May 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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Bloomberg: "Bird Races to Become the First Scooter Unicorn"
by Thomas Haigh 01 Jun '18

01 Jun '18

Picking back up on a SIGCIS thread from a few years ago, on the history of "unicorn" as an odd term to apply to a tech company, I just saw this amazing headline "Bird Races to Become the First Scooter Unicorn" on Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-29/sequoia-said-to-value-sco oter-company-bird-at-1-billion I am going to look for a way to work it into something I write, and perhaps in a few years it will earn its proper place as a distillation of our historic moment not unlike "Peace in Our Time" or "Dewey Defeats Truman." Beyond the whole idea of rival billion-dollar scooter companies, I now can't stop thinking about a bird chasing a unicorn riding a scooter. Or maybe the bird is on a scooter, trying to catch up to a galloping unicorn as it approaches a checkered flag. Or the bird might be hovering over a cauldron, trying to turn itself into a scootering unicorn via a hurriedly cast spell of transformation. There are so many possible readings. I know this is somewhat tangential to list business, but I just couldn't resist sharing it given the growing sense of doom hovering over most other news stories, including the global financial turmoil I visited Bloomberg to check on. Best wishes, Tom

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V Symposium of Informatics History in Latin America and the Caribbean (SHIALC)
by Marcelo Vianna 31 May '18

31 May '18

V Symposium of Informatics History in Latin America and the Caribbean (SCHIALC) Trajectory of Computer Science in Latin America and the Caribbean: autonomy, (in)dependencies and many other stories November 7-9, 2018 Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil www.shialc.org (Portuguese) www.cos.ufrj.br/shialc/es (Spanish) Deadline for submission: July 15, 2018 --- Este email foi escaneado pelo Avast antivírus. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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film review tackles Tron and Tron Legacy
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 25 May '18

25 May '18

Some might find this discussion of the Tron movies in the Financial Times and their link to economic aspects of technology interesting. The comparison of the two movies 30 years apart was somewhat entertaining. The podcast is free https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2016/08/19/2172949/podcast-alphachats-inaugural… <https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2016/08/19/2172949/podcast-alphachats-inaugural…> Best Bernardo Bangor University, Wales

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CFP: Computing and programming in context - Philosophy and Technology
by Tomas Petricek 25 May '18

25 May '18

Dear all, Following two recent events on the history and philosophy of computing and programming (HaPoC 2017 in Brno and HaPoP 2018 in Oxford), we welcome paper submissions to a special issue of the Philosophy and Technology journal on "Computing and programming in context: The interplay between logic, science, technology and society". The deadline for submission is 1 October 2018 and the call is open both to authors of contributions to HaPoC and HaPoP, and to submissions not presented at the aforementioned conferences. For more information, please see the full call for papers: https://www.shift-society.org/hapop4/special-issue.html A brief introduction is included below. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COMPUTING AND PROGRAMMING IN CONTEXT The interplay between logic, science, technology and society In a society where computers have become ubiquitous, it is necessary to develop a broader understanding of the nature of computing and programming, not just from a technical viewpoint, but also from a historical and philosophical perspective. Computers and computer programs do not exist in a vacuum - they are a part of a rich socio-technological context that provides ways for understanding computers and reasoning about programs (cognitive sciences and logic), they are made of technology that shapes the nature of computing and programming. Computers and programs also influence our understanding of the world (e.g. as a scientific instrument) or our relationship with the world (i.e. their sociological and psychological effects). The aim of this special issue is to bring together works exploring computing and programming across their rich socio-technological, scientific and formal context. We are convinced that an inter-disciplinary approach is necessary for understanding computing and programming in their multifaceted nature. As such, we welcome interdisciplinary submissions by researchers coming from a diversity of backgrounds, including historians, philosophers and computer scientists. Questions that consider computing and programming in a wider context include: * What formal, societal and technological influences contributed to the way in which modern programs are written and modern computers are constructed? * In what ways can computer programs lead to novel phenomenological experiences, be it through direct engagement with technological artifacts or as mediated through art? * What is the role of programs and computer simulations in traditional sciences such as biology and physics? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have any questions regarding suitability of a topic, format of the paper, or anything else, please contact me (t.petricek(a)kent.ac.uk) or one of the co-editors (Mark Priestley, Helena Durnová and Giuseppe Primiero). Thanks, Tomas Petricek

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New issue of Information & Culture
by Scoville, Sheila L 22 May '18

22 May '18

Information & Culture Volume 53, Issue 2, 2018 ARTICLES "Crises" in Scholarly Communications?: Maturity and Transfer of the Journal of Library History to the University of Texas, 1968–1976 Maria E. Gonzalez and Patricia Galloway "Save the Cross Campus": Library Planning and Protests at Yale, 1968–1969 Geoffrey Robert Little Media Prophylaxis: Night Modes and the Politics of Preventing Harm Dylan Mulvin Rethinking the Call for a US National Data Center in the 1960s: Privacy, Social Science Research, and Data Fragmentation Viewed from the Perspective of Contemporary Archival Theory Christopher Loughnane and William Aspray http://utpress.utexas.edu/journals/information-culture Sheila Scoville Journals Promotion Coordinator University of Texas Press P.O. Box 7819 | Austin, TX 78731-7819 P: (512) 232-7618<tel:%28512%29%20232-7618> | F: (512) 232-7178<tel:%28512%29%20232-7178> sscoville(a)utpress.utexas.edu<mailto:sscoville@utpress.utexas.edu> Visit the UT Press website<http://utpress.utexas.edu/>. Follow us on Twitter<https://twitter.com/UTPressJournals>, and friend us on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/utexaspressjournals>.

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Facebook live today
by Ceruzzi, Paul 16 May '18

16 May '18

Hope this is of interest to SIGCIS folks. My continuing interest in "HAL" after 50 years. Paul Wednesday, May 16th, at 12:30 pm (1630 GMT) Not 'HAL' from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but a Real Supercomputer Used by NASA with Paul Ceruzzi [cid:image001.jpg@01D3ECF3.7605DC60] Tune in on Facebook.com/airandspace! Planning to attend in-person? Meet in the Space Hangar. Fifty years ago, the film 2001: a Space Odyssey featured a computer "HAL," that could converse with its human crew in plain English, and perform a number of intelligent tasks (at least until the final scenes!). In this Ask an Expert talk, curator Paul Ceruzzi discusses what real supercomputers of the 1960s looked like, and what they did (and did not do). He will describe NASM's exhibit of a Control Data Corporation model 3800 computer, which was used by the Air Force to track and control satellites, and by NASA to solve complex aerodynamics equations. Paul will also give some details about the computer's legendary designer, Seymour Cray, who is considered the "father" of supercomputers.

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[update] deadline approaching for Histories of Computing in Eastern Europe workshop
by Chris Leslie 16 May '18

16 May '18

Please forward among your colleagues and networks … Call for Papers Histories of Computing in Eastern Europe IFIP Working Group 9.7 Part of the 24th IFIP World Congress Poznan University of Technology, Poland 19-21 September 2018 The conference committee has begun to review papers for our history of computing workshop at the next IFIP World Computing Congress, which will be held in Poznan, Poland. Draft papers may be submitted any time before June 15. IFIP’s Working Group 9.7, which is dedicated to international histories of computing, is sponsoring a series of papers on 19-21 September as part of the next IFIP World Congress. Given the World Congress’s location, we are particularly interested in histories that reflect computing and informatics in eastern Europe. Academic historians and lovers of history, computing and informatics professionals, archivists, museum curators, and others are welcome to submit papers. More information about the workshop is available on the working group website (http://ifipwg97.org) As has been the working group's past practice, we request submission of draft papers for consideration. Accepted papers will be revised based on comments from reviewers and be distributed to participants before the workshop to ensure a lively conversation. After the workshop, authors will have the chance to incorporate feedback from the audience before submitting their final papers for consideration in the edited volume of selected papers for the proceedings, which will be published by Springer as a volume in the IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology (IFIP-AICT) series. In order to participate, please submit a draft of your paper via the Springer Online Conference Service. The OCS portal for this workshop is available at https://ocs.springer.com/ocs/home/HCEE2018. Review of draft papers will continue until June 15. Revised versions of accepted papers will be distributed to conference participants on September 1. Enquires in advance of your submission or questions about Springer OCS may be addressed to the chair of the working group, Chris Leslie (chrisleslienyc(a)hotmail.com<mailto:chrisleslienyc@hotmail.com>).

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Reminder: SIGCIS Community Values and Acceptable Use Policy
by Irish, Sharon Lee 11 May '18

11 May '18

Dear listserv members, After a three-month pause in 2017, you may recall that we re-opened the SIGCIS listserv in September of 2017. At that time we indicated that we would send out the Acceptable Use Policy and the Statement of Community Values on an occasional basis as reminders of our commitments. SIGCIS officers put considerable time and substantial thought into these documents and we’d like to share them with you again. The Statement of Community Values is on the About page of the sigcis.org site, https://www.sigcis.org/about_values The Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is also on the sigcis.org site https://www.sigcis.org/aup; we will revisit these policies, as needed. We, the volunteer moderators, use this AUP as our guide to manage the listserv; any response to messages is post-facto. If you, dear members, want to call our attention to a post, you may do so by emailing us at members-owner(a)lists.sigcis.org<mailto:members-owner@lists.sigcis.org>. A description of the Moderator Responsibilities and Guidelines, as well as contact information for each of us, is posted at https://www.sigcis.org/listserv We would welcome more moderators, and invite you to send a note of interest or questions to any of us. We believe that this mailing list is functioning well again, for all of us. Best wishes, Sharon Irish Bill McMillan Janet Toland Barbara Walker The current moderators

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New Exhibit opens in Makimoto Library
by Brian Berg 08 May '18

08 May '18

Received via the Computer History Museum: From: Tsugio Makimoto <makimoto(a)tsugio.jp> Date: Monday, May 7, 2018 at 9:15 PM To: 牧本 <makimoto(a)tsugio.jp> Subject: New Exhibit open in Makimoto Library Dear my friends, It is my pleasure to inform you that a new Exhibit is open in MAKIMOTO LIBRARY on the site of Semiconductor History Museum of Japan or SHMJ ( http://www.shmj.or.jp/english/index.html) with the following title. Exhibit III “Semiconductor as the Engine of Modern Civilization” (http://www.shmj.or.jp/makimoto/en/) This is an essay based on the speech held in 2015 in commemoration of the Global IT Award which I received from the President of Armenia in 2013. It describes how the “nomadic society” was created thanks to the progress of semiconductor technology centering on the COMS innovation. It is forecast that the further progress of semiconductor technology will lead to the rise of Robotics Wave. In the concluding remarks, it states that “semiconductor is the engine of modern civilization. There is no future for a country, if it loses this engine”. I wish you will enjoy reading this article. Regards, Tsugio Makimoto Director of SHMJ

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