. That handsomely beat our target of $1,000 and was a significant advance over previous years (approx $830 in 2008, $360 in 2007, and $150 in 2006). Of that total about $350 was placed into the money cup as general donations, and the remainder came from the book auction. SHOT matches the first $300 of expenditure by the SIGs, which gives us a total income regular income of $1,417 (not counting capital contributions to the Mahoney Fund). MONEY SPENT for the 2009 MEETING: This year we have spent: . $800 on making four MIT Press/Michael S. Mahoney supplemental travel grants (http://www.sigcis.org/?q=node/55) of $200 each to graduate students and other needy scholars (Stephen Patnode, Evan Koblentz, Christopher McDonald, Hansen Hsu). . $400 on coffee for the SIGCIS workshop (two coffee breaks x 40 people x $5 a person!). . $35 to print the poster we were asked to display at the new "Meet the SIGs" coffee break . $150 (estimate - we didn't get the total yet) to subsidize graduate student registration for the SIGCIS lunch So we spent about $1,385 total. The great thing about being part of SHOT is that we did not have to pay for the meeting rooms or projectors we used for the workshop, or to invest the time needed to handle the logistics for a free standing meeting. So we can accomplish a great deal on a financial base that, while growing, is still negligible. Your money goes further with SIGCIS! SUMMARY: Our income covered the outgoings with a few dollars left to add to the account. So we successfully executed our plans for the workshop, book prize, and travel grants without having to dip into the Mahoney Fund ($2,550 as of September) to support the workshop or use up the surplus ($1,600) we'd saved in our operating account from previous years. As Mr Micawber memorably observed in David Copperfield: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery." If you were not able to attend the meeting but would like to ensure the SIG's continuing happiness in years to come, you might consider making an online donation to the Mahoney Fund. http://www.sigcis.org/?q=mahoney. If you were at the meeting then my thanks again for making it another record breaking year. Best wishes, Tom Haigh www.tomandmaria.com/tom

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Three faculty positions @ the UM School of Information
by Paul Edwards 21 Oct '09

21 Oct '09

All - none of these is a history of technology or computing job per se, but both the open position and the Digital Humanities position could be a fit for the right person. Please forward widely, and publish in journals or newsletters as appropriate. - Paul N. Edwards Faculty Position Postings 2009-10 Faculty Search Assistant/Associate/Full Professor The School of Information at the University of Michigan seeks three (3) outstanding faculty candidates. One position is open to candidates at any level of seniority and in any area that complements and extends our existing strengths. The other two candidates are targeted hires which are part of the University of Michigan Interdisciplinary Junior Faculty Initiative. For each of the targeted hires, other collaborating units on campus are also hiring in related areas. One targeted position is in Digital Environments. For that position, we seek someone whose research and teaching interests are at the intersection of digital arts and humanities, digital literacies, and social computing. Research foci should involve arts and humanities scholarship, scholars, or content and can be in a variety of areas, such as (but not limited to) virtual collaboration, credibility, and/ or digital curation. This position is at the assistant professor level. A second targeted position is in Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D). For that position, we seek someone with research and teaching interests including some combination of information system design, computer-supported cooperative work, environmental informatics, communication studies, development policy and sociology, anthropology, and/or a related field applicable to the design and study of information systems for developing-world contexts. This position is at the assistant professor level. For the open position, we aspire to establish and reinforce areas of excellence and seek faculty whose research interests complement and extend our existing strengths. This position is open rank. For more information or to apply for one of these positions, please see the UM School of Information Faculty Position Postings website.

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CfP: 4th ToE plenary conference, June 17-20, 2010, Sofia, Bulgaria
by Durnová Helena 19 Oct '09

19 Oct '09

Dear all, attached please find the call for proposals for the 4th Tensions of Europe plenary conference and the "Inventing Europe" closing conference, to be held jointly in Sofia (Bulgaria), June 17-20, 2010. (Apologies for cross-posting.) Best regards, Helena -- Helena Durnova durnova(a)feec.vutbr.cz

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Don't forget the Book Auction! Bring along your spare copies.
by Thomas Haigh 14 Oct '09

14 Oct '09

Hello everyone, This is a short message, but I didn't want it to get mixed up in all the detail in my other one. As usual, we will be holding a short auction of book on the history of computing. Last year we raised a total of $840 at the lunch meeting, between cash donations and the proceeds of the auction. Many of the books were donated by MIT Press, but around half came from ordinary SIG members. Together with our income from other sources this has funded our operations for the year, allowing us to make four awards of $200 each as supplemental graduate student travel funding, to subsidize the cost of this year's lunch for graduate students, to buy coffee for the workshop on Sunday, and to print the poster SHOT has asked us to provide for the "Meet the SIGs session." This is a fun event, which lets us build some community spirit, expand our libraries affordably, and help the development of the field. So please, if you have accumulated spare copies of any relevant books (review copies, desk copies, author's copies, accidental double purchases) then squeeze them into your bulging bags and bring them along to the SIGCIS lunch meeting on Friday. Deductions to SHOT (i.e. books you give us) are tax deductible for US residents to the amount allowed by law. Tom

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SHOT is Almost Upon Us. Reminders, events.
by Thomas Haigh 14 Oct '09

14 Oct '09

Hello everyone, SHOT gets underway tomorrow evening in beautiful Pittsburgh. Youve been seeing a number of emails over the past few months from Jeff Tang and Joe November, who have been doing a great job keeping things on track. Below is a summary of the SIGCIS events planned for the conference, including our very first SIGCIS Workshop (Michael Mahoney and the Histories of Computing(s)) and the presentation of our Computer History Museum book prize. Theres also a separate summary of non-SIGCIS panels relevant to the history of computing. Its shaping up as another record breaking SHOT in terms of the volume and quality of history of computing activity. But first, some reminders: 1. If you are coming to the SIG Lunch on Friday and/or to the SIGCIS Workshop on Sunday, please send Jeff Tang (secretary(a)sigcis.org) an updated little biography for inclusion in the conference packet. 2. If you are attending the SIGCIS Workshop on Sunday and still did not yet let Jeff Tang know that you are coming, please email him (secretary(a)sigcis.org) If you are not registered for SHOT itself you will need to buy a $30 one day registration on the door on Sunday. If you are registered for SHOT there is no additional charge. 3. The workshop program features two sessions (one works in progress, one dissertations) with PRECIRCULATED papers. These sessions are at the same time, so please pick one then read and bring with you the drafts shared by participants to enable informed discussion. Find them online at http://www.sigcis.org/?q=workshop09c. Also a NEWSFLASH regarding food at the workshop on Sunday: If you are attending the workshop, weve made our choices for Lunch and Dinner. These are paid directly to the restaurant. · Lunch: Primanti Brothers. A local institution and sandwich shop, with an extensive seating capacity. Varied menu, which should have something to suit everyone who can eat bread or doesnt mind salad. http://www.primantibros.com/menu/city/marketsquare/ Also very affordable. Just around the corner from the hotel. · Dinner: We are making the journey (20 mins walk or very short taxi) over the bridge to the beautiful post-industrial Station Square development. http://www.stationsquare.com/ Theres a great view and bits of old technology lying around. The reservation is for 7pm at Buca di Beppo http://www.bucadibeppo.com/ which is a mid priced chain Italian restaurant specializing in large dishes intended for sharing. It is a nice area for a drink afterwards if anyone wants one. This choice is actually very appropriate for our conference theme, as Mike Mahoney had suggested this chain for our dinner in Minneapolis a few years ago but it was too full to accept our reservation. Lunch will be informal. For dinner, we could do with a final number to make sure that everyone has a seat. So please update Jeff if you would now like to join us for dinner on Sunday or if there is any other shift in your previously stated dinner status (No > Yes, Yes >No, Maybe > Yes, etc). Looking forward to seeing you there. Tom Here are the official SIGCIS events for SHOT: Friday Oct 16 · 10am to 10:30am Meet the SIGs view our amazingly great poster and meet the SIG officers over coffee in the Balroom Lobby. · 10:30am to 12:30pm Official SIGCIS Panel, Materiality Meets Practice, Birmingham Room Friday, 10.30 AM-12.30 PM 8. Materiality Meets Practice (SIGCIS Panel) Birmingham Room Chair: James W. Cortada (IBM) Commentator: Gerard Alberts (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands) Organizer: Thomas Haigh (University of WisconsinMilwaukee) · Thomas Haigh (University of WisconsinMilwaukee): Opening the Beige Box: Materiality and the Evolution of the IBM PC, 1981-95 · Jeffrey Tang (James Madison University): Plug and Play: Standardized Connectors and Home Audio Reproduction · Allan Olley (University of Toronto, Canada): The Right Job for the Tools: Transitioning to the Computer Age · David Alan Grier (George Washington University), The Material Origins of Virtualization · 12:30-2pm: SIGCIS LUNCH, Sterlings 1 (Lobby Level, behind elevators) o Informal mingling over pizza o Annual Book Auction o Presentation of the Computer History Museum Prize o Announcements Saturday Oct 17 · Official SIGCIS Panel, 10:30-12:30, Rivers Room 37. Paths Not Taken and Paths Retraced in the History of Information Technology Rivers Room (SIGCIS Panel) Chair: Helena Durnova (Technical University of Brno, Czech Republic) Commentator: Peter Meyer (US Bureau of Labor Statistics) Organizer: Thomas Haigh (University of WisconsinMilwaukee) · Jonathan Coopersmith (Texas A&M University): Transmission Error: Fax, Failure, and Roads Less Traveled in the History of Technology · Paul E. Ceruzzi (National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution): Manned Space Flight and Artificial Intelligence: Natural Trajectories of Technology and their Implications for Historians · Chris McDonald (Princeton University): From Computer Utility to Time-Sharing: Politics and Technology in the 1960s American Computer Industry · Evan Koblentz (InfoAge Science Center): The Pre-History of Portable Computers Sunday Oct 18: All Day SIGCIS Workshop! A Special Workshop on Michael Mahoney and the Histories of Computing(s) 9-10.45 AM Plenary Session Ft. Pitt Room · William Aspray, School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University · Gerard Alberts, University of Amsterdam · Thomas Haigh, School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 10.45-11 AM Coffee Break, East Lobby Concourse 11-12.30 PM, Sunday Traditional Paper Session 1: The Computings of Science Smithfield Room Chair: Andrew Russell, Program in History, Stevens Institute of Technology Commentator: Chigusa Kita, Kansai University · Joseph November, Department of History, University of South Carolina: The Computer as File Cabinet or Oscilloscope: Two Computings of Biomedical Research · Buhm Soon Park, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology: Chemistry by Computer: Machines and Ideas for Computational Chemistry · Scott M. Campbell, University of Waterloo: Agendas and the Promise of Computer Science at the University of Toronto Traditional Paper Session 2: The Computings of Management Ft. Pitt Room Chair: Janet Delve, School of Creative Technologies, University of Portsmouth Commentator: William McMillan, Eastern Michigan University · Lars Heide, Copenhagen Business School: Punched Cards in German Management of Resources in the Second World War · David Anderson, University of Portsmouth: The Corridors of Power: Patrick Blackett and the Political Context of Early British Computing · Jonathan Aylen, Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, University of Manchester: Youve got to roll with it: radical adoption of computers and changes to managerial routines at Llanwern steelworks, South Wales 12.30-2 PM Lunch Break. (Head to lobby to walk around the corner to Primanti Brothers, Market Square location). See below for map. 2-4 PM, Sunday Dissertation Session Smithfield Room · Cristina Turdean, Hagley Program, Department of History, University of Delaware: Reimagining a Gambling Technology: The Digitization of the Slot Machine (1970-2000) · Christopher McDonald, Princeton University: A New Nervous System of Society: The Technology and Politics of Mass Computer-Communications Systems · Hansen Hsu, Cornell University: Connections between the Software Crisis and Object-Oriented Programming Works in Progress Ft. Pitt Room Chair and Commentator: Janet Abbate, Science and Technology Studies Program, Virginia Tech · Rebecca Slayton, Stanford University: An Evolving Discipline: The Political Economy of Software Engineering · Pierre Mounier-Kuhn, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique: The Emergence of Computing as an Academic Discipline in France · Anker Helms Jorgensen, IT University of Copenhagen: History of User Interfaces to Computers A Mahoneyan Perspective · Sten Henriksson, Computer Science Department, Lund University: A brief history of the stack 4-4.15 PM Coffee Break, East Lobby Concourse 4.15-5.45 PM, Sunday Traditional Paper Session 3: Political Institutions in the Histories of Computings Smithfield Room Commentator: Helena Durnová, Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communications, Brno University of Technology · Andrew Mamo, Computing Societies: Communications Technologies and Social Science in the Cambridge Project · Stephen Patnode, Temple University: The Impact of Computers on Corporate Paternalism in the Post-war United States · David Nofre, Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam: The Dutch politics of computing and the limits of international cooperation, 1945-65 Traditional Paper Session 4: Computings as They Rose and Fell Ft. Pitt Room Chair: David Hemmendinger, Computer Science Department, Union College Commentator: Paul Ceruzzi, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution · Dave Goodwin, Birkbeck College, University of London: Digital Equipment Corporation: The mistakes that led to its downfall · Larry Owens, University of Massachusetts Amherst: Walking Around Computerville: The PC and the Encyclopedia of Computer Science, 1976-83 6.30 PM Gather for dinner in the lobby for walk to dinner. (Dinner is 7:00pm at Buca di Beppo in Station Square) see below for map. Non-SIGCIS Panels Related to History of Computing · Friday, Oct 16: 8:30-10 am 3. Web 2.0 and the History of Technology Ft. Pitt Room Chair: Sheldon Hochheiser (IEEE History Center) Commentator: Thomas J. Misa (Charles Babbage Institute) Organizers: Michael N. Geselowitz (IEEE History Center) and Thomas J. Misa (Charles Babbage Institute) Stephanie H. Crowe (Charles Babbage Institute): Experimenting with Web 2.0 at the Charles Babbage Institute Suzanne Fischer (The Henry Ford): The History Museum as Communication Platform Michael N. Geselowitz (IEEE History Center): The IEEE Global History Network 5: Operating Technological Networks Duquesne Room Includes: Nathan Ensmenger (University of Pennsylvania): From Computer Operations to Operating Systems: The Hidden Costs of Business Computing · Friday, Oct 16, 10:30-12:30 9. Technological Shifts Smithfield Room Chair & Commentator: Glenn Bugos (NASA Ames Research Center) Yasushi Sato (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan): An Inconspicuous Giant in the History of Japanese Computing: NTT and its Early Masterwork, DIPS-1 14. Increasing Womens Participation in Engineering and Computer Science: Perspectives from the Field and from History - Roundtable Rivers Room Organizer: Jennifer Light (Northwestern University) Participants: Allan Fisher (Laureate Education, Inc); Janet Abbate, (Virginia Tech), Marie Hicks (Duke University), Patricia L. Eng (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission), Ruth Schwartz Cowan (University of Pennsylvania) · Saturday, Oct 17, 8:30-10am 26. Navigating Virtual and Physical Landscapes: Geocaching, Locative Media, and Video Games Ft. Pitt Room Chair: Stephen H. Cutcliffe (Lehigh University) Commentator: Hugh Slotten (University of Otago, New Zealand) Organizer: Silas Chamberlin (Lehigh University) Silas Chamberlin A High-Tech Easter Egg Hunt: Geocaching in Historical Perspective Nathan Schulman (California Institute of the Arts): Navigating the Cityscape: Digital Locative Media in the Modern City Matthew Schandler (Lehigh University) [Robinson Prize Candidate]: Navigating Virtual Worlds: Agency and Alternatives in the History of Video Games 30. Confrontation and Cooperation in the Cold War (I) Duquesne Room Chair & Commentator: Paul Josephson (Colby College) Helena Durnova (Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic): Computers as the messengers of freedom in Soviet bloc countries Anna Geltzer (Cornell University): Cybernetics without computers? Medical cybernetics in the USSR · Saturday, Oct 17, 10:30-12:30 35. The Instability of Technological Identities Benedum Room Chair & Commentator: Edmund Russell (University of Virginia) (includes) Yasuo Deguchi (Kyoto University, Japan) and Chigusa I. Kita (Kansai University, Japan): Punched cards from accounting office to laboratory: Eckert and von Neumann 36. Consumer Agency in the History of Technology Duquesne Room Chair & Commentator: Karin Zachmann (Deutsches Museum, Germany) (includes) Dov Lungu (York University, Canada) and Zbigniew Stachniak (York University, Canada): The Toronto Region Association of Computer Enthusiasts (1976-85): A case study in the evolution of the Computer Hobbyist Movement in Canada 38. Robots in Practice Forbes Room Chair: Roger D. Launius (National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution) Commentator: Lisa Nocks (New Jersey Institute of Technology) Organizer: Frank Dittmann (Deutsches Museum, Germany) Hironori Matsuzaki (Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany) [Robinson Prize Candidate]: M.A Humanoid robots and the borders of the social world. A cross-cultural analysis between Europe, the USA, and Japan Ralf Spicker (Deutsches Museum, Germany): Between Science Fiction and technological concepts: An Overview over the History and (near) Future of industrial robots Catarina Caetano da Rosa (RWTH Aachen University): Can medical robots act? Frank Dittmann (Deutsches Museum): Service Robots The Brownies of the 21st Century? · Saturday, Oct 17, 2-3:30pm 40. Girls Buy Dresses; Boys Buy Video Games: Gender, Technology, and Consumption in Twentieth-Century America Smithfield Room Chair & Commentator: Regina Lee Blaszczyk Organizer: Deirdre Clemente (Carnegie Mellon University) (includes) Racquel Gonzales (University of Texas at Austin) [Robinson Prize Candidate]: This is a Mans Mans Mans World?: The Gendering of Video Games through Television Advertising 41. Making Technologies Public Ft. Pitt Room Chair & Commentator: Alex Roland (Duke University) Organizer: Jason Young (York University, Canada) (includes) Andrew Meade McGee (University of Virginia) [Robinson Prize Candidate]: A Sort of Breathing IBM Machine: The Social Security Administration, Publicized Technology, and Promotion of the Publics Role in an Information System, 1936-79 · Saturday, Oct 17, 4-5:30pm 51. Technological History of the Third Industrial Revolution Benedum Room Chair & Commentator: Steven Usselman (Georgia Tech) Co-organizers: Hyungsub Choi (Chemical Heritage Foundation) and Andrew L. Russell (Stevens Institute of Technology) (includes) Hyungsub Choi: The Long Tail of the Third Industrial Revolution: Technology Platform and Supply Chain Relationships at SEMATECH Map: How to get to Lunch on Sunday Map: How to get to Dinner on Sunday

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CHOC 16-17 november, programming the ENIAC etc
by Alberts, G. 13 Oct '09

13 Oct '09

Dear SIGCIS members, our Amsterdam colloquium has special attraction in November Gerard Alberts CHOC Colloquium History of Computing November 16-17, 2009, UvA Science Park 904, Room C0.110/A1.04 Programming, languages, linguistics and computability Liesbeth de Mol, Gent Maarten Bullynck, Paris Janet Martin-Nielsen, Toronto Karel van Oudheusden, Amsterdam will appear in the Colloquium on the History of Computing and amongst them connect such diverging historical subjects as Von Neumann, Lehmer, Chomsky and Dijkstra. Monday, November 16, 13:00-17:00h Room C0.110 Liesbeth de Mol, Gent 'Programming the ENIAC before its rewiring. The case of the Lehmers' program' Maarten Bullynck, Paris 'Curry's study of inverse interpolation on the ENIAC. From a concrete problem to the problem of program composition' Janet Martin-Nielsen, Toronto '"It was all connected": Computers and linguistics in postwar America' Tuesday, November 17, 09:00-13:00h Room A 1.04 09:00 discussion of ongoing research on "the Algol effort" in Software for Europe (Gerard Alberts, Amsterdam; David Nofre, Amsterdam; Helena Durnova, Brno) 11:00 Karel van Oudheusden, Amsterdam 'The Advent of Recursion & Logic in Computer Science'. ABSTRACTS Programming the ENIAC before its rewiring. The case of the Lehmers' program. Liesbeth de Mol, Gent (joint work with M. Bullynck) In 1943 John W. Mauchly and Prespert J. Eckert were contracted to build the ENIAC, the first U.S. electronic digital and (basically) general-purpose computer. A ``Computations Committee'' was assembled in 1945 to prepare for utilizing the machine after its completion. The Committee consisted of the number theorist D.H. Lehmer, the logician H.B. Curry, the astronomer L.B. Cunningham and the statistician F.L. Alt. Each developed their own test program to be run on the ENIAC after it was first presented to the public at Penn University February 15, 1946. The early (declassified) test programs are unique instances of ``programming'' a machine that had not the kind of logical design we know nowadays as the von Neumann architecture. Any kind of programming language was totally absent.For each new problem, the ENIAC had to be programmed directly and locally, setting the switches on each individual unit, laying the cables to interconnect these units and control the timing and sequencing of the units' operations. In this sense, programming the ENIAC in its original configuration thus came down to ``the design and development of a special-purpose computer out of ENIAC component parts.'' (B. Fritz) The reconstruction of the early test programs demonstrates the difficulties involved with adapting computations made to human measure for a machine. They show the need for an intermediary language between man and machine. The current reconstruction of D.H. Lehmer's ENIAC program not only discloses the various problems involved with early programming but is furthermore a rare example of programming the non-rewired parallel ENIAC. Curry's study of inverse interpolation on the ENIAC. From a concrete problem to the problem of program composition. Maarten Bullynck, Paris (joint work with L. De Mol) As a member of the ENIAC's "Computations Committee" the mathematician and logician Haskell B. Curry from Penn State University devised two programs for the ENIAC, one in cooperation with W. Wyatt and one in cooperation with M. Lotzkin (both in the year 1946). The programs tried to tackle problems of higher order and inverse interpolation. The intricacy of the interpolation routine and the difficulties of putting on the ENIAC spurred Curry to consider the more general problem of how to compose a program from subroutines. Using concepts of the combinatorial logic he had developed in the 1930ies, Curry wrote two internal reports and one short paper on the "composition of programs" (1949-1952). In these texts Curry developed one of the first programming languages ever. However, the language was never implemented and the reports went unnoticed. In this talk we will discuss the development of the more logical technique of program composition out of the concrete problem of wiring the ENIAC as an inverse-interpolation-machine. "It was all connected": Computers and linguistics in postwar America. Janet Martin-Nielsen, Toronto As the history of postwar and Cold War human sciences is beginning to attract significant work, so too the history of linguistics is beginning to be explored in-depth. What was in the 1980s a field dominated by Whig interpretations of the rise of Noam Chomsky's linguistics program led to the emergence of revisionist histories in the 1990s and, more recently, to several rich history-of-science-based studies of theoretical linguistics in America. While still arguably the least-investigated of the postwar and Cold War human sciences, linguistics is slowly coming into its own within history of science. Importantly, the study of linguistics in this period provides novel and revealing insight into the history of computers. This talk aims to characterize the portrayal of the history of computers within the history of linguistics, to ascertain the character, role, and status of the computer within the linguistics story, and to pave the way for future work in the history of computers as it relates to linguistics. The talk comprises two main parts: the first part provides an overview of the relationship between computers and linguistics in the postwar and early Cold War period, and the second part identifies and investigates three areas in which computers and linguistics enjoyed an intimate interaction: concepts of scientific explanation, tools and projects, and funding. http://www.science.uva.nl/history-of-computing/object.cfm/96654A68-1321-B0B…

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A new Scandinavian collection on IT history is out!
by Petri Paju 05 Oct '09

05 Oct '09

Hi all, Springer (Boston) just now published the second Nordic IT history conference book: Impagliazzo, John & Järvi, Timo & Paju, Petri (Eds.): History of Nordic Computing 2. Second IFIP WG 9.7 Conference, HiNC2, Turku, Finland, August 21-23, 2007, Revised Selected Papers. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology 303. Springer, Boston 2009. http://www.springerlink.com/content/978-3-642-03756-6. (there's a link to an electronic version, too) About the content: the meeting focus was on applications and the years 1960-1980. Authors include IT professionals, historians, and also some others, such as sociologists and a language specialist. Here are some contributions (of which there are over 30 in total): “Organizing the History of Computing ‘Lessons Learned’ at the Charles Babbage Institute” (by Thomas J. Misa) “Provisioning of Safe Train Control in Nordic Countries” (Harold ‘Bud’ Lawson) “Computing and Computer Science in the Soviet Baltic Region” (Enn Tyugu) “FORTRAN II – The First Computer Language Used at the University of Iceland” (Oddur Benediktsson) “Computerized Typesetting and Other New Applications in a Publishing House” (Timo Järvi) “Lexicography for IBM : Developing Norwegian Linguistic Resources in the 1980s” (Jan Engh) Best regards, Petri PS. A next conference, HiNC3, is also planned for October 2010 in Stockholm, Sweden. More information to come on that later. -- Petri Paju, FT, tutkija, Turun yliopisto -- Ph.D. Researcher, Univ. of Turku http://users.utu.fi/petpaju/

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Last Chance for SIGCIS Workshop Sign-up
by Jeffrey D. Tang 02 Oct '09

02 Oct '09

SIGCIS members, This is a final reminder about the first SIGCIS Workshop, to be held Sunday, October 18 in Pittsburgh, PA at the SHOT conference hotel. We have a full and exciting program covering a range of topics in the history of computing (http://www.sigcis.org/files/SIGCIS%202009%20Workshop%20Schedule%20--%202009…) Registration for the SIGCIS workshop has no additional charge beyond that for the main SHOT meeting. If you want to attend but haven't yet registered, please e-mail me at secretary(a)sigcis.org as soon as possible. Also, please indicate whether you would like to join us for informal meals at local restaurants on Sunday (indicate lunch, dinner, or both, along with any preferences for style of restaurant and price range) and whether you will be present for afternoon coffee. The SIGCIS Workshop is technically part of the SHOT meeting, so if you haven't registered for the main SHOT conference you will need to do so. If you are planning on attending ONLY the SIGCIS Workshop, SHOT is offering a very reasonable $30 one-day rate (ONLY available to those attending for a single day -- all others need the normal, full registration), though this is not listed on SHOT's registration form. (This one-day rate will also be available on-site at the conference.) We are currently finalizing our arrangements for the Workshop, so if you haven't yet registered but want to do so, please let me know ASAP. We look forward to seeing many of you in Pittsburgh. Cheers, Jeffrey Tang SIGCIS Secretary *************************************** Dr. Jeffrey Tang Asst. Prof. of Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT) Coordinator, Minor in Science, Technology, and Society James Madison University 800 South Main St. MSC 4102 Harrisonburg, VA 22807 Phone: 540-568-2758 E-mail: tangjd(a)jmu.edu

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] computers and management science
by Joel West 02 Oct '09

02 Oct '09

Dear Eden, I share many of Gerard's concerns about the unmeasurability of such claims and even how dubious making them might be. (I also agree with Tom that "management science" is too vague -- does he possibly mean operations research?) However, as a positivist (are there any others on this list?) I am inclined to take the claim at face value and see what they might mean. So while "first" is likely unprovable, I do think it would be interesting to say "most computers were bought to do payroll or missile trajectories and this one was bought to do management science." I suspect it would be relatively easy to document the "typical" motivation or application for computers in the era, even if the actual use (post hoc) is not easily measured. (Ideally, you'd want a list of who had login accounts, and if necessary assume each used their account proportionately). But in some ways, the inputs question is less interesting than the outputs question. If Beer was the first boy in the invisible college of his discipline to have a new toy, what did he do with it? Is there any evidence that this strategic foresight (or dumb luck) enabled him to advance his field in ways that his less-endowed rivals could not? I would find it terribly interesting if Beer has the best computing power but the major advances in numerical approaches to management science were being made elsewhere. IIRC, the field's major scientific prize (originally from ORSA, now INFORMS) is named after a mathematician who made his most important contributions before these sorts of computers existed. Joel On 6:25 PM +0200 7/17/09, Alberts, G. hath said: >What in heaven would be the purport of such claim? Computers were not only expensive, they involved major investments, certainly machines the size of Pegasus. Hence, the legitimation for making such investment was seldomly based on the single use for one field of application, or rather for one department in an enterprise or university. Historians usually can trace the considerations leading to the actual purchase in the company archives. Also one may be able to guess where (in which subdepartment) the first initiative to such deep investment in modernizing business originated. >How the machine was in fact used, once installed, is much harder to reconstruct. Did the administrative support staff actually get to use the computer or were they pushed out by the scientific computers from the laboratory departments. Were management scientists favored before the statisticians and the down to earth daily bookkeeping? In the incidental case where a logbook is preserved, or where a very early computing center kept statistics, one may be able to tell something about who was using the machine. >So, what could be the meaning of "dedicated to"? Was that "dedicated" on the level of legitimation of the purchase, or was it "dedicated" in terms of seconds and minutes of use of the system? Let alone that we could judge the claim of "entirely" or even "first". > >Rather, to us historians being aware of inclusion and exclusion mechanisms around the use of computers, simply power struggles if you will, the claim of "dedicated entirely" made in a first person account has a clear intent. Other users, other interested parties, were succesfully made invisible, at least in the account of the "management science" department. Probably bookkkeeping use didnot count, or was counted under management science in the first place, etcetera. > >Rather than investigating the claim, my suggestion would be to investigate the fact that such claim was made, when and by whom. On 11:11 AM -0400 7/17/09, Medina, Eden wrote: >I am hoping that your collective wisdom might help me check out a claim. The British cybernetician Stafford Beer claims that the Ferranti Pegasus 1 machine he bought in 1956 was the only computer at that time dedicated entirely to applications in management science. Do you know of any other examples of computers fully dedicated to management science applications during this time period? -- Joel West, Ph.D. http://www.JoelWest.org/ Professor, Innovation & Entrepreneurship College of Business, San Jose State University BT 555, One Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192-0070

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