October 2017 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Konrad Zuse's 1936 patent - German text?
by Brian Randell 24 Sep '20

24 Sep '20

Hi Mark: I have a copy of the original 1936 Zuse patent application that I had translated into English for my Origins book. (It took some finding - some of my Zemanek documents had strayed into the middle of the Zuse documents, and so had obscured them! :-) It is a type-written document, on the letterhead of Zuse’s patent attorney Dr.-Ing. Bruno Wolf, Berlin Charlottenberg 5, Kantstrasse 85, dated 9.4.36 (i.e. 9 April 1936). It is some twenty or so pages in length. However I should warn you that some of the pages are barely legible (though could probably be deciphered by someone who knows German - which I don’t). I could scan this document for you if you wish. (I have about two inches thick of documents about Zuse’s work, including a number of patents and patent applications, some pre-war, immediately some post-war, together with several typescripts from him. My plan is that this material will be added to the archive of my files held in the Special Collections section of Newcastle University Library. This already holds all the extensive correspondence that I was involved in while compiling Origins.) Cheers Brian On 24 Jan 2017, at 10:58, Mark Priestley <m.priestley(a)gmail.com<mailto:m.priestley@gmail.com>> wrote: Dear list, Zuse's 1936 patent "Method for Automatic Execution of Calculations with the Aid of Computers" is reprinted in Brian Randell's "Origins of Digital Computers" collections. Does anyone know if/where I can get hold of the German original? Thanks in advance. Mark _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org<http://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 -- School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk<mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk> PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 FAX = +44 191 208 8232 URL = http://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/people/profile/brianrandell.html

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IBM 610
by John Impagliazzo 25 Apr '18

25 Apr '18

Hi All, Allegedly, some consider the IBM 610 Auto-Point computer (1959) the ‘first personal computer’. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/plugboard.html Is this true – even slightly true?? John John Impagliazzo, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, Hofstra University IEEE Life Fellow ACM Distinguished Educator

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HP Archives Destroyed in Recent California Fires
by Brian Berg 01 Nov '17

01 Nov '17

A very sad story here: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/business/7559762-181/hewlett- packard-archives-at-keysight-destroyed Chuck House responded to me re: this sad news with: *Sad on many fronts* *1. Ironic, since HP was almost alone in Silicon Valley for hiring a curator thirty years ago to preserve its history* *2. Ironic, that the curator (and subsequent ones) would not let historians or others have access to this tremendous history* *3. Ironic, that HP is one of the digital electronics pioneers which offered a way to digitize this collection at any point in the last twenty years* *4. Ironic, that a company so big, with such history, would have no sense of the value of what had been accumulated* *5. Ironic, that the Computer History Museum here in town, never tried to get this archive* *Great lessons here* I knew that Chuck had been involved with helping to scan and archive Cisco's history. When I pinged him about that, he wrote me re: his small treatise on this topic: *Preserving our Digital Revolution Heritage: If not you, who? If not now, when? <http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/charles-house/digital-revolution-heritage/pa…>* _________________________ Brian A. Berg / bberg(a)StanfordAlumni.org Berg Software Design 14500 Big Basin Way, Suite F, Saratoga, CA 95070 USA Voice: 408.741.5010 / Cell: 408.568.2505 Consulting: Flash Memory/USB/Storage/Patents visit the Storage Cornucopia: www.bswd.com FMS Technical Chair: www.FlashMemorySummit.com IEEE Milestone <http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Milestones:List_of_IEEE_Milestones> Coordinator for Region 6 <http://www.ieee-region6.org/> IEEE SCV Section <http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r6/scv/> Past Chair / IEEE-CNSV <http://www.CaliforniaConsultants.org> Board Director IEEE Silicon Valley Tech History Committee <http://www.SiliconValleyHistory.com/> Chair

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] HP Archives Destroyed in Recent California Fires
by Chuck House 01 Nov '17

01 Nov '17

I stand corrected, thanks From: Members <members-bounces(a)lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Len Shustek <len(a)shustek.com> Date: Monday, October 30, 2017 at 3:33 PM To: SIGCIS Listserver <members(a)sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] HP Archives Destroyed in Recent California Fires At 02:32 PM 10/30/2017, Brian Berg wrote: Chuck House responded to me re: this sad news with: ... 5. Ironic, that the Computer History Museum here in town, never tried to get this archive That's not true. We had a good relationship over the years with the two main HP archivists, and offered many times to get more involved with their archive -- ranging from getting a copy of the catalog, to getting copies of documents, to taking it over. They declined our participation. We weren't as aggressive as perhaps we could have been because HP was one of the few companies (unlike many others I could name) who seemed to be taking the preservation of their history seriously, and they were putting resources into the effort. Clearly that wasn't enough. Len _______________________________________________ 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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Historians of software
by Alexandra M Chassanoff 31 Oct '17

31 Oct '17

It strikes me as a good time to introduce myself and ask for conversations/feedback on the active research I'm doing at MIT Libraries to understand more about potential uses of historical and contemporary software. This work aims at informing strategies for curation activities at academic libraries/archives to ensure that what we are saving is indeed what scholars of technology such as yourself may find useful. Of course, we can't anticipate all future needs and uses. But characterizing aspects of the current space (both in recounting work on legacy software or thinking about examples of contemporary use) can help us to make the case for the importance of active care-taking of materials at our institutions. As of late, the conversation in academic research libraries has focused on software as part of research data management. I'd like to make sure the archival perspective makes its way into this conversation. Please let me know if you'd be willing to chat "offline" about some of my research and answer some questions. I'm working on a couple of tools to assist curators in information-gathering from software creators/owners. It would be great to have input from this community. Many thanks, Alex --------------- Alexandra Chassanoff DLF/CLIR Software Curation Fellow MIT Libraries http://softarchitectures.wordpress.com

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Computers and Business History: Mira Wilkins Prize Winner
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 31 Oct '17

31 Oct '17

This week the NEP-HIS blog’s guest contributor is James W. Cortada (Charles Babbage Institute and formally IBM) who comments on IBM Rebuilds Europe: The Curious Case of the Transnational Typewriter By Petri Paju (Turku) and Thomas Haigh (Wisconsin, Milwaukee). The editors of Enterprise & Society have provided free access to the above for a limited time. Find the review and link here http://www.nephis.org Kind regards Bernardo Bangor University (Wales) ** Apologies for multiple postings ** Rhif Elusen Gofrestredig 1141565 - Registered Charity No. 1141565 Gall y neges e-bost hon, ac unrhyw atodiadau a anfonwyd gyda hi, gynnwys deunydd cyfrinachol ac wedi eu bwriadu i'w defnyddio'n unig gan y sawl y cawsant eu cyfeirio ato (atynt). Os ydych wedi derbyn y neges e-bost hon trwy gamgymeriad, rhowch wybod i'r anfonwr ar unwaith a dilewch y neges. Os na fwriadwyd anfon y neges atoch chi, rhaid i chi beidio a defnyddio, cadw neu ddatgelu unrhyw wybodaeth a gynhwysir ynddi. Mae unrhyw farn neu safbwynt yn eiddo i'r sawl a'i hanfonodd yn unig ac nid yw o anghenraid yn cynrychioli barn Prifysgol Bangor. Nid yw Prifysgol Bangor yn gwarantu bod y neges e-bost hon neu unrhyw atodiadau yn rhydd rhag firysau neu 100% yn ddiogel. Oni bai fod hyn wedi ei ddatgan yn uniongyrchol yn nhestun yr e-bost, nid bwriad y neges e-bost hon yw ffurfio contract rhwymol - mae rhestr o lofnodwyr awdurdodedig ar gael o Swyddfa Cyllid Prifysgol Bangor. This email and any attachments may contain confidential material and is solely for the use of the intended recipient(s). If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this email. If you are not the intended recipient(s), you must not use, retain or disclose any information contained in this email. Any views or opinions are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of Bangor University. Bangor University does not guarantee that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or 100% secure. Unless expressly stated in the body of the text of the email, this email is not intended to form a binding contract - a list of authorised signatories is available from the Bangor University Finance Office.

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] HP Archives Destroyed in Recent California Fires
by Len Shustek 30 Oct '17

30 Oct '17

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Ayyadurai in the new
by Jonathan Coopersmith 30 Oct '17

30 Oct '17

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2017/10/28/the-mercers-bring-their… Looks like he may have found a lucrative source of income. Could be an interesting race. Jonathan Coopersmith Professor Department of History Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-4236 979.845.7151 979.862.4314 (fax) Latest article: https://theconversation.com/what-fax-machines-can-teach-us-about-electric-c… *FAXED. The Rise and Fall of the Fax Machine* (Johns Hopkins University Press) is the co-recipient of the 2016 Business History Conference Hagley Prize for best book in business history.

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CFP: Symposium on the History and Philosophy of Programming
by Tomas Petricek 28 Oct '17

28 Oct '17

Dear all, I would like to invite you to submit two-page extended abstracts to the Fourth Symposium on the History and Philosophy of Programming organised by HaPoC, Commission on the History and Philosophy of Computing (http://www.hapoc.org) The symposium aims to bring together historians, philosophers as well as computer scientists and practitioners to discuss the broader historical, philosophical and societal aspects of programming. The submission deadline is 1 January 2018 and the symposium will take place on 23 March 2018 in Oxford and will be co-located with a Meeting on History of Computing (22 March 2018), hosted by the British Society on the History of Mathematics. For more information about the symposium, please see the official web page https://www.shift-society.org/hapop4/, which has a full CFP as well as links to the previous three HaPoP symposia. I'm attaching a brief outline of the event below. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fourth Symposium on the History and Philosophy of Programming In a society where computers have become ubiquitous, it is necessary to develop a deeper understanding of the nature of computer programs, not just from the technical viewpoint, but from a broader historical and philosophical perspective. A historical awareness of the evolution of programming not only helps to clarify the complex structure of computing, but it also provides an insight in what programming was, is and could be in the future. Philosophy, on the other hand, helps to tackle fundamental questions about the nature of programs, programming languages and programming as a discipline. HaPoP 2018 is the fourth edition of the Symposium on the History and Philosophy of Programming, organised by HaPoC, Commission on the History and Philosophy of Computing. As in the previous editions, we are convinced that an interdisciplinary approach is necessary for understanding programming with its multifaceted nature. As such, we welcome participation by researchers and practitioners coming from a diversity of backgrounds, including historians, philosophers, computer scientists and professional software developers. In addition to submissions in a wide range of areas traditional for HaPoP (outlined below), we especially welcome submissions that explore the nature of scientific progress with respect to computer programming as a discipline. We are interested in investigations concerning the methodology of computer programming, whether it follows a form of scientific method that allows it to increase its problem solving ability, whether its development more is akin to science, engineering or rather art, and what examples from the history of programming can be provided to support either argument. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm co-chairing the symposium with Prof. Ursula Martin, so if you have any questions regarding suitability of a topic, format of the extended abstract, or anything else, please contact one of us. The best way to contact me is to email tomas(a)tomasp.net. Thanks, Tomas Petricek

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Upcoming Job
by Kidwell, Peggy 26 Oct '17

26 Oct '17

Dear All: The Smithsonian's National Museum of American history plans to hire a Curator of the History of Computers and Informational Technology. As the time of the job opening will be brief but is not yet entirely determined, we wanted to let people know in advance. Diane Wendt and I will be at the SIGCIS meeting in Philadelphia this weekend, should anyone have queries. Coming soon to USAJobs.gov! The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History Will Advertise: A Position for a Curator of the History of Computers and Informational Technology Division of Medicine and Science Position involves: Research, Exhibitions, Collections, Public Programs and Publications GS-12 - $77,490-$100,736 and GS-13 - $92,145-$119,794 Announcement opening soon on www.usajobs.gov<http://www.usajobs.gov>. Check back often, the National Museum of American History will be advertising several curatorial positions this year and you don't want to miss out! Contact Erika Mack-Dillaber with questions about the application process: NMAHApplications(a)si.edu<mailto:NMAHApplications@si.edu> or (202) 633-3555 Contact Alexandra M. Lord with questions about the position or if you want to be notified when the position will be advertised: lorda(a)si.edu<mailto:lorda@si.edu> or 202-633-0885 The Smithsonian is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities, and candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Peggy Kidwell Curator of Mathematics Address for US Mail: MRC 671, National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution P.O. Box 37012 Washington, DC 20013-7012 Address for UPS or FedEx: MRC 671, National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution 12th St. and Constitution Ave. Washington, DC 20560 Email: kidwellp(a)si.edu<mailto:kidwellp@si.edu> Telephone: 202-633-3828

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