November 2017 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

Sources/Lit on history of pixelization
by Gili Vidan 16 Nov '17

16 Nov '17

Hello SIGCIS, I’m wondering if anyone knows about scholarship on the history of pixelization as a technique for partially censoring visual content? I am advising an undergraduate student who’d like to write about the subject and not sure where to direct her efforts. Thanks! Gili Vidan

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Smithsonian Webinar on Applying for Jobs with the U.S. Federal Government - December 7 and December 8
by Kidwell, Peggy 15 Nov '17

15 Nov '17

Every year, the U.S. federal government hires historians to work in a variety of agencies. The process for applying for these jobs is somewhat different than that of academic or fellowship programs. Applications are handled through a central database and applications are screened by those who specialize in personnel management. To clarify the application process (particularly for historians considering applying for curatorial positions at this museum if and when they open up), historian Lexi Lord is offering a webinar two days in December. The announcement is below. Please feel free to sign up by writing Dr. Lord - and to pass along this message to others who might be interested. The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History Will Host A Webinar To Assist Applicants in Applying for Federal Jobs Attendees may join the webinar on either December 7th at 2PM EST or December 8th at 5PM EST. The webinar is scheduled for 90 minutes. The National Museum of American History will be advertising several curatorial positions this coming year and the webinar is designed to teach applicants how to successfully complete a federal job application. To sign up for the webinar, please contact Alexandra M. Lord at lorda(a)si.edu<mailto:lorda@si.edu> or 202-633-0885 Contact Erika Mack-Dillaber with questions about the application process: NMAHApplications(a)si.edu or (202) 633-3555 The Smithsonian is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities, and candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

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2018-2019 Lemelson Center Fellowships and Travel Grants (Apps Due: 1 Dec 2017)
by Hintz, Eric 14 Nov '17

14 Nov '17

Hi SIGCIS - we hope you will consider applying for one our Lemelson Center fellowships to support research at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Please contact me with any questions and thanks! Eric S. Hintz, PhD Lemelson Center Fellowship Coordinator --- Research Opportunities at the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center Applications Due: 1 December 2017 Through its fellowships and travel grants, the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation supports research projects that present creative approaches to the study of invention and innovation in American society. Projects may include (but are not limited to) historical research and documentation projects resulting in dissertations, publications, exhibitions, educational initiatives, documentary films, or other multimedia products. Our programs provide access to the expertise of the Institution's research staff<http://americanhistory.si.edu/about/staff> and the vast invention and technology collections of the National Museum of American History (NMAH). The NMAH Archives Center<http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/collections> documents both individuals and firms across a range of time periods and subject areas. Representative collections include the Western Union Telegraph Company Records, ca. 1840-1994 and the Earl S. Tupper Papers, documenting Tupper, and his invention, Tupperware. In addition, the NMAH Library offers long runs of historical technology serials like Scientific American and American Machinist, and the American Trade Literature collection<http://library.si.edu/trade-literature>, which includes 300,000 catalogs, technical manuals, and advertising brochures for some 30,000 firms, primarily from 1880-1945. For a comprehensive catalog of objects, manuscripts, images and research materials available at the NMAH (and other Smithsonian units), see http://www.collections.si.edu/. The Arthur Molella Distinguished Fellowship supports the work of an experienced author or senior scholar (at the associate/full professor level or equivalent) from the history of technology, science and technology studies, business history, museum studies, STEAM education, or an allied field. The specific arrangement is flexible: the Molella Fellow may use the funds as a sabbatical supplement; for several short-duration visits; for a single residency focused on research and writing; or for a series of lectures leading to a major publication. The stipend is $35,000. Funds may be used flexibly to support travel for several short-term visits, living expenses for longer residences up to six months, and related research expenses; dates are flexible. Applications are due December 1, 2017. For application procedures and additional information, see http://invention.si.edu/arthur-molella-distinguished-fellowship. Applicants may wish to consult with the fellowship coordinator before submitting a proposal - contact historian Eric S. Hintz, Ph.D. at +1 202-633-3734 or hintze(a)si.edu<mailto:hintze@si.edu>. The Lemelson Center Fellowship Program annually awards 2 to 3 fellowships to pre-doctoral graduate students, post-doctoral and experienced scholars, and other professionals who have completed advanced training. Fellows are expected to reside in the Washington, D.C. area, to participate in the Center's activities, and to make a presentation of their work to colleagues at the museum. Fellowship tenure is based upon the applicants' stated needs (and available funding) up to a maximum of ten weeks. Stipends will be $630/week for pre-doctoral fellows and $925/week for post-doctoral and professional fellows. Applications are due December 1, 2017. For application procedures and additional information, see http://invention.si.edu/lemelson-center-fellowship-program. Researchers may wish to consult with the fellowship coordinator before submitting a proposal - contact historian Eric S. Hintz, Ph.D. at +1 202-633-3734 or hintze(a)si.edu<mailto:hintze@si.edu>. The Lemelson Center Travel to Collections Award Program annually awards 3 to 4 short-term travel grants to encourage the use of its invention-related collections. Awards are $150 per day for a maximum of 10 business days and may be used to cover transportation, living, and reproduction expenses; they are intended only for applicants who reside or attend school beyond commuting distance of the NMAH. Applications are due December 1, 2017. See http://invention.si.edu/lemelson-center-travel-collections-awards for application procedures and additional information. Researchers may wish to consult with the travel award coordinator before submitting a proposal - contact archivist Alison Oswald at +1 202-633-3726 or oswalda(a)si.edu<mailto:oswalda@si.edu> ====================== Eric S. Hintz, Ph.D. Historian, Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation National Museum of American History Smithsonian Institution MRC 604, P. O. Box 37012 Washington, DC 20013-7012 PHONE: 202-633-3734 FAX: 202-633-4593 hintze(a)si.edu<mailto:hintze@si.edu> http://invention.smithsonian.org<http://invention.smithsonian.org/>

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Living Pioneers
by Brian L. Stuart 10 Nov '17

10 Nov '17

I was suprised to learn of the recent passing of Geoff Tootill who worked on the Manchester Baby. I had guessed that at age 101, Harry Husky was the last living alum of the first generation projects when he passed away earlier this year. This raises the question of whether Tootill was the last one. To put a finer point on the question, is anyone who was involved with the original designs of the ENIAC, the Baby, the EDSAC, the Pilot ACE, the Z1, or the Harvard Mark I still with us? BLS

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Leslie Berlin's "Troublemakers"
by Brian Berg 06 Nov '17

06 Nov '17

This story is from today's *San Jose Mercury News*: [image: Leslie Berlin, author of a book about the legendary Bob Noyce, is back with "Troublemakers," which follows some of Silicon Valley's less well-known, but equally important pioneers.] <http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/11/06/troublemakers-helped-build-silicon-va…> ‘Troublemakers’ helped build Silicon Valley’s tech industry — now what? <http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/11/06/troublemakers-helped-build-silicon-va…> By Levi Sumagaysay <http://www.mercurynews.com/author/levi-sumagaysay/> November 06, 2017, 7:00 am Included in Leslie Berlin's book, and in this story, is discussion of Atari, including Al Alcorn and Nolan Bushnell. Leslie was in the front row of an IEEE Silicon Valley Tech History Committee <http://www.siliconvalleyhistory.com> event I organized in Sept 2016 about Atari, and its panelists included these two luminaries. That event is described here <https://californiaconsultants.org/event/ataris-impact-on-silicon-valley-197…>, its slides are here <http://californiaconsultants.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/1609-CNSV-BergB…>, its full video is here <https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3MXnVUbT1wSRIKWCHSuEyvliNkypEWK9> (thanks to Viodi's Ken Pyle <http://viodi.com/>), and an *IEEE Spectrum* story about the event (written by Tekla Perry, who sat next to Leslie at this event) is here <https://spectrum.ieee.org/view-from-the-valley/tech-history/cyberspace/atar…> . The above story mentions Berlin's book about Bob Noyce titled *The Man Behind the Microchip <http://www.oupcanada.com/catalog/9780195311990.html>* which I heartily recommend. I'll be anxious to read the new book! Also, Leslie will be interviewed at the Computer History Museum <http://www.computerhistory.org/events/upcoming/#troublemakers-story-silicon…> in Mtn. View, California, USA on Wed, 13 December, at 7pm PST. That interview should also be streamed on Facebook Live. _________________________ 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 <http://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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A Blog of Possible Interest?
by James Cortada 06 Nov '17

06 Nov '17

I just published a blog with Oxford U Press on the need for historians to keep up with developments in physics. I thought you might find it of possible interest: https://blog.oup.com/2017/11/physics-for-humanists-historians/ -- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada(a)umn.edu 608-274-6382

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2017 Mahoney Prize: Erica Robles-Anderson and Patrik Svensson, "One Damn Slide After Another"
by Andrew Russell 06 Nov '17

06 Nov '17

Dear colleagues - Last weekend at the SHOT and SIGCIS meeting in Philadelphia, the winner of the 2017 Mahoney Prize was announced. I’m delighted to share that news and the prize citation with this list. Congratulations Erica Robles-Anderson and Patrik Svensson! Winner: Erica Robles-Anderson and Patrik Svensson. “’One Damn Slide After Another’: PowerPoint at Every Occasion for Speech.” <http://computationalculture.net/2016/01/11/one-damn-slide-after-another-pow…> Computational Culture (January 15, 2016). Prize Citation: In “’One Damn Slide After Another’: PowerPoint at Every Occasion for Speech,” Erica Robles-Anderson and Patrik Svensson provide a highly original and insightful history of PowerPoint’s design, development, and use. They convincingly argue how PowerPoint has become a dominant and indispensable medium for communication, yet like many other forms of ubiquitous software programs and packages it has undergone minimal critical analysis. As such, the conditioning of knowledge production with PowerPoint is overlooked, and once distinct situations and settings such as classrooms, press conferences, and church sermons become more alike. Overall, their article stands out for astutely engaging with communication theory, as well as making significant IT history and historiographical contributions by analyzing PowerPoint within the context of precursor technologies such as the DuPont Chart Room, white boards, and overhead projectors. About the Mahoney Prize: The Mahoney Prize recognizes an outstanding article in the history of computing and information technology, broadly conceived. The Mahoney Prize commemorates the late Princeton scholar Michael S. Mahoney, whose profound contributions to the history of computing came from his many articles and book chapters. The prize consists of a $500 award and a certificate. For the 2017 prize, articles published in the preceding three years (2014, 2015, and 2016) are eligible for nomination. The Mahoney Prize is awarded by the Special Interest Group in Computers, Information, and Society (SIGCIS) and is presented during the annual meeting of our parent group, the Society for the History of Technology. For more information and list of previous winners, please visit: http://www.sigcis.org/node/405 <http://www.sigcis.org/node/405>

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2017 Computer History Museum Prize: Elizabeth Patrick, Making Computers Accessible
by Andrew Russell 06 Nov '17

06 Nov '17

Dear colleagues - Last weekend at the SHOT and SIGCIS meeting in Philadelphia, the winner of the 2017 Computer History Museum Prize was announced. I’m delighted to share that news and the prize citation with this list. Congratulations Elizabeth Petrick! Winner: Elizabeth Petrick, Making Computers Accessible: Disability Rights and Digital Technology <https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/making-computers-accessible>(Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015). Prize Citation: This is a groundbreaking book on an understudied topic in the history of computing. Petrick integrates histories of technology and civil rights and demonstrates the interaction of technological, social, and legal supports for accessibility. She uses disability studies frameworks to highlight how the shifting paradigms of “normality” and “universality” have shaped computer technology. She argues convincingly that principles of “universal design” that were aimed at making computers usable for the disabled significantly shaped the evolution of personal computer technology in general—thereby making the larger historiographic point that we can’t tell complete or accurate histories of computing without including (dis)ability as a factor. The book is clearly written and well-researched, with a helpful appendix on her sources and methods. About the Computer History Museum Prize: The Computer History Museum Prize is awarded to the author of an outstanding book in the history of computing broadly conceived, published during the prior three years. The prize of $1,000 is awarded by SIGCIS, the Special Interest Group for Computers, Information and Society. SIGCIS is part of the Society for the History of Technology. In 2012 the prize was endowed in perpetuity through a generous bequest from the estate of Paul Baran, a legendary computer innovator and entrepreneur best known for his work to develop and promote the packet switching approach on which modern networks are built. Baran was a longtime supporter of work on the history of information technology and named the prize to celebrate the contributions of the Computer History Museum to that field. For more information and list of previous winners, please visit: http://www.sigcis.org/node/406 <http://www.sigcis.org/node/406>

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New project to help scholars assess digital components of today’s bookmaking
by Matthew Kirschenbaum 02 Nov '17

02 Nov '17

In keeping with my remarks in my paper at the Philadelphia meeting, I'd certainly like to *think* this is computer history, or at least adjacent. Best, Matt *Books.Files: New project to help scholars assess digital components of today’s bookmaking* COLLEGE PARK, MD—The *Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities *at the University of Maryland and the *Book Industry Study Group* are pleased to announce *Books.Files*, a new project funded by *The* *Andrew W. Mellon Foundation* to assess the potential for the archival collection and scholarly study of digital assets associated with today’s trade publishing and bookmaking. The fact is that nearly all printed books now begin—and for many practical purposes end—their lifecycles as digital files that are produced and managed by designers, editors, publishers, packagers, and printers. The printed book that we hold in our hands is just one of the outputs that can be derived from these digital assets, which are also used to produce ebooks and Web-ready texts. In particular, the role of Adobe InDesign and other software tools is not well understood outside of the industry. And yet, this is where the book stops being a manuscript and starts *becoming* a book, by way of its transformation into a prescribed set of digital assets which in addition to the text may include stylesheets, fonts, metadata, images, and other design elements. Led by principal investigator *Matthew Kirschenbaum*, this project represents the first organized attempt to put ambassadors from the scholarly communities traditionally invested in safeguarding and studying the material history of bookmaking into contact and conversation with thought leaders and influencers from the contemporary publishing world. The centerpiece of the project will be a *convening* to bring those figures together in New York City in early 2018; Kirschenbaum’s efforts will also be supported by *site visits* to observe the bookmaking process as it unfolds across different settings, and *interviews* with industry experts. Findings for scholars, archivists, and publishers will be presented in a *white paper* made publicly available in late 2018. “Digital technologies have forever altered publishing workflows,” commented BISG executive director *Brian O’Leary*. “We’re looking forward to working with Professor Kirschenbaum to explore current practice and its impact on our ability to preserve content for future generations.” “This project represents an exciting extension of MITH’s long-standing interest in preserving born-digital culture,” said *Trevor Muñoz*, MITH interim director. “We’re delighted to partner in this effort.” *Karla Nielsen*, curator at Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library, added, “For a long time publishers' archives weren't collected systematically, but now scholars are very grateful for the more complete records of earlier firms that we have, such as those of Cambridge University Press. Research libraries are just beginning to collect born-digital materials produced by publishers and this initiative will help us to understand how to do that so that there is a record of this moment of profound media change.” The *Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities* is a leading digital humanities center that pursues disciplinary innovation and institutional transformation through applied research, public programming, and educational opportunities. The *Book Industry Study Group* is the leading book trade association for standardized <http://bisg.org/store/>best <http://bisg.org/store/>practices, research <http://bisg.org/page/research> and <http://bisg.org/page/research>information, and events. *Matthew Kirschenbaum* is Professor of English at the University of Maryland, a past Guggenheim Fellow, and author most recently *of Track Changes: A Literary History of Word Processing* (Harvard UP, 2016). Inquiries about *Books.Files* may be sent to Kirschenbaum, *mgk(a)umd.edu <mgk(a)umd.edu>*. -- Matthew Kirschenbaum Professor of English Director, Graduate Certificate in Digital Studies University of Maryland mkirschenbaum.net

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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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