February 2010 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

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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Professor Randell's post on Spies & Supercomputers
by Ceruzzi, Paul 03 Feb '10

03 Feb '10

Thank you, Brian, for that post. A remarkable computer, and one whose existence has been kept secret all these years. At the risk of making a shameless self-promoting plug, I may add that I mentioned this on the IT History Society Blog <http://ithistory.org/blog/>, which I co-edit with Sandra Mols. Just below is my entry on the recent passing of Herb Grosch, which news to my knowledge has not yet been reported on this listserv. Best, Paul E. Ceruzzi, MRC 311, National Air and Space Museum, PO Box 37012, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-7012. phone: 202-633-2414. -----Original Message----- From: members-bounces(a)sigcis.org [mailto:members-bounces@sigcis.org] On Behalf Of members-request(a)sigcis.org Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 12:00 PM To: members(a)sigcis.org Today's Topics: 1. Secrets, spies and supercomputers (Brian Randell) >This week, BBC News is running a series of articles about pioneering >British computers and British computer pioneers. The series begins >with a look at research into computers developed at GCHQ after the >Second World War. Full story at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8490464.stm Cheers Brian Randell

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CFP for 4S, Tokyo, Aug 25-29
by Thomas Haigh 01 Feb '10

01 Feb '10

Hello SIGCIS members, Below is the call for papers for the 4S (Society for Social Studies of Science) conference. We’ve organized SIGCIS panels for three of the past four meetings of 4S and it would be fun to go back to Tokyo. Tokyo is not as expensive as people with vague recollections of the 1980s bubble tend to assume. Hotels are good value vs. New York or London (Expedia currently shows decent seeming options for not much more than $100 a night) and there’s always excellent fast food at affordable prices. Though with the recent collapse of the dollar vs. the yen it’s still not exactly cheap. It’s also perfectly possible to get around with only English – the Subway is bilingual, hotel staff know some English, and there’s a lot of plastic food in the restaurants to point at. The conference falls within the summer break for the US and Europe, so you could combine the trip with some sightseeing in the region. On the other hand I’ll be spending much of the summer in Europe, and it would be nice to have some time just to write and relax. However I can still act as a clearing house of possible panel ideas even if I do not attend myself. In case you haven’t been before, 4S is diverse, chaotic, youthful, has a high acceptance rate, welcomes historical work but is not primarily historical, and usually gives only 12-15 minutes to speak. Review based on a short abstract, and no proceedings. There's usually a good body of IT related work, though biomedical topics are increasingly dominant. It doesn’t hurt to reference the theme (this time “global contexts”), but it’s not usually required. The global contexts theme might work particularly well for members of the SOFT-EU project. Best wishes, Tom Haigh www.tomandmaria.com/tom From: webmaster(a)4sonline.org [mailto:webmaster@4sonline.org] Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 11:34 AM To: thaigh(a)computer.org Subject: Call for Papers – Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) August 25 – 29, 2010 | Tokyo Held jointly with Japanese Society for Science and Technology Studies Call for Papers: "STS in Global Contexts" Deadline for Submissions of Paper Abstracts and Session Proposals is February 15, 2010. The 2010 4S conference will be held with JSSTS (Japanese Society for Science and Technology Studies). This is the first 4S annual meeting in Asia. 4S members will have a chance to experience, interact with, and understand the cultural diversity of Asia. Furthermore, holding 4S in Asia opens the door to questions relating to universalities and cultural differences in STS concepts. This meeting will provide a good opportunity for reconsidering STS in global contexts as well as strengthening STS network worldwide. Submit paper and session proposals now. (http://convention2.allacademic.com/one/ssss/4s10) We are using the same submission site as last year. If you submitted or were included in a proposal last year, you already have a user ID. Guidelines Given the growing size of the 4S conferences and the desire to be as inclusive as possible, the program committee will need to make full use of the available time slots. Therefore, individuals may be listed for a paper presentation and one other role (such as session chair or discussant but not a second paper) for a maximum of two appearances. Paper abstracts may be submitted individually or by a session organizer. Submissions are in the form of abstracts of 500 words or less, and must include a summary of the paper's main arguments and methodology, as well as a brief statement on the contribution to the STS literature. Please choose the most suitable categories for your paper: A) Environmental Studies B) Biomedicine C) Food D) Information and Communication Technology E) Energy / Nuclear Power F) Engineering G) Gender Studies H) Economics / Market Studies I) Public Engagement / Social Movement J) Science Communication K) Science, Technology, and Public Policy L) Theory and Method M) Others Session proposals should be limited to 500 words total, and should contain a summary and rationale for the session, as well as a brief discussion of its contribution to STS. Session proposals should list names of all session organizers and panelists, including institutional affiliations and (electronic) addresses. Session proposals should be based on the assumption of one-and-half hour time slots with fifteen minutes per presentation. A typical session may have four papers, one discussant, and open discussion slot. You must have a minimum of three complete paper abstracts in order to submit a session proposal. The program committee may need to assign additional papers to proposed sessions. Session proposals must also indicate a subject category. Proposals for double and triple sessions on a single topic may receive a request to consolidate the topic into one panel or to break the multiple sessions into different topics. The meeting welcomes papers, sessions and events that are innovative in their delivery, organization, range of topics, type of public and which bring new resources to the STS community to explore these new relations and themes. Yuko Fujigaki, Porgram Chair sec4S2010(a)hps.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp Meeting home page: http://4sonline.org/meeting This e-mail was sent from Society For Social Studies Of Science (webmaster(a)4sonline.org) to thaigh(a)computer.org. To unsubscribe, please click on this link and follow the instructions: Unsubscribe

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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 Life Members' Prize (Best article) - deadline April 15
by Thomas Haigh 01 Feb '10

01 Feb '10

See below details for the IEEE Life Members' Prize (best journal article) -- this includes history of computing in its scope. So, although you probably didn't realize it, you're an "electrical historian." Encouragement of submissions was mentioned at the most recent IEEE Annals board meeting as a good strategy for boosting the visibility of our field. Looking at the names of the judges also suggests a possibly sympathetic audience for our work. You can nominate yourself, or someone else. Tom -----Original Message----- From: Andrew Butrica [mailto:abutrica@earthlink.net] Sent: Sunday, January 31, 2010 9:34 PM To: thaigh(a)computer.org Subject: IEEE Life Members' Prize Tom, I was wondering if you would distribute the following announcement regarding the IEEE Life Members' Prize to members of your SIG. Thanks in advance, Andrew Dear colleagues, If you or someone you know has published an article in 2009 dealing with any aspect of the history of electricity, electronics, telecommunications, or any other electrically-related field-and this entails history of technology in its broadest sense-please consider nominating it for the IEEE Life Members' Prize in Electrical History. Paper authors are encouraged to nominate themselves by submitting a copy of their article, and everyone is asked to submit notice of anything that they have seen published in 2009 that they feel is worthy of being considered for the Prize. The deadline for submissions is April 15, 2010. The official prize announcement appears below. For more information, please contact Andrew Butrica, Prize Committee Chair, at abutrica(a)earthlink.net, or W. Bernard Carlson, SHOT Secretary at shot(a)virginia.edu. Andrew Butrica Prize Committee Chair THE IEEE LIFE MEMBERS' PRIZE IN ELECTRICAL HISTORY The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Life Members' Prize in Electrical History, supported by the IEEE Life Members' Fund and administered by the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT), is awarded annually to the best paper in the history of electrotechnology-power, electronics, telecommunications, and computer science-published during the preceding year. Any article published in a learned periodical is eligible if it treats the art or engineering aspects of electrotechnology and its practitioners. The article must be written in English, although the journal or periodical in which it appears may be a foreign language publication. The prize consists of a cash award of $500 and a certificate. To nominate an article, please send a copy (paper or electronic) of the article to each member of the prize committee. Deadline for the 2009 prize is April 15, 2010. Andrew J. Butrica (chair) Apt. 913-South 5225 Pooks Hill Road Bethesda, MD 20814 abutrica(a)earthlink.net Robert MacDougall Department of History University of Western Ontario Social Science Centre 4328 London, Ontario N6A 5C2 CANADA rmacdou(a)uwo.ca Eden Medina School of Informatics and Computing Indiana University 901 E. 10th Street, Room 305 Bloomington, IN 47408 eden.medina(a)gmail.com Andrew J. Butrica MERCURIANS ANTENNA Newsletter P.O. Box 30224 Bethesda, MD 20824-0224 USA mercurians(a)earthlink.net www.mercurians.org

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