May 2012 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

another book by Knuth which is not another volume of TAOCP
by Dave Walden 08 Mar '13

08 Mar '13

See my review at <http://www.tug.org/books/reviews/tb103reviews-knuth9-walden.html>http://www.tug.org/books/reviews/tb103reviews-knuth9-walden.html It will be published in the upcoming issue of the TeX User Group's journal. As the review says, I think this will be a useful volume for computing historians whose research brings them toward Knuth's life and publications.

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"Stored Program" -- origins in IBM circa 1949?
by Thomas Haigh 19 Oct '12

19 Oct '12

Thanks to Peggy Kidwell (below) we have a confirmed sighting of "stored program" in the wild in 1949. In fact two, in internal IBM documents. This is very suggestive when taken in conjunction with something I noticed in searching the ACM DL yesterday, which is that 6 of the 11 uses it located through the end of 1960 were in papers written by IBM staff. So, an attractive hypothesis is that the term was coined within IBM Poughkeepsie in 1949 during early work on IBM's first experimental stored program computer, the Test Assembly. As the 604 calculator being cannibalized for its electronic arithmetic unit already had a plugboard programming mechanism it makes sense that the team would want a clear name for the separate capability they were building to execute a program stored in Williams Tubes backed by a drum. Tom From: Kidwell, Peggy [mailto:kidwellp@si.edu] Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2012 11:43 AM To: 'David Alan Grier'; Thomas Haigh Subject: RE: [SIGCIS-Members] "Stored program" -- anyone know origins of the PHRASE The term "stored program" was used in internal IBM documents discussing the development of special circuits for the IBM 604 electronic calculating punch by 1949. See, for example, Nathaniel Rochester, "Plans for the Data Processing Test Assembly," Document 05.14.24. See also H. A. Mussell & C. E. Frizzell, "Stored Program," December 27, 1949, which refers to Rochester's paper. This had internal code 05.015.37. The reference is to programs stored on the drum of the machine or electrostatically, as opposed to on a plugboard. Peggy From: members-bounces(a)sigcis.org [mailto:members-bounces@sigcis.org] On Behalf Of David Alan Grier Sent: Monday, April 02, 2012 5:25 PM To: Thomas Haigh Cc: members(a)sigcis.org Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] "Stored program" -- anyone know origins of the PHRASE Tom Two bounds for your search. "Stored Program" is not in the 1950 IRE Standard on Computer Terms: <http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.proxygw.wrlc.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?tp=&arnu mber=1701474&contentType=Journals+%26+Magazines&ranges%3D1951_1956_p_Publica tion_Year%26matchBoolean%3Dtrue%26searchField%3DSearch_All%26queryText%3D%28 p_Title%3Acomputer+terms%29> Standards on Electronic Computers: Definitions ofTerms, 1950 <http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.proxygw.wrlc.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=10 933> Proceedings of the IRE Volume: 39 , <http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.proxygw.wrlc.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=3584 4> Issue: 3 Digital Object Identifier: <http://dx.doi.org.proxygw.wrlc.org/10.1109/JRPROC.1951.231840> 10.1109/JRPROC.1951.231840 Publication Year: 1951 , Page(s): 271 - 277 But it is used in the 1953 IRE article on programming. <http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.proxygw.wrlc.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?tp=&arnu mber=4051188&contentType=Journals+%26+Magazines&sortType%3Dasc_p_Publication _Year%26ranges%3D1953_1958_p_Publication_Year%26matchBoolean%3Dtrue%26search Field%3DSearch_All%26queryText%3D%28.QT.stored+program.QT.%29> Fundamentals of Digital Computer Programming Thomas, W.H. <http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.proxygw.wrlc.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=10 933> Proceedings of the IRE Volume: 41 , <http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.proxygw.wrlc.org/xpl/tocresult.jsp?isnumber=4051 180> Issue: 10 Digital Object Identifier: <http://dx.doi.org.proxygw.wrlc.org/10.1109/JRPROC.1953.274275> 10.1109/JRPROC.1953.274275 Publication Year: 1953 , Page(s): 1245 - 1249 I SHOULD NOTE THAT IT IS NOT USED IN THE COMPANION 1953 article on the IBM 701. David -------------------------------- David Alan Grier Fellow, IEEE President Elect, IEEE Computer Society Assoc. Prof., International Science & Technology Policy Center for International Science and Technology Policy grier(a)gwu.edu On Apr 2, 2012, at 4:34 PM, Thomas Haigh wrote: Hello everyone, I have a query related to a project I am working on concerning the conversion of ENIAC to stored program control in 1948, initially to run the first computerized Monte Carlo calculations. All this took place prior to the first operation of the Manchester Baby. That makes the question of what one means by "stored program" a very interesting one. This question was much discussed in the early days of the history of computing (1970s, early 1980s). I am starting to dig back into primary sources for early use of the phrases "stored program" and "stored program concept" to get a better idea of how these terms were used in the 1940s/early 1950s and what people thought they meant at the time. To clarify, almost everyone who has written about this cites the 1945 "First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC" as the initial dissemination of the stored program concept although there has been considerable debate as to the source of the ideas contained therein. However that document does not contain the phase "stored program." Or indeed use the word "program" in the body of the text. Or, remarkably, "EDVAC." "Stored" shows up a few times, though less frequently than "remembered." So, ignoring for the moment the relationship of the report to later definitions of the concept, we can agree that it was not the source of the phrase. The most obvious summary of the idea using the report's own terminology would be "remembered instruction device" rather than "stored program computer." I had thought about the 1946 Moore School lectures as a possible vector for the phase "stored program" as well as the concept. The phrase shows up many times in the Moore School lectures book but so far I have spotted it only in the 1980s editorial material rather than in the original lecture summaries. By 1954 "stored program computer" is showing up without explanation or citation required in the description of the IBM 650 published in the inaugural issue of Journal of the ACM. It is not particularly common in the ACM DL material for the rest of the decade ("automatic computer" and "digital computer" are more prevalent) but continues to pop up occasionally. The best the OED can do is 1957, which is even later. So, any thoughts on who came up with this phrase and when? I'm planning to dig deeper in search of early usage, for example into the 1950 "High-Speed Computing Devices" ERA book and some of the other CBI reprints from the 1940s, but it occurred to me that someone on the list might already know the answer to the question. Tom _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members(a)sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ and you can change your subscription options at http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members

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New book about Turing Award winner Peter Naur
by Edgar Daylight 20 Jun '12

20 Jun '12

************ Book announcement *********** `Pluralism in Software Engineering: Turing Award Winner Peter Naur Explains' --- by Edgar G. Daylight As a software engineer and aspiring historian of computing, I have had the honor of meeting the computing pioneer Peter Naur at his home in Copenhagen in the spring of 2011. My lengthy discussion with Naur is documented in my new book and is published by Lonely Scholar. I invite historians of science to have a look at the book's summary at: http://www.lonelyscholar.com/node/7 Naur discusses varying topics, ranging from astronomy to programming and from philosophy to psychology. An underlying theme is Naur's rejection of Western philosophy. best wishes, Edgar G. Daylight www.dijkstrascry.com

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identifying a word processor
by Matthew Kirschenbaum 30 May '12

30 May '12

I'm trying to suss out which word processor might have been set to deliver up the warning message, "The paragraph is going to be too long; you should press the Return button." It would have been on a Mac, c. 1990. I've been unable to reproduce this with ClarisWorks or MS Word 4,5, or 5.1. Any ideas? Thanks, Matt -- Matthew Kirschenbaum Associate Professor of English Associate Director, Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) University of Maryland 301-405-8505 or 301-314-7111 (fax) http://mkirschenbaum.net and @mkirschenbaum on Twitter The Track Changes project: http://trackchangesbook.tumblr.com/ I am on leave, Aug. 2011-12; please refer to my personal leave policies: http://mkirschenbaum.wordpress.com/2011/07/31/during-my-fellowship/

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History of Nordic Computing 3, published papers
by Per Lundin 25 May '12

25 May '12

Some of you might be interested in the proceedings from the conference History of Nordic Computing 3 (HiNC3) that took place in Stockholm late 2010. They are now published as: John Impagliazzo, Per Lundin and Benkt Wangler, eds., History of Nordic Computing 3: Third IFIP WG9.7 Conference, HiNC 3, Stockholm, Sweden, October 18-20, 2010: Revised Selected Papers (Heidelberg: Springer 2011), and are available at http://www.springer.com/computer/general+issues/book/978-3-642-23314-2 A HiNC4 conference is planned to take place in Copenhagen 2014. Best, Per

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CFP: iConference 2013 | Data * Innovation * Wisdom
by Medina, Eden 23 May '12

23 May '12

Call For Participation: iConference 2013 Fort Worth, Texas February 12-15, 2013 http://www.ischools.org/iConference13/2013index/ The iConference is an annual gathering of scholars and researchers concerned with critical information issues in contemporary society. iConference participants advance the boundaries of information studies, explore core concepts and ideas, and create new technological and conceptual configurations—all situated in interdisciplinary discourses. These issues will be addressed during our four-day event in Fort Worth, Texas, February 12-15, 2013. The conference theme is Data, Innovation, Wisdom: Scholarship in Action. Please join us for a multitude of high-quality papers, posters, and workshops, along with interactive alternative events that will frame the conversation. In addition, the will host a Doctoral Colloquium and an Early Career Workshop, lots of social events, and many networking opportunities. iConference 2013 is hosted by the College of Information at the University of North Texas. The presenting sponsor is Microsoft Research, which is also providing support for the conference’s inaugural Social Media Expo. The iConference series is presented by the iSchools (www.ischools.org<http://www.ischools.org/>), a growing association of Schools, Faculties and Colleges in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Affiliation with the iSchools is not a prerequisite of participation; we encourage all information scholars and practitioners to take part in the conference. * Conference: http://www.ischools.org/iConference13/2013index/ * iCaucus: http://www.ischools.org/site/ * Past Proceedings: http://www.ischools.org/site/conference/ SUBMISSION INFORMATION In response to requests for more varied opportunities to participate, we are offering several new submission formats this year. * Papers: Results of completed original research, 8-10 pages in length in publication format; papers will be refereed in a double-blind process. Submissions will be in PDF format. Submission deadline: September 3, 2012. Notification: Early November. Final version due: December 3, 2012. * Notes: Reports of early and partial results, 4 pages or less in length in publication format; Notes will be refereed in a double-blind process. Submissions will be in PDF format. Submission deadline: September 10, 2012. Notification: Early November. Final version due: December 3, 2012. * Posters: We welcome submission of Posters presenting new work, preliminary results and designs, or educational projects. Applicants will submit an abstract describing the proposed Poster, and these abstracts will undergo a single-blind blind review process (i.e., reviewers will know the identity of authors, but not vice versa). Poster abstracts are not to exceed two pages in length. Abstract submissions will be in PDF format. Completed Posters will be presented at the iConference. Abstract submission deadline: September 24, 2012. Notification: Mid-November. Final abstract due: December 7, 2012. Completed poster due: February 12, 2013 * Workshops: Workshops can be half- or full-day and can focus on any area related the conference theme (Scholarship in Action) or more broadly to the purview of the iSchools, namely, the relationships among information, people and technology. A proposal template is provided on the website; submissions should be in PDF format. Submission deadline: September 24, 2012. Notification: Early October. Final version due: Early November. * Alternative Events: These can include panels, fishbowls, performances, storytelling, roundtable discussions, wildcard sessions, demos/exhibitions, and more. All should be highly participatory, informal, engaging, and pluralistic. A proposal template is provided on the website; submissions should be in PDF format. Submission deadline: September 24, 2012. Notification: Mid-November. Final version due: December 7, 2012. * Research Paper Development Roundtable: This new iConference submission track is for researchers developing manuscripts for submission as journal articles. The goals of this track are to provide a forum for interactive development of research papers, enable a discussion of current research ideas, provide a clear path to journal publication, and increase collaboration opportunities for junior faculty. Papers reporting work in progress and late breaking research are welcome. See website for additional details. Submission deadline: Extended abstracts due August 1, 2012. Notification: Early October. Full draft due: January 7, 2013. OTHER EVENTS SCHEDULED * Doctoral Colloquium: The doctoral student colloquium will provide doctoral students the opportunity to present their work to senior faculty and one another in a setting that is relatively informal but that allows for the fullest of intellectual exchanges. Students will receive feedback on their dissertation and/or current research from participating faculty and student peers. Participation in the doctoral colloquium is restricted to students who have applied for and been accepted into the colloquium. The colloquium will not be open to observers. Visit the doctoral colloquium webpage for more information: http://www.ischools.org/iConference13/doctoral/ Application deadline: September 24, 2012. Notification: Mid-November. * Early Career Colloquium: This half-day event is intended for assistant professors, post-docs, or others in pre-tenure positions and builds on the tradition of highly successful events at past iConferences. The program will include an introductory presentation on the tenure process, panels by recently tenured faculty and experienced former deans, and small group discussions to provide informal dialogue, guidance, and insights. Visit the early career colloquium webpage for more information: http://www.ischools.org/iConference13/jr_faculty/ * FUSE Labs iConference Social Media Expo: The iConference, in collaboration with FUSE Labs of Microsoft Research, is pleased to announce the first iConference Social Media Expo. The exposition is designed to showcase exceptional interdisciplinary research and development work from information school programs specializing in social media. Students are asked to form interdisciplinary teams of 3-5 students to perform research, design, development or community engagement exploring technological solutions to people’s real needs around the theme of leveraging social media to foster lifelong learning in everyday life. A representative team from each participating school will be selected to attend and featured in a presentation at a special session of the iConference in February of 2013. Visit the Social Media Expo webpage for more information: http://www.ischools.org/iConference13/expo/ Initial notification: Letters of Interest due September 14, 2012 * New this year, the leadership of the iCaucus and the iConference 2013 organizers have arranged for a special full-day workshop on Information Privacy. The workshop is being co-organized by the following iCaucus members: University of California, Berkeley School of Information; Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz College; Indiana University, School of Informatics and Computing; University of Michigan, School of Information; and Singapore Management University, School of Information Systems. The deans from each of these five iSchools have committed to send top faculty researchers in information privacy (spanning technology, management, law and policy) to participate. Details on how to take part will be publicized in the future. ORGANIZERS Honorary Co-Chairs: Elizabeth Liddy, Syracuse University; Herman Totten, University of North Texas Conference Chair: William Moen, University of North Texas Program Co-Chairs: Kevin Crowston, Syracuse University; Martin Halbert, University of North Texas Program Committee: Randolph Bias, University of Texas Wade Bishop, University of Kentucky Pia Borlund, Royal School of Library and Information Science Copenhagen Peter Brusilovsky, University of Pittsburgh Joy Davidson, Glasgow University Robert Deng, Singapore Management University Pedro Ferreira, Carnegie Mellon Andrew Flinn, University College London Fred Fonseca, Pennsylvania State University Maria Gade, Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin Steve Howard, University of Melbourne Heikki Keskustalo, University of Tampere Anita Komlodi, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Cory Knobel, University of California, Irvine Eden Medina, Indiana University Eric Meyers, University of British Columbia Karine Nahon, University of Washington Arcot Rajasekar (Raja), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Howard Rosenbaum, Indiana University Steve Sawyer, Syracuse University Mega Subramanian, University of Maryland Elaine Toms, University of Sheffield Judith Wusteman, University College Dublin Iris Xie, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee Learn more at: http://www.ischools.org/iConference13/2013index/ -- Eden Medina Associate Professor of Informatics Adjunct Associate Professor of History School of Informatics and Computing Indiana University, Bloomington edenm(a)indiana.edu<mailto:edenm@indiana.edu> www.edenmedina.com<http://www.edenmedina.com> Learn about "Cybernetic Revolutionaries: Technology and Politics in Allende's Chile" (MIT Press, 2011) @ www.cyberneticrevolutionaries.com<http://www.cyberneticrevolutionaries.com/>

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Computer history book on sale!
by David Greelish 20 May '12

20 May '12

I wouldn't mind moving a few more copies out of this stack of 100 freshly printed books! So I'm knocking $3 off and it's shipped free in the US ($3 off international shipping). http://www.classiccomputing.com/CC/HB_Book.html Best, David Greelish, Computer Historian - Author, "The Complete Historically Brewed" - Founder, Atlanta Historical Computing Society - "Classic Computing Show" podcast - "Stan Veit's History of the Personal Computer" audiobook podcast - "Retro Computing Roundtable" podcast ClassicComputing.com | atlhcs.org

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More Schmidt than Turing
by Drucker, Thomas L. 17 May '12

17 May '12

There was an impressive line-up of speakers for the Turing Memorial Conference at Princeton last weekend. (It is hard to keep track of where Turing is being honoured each week this year.) The article at the following link was the university's report to the alumni on the subject, but you will notice that there is not much Turing compared to the amount of Schmidt. Tom Drucker University of Wisconsin--Whitewater http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S33/67/65Q12/ druckert(a)uww.edu

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New Book: Biomedical Computing: Digitizing Life in the United States
by NOVEMBER, JOSEPH 16 May '12

16 May '12

Dear fellow SIGCISers, I am pleased to announce that the Johns Hopkins University Press has just published my book, Biomedical Computing: Digitizing Life in the United States. I believe it would be of particular interest to many people here. Briefly, this history book explores how computer technology, biology, and medicine transformed each other in the 1950s and 1960s. On the one hand, it examines the conditions that made possible the computerization of biology and medicine -- including strong technological, institutional, and political support from the National Institutes of Health. On the other hand, it also shows how work within the life sciences led to important developments in computer architecture and software design -- personal computers and expert systems both have seldom-discussed roots in biomedical research labs. A couple of my goals in writing this book were to: 1) demonstrate the historical importance of early computing projects not only to modern fields like bio- and medical informatics but also to everyday life in the lab and clinic; 2) show how biology and medicine, both areas of increasing importance to computing, have long shaped the development of computer technology. Therefore, to reach audiences familiar with biomedical research but not computing as well as those familiar with computing but not biology and medicine, the book is designed so that little knowledge of biology, medicine, or computing is required of the reader. More immediate to this community, quite a few SIGCIS members are referenced in the book. Furthermore, feedback from SIGCIS members (both at and beyond SIGCIS events) greatly helped me improve the quality of my manuscript. Thanks! More information about the book can be found at: <http://www.amazon.com/Biomedical-Computing-Digitizing-University-Historical…> http://www.amazon.com/Biomedical-Computing-Digitizing-University-Historical… http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/biomedical-computing-joseph-a-november/1110… Best, Joe Joseph November, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of History University of South Carolina 223 Gambrell Hall Columbia, SC 29208 november(a)sc.edu

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Postdoc in Social Studies of Information , deadline June 1
by Thomas Haigh 14 May '12

14 May '12

Hello everyone, This post doc call is for the information school at UWM, my own institution. Note the proximity of the deadline. "Social Studies of Information" is a new phrase I came up with to convey the idea of science studies perspectives applied to information/communication, akin to the recent push for "Social Studies of Finance." History is definitely part of this vision, but a successful applicant would need to frame historical work within a broader STS-style perspective and show an ability to teach something other than history. Our Social Studies of Information Research Group is just now establishing itself, so the postdoc would be able to play an active part in shaping the concept, inviting speakers, setting up a website, etc. A first step in this direction will be setting up a Social Studies of Information listserv -- look for an announcement of this soon. Tom (Position description follows). School of Information Studies University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee The School of Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is accepting applications for a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Social Studies of Information for the 2012-2013 academic year, to work closely with the School's newly established Social Studies of Information Research Group (SSIRG). The postdoctoral fellowship is designed for recent PhDs who are interested in research and pedagogy in the historical, social and cultural dimensions of information at its most fundamental levels, including information institutions, practices, industries, technologies, disciplines, users, policies, and ethics. Along with continuing their own research agenda, the fellow will work closely with SSIRG-affiliated faculty, assist in coordination of SSIRG speaker series and related events, work with current PhD students, and participate in the academic and intellectual community of the School at large. Opportunities will exist for the fellow to collaborate with the Center for Information Policy Research (CIPR), Center for 21st Century Studies (C21) and other related campus centers and institutes. The stipend for the fellowship will be $39,000 for a 12-month appointment beginning in August 20, 2012, with a $2,000 research and travel stipend. Fellows will be expected to teach one course each semester, with the opportunity to develop a course focused on their own research area. Fellows are eligible for benefits. The stipend for this position is subject to UW System policies. Application Information: Applicants must be scholars who are not yet tenured and who are no more than 3 years past receiving their PhD. Applicants must hold a PhD in information studies or related discipline. Applicants who do not yet hold a PhD but expect to have it by August 2012 will be asked to provide a letter from their home institution corroborating the degree award schedule. Verification of completion of degree will be required before the start date. Application packages must include: letter explaining research agenda and teaching interests; a 1-page statement of situating their personal research within the broader interdisciplinary contexts of the social studies of information; a curriculum vitae; a writing sample; and 3 references. Deadline for application is June 1, 2012. Candidates selected for online interviews will be notified by June 15, 2012. Send all application materials via email to Dr. Michael Zimmer (zimmerm(a)uwm.edu) For more information, please contact Dr. Zimmer, and visit us at http://www4.uwm.edu/sois/. UWM is an AA/EEO Employer

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