January 2018 - 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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Annals of the History of Computing -- Call for EIC
by Dag Spicer 31 Jan '18

31 Jan '18

Dear SIGCIS Friends, The IEEE Computer Society is seeking applicants for the position of editor in chief of the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing magazine, serving a three-year term. The current EIC Nathan Ensmenger, has done a wonderful job in his two terms (thanks Nathan!!) but with term limits in effect it’s now time to choose a new EIC. Prospective candidates are asked to provide (as PDF files), by 1 March 2018, a complete curriculum vitae, a brief plan for the publication's future, and a letter of support from their institution or employer. Brief letters or expressions of support from peers, community leaders, and organizations in the magazine's coverage area would be a definite asset. For more information on this new magazine and its scope, please visit www.computer.org/annals<http://www.computer.org/annals>. For more information and to submit application materials, please contact Bonnie Wylie at b.wylie(a)computer.org<mailto:b.wylie@computer.org>. Candidates for any IEEE editor in chief position should possess a good understanding of industry, academic, and government aspects of the specific publication's field. Candidates must demonstrate community leadership in the publication's coverage area as well as the managerial skills necessary to process manuscripts through the editorial cycle in a timely fashion. The candidate must be able to meet hard publication deadlines and dedicate the necessary time to meet the operational and strategic demands of the publication. An editor in chief must be able to attract respected experts to his or her editorial and advisory boards and be able to promote the publication to both new audiences and within established communities. Major responsibilities include: * actively soliciting high-quality manuscripts from potential authors and, with support from publication staff, helping these authors get their manuscripts published; * identifying and appointing editorial board members, with the concurrence of the Steering Committee; * selecting competent manuscript reviewers, with the help of editorial board members, and managing timely reviews of manuscripts; * directing editorial board members to seek special-issue proposals and manuscripts in specific areas; * providing a clear, broad focus through promotion of personal vision and guidance where appropriate; and * resolving conflicts or problems as necessary. IEEE Annals of the History of Computing covers the breadth of computer history through scholarly articles by leading computer scientists and historians, as well as firsthand accounts by computing pioneers. Annals is the authoritative archival journal for the history of computing. Applicants should be able to show involvement in the computer history community, and must have clear employer support. About IEEE Computer Society IEEE Computer Society<http://www.computer.org/> is the world’s leading membership organization for professionals in all aspects of modern computing – from cloud to big data, security to mobile, robotics to software defined systems, wearables to IoT. A true community for technology leaders, Computer Society provides resources to keep its members current in technology and moving forward in their professions – publications<http://www.computer.org/web/publications>, a renowned digital library<http://www.computer.org/web/csdl/>, a vast program of conferences<http://www.computer.org/web/conferences/>, technical committees<http://www.computer.org/web/tandc>, and much more. The Computer Society also serves the profession at large through establishment of standards, professional qualifications and certifications<http://www.computer.org/web/education/>, training and education programs<http://www.computer.org/web/corporate-programs/t2p2/>, events on leading-edge technologies<http://www.computer.org/web/rock-stars/>, conference publishing<http://www.computer.org/web/cs-cps/>, and a wealth of other services and programs focused on advancing the science and art of computing. More information on IEEE Computer Society can be found at www.computer.org<http://www.computer.org/>. — Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum 1401 N Shoreline Blvd Mountain View, CA 94043

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] history of history of computing courses
by Brian L. Stuart 30 Jan '18

30 Jan '18

I can speak to the Rhodes College course since that one was mine. We only ran it once, but I thought it was a lot of fun. I can probably find my old syllabus if it would help, but there wasn't a huge amount of detail in it. Like the Purdue course I mentioned in another message, I used Williams book as my primary text. More recently, I've run a similar course here at Drexel University. I'm hoping to eventually make that one a regular offering. In both cases, the the primary focus was on the hardware, architecture, and similar technical factors. Software got about 10-20% of the time, and a similar amount of time was devoted to the development of theory. The cultural/ societal aspects only really appeared in the context of my lectures as background to the technical developments. For the more recent version, the assignments that I found the most fun to assign were writing a little bit of PDP-8 machine code (and I let them run it on an 8/M I've restored), "writing" a simple task on the ENIAC which they ran on my simulator, and writing a simulator for some early machine, with the Manchester Baby probably being the most popular choice. BLS -------------------------------------------- On Mon, 1/29/18, Janet Abbate <abbate(a)vt.edu> wrote: Also, he has a website last updated in 1998 (http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/courses.html) that lists these courses at various universities: - University of Warwick CS330: History of Computing - University of Calgary, CPSC 509 - American University, CSIS 64.550 History of Computing - Stanford University STS 161 -- History of Computers. - Virginia Tech, CS 3604 Professionalism in Computing (contains a section on history). [J.A.N.’s own course] - Rhodes College, CS 465: Topics in Computer Science Computer History

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history of history of computing courses
by Chris Leslie 29 Jan '18

29 Jan '18

Dear Colleagues, I am working on an article and I would like to learn about history of computing classes, particularly at the undergraduate level. Does anyone have details on when and where these kinds of courses were first offered? Are there any that are particularly well-known for whatever reason? If you have a syllabus from a particular course, especially before 2005, I would greatly appreciate a copy. On- or off-list replies are welcome. Chris Leslie Fulbright Lecturer. South China University of Technology Chair, IFIP Working Group 9.7: History of Computing (http://ifipwg97.org)

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] history of history of computing courses
by Brian L. Stuart 29 Jan '18

29 Jan '18

The earliest course I was involved with was done by Saul Rosen at Purdue somewhere around 1990. He taught it as an undergrad topics course, but allowed me to audit even though I was a grad student. If I do some digging I might be able to find some of the notes, but I don't think I have a syllabus per se. He used Michael Williams book as the primary text for the course, but most of the lectures were driven more by his own perspective. BLS -------------------------------------------- On Sun, 1/28/18, Chris Leslie <chrisleslienyc(a)hotmail.com> wrote: Dear Colleagues, I am working on an article and I would like to learn about history of computing classes, particularly at the undergraduate level. Does anyone have details on when and where these kinds of courses were first offered? Are there any that are particularly well-known for whatever reason? If you have a syllabus from a particular course, especially before 2005, I would greatly appreciate a copy.

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] history of history of computing courses
by David Walden 29 Jan '18

29 Jan '18

Peter Denning has been involved in studies of CS curricula, at great length. There are ACM reports. On January 29, 2018, at 10:37 AM, Janet Abbate <abbate(a)vt.edu> wrote: J.A.N. Lee was teaching history of computing fairly early at Virginia Tech. He included history as part of a “professionalism” course for CS undergraduates that also had a heavy dose of ethics. See website: http://courses.cs.vt.edu/~cs3604/CWRU.html Also, he has a website last updated in 1998 (http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/courses.html) that lists these courses at various universities: University of Warwick CS330: History of Computing University of Calgary, CPSC 509 American University, CSIS 64.550 History of Computing Stanford University STS 161 -- History of Computers. Virginia Tech, CS 3604 Professionalism in Computing (contains a section on history). [J.A.N.’s own course]Rhodes College, CS 465: Topics in Computer Science Computer History I doubt the links are still working, but you could probably track down some of the instructors. best, Janet Dr. Janet Abbate Associate Professor, Science, Technology and Society Virginia Tech Co-director, VT National Capital Region STS program www.sts.vt.edu/ncr www.linkedin.com/groups/STS-Virginia-Tech-4565055 www.facebook.com/VirginiaTechSTS On Jan 28, 2018, at 10:11 PM, Chris Leslie <chrisleslienyc(a)hotmail.com> wrote: Dear Colleagues, I am working on an article and I would like to learn about history of computing classes, particularly at the undergraduate level. Does anyone have details on when and where these kinds of courses were first offered? Are there any that are particularly well-known for whatever reason? If you have a syllabus from a particular course, especially before 2005, I would greatly appreciate a copy. On- or off-list replies are welcome. Chris Leslie Fulbright Lecturer. South China University of Technology Chair, IFIP Working Group 9.7: History of Computing (http://ifipwg97.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

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] history of history of computing courses
by David Walden 29 Jan '18

29 Jan '18

Sorry: Gordon Welchman, not Welch. On January 28, 2018, at 10:11 PM, Chris Leslie <chrisleslienyc(a)hotmail.com> wrote: Dear Colleagues, I am working on an article and I would like to learn about history of computing classes, particularly at the undergraduate level. Does anyone have details on when and where these kinds of courses were first offered? Are there any that are particularly well-known for whatever reason? If you have a syllabus from a particular course, especially before 2005, I would greatly appreciate a copy. On- or off-list replies are welcome. Chris Leslie Fulbright Lecturer. South China University of Technology Chair, IFIP Working Group 9.7: History of Computing (http://ifipwg97.org)

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] history of history of computing courses
by David Walden 29 Jan '18

29 Jan '18

There was an article in the Annals by Bill Aspray about (early?) courses at MIT, if I remember correctly. The MIT archive has the class-by-class course notes for the first course on digital computing at MIT, taught by Gordon Welsh. On January 28, 2018, at 10:11 PM, Chris Leslie <chrisleslienyc(a)hotmail.com> wrote: Dear Colleagues, I am working on an article and I would like to learn about history of computing classes, particularly at the undergraduate level. Does anyone have details on when and where these kinds of courses were first offered? Are there any that are particularly well-known for whatever reason? If you have a syllabus from a particular course, especially before 2005, I would greatly appreciate a copy. On- or off-list replies are welcome. Chris Leslie Fulbright Lecturer. South China University of Technology Chair, IFIP Working Group 9.7: History of Computing (http://ifipwg97.org)

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Mary Lee Berners-Lee, 1924-2017
by James Sumner 23 Jan '18

23 Jan '18

Dear all The first obituaries have begun to appear for Mary Lee Berners-Lee, formerly Mary Lee Woods, one of the earliest Ferranti programmers, who died on 29 November of last year: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jan/23/mary-lee-berners-lee-obi… https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/mary-berners-lee-d9wzqvhm7 (paywalled) She is the subject of (to my knowledge) two valuable oral history interviews, Janet Abbate's of 2001, and Tom Lean's of 2010 alongside her husband Conway Berners-Lee: http://ethw.org/Oral-History:Mary_Lee_Berners-Lee http://cadensa.bl.uk/uhtbin/cgisirsi/x/0/0/5?searchdata1=CKEY7336183&librar… Best James

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