December 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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Collections of Spreadsheet Software
by David C. Brock 03 Jan '18

03 Jan '18

Dear All, I recently had the real pleasure of speaking with a person who works in the financial sector and is keenly interested in the history of spreadsheets. He has gathered a private collection of ~800 spreadsheet programs, including many versions of popular products, covering formats from ROMs to DVDs. Does anyone aware of any comparable collection of spreadsheet software? Best wishes, David .............. David C. Brock Director Center for Software History [http://www.computerhistory.org/softwarehistory/] Computer History Museum [http://www.computerhistory.org/] Email: dbrock(a)computerhistory.org Twitter: @dcbrock Skype: dcbrock 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View, CA 94943 (650) 810-1010 main (650) 810-1886 direct Follow Us: @CHM Blog [http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/] Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/computerhistory] Twitter [https://twitter.com/ComputerHistory] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/computerhistory/] YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/user/ComputerHistory] Make Software, Change the World! Now Open. [http://www.computerhistory.org/exhibits/makesoftware/]

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Web site update
by Jesiek, Brent K 30 Dec '17

30 Dec '17

Hi all, and happy holidays. As some of you may have noticed, the SIGCIS web site (https://www.sigcis.org/) has a new look. The redesign was prompted by a sorely needed update to the Drupal CMS. A few things to note: 1. The menu system has been redesigned, but we have done our best to maintain a coherent navigation structure. That said, if you can't find something or encounter dead links, let me know. 2. All user accounts and associated information have been migrated to the new site. Now might be a good time to log in and check/update your info (https://www.sigcis.org/user/login) 3. The Members Directory and Search features are available ONLY to valid users after they log into the site. These options are easily accessed via the left-hand User Menu after you log in. As Andy has noted, SIGCIS is a volunteer organization. I think the web site update is another good example of how we serve the community. Please consider making a year-end donation! Brent

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Defining American Greatness: IBM from Watson to Trump (CACM)
by Thomas Haigh 28 Dec '17

28 Dec '17

Hello SIGCIS, Hope everyone is having a pleasant holiday. I just wanted to let you all know that my short article "Defining American Greatness: IBM from Watson to Trump" just appeared in the Jan 2018 issue of Communications of the ACM. ACM agreed to make this one open access, in hopes of reaching a broader audience: https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2018/1/223891-defining-american-greatness/ful ltext. Thanks to Jim Cortada for comments, and to Bill Aspray who has recently stepped down from many years of editorial work helping to shepherd historical material into Communications. The argument is that IBM founder Thomas Watson Sr. and Donald Trump have a surprising amount in common, including an obsession with "greatness," but that the ways in which they differ tell us a lot about how America, and global capitalism, have changed over the past century. This seemed like a chance to make IBM's long history seem more relevant, and, when the parallels become more explicit in the conclusion, to approach Trumpism from a relatively novel direction. Also, it finishes with Leonard Cohen, which may be another first for CACM. Hopefully the computer scientists are not going to complain. There is a SIGCIS connection: the piece is deeply informed by a pair of panels on IBM I organized via the SIGCIS list for the Business History Conference a few years ago (Frankfurt meeting). The argument that IBM had been a "model corporation" in different eras comes from the talk I developed for that panel. This argument is combined here with details from my ongoing work with Petri Paju on the history of IBM in Europe (our article "IBM's Tiny Peripheral: Finland and the Tensions of Transnationality" should be out early next year in Business History Review). Best wishes, Tom

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Year-end drive: please donate to SIGCIS!
by Andrew Russell 27 Dec '17

27 Dec '17

Dear colleagues - We’ve had a strong fundraising year for SIGCIS so far, and we would like to finish 2017 on a high note. Please consider a year-end donation to SIGCIS, so that we can continue to support graduate student travel to SIGCIS meetings <http://www.sigcis.org/travelaward> (follow the link for a list of previous awardees). There are two ways you can donate: 1. Online. If you are a SHOT member you can use the online form at https://shot.press.jhu.edu/membership/contribute <https://shot.press.jhu.edu/membership/contribute> to donate directly to SIGCIS. The website has instructions for accessing your login information if you don’t have it on hand. 2. By mail. If you are not a SHOT member, the only way to donate to SIGCIS at the moment is by check/mail. To do so, please send a check to Richard Hirsh, SHOT Treasurer's Office, 3009 Stradford Ln., Blacksburg, VA 24060. The check should be made out to “Society for the History of Technology,” and have “SIGCIS” on the memo line. Since I’m writing, I’d like to give a quick update on SIGCIS’s financial health and activities for the past year. Community donations in the past have built a solid foundation for the Mahoney Fund <http://www.sigcis.org/mahoney>, which supports the Michael S. Mahoney Graduate Student Travel Awards as well as an endowment for the Mahoney Prize <http://www.sigcis.org/mahoneyprize>, an annual award for the best article in the history of computing. SIGCIS also has a permanent endowment for the Computer History Museum Prize <http://www.sigcis.org/chmprize>, thanks to the generosity of the estate of Paul Baran. Our continued need, however, is for funds to support graduate travel to our meetings. We raised nearly $2000 at SIGCIS events at the SHOT annual meeting (our book auction and pass-the-hat fundraiser), but if we raise more money then we can support more graduate students—simple as that. SIGCIS also had an extraordinarily rich and productive year from intellectual and organizational standpoints. For the first time we held a meeting detached from the SHOT annual meeting—the Command Lines <http://meetings.sigcis.org/uploads/6/3/6/8/6368912/command_lines_program.pdf> conference generously hosted & sponsored by the Computer History Museum in March 2017. In October 2017 we held another conference—Mix, Model, Measure <http://meetings.sigcis.org/>—on the Sunday at the end of the SHOT annual meeting. Taken together, the two meetings had over 100 papers, with a majority presented by graduate students and first-time SIGCIS participants. This fact alone indicates that SIGCIS is succeeding with our efforts to broaden and diversify the base of scholars and subjects discussed under SIGCIS's expansive umbrella. To make our commitment to diversity and openness explicit, the SIGCIS Exec approved a Statement of Community Values <http://www.sigcis.org/about_values>, updated the Acceptable Use Policy <http://www.sigcis.org/?q=node/14> for our email list, adopted an inclusivity and anti-harassment statement for our conference programs, and worked with our host institutions to provide gender-neutral restrooms for the participants at all of our meetings. The key to the continued vitality of SIGCIS is continual renewal: new ideas, new voices, and new perspectives on the history of computing and information technology. This is where your support plays a crucial role, so that we can help pay the travel and lodging costs for the extremely talented graduate students who keep coming to SIGCIS in record numbers. On that note: mark your calendars for October 10-14, 2018, which is when SHOT will meet in St. Louis and SIGCIS will host its 10th Sunday meeting on October 14th. Please donate! And, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you’d like more information or have any questions about SIGCIS. Many thanks, Andy Russell SIGCIS Chair — — — — — — — — — — — Andrew L. Russell, Ph.D. Dean, College of Arts & Sciences SUNY Polytechnic Institute Donovan Hall - 2123B 100 Seymour Road Utica, NY 13502 t. 315-792-7317 w. https://sunypoly.edu/ <https://sunypoly.edu/> e. arussell(a)arussell.org <mailto:arussell@arussell.org>

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NYCDH Week 2018
by Kimon Keramidas 22 Dec '17

22 Dec '17

Dear Colleagues, NYCDH <http://nycdh.org/> is happy to announce the 3rd Annual NYCDH Week, February 5-9, 2018 <http://dhweek.nycdh.org/>. Taking place at institutions throughout New York City, NYCDH Week gives individuals across the region who are interested in digital humanities an opportunity to learn new techniques and skills, meet new people, and become re-acquainted with the community . Volunteer to teach a workshop at NYC DH Week! Graduate students, librarians, faculty, museum workers, independent scholars, tech companies and others are welcome to become part of our programming. To sign up to teach a workshop please use this form <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfDK247j9T-ilQpnuMiHBZRxaotCwFRDRl…>. NYCDH Week's series of wide-ranging workshops are open to everyone. They are FREE and offered across the city. Workshops are made possible by members of the NYCDH community who are willing to offer their time to teach and help organize each session. Registration to attend a workshop will be opened soon! Join us for the Kickoff Day! Following last year’s highly successful event, NYCDH Week 2018 begins on February 5 with a kickoff gathering at Lincoln Center Campus (113 W. 60th St., 12th Floor). Our theme this year is DH in the Moment: Reaction, Response, Relevance. The day-long event features speakers, round tables, lightning talks and networking sessions. The rest of the week will consist of a diverse selection of free workshops hosted at a wide range of institutions across the city, including: Bard Graduate Center, Columbia University, CUNY Graduate Center, Fordham University, New York Public Library, NYU, Pratt Institute, and The Frick Collection. Last year NYCDH Week included 37 workshops with more than 500 registrants. For a list of the those workshops, see the DH Week website <http://dhweek.nycdh.org/workshops-2018/>. For more information, please contact me at kimon.keramidas(a)nyu.edu <mailto:kimon.keramidas@nyu.edu>. We hope to see you there! Cheers Kimon Kimon Keramidas, Ph.D. Associate Director and Clinical Assistant Professor The Center for Experimental Humanities <http://as.nyu.edu/ceh.html> New York University 14 University Place New York, NY 10003 P 212-998-3691 T @kimonizer W http://kimonkeramidas.com <http://kimonkeramidas.com/> The Interface Experience: Forty Years of Personal Computing Exhibition <https://www.bgc.bard.edu/gallery/exhibitions/10/the-interface-experience> The Interface Experience: A User’s Guide Winner of the 2016 Innovation in Print Design Award from the American Alliance of Museums Buy Book <http://store.bgc.bard.edu/the-interface-experience-a-users-guide-by-kimon-k…>

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New CBI Newsletter (Fall 2017, Vol. 39:2)
by Charles Babbage Institute 18 Dec '17

18 Dec '17

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CfP: Governance in the History of Computing
by Gerardo Con Diaz 11 Dec '17

11 Dec '17

The *IEEE Annals of the History of Computing *invites submissions for a special issue titled “*Governance in the History of Computing*.” Edited by Gerardo Con Diaz (University of California, Davis), this special issue will showcase how formal and informal forms of governance (from law and policy to self-policing) have shaped the history of computing broadly conceived. In recent years, scholars have developed a keen interest on the historical relationships between information technology and governance. Their work is revealing that computing and telecommunications technologies have been inseparable from the web of formal and informal forms of governance in which they are embedded. In the process they are showing how the study of law, policy, and regulation can shed new light on every major theme in the history of computing—from the design and commercialization of specific technologies, to the politics of their usage, representation, and disposal. This special issue aims to bring these scholars together. We welcome papers that draw from the history of computing and its allied fields, including STS, media studies, environmental studies, business history, and gender and sexuality studies, to name a few. Papers addressing any time period from the early nineteenth century to recent past are welcome, as are those with any geographical focus. Some topics of interest include: · Computing, free speech, privacy, and censorship · Criminal activity, due process, and punishment · Corporate governance and industry standards · Gender and race politics of IT governance · Computing and environmental policy · Internet standards and regulation · Ownership rights and piracy · Influential court opinions at the local, national, or international level If you are interested, please submit an abstract (250 words) to Gerardo Con Diaz (Condiaz(a)ucdavis.edu) by *January 26, 2018. *Accepted papers will be due for peer review in the summer of 2018. You may also contact him with any questions, or to discuss potential topics. -- *Gerardo Con Diaz* Assistant Professor Science and Technology Studies University of California, Davis www.condiaz.com

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Second CFP: Symposium on the History and Philosophy of Programming
by Tomas Petricek 10 Dec '17

10 Dec '17

Dear all, Following an earlier announcement, I would like to invite everyone one more time to consider submitting a 2-page extended abstract to an upcoming Symposium on the History and Philosophy of Programming. The symposium aims to bring together historians, philosophers, computer scientists and practitioners to discuss programming from a broader perspective. It will take place on 23 March 2018 in Oxford and the submission deadline is 1 January 2018. For more information and a full CFP, please see: https://www.shift-society.org/hapop4/ Below, you will find the brief outline as well as the programme committee, important dates and the submission link. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Programme committee Nicola Angius, Università di Sassari Alan Blackwell, University of Cambridge Edgar Daylight, University of Leuven Jeremy Gibbons, University of Oxford Ursula Martin (co-chair), University of Oxford Liesbeth De Mol, Université de Lille Tomas Petricek (co-chair), The Alan Turing Institue Mark Priestley, Independent Researcher Giuseppe Primiero, Middlesex University London Viola Schiaffonati, Politecnico Milano Important dates and links Submission deadline: 1 January 2018 Author notification: 2 February 2018 HaPoP symposium: 23 March 2018 Submission site: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=hapop4 HAPOC Grants: http://www.hapoc.org/node/251 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have any questions regarding suitability of a topic, format of the extended abstract, or anything else, please contact me at mailto:tomas@tomasp.net. Thanks, Tomas Petricek

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