November 2009 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Vacuum Tube Development Committee
by Evan Koblentz 09 Sep '10

09 Sep '10

Last week I visited Harvard's archives of the Radio Research Lab, and found some meeting minutes of the Vacuum Tube Development Committee (1943-1945 timeframe) .... I can't find much online that nicely summarizes this committee and its activity / purpose. Can someone here point me to a good overview?

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Two good recent TV programmes on the history of computing that are worth viewing.
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 07 Feb '10

07 Feb '10

A heads up to Ken Tennet's Blog (he is part of the Business History Unit at the London School of Economics): http://kdtennent.blogspot.com/2009/10/recent-business-history-on-bbc.html He comments on two recent tv programs on the history of computing. Not sure if everyone will be able to download and play.But at least you can get an idea from Ken and if really keen, then ask for a copy for your uni's library. You can keep up with Ken via Facebook. Best, Bernardo University of Leicester

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Semi-rare John Mauchly document
by evan＠snarc.net 01 Feb '10

01 Feb '10

Hi all. I received this document from Bill Mauchly today. I asked him if it's okay to share freely; he said yes. File is attached. Bill added: "In 1979, just a few months before he died, John Mauchly had a letter published in DATAMATION. Examples of his writing are rare, but here he clearly wanted to have his say. In it he laid out very clearly how he and Eckert, in the wee hours of 1944, worked out the stored-program architecture of EDVAC, the successor to ENIAC. Later they told von Neumann, and he published it as his own work. He also talks about BINAC. This was at the time that Burks and Goldstine were trying to drain as much credit away from Eckert and Mauchly and towards von Neumann as they could.I've attached a copy of the letter; it a good read if you like this sort of thing. This short essay does not seem to be available on the web. I typed it in from a copy I had that was among my mother's things, apparently a draft from his TRS-80 word processor, on the prompting of Jean Bartik. Enjoy.Bill Mauchly"

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IEEE Annals CFP-Theme issue on labor history of computing
by Jeff Yost 15 Dec '09

15 Dec '09

Dear SIGCIS members, Please find below (and attached) a call for papers for an upcoming (32:4 October 2010) thematic/special issue of IEEE Annals of the History of Computing on the labor history of computing. Please note the deadline for submission for this issue is January 15, 2010. Best, Jeff Jeffrey Yost Associate Director, Charles Babbage Institute Editor in Chief, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing University of Minnesota 222 21st Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455 612 624 5050 612 625 8054 (Fax) Call for Papers Thematic Issue: Labor History of Computing IEEE Annals of the History of Computing// IEEE Annals of the History of Computing invites article manuscript submissions for a thematic/special issue on the history of labor and computing. Manuscripts that connect to the broader literature on labor history are particularly encouraged. Submissions can address labor issues, practices, or structures within a wide range of settings including computer, software, networking, or semiconductor/components companies throughout the world; user organizations (corporations, government, universities, hospitals, etc.); peer production projects (open source); trade organizations; professional associations; etc. Possible themes and approaches include, but are not limited to, the history of work practices, work culture, shop floor dynamics, labor organization, legislation/lobbying, professionalization, automation and labor displacement, offshoring, gender/race/ethnicity and IT work, safety and risk in the workplace, etc. The deadline for submission to this thematic issue is January 15, 2010. Manuscripts will go through IEEE Annals of the History of Computing’s standard peer review process. If there are more accepted manuscripts than slots for the issue, editors will decide which articles to include based on quality, coverage, and synergies between manuscripts. If there are accepted manuscripts not included in the issue, they will be added to the general publication queue and published in a later issue of IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. All articles must be between 5,000 and 8,000 words, including citations/endnotes. To submit your manuscript go to http://www2.computer.org/portal/web/annals/home Select “Write for Us” tab at the top and follow instructions (including selecting the Labor History thematic/special issue). If you have any questions or would like feedback on ideas/manuscripts prior to submission, please contact IEEE Annals of the History of Computing Editor in Chief Jeffrey Yost (yostx003(a)umn.edu <mailto:yostx003@umn.edu> or 612 624 5050)

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New list member: Sheldon Hochheiser
by S.Hochheiser＠ieee.org 23 Nov '09

23 Nov '09

I probably should have joined this list a long time ago. I'm Sheldon Hochheiser, And I'm Archivist and Institutional Historian IEEE History Center, Rutgers University 39 Union Street New Brunswick, NJ 08901 s.hochheiser(a)ieee.org My interests in the history of computing center on the intersection of computing and communications, especially telecommunications. Before coming to IEEE, I spent many years as corporate historian at AT&T.

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Fw: CfP: FROM PRACTICE TO RESULTS IN LOGIC AND MATHEMATICS, Nancy, France, 21-23 June 2010
by Sandra Mols 23 Nov '09

23 Nov '09

Dear colleagues Please find enclosed the CfP for a conference on practices in logic and mathematics that may include some possibilities for papers on computing. Best regards Sandra Mols ************** "I do not like experts [...] They are our goalers. [...] Experts are addicts. They solve nothing! They serve whatever system hires them. They perpetuate it. When we are tortured, we shall be tortured by experts. When we are hanged, experts will hang us. Did you not read what I wrote? When the world is destroyed, it will be destroyed not by its madmen but by the sanity of its experts and the superior ignorance of its bureaucrats." Yakov Saveleyev, The Russia House by John le Carré, 1990 ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Sandra MOLS <Sandra.Mols(a)univ-nancy2.fr> To: "sandra.mols(a)univ-nancy2.fr" <sandra.mols(a)univ-nancy2.fr> Sent: Mon, 23 November, 2009 10:52:10 Subject: CfP: FROM PRACTICE TO RESULTS IN LOGIC AND MATHEMATICS, Nancy, France, 21-23 June 2010 Apologies for crossposting Please reply to the relevant persons below. CALL FOR PAPERS: FROM PRACTICE TO RESULTS IN LOGIC AND MATHEMATICS UNIVERSITY OF NANCY, FRANCE, 21-23 JUNE, 2010 The PratiScienS group invites the submission of research papers for a conference on the role of practices in the establishment of results in logic and mathematics. This conference is aimed at discussing and exploring the practice of mathematics and logic from an epistemological standpoint. That is, we look for papers on how the concrete practices of mathematicians and logicians may influence the results of their enquiries and, more broadly, the notion of what counts as proof. Through this conference, the PratiScienS group also aims at promoting a methodological reflection on the difficulties that a critical analysis of such practices in logic and mathematics implies and on issues related to the development of the appropriate exploratory conceptual tools. Invited Speakers include Jean-Paul Van Bendegem, Jessica Carter, Karine Chemla, Jeremy Gray, Brendan Larvor, Danielle Macbeth, Catarina Novaes and Dirk Schlimm. The Scientific Committee includes Gerhard Heinzmann, Paolo Mancosu, Philippe Nabonnand, Andrew Warwick and the PratiSciens group. This conference is part of a series of conferences organised by the PratiScienS research group at the Archives Henri Poincaré, Nancy University, France (http://poincare.univ-nancy2.fr/Activites/?contentId=6163&languageId=1) The group explores the issue of practices in their relations with the construction and validation of scientific knowledge. Consequently, this conference is also aimed at generating discussions tackling with the issue of practices in logic and mathematics, in the ways suggested and framed by the project. Thus, the Scientific Committee will particularly appreciate proposals that explore the epistemological impact of practices upon mathematics and logic research in relation to PratiScienS' main research topics, which include the possibility of a "Wimsatt-like" concept of robustness for mathematics and logic (http://poincare.univ-nancy2.fr/Activites/?contentId=4366&languageId=1) the role of tacit aspects in practices in logic and mathematics and, lastly, the contingency vs. inevitability issue with scientific results in the case of mathematics and logic (http://poincare.univ-nancy2.fr/Activites/?contentId=6172) Details on the conference theme can be found at http://poincare.univ-nancy2.fr/digitalAssets/66770_Argumentaire_FPTP2010.pdf. Submissions of proposals should include a long abstract (approximately 1000 words-long) of the paper. Deadline for submission by e-mail is January 15th, 2010, with acceptance notified by March 15th, 2010. Abstracts should be sent to: sandra.mols @ univ-nancy2.fr (remove spaces) Some financial support is available, and it may be possible to apply for a travel grant. The PratiScienS group is supported by: The Archives Henri Poincaré (Université de Nancy 2, CNRS UMR 7117), the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), the Région Lorraine, the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme Lorraine (USR CNRS 3261), and Nancy-Université. ------------ Sandra MOLS Université Nancy 2 Courriel : Sandra.Mols(a)univ-nancy2.fr

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SIGCIS Mahoney Fund -- Annual Appeal
by Thomas Haigh 20 Nov '09

20 Nov '09

Hello everyone, I am writing to draw your attention to the SIGCIS Mahoney Fund. The Mahoney fund named in honor of the late Michael S. Mahoney of Princeton University, a major scholarly influence on the development of the history of computing and keen participant in SIGCIS activities. Income from the fund is anticipated to support the SIG's activities, particularly our program of travel grants for graduate students. We launched this initiative about a year ago, with an informal message to this list. We were very pleased with the response - at present we have at least $3,000 in hand from that appeal and another $3,000 or so in pledges for future years. (This does not include our operating account which has a surplus of around $1,600 or the money pledged to support the Computer History Museum prize). Given the economic situation last autumn, and the low key nature of our appeal, this was really an excellent result and we hope to build on it as the world inches back towards prosperity. In recent years the SIG's activities have expanded dramatically to include an annual full day workshop held in conjunction with the SHOT conference, a program of travel grants for graduate students, an annual prize for an outstanding book in the history of computing (the Computer History Museum Prize) and a variety of online initiatives including a resource guide, syllabus repository, and member directory. This year we organized two paper sessions for the main SHOT meeting and seven sessions, including a plenary session devoted to discussion of Mahoney's work, at our inaugural workshop "Mike Mahoney and the Histories of Computing(s)." While we did not ultimately have to draw on the fund to support our costs for the workshop, knowing we had a financial reserve available was important in giving us the confidence to begin planning this event. Donations can be made online. Please visit http://www.sigcis.org/?q=mahoney to learn more about Michael Mahoney and the Mahoney fund, including recognition of existing contributors. SIGCIS is particular grateful to Ann Johnson, whose pledge of $500 a year for five years triggered the establishment of the fund, and to Len Shustek who made a donation of $1,000 last year. We hope to reach a balance of at least $10,000 within two years time, which will provide a meaningful reserve and generate an appreciable amount of annual income. In turn this will give the SIG the capability to undertake larger projects. If you are able to make a donation online, please follow the online instruction carefully, including a separate notification of your intention to secretary(a)sigcis.org. SHOT is relying on a rather convoluted mechanism to process the transactions, and this will allow us to follow up and make sure that your donation finds its way to the appropriate SIGCIS account rather than being absorbed into SHOT's general revenues. Donations may also be made by check - contact us for details. Have a good weekend, and happy thanksgiving next week to those of you in the US. Tom

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Barkley Fritz
by Evan Koblentz 18 Nov '09

18 Nov '09

Does anyone know how to reach W. Barkley Fritz, who was a supervisor of the female "computers" for ENIAC during its Aberdeen days? I was given a phone number by Paul Deitz @ Aberdeen, but it's incorrect. This is part of my ongoing quest to learn * how * the ENIAC was moved from Moore to Aberdeen, beyond just "they took down a wall and used trucks." I contacted Harry (Joshua) Gray, who did his master's project on the re-installation, but even he only saw the computer before and after its physical move. Earlier this year I found a folder in the Aberdeen archives, with the title "ENIAC move to Aberdeen" (I forget the exact wording); that folder itemized every nut and bolt but contained virtually nothing about the move itself. All it said was, "U. Pennsylvania truck." Then I tried contacting the Penn facilities department to ask for 1946 records and they pretty much laughed at me ......

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DEADLINE EXTENDED: faculty position in Information and Communication Technology for Development
by Paul Edwards 16 Nov '09

16 Nov '09

Dear colleagues: DEADLINE EXTENDED until Nov. 25 for this position. We are particularly hoping to attract candidates who work in Africa. Please forward widely, and publish in newsletters or journals. Feel free to contact me for more information. — Paul N. Edwards Faculty Position Postings Information and Communication Technology for Development Rank: Assistant Professor The School of Information (SI) seeks a faculty member at the Assistant Professor level who will establish a vigorous research and teaching program in information and communication technology for development (ICT4D), emphasizing applications relevant to environmental sustainability and developing nations. The successful candidate will have demonstrated expertise in information system design; computer-supported cooperative work; environmental informatics; communication studies; development policy, sociology, or anthropology; and/or a related field applicable to the design and study of information systems for developing-world contexts. The ideal applicant will combine a proven ability to design effective and innovative information systems with an informed, critical perspective on development issues. A portfolio that includes fieldwork (for example, an implemented ICT4D project, or a study of ICT uses in one or more nations) will receive most favorable consideration. The School's mission is to connect people, information, and technology in more valuable ways. The School currently has 37 FTE faculty; 50 doctoral students, and 372 students in its professional program, the Master of Science in Information. In partnership with other units, we recently launched a new undergraduate informatics concentration (major). We encourage you to learn more about the School, its mission, and its activities at the SI Web site. This position is part of a "cluster hire" in Environment, Information, and Development. The cluster consists of SI and three partner units < the Department of History, the School of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Center for Afroamerican & African Studies (which will also be hiring new faculty in related areas). The candidate for the SI position will be expected to engage with these new faculty, as well as others across the university, through such venues as a speaker series, reading groups, research projects, and teaching initiatives. We ask applicants for the SI position to review the Environment, Information and Development cluster description. Letters of application should mention the candidate's ideas for interacting with the cluster group. Qualifications: A Ph.D. (or nearing completion) in the areas of information science, computer science, environmental informatics, communication studies, sociology, anthropology, public policy, or another relevant field; demonstrated potential for successful teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level; demonstrated potential for high scholarly impact; and a strong commitment to teaching, interdisciplinary research, and creative activity. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled; however, candidates are strongly encouraged to submit their applications by November 15, 2009. For more information or to apply, please visit the UM School of Information Faculty Position Postings. ————————————————— Paul N. Edwards, Assoc. Professor of Information School of Information 3078 West Hall University of Michigan 1085 South University Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107 (734) 764-2617 (office) (206) 337-1523 (fax) http://www.si.umich.edu/~pne/

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DEADLINE EXTENDED: faculty position in Information and Communication Technology for Development
by Paul Edwards 16 Nov '09

16 Nov '09

Dear colleagues: DEADLINE EXTENDED until Nov. 25 for this position. We are particularly hoping to attract candidates who work in Africa. Please forward widely, and publish in newsletters or journals. Feel free to contact me for more information. — Paul N. Edwards Faculty Position Postings Information and Communication Technology for Development Rank: Assistant Professor The School of Information (SI) seeks a faculty member at the Assistant Professor level who will establish a vigorous research and teaching program in information and communication technology for development (ICT4D), emphasizing applications relevant to environmental sustainability and developing nations. The successful candidate will have demonstrated expertise in information system design; computer-supported cooperative work; environmental informatics; communication studies; development policy, sociology, or anthropology; and/or a related field applicable to the design and study of information systems for developing-world contexts. The ideal applicant will combine a proven ability to design effective and innovative information systems with an informed, critical perspective on development issues. A portfolio that includes fieldwork (for example, an implemented ICT4D project, or a study of ICT uses in one or more nations) will receive most favorable consideration. The School's mission is to connect people, information, and technology in more valuable ways. The School currently has 37 FTE faculty; 50 doctoral students, and 372 students in its professional program, the Master of Science in Information. In partnership with other units, we recently launched a new undergraduate informatics concentration (major). We encourage you to learn more about the School, its mission, and its activities at the SI Web site. This position is part of a "cluster hire" in Environment, Information, and Development. The cluster consists of SI and three partner units < the Department of History, the School of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Center for Afroamerican & African Studies (which will also be hiring new faculty in related areas). The candidate for the SI position will be expected to engage with these new faculty, as well as others across the university, through such venues as a speaker series, reading groups, research projects, and teaching initiatives. We ask applicants for the SI position to review the Environment, Information and Development cluster description. Letters of application should mention the candidate's ideas for interacting with the cluster group. Qualifications: A Ph.D. (or nearing completion) in the areas of information science, computer science, environmental informatics, communication studies, sociology, anthropology, public policy, or another relevant field; demonstrated potential for successful teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level; demonstrated potential for high scholarly impact; and a strong commitment to teaching, interdisciplinary research, and creative activity. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled; however, candidates are strongly encouraged to submit their applications by November 15, 2009. For more information or to apply, please visit the UM School of Information Faculty Position Postings. ————————————————— Paul N. Edwards, Assoc. Professor of Information School of Information 3078 West Hall University of Michigan 1085 South University Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107 (734) 764-2617 (office) (206) 337-1523 (fax) http://www.si.umich.edu/~pne/

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