April 2015 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

SHOT Levinson Prize Deadline April 15
by M. Hicks 09 Apr '15

09 Apr '15

Hi all, A quick reminder and encouragement to apply for the SHOT Levinson Prize--the deadline is April 15: The Samuel Eleazar and Rose Tartakow Levinson Prize is awarded each year for a single-authored, unpublished essay in the history of technology that explicitly examines, in some detail, a technology or technological device or process within the framework of social or intellectual history. It is intended for younger scholars and new entrants into the profession. Manuscripts already published or accepted for publication are not eligible. In order to be considered, manuscripts must be in English and of a length suitable for publication as an article in Technology and Culture--approximately 7,500 words (not including notes) and 100 notes. The winning manuscript will be considered for publication in Technology and Culture. To nominate an essay, please send it by e-mail, in MS Word or PDF format, to the SHOT secretary's office (shotsec(a)auburn.edu) clearly stating that this is a nomination for the Levinson prize. Please also send one paper copy to: David Lucsko, SHOT Secretary, Department of History, 310 Thach Hall, Auburn University, AL 36849-5207. More info: http://www.historyoftechnology.org/awards/levinson.html ______________________ Marie Hicks, Ph.D. Asst. Professor, History of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL USA mariehicks.net | mhicks1(a)iit.edu | @histoftech

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Rock Stars and unicorns
by Thomas Haigh 08 Apr '15

08 Apr '15

Oh, those “Rock Stars of X” are just embarrassing. First that they are so obviously not rock stars, but second that it’s been so long since actual rock stars had broad appeal to the young. Here’s something I posted on a rare visit to Facebook a few months ago. IEEE sent me an email promoting the "Rock Stars of 3D Printing." Are these people really beloved of millions and chased down the street by screaming teenage girls? Do they smash their equipment on stage and die of overdoses? Do they, collectively, own a single pair of leather trousers? And, even if they did, would that make me trust them to deliver what the IEEE calls "real actionable information" from "serious people"? Oooh, that's rock and roll. <http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.computer.org%2Fweb%2Frock-st…> <http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.computer.org%2Fweb%2Frock-st…> https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQC4Q-qlNW-gii02&w=158&h… Rock Stars of 3D Printing • IEEE Computer Society <http://www.computer.org/web/rock-stars/3d-printing?lf1=3541232265b149716111…> Every company needs to prepare and implement 3D printing in order to remain relevant in their industry. No one can sit this phenomenon out. computer.org Of course, I am just jealous that nobody is promoting the Rock Stars of the History of Computing who would clearly keep things 4 Real in a suitably rockist manner. Plus IIRC the Pauls (Edwards and Ceruzzi) can actually perform musically. Um, but seriously. Maybe a paper on these weird appropriations of identity in the tech world would be a fun thing to write from an historical perspective. Tom From: Members [mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org] On Behalf Of Ceruzzi, Paul Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2015 1:23 PM To: 'Matthew Battles'; members Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] So, about these "unicorns"... Also Rock Stars, Masters of the Universe, Rocket Scientists, and who can forget: Geeks. My Webster’s New World Dictionary defines “geek” as “…a performer of grotesque or depraved acts in a carnival, such as biting off the head of a live chicken.” That is the only definition it gives. From: Members [mailto:members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org] On Behalf Of Matthew Battles Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2015 1:48 PM To: members Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] So, about these "unicorns"... ..and angels! On Wed, Apr 8, 2015 at 1:26 PM, Marc Weber <marc(a)webhistory.org> wrote: It’s a magical, magical world. On Apr 8, 2015, at 10:17, Paul N. Edwards <pne(a)umich.edu> wrote: long before unicorns, dragons, and trolls — in the late 1950s there were IBM and the Seven Dwarves (Sperry Rand, Control Data Corp. (CDC), RCA, Honeywell, GE, Burroughs, NCR) On Apr 8, 2015, at 13:13 , Marc Weber <marc(a)webhistory.org> wrote: Don’t forget that we have trolls too…. On Apr 8, 2015, at 09:39, Henry Lowood < <mailto:lowood@stanford.edu> lowood(a)stanford.edu> wrote: Tom, Quick response from the Valley: From what I have read and heard, the "unicorn company" concept is mostly attributed to TechCrunch. I believe the article you cited was the unveiling of the term, but TechCrunch has put out a series of posts and articles since then. And there are dragons, too: <http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/14/unicorns-vs-dragons/> http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/14/unicorns-vs-dragons/ This one ends, "All things being equal, I would rather back a dragon than a unicorn." Henry On 4/7/2015 9:23 PM, Thomas Haigh wrote: Dear SIGCIS, To raise a question that may or may not turn out to have an explanation within our domain of expertise, I’ve been struck recently by frequent references to “unicorns” in the business press. This crystalized over breakfast last week when I noticed an article “Stockholm: The Unicorn Factory” in my usually reserved Financial Times. Apparently the consensus definition of a “unicorn” in this context is a newish company worth more than $1 billion. Stockholm has more per capita than anywhere but Silicon Valley. A total output of five sounds more like an atelier than a factory, and unicorns probably come from unicorn farms rather than assembly lines, but that’s not really the point. The point is: unicorns are not just vanishingly rare. They’re mythical. Until recently, if someone told me I was pursuing a unicorn I’d have assumed they meant I was wasting my time. So where does the metaphor come from? Something that’s very rare but very valuable might be worth pursuing. Something that is flat-out imaginary seems a bad goal for investment dollars or public policy. Is this something to do with the popularity of fantasy literature in the tech field? Did it start as some kind of joke and get out of hand? A quick Google search suggests that it was popularized with <http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/02/welcome-to-the-unicorn-club/> http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/02/welcome-to-the-unicorn-club/, which offers no particular justification for the term beyond “to us, it means something extremely rare, and magical.” Tom _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at <http://sigcis.org/> sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at <http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/> http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at <http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org> http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org -- Henry Lowood Curator for History of Science & Technology Collections; Film & Media Collections HSSG, Green Library, 557 Escondido Mall Stanford University Libraries, Stanford CA 94305-6004 650-723-4602; <mailto:lowood@stanford.edu> lowood(a)stanford.edu; <http://www.stanford.edu/~lowood> http://www.stanford.edu/~lowood _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at <http://sigcis.org/> sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at <http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/> http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at <http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org> http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org <http://www.computerhistory.org/staff/Marc,Weber/> Marc Weber | <mailto:marc@webhistory.org> marc(a)webhistory.org | +1 415 282 6868 <tel:%2B1%20415%20282%206868> Internet History Program Founder and Curator, Computer History Museum 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 <http://computerhistory.org/nethistory> computerhistory.org/nethistory Co-founder, Web History Center and Project, <http://webhistory.org/> webhistory.org _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at <http://sigcis.org/> sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at <http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/> http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at <http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org> http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org ___________________________ Paul N. Edwards Professor of <http://www.si.umich.edu/> Information and <http://www.lsa.umich.edu/history/> History, University of Michigan A Vast Machine: Computer Models, Climate Data, and the Politics of Global Warming <http://pne.people.si.umich.edu/vastmachine/index.html> (MIT Press, 2010) Terse replies are deliberate <http://five.sentenc.es/> (and better than nothing) University of Michigan School of Information <http://www.si.umich.edu/> 4437 North Quad 105 S. State Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285 (734) 764-2617 <tel:%28734%29%20764-2617> (office) (206) 337-1523 <tel:%28206%29%20337-1523> (fax) pne.people.si.umich.edu <http://pne.people.si.umich.edu/> Marc Weber <http://www.computerhistory.org/staff/Marc,Weber/> | marc(a)webhistory.org | +1 415 282 6868 <tel:%2B1%20415%20282%206868> Internet History Program Founder and Curator, Computer History Museum 1401 N Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View CA 94043 <http://computerhistory.org/nethistory> computerhistory.org/nethistory Co-founder, Web History Center and Project, webhistory.org _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org -- matthew battles associate director, <http://metalab.harvard.edu/> metaLAB (at) harvard fellow, <http://cyber.law.harvard.edu> berkman center for internet and society twitter = @matthewbattles <http://twitter.com/matthewbattles> Image removed by sender.

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So, about these "unicorns"...
by Thomas Haigh 08 Apr '15

08 Apr '15

Dear SIGCIS, To raise a question that may or may not turn out to have an explanation within our domain of expertise, I've been struck recently by frequent references to "unicorns" in the business press. This crystalized over breakfast last week when I noticed an article "Stockholm: The Unicorn Factory" in my usually reserved Financial Times. Apparently the consensus definition of a "unicorn" in this context is a newish company worth more than $1 billion. Stockholm has more per capita than anywhere but Silicon Valley. A total output of five sounds more like an atelier than a factory, and unicorns probably come from unicorn farms rather than assembly lines, but that's not really the point. The point is: unicorns are not just vanishingly rare. They're mythical. Until recently, if someone told me I was pursuing a unicorn I'd have assumed they meant I was wasting my time. So where does the metaphor come from? Something that's very rare but very valuable might be worth pursuing. Something that is flat-out imaginary seems a bad goal for investment dollars or public policy. Is this something to do with the popularity of fantasy literature in the tech field? Did it start as some kind of joke and get out of hand? A quick Google search suggests that it was popularized with http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/02/welcome-to-the-unicorn-club/, which offers no particular justification for the term beyond "to us, it means something extremely rare, and magical." Tom

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] So, about these "unicorns"...
by Thomas Haigh 08 Apr '15

08 Apr '15

Interesting. I’d vaguely wondered if there was some kind of path from fantasy unicorns to the tech industry via something like The Last Unicorn/Dragonriders of Perm/My Little Pony (um, I know those are all rather different things, but call them the corners of a broad pop culture space in which impressionable young people have intimate emotional relationships with mythical animals). But a connection along the lines of SF/fantasy fandom -> polyamory -> libertarians -> Silicon Valley talk seems perfectly plausible. I wonder if there’s something a little sly about its sudden appearance in business talk. However, it seems from the definition Laine cited that in that poly community the term is chosen precisely to make the point that unicorns will never be discovered however many women are pursued by the hopeful couple. Whereas venture capitalists are inspired by the high profile success of unicorn companies, in much the same way that a handful of NBA stars lure so many to attempt athletic careers. Tom From: Laine Nooney [mailto:laine.nooney@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2015 9:39 AM To: thaigh(a)computer.org Haigh Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] So, about these "unicorns"... Unicorn is slang in the poly community--I don't know for how long, but it is a generally understood term. I'd disagree with Christina that it's a "sexual" term (I'd argue that its relational), or that its related to just women (but there is a fair stereotype around that). Here's some fun literature: http://polyliving.net/2013/10/unicorn-unicorn-hunting-unicorn-triad/ >From there it may very likely be filtering into a more general pop culture usage (unicorns certainly have their devotees among internet culture--there was a whole Obama Riding a Unicorn Meme a few years back) Laine Nooney www.lainenooney.com <http://www.lainenooney.com/> ISTC <http://socialcomputing.uci.edu/> @ <http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/mcc/> MCC @ NYU <http://www.nyu.edu> Postdoctoral Associate On Wed, Apr 8, 2015 at 12:23 AM, Thomas Haigh <thaigh(a)computer.org> wrote: Dear SIGCIS, To raise a question that may or may not turn out to have an explanation within our domain of expertise, I’ve been struck recently by frequent references to “unicorns” in the business press. This crystalized over breakfast last week when I noticed an article “Stockholm: The Unicorn Factory” in my usually reserved Financial Times. Apparently the consensus definition of a “unicorn” in this context is a newish company worth more than $1 billion. Stockholm has more per capita than anywhere but Silicon Valley. A total output of five sounds more like an atelier than a factory, and unicorns probably come from unicorn farms rather than assembly lines, but that’s not really the point. The point is: unicorns are not just vanishingly rare. They’re mythical. Until recently, if someone told me I was pursuing a unicorn I’d have assumed they meant I was wasting my time. So where does the metaphor come from? Something that’s very rare but very valuable might be worth pursuing. Something that is flat-out imaginary seems a bad goal for investment dollars or public policy. Is this something to do with the popularity of fantasy literature in the tech field? Did it start as some kind of joke and get out of hand? A quick Google search suggests that it was popularized with http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/02/welcome-to-the-unicorn-club/, which offers no particular justification for the term beyond “to us, it means something extremely rare, and magical.” Tom _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org

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simulation before 1947
by Willard McCarty 08 Apr '15

08 Apr '15

Dear Julian (if I may), Many thanks for this. Harry F Olson, Dynamical Analogies (Van Nostrand, 1943), does not use the word 'simulation' (which is evidence that it was not the obvious term then), but the technique I am after is what he describes for acoustical systems. This is how he begins Chapter 1: > Analogies are useful when it is desired to compare an unfamiliar > system with one that is better known. The relations and actions are > more easily visualized, the mathematics more readily applied and the > analytical solutions more readily obtained in the familiar system. > Analogies make it possible to extend the line of reasoning into > unexplored fields. A large part of engineering analysis is concerned > with vibrating systems. Although not generally so considered, the > electrical circuit is the most common example and the most widely > exploited vibrating system. The book is in the Internet Archive. Yours, W -- Willard McCarty (www.mccarty.org.uk/) Professor, Department of Digital Humanities, King's College London, and Digital Humanities Research Group, University of Western Sydney

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'simulation'
by Willard McCarty 08 Apr '15

08 Apr '15

Another question regarding terminology. In "Models, Simulation, and 'Computer Experiments'", Evelyn Fox Keller says that before the likely seeming date of 1947, when the OED records the first positive use of "simulation", the word "invariably meant deception" (p. 198). But a closer look, into publications of electrical engineers back to the early 20th Century, reveals uses of 'simulation' straightforwardly to denote the behaviour of electrical circuits designed as analogues of physical phenomena. (My source is the IEEE Xplore Digital Library.) Despite hints that simulation was in effect being practiced in the 19th Century, e.g. by Kelvin and Babbage, I cannot find any use of the *word* to denote a constructed analogical likeness. Perhaps not coincidentally the first occurrences I've found coincide roughly with electricity becoming familiar enough that it could be used to explore less familiar phenomena rather than the other way around. (Charles Care's work bears on this point.) Does anyone here know more? (I did try the archive, but it reports a "ht://Dig error", commenting that, "Unable to read word database file '/dh/mailman/grail/archives/private/members-sigcis.org/htdig/db.words.db' Did you run htdig?") Many thanks. Yours, WM -- Willard McCarty (www.mccarty.org.uk/) Professor, Department of Digital Humanities, King's College London, and Digital Humanities Research Group, University of Western Sydney

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The Bernard S. Finn IEEE History Prize
by Hyungsub Choi 07 Apr '15

07 Apr '15

Dear SIGCIS Members, A reminder that the deadline for the Finn/IEEE Prize is closing in (April 15). The prize honors excellent works in the history of electrotechnology, broadly defined. For more details, see the attached flyer. Best, Hyungsub Choi

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Things come in threes...
by Evan Koblentz 02 Apr '15

02 Apr '15

There were two other NY-area computer history announcements here this morning, so I'll make it three: a reminder that the Vintage Computer Festival East is April 17-19, at the InfoAge Science Center, in Wall, New Jersey. Friday's schedule has 16 technical classes and a lunchtime ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the DEC PDP-8 minicomputer. Saturday and Sunday each start with a morning keynote -- Wes Clark and Bob Frankston, respectively. The rest of those days features two hands-on exhibit halls, consignment/vendors, and museum tours. There are 38 exhibits, which makes this event the largest of any of the Vintage Computer Festivals ever produced. Also: Star Trek-themed shirts and mousepads, who could turn down that? Full details are at http://www.vintage.org/2015/east/ and also facebook.com/vcfeast and twitter.com/vcfeast. Come get your hands dirty with historic computers.

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Research project on the material culture of computing (plastics used in electronic artefacts in information and telecommunication technologies)
by Ulf Hashagen 02 Apr '15

02 Apr '15

Dear members of SIGCIS, we plan to hand in a research project about the plastics used in electronic artefacts in information and telecommunication technologies. Two topics are being researched: a) based on selected artefacts from two museums in Munich (milestones of the technological development) we aim to characterise the plastics used in the production of personal computers and of radios. We intend to understand the reasons why plastics were selected for production or for changes in their choice. The plastic selection can be based on some or more of the following reasons: design, function, costs of production, properties of the plastic in question (weight, workability, colour, resistance to shok, resistance to heat, ...), historical reasons as availability or non availabilty of raw materials during war or post war periods, etc. - What were the advantages and disadvantages of past used plastics in the production of electronic artefacts? - Why were some plastics preferred in a certain period and substituted later on? - Which development similarities do we find between the production of personal computers and radios? - What were the main reasons for the selection of plastics in which period of the twentieth century? For the investigation of personal computers we are identifying the plastics by means of infrared spectroscopy of the following elements: - housing - power cables - operating elements (push buttons) - printed circuit board (e.g. mother board) - integrated circuits Below your find the a pre-selection of personal computers dating from 1975 to 2000: Personal Computer Production date Heimcomputer "MITS Altair 8800" 1975 Personal Computer Apple II IA2S2 ca. 1980 Personal Computer Osborne 1 1983 Personal Computer Apple Macintosh 512K ca. 1985 Personal Computer Macintosh Plus 1 Mb Personal Computer, sign.: Commodore 64 1992 Notebook Apple iBook SE 466 2000 b) based on a condition survey of personal computers and radios from two museums in Munich (several hundreds of objects in storage) we aim to identify the main decay patterns of plastic materials (yellowing, discoloration, desintegration, loss of plasticizer). After identifying the main weathering decay forms, we will analyse the plastics, so that we can correlate material and decay. For instance, until now we have noticed that ABS is prone to yellowing, plasticized PVC is prone to loss of plasticizer and tha rubber is prone to desintegration. By identifying the amount of objects at risk in the collection we can establish priorities for the active or passive conservation. We would like to ask you whether you find this topic interesting and kindly ask you to discuss with us our aims and methodology. Best wishes Dr. Marisa Pamplona-Bartsch (& Ulf Hashagen, who forwarded this Email of his colleague Marisa to sigcis) -- Objekt- und Restaurierungsforschungsabteilung Conservation Science Department Deutsches Museum Museumsinsel 1, 80538 München, Germany tel + 49 (0)89 / 21 79 512 e-mail:m.pamplona@deutsches-museum.de

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April 17 | Mistakes Were Made: Computer History, Decompiled
by Laine Nooney 02 Apr '15

02 Apr '15

Hi all, For all computer historians/enthusiasts/aficionados in the greater NYC area for April 17: I've organized an event at NYU called "Mistakes Were Made: Computer History, Decompiled." It features some of our very own SIGCIS champs on the docket. Details below. Hope to see you there! Laine Nooney www.lainenooney.com ISTC <http://socialcomputing.uci.edu/> @ MCC <http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/mcc/> @ NYU <http://www.nyu.edu> Postdoctoral Associate ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: NYU MCC <mcc(a)nyu.edu> Date: Wed, Apr 1, 2015 at 4:24 PM Subject: April 17 | Mistakes Were Made: Computer History, Decompiled To: laine.nooney(a)gmail.com <http://nyu.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=0ac8c97417eade73a7595c79a&id=…> Department of Media, Culture, and Communication *Friday, April 17, 2015* 10:30 AM - 6:00 PM | 239 Greene Street, Floor 8 REGISTER <http://nyu.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=0ac8c97417eade73a7595c79a&id=…> <http://nyu.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0ac8c97417eade73a7595c79a&id=5…> *Copyright © 2015 NYU Department of Media, Culture, and Communication, All rights reserved.* unsubscribe from this list <http://nyu.us4.list-manage2.com/unsubscribe?u=0ac8c97417eade73a7595c79a&id=…> update subscription preferences <http://nyu.us4.list-manage.com/profile?u=0ac8c97417eade73a7595c79a&id=8e53d…>

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