July 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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Origins of "archive" in computer science
by Matthew Kirschenbaum 06 Aug '18

06 Aug '18

Dear all, I'm trying to find early exemplars of the use of the word "archive" in computer systems contexts, whether as a noun to denote an element of computer architecture (i.e., the archive disk or archive tape) or as a verb, i.e. "I've archived those files." Examples might include the TAR ("Tape ARchive") format, Wang's nomenclature of an "archive disk" in its systems, and Gmail's early mantra, "Archive, Don't Delete." I'd love to run down some early instances of this sort of thing, which I assume goes back to the mainframe era. Thank you-- -- Matthew Kirschenbaum Professor of English and Digital Studies Director, Graduate Certificate in Digital Studies University of Maryland mkirschenbaum.net

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PROGRAMme autumn workshop, 16-17 october 2018, Bertinoro
by ldemol 23 Jul '18

23 Jul '18

Dear all, I am happy to announce the autumn workshop of the PROGRAMme project which will be organised from 16 to 17 October 2018 at Bertinoro University center in Italy. It is the first in a series of four workshops. Each will focus on one of the project’s main clusters in connection to the other three. The first workshop will focus on the cluster Logic and so concentrates on logic at the interface with machines, languages and systems. In order to register, please send a mail with your affiliation to: liesbeth.demol(a)univ-lille3.fr before September 15 2018. Registration is free but required in order to attend. For more details, including a provisional program, see: https://programme.hypotheses.org/autumn-workshop-formalisms-at-the-interfac… Organizers: Liesbeth De Mol (CNRS, Université de Lille) and Simone Martini (Universita di Bologna). Supported by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche and the Department of Computer Science and Engineering of Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna. with best wishes, Liesbeth De Mol

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Donation of Books
by James Cortada 22 Jul '18

22 Jul '18

I have donated to the Hagley Museum and Library the bulk of my books about computing and since I had donated a large number to the University of Minnesota (CBI) in 2009 I wanted to explain why I did that. In the intervening years since 2009, the library at the University of Minnesota decided to allocate its remaining space more to archival materials rather than to large book collections. The Hagley had room for the books and its collecting strategy dovetailed neatly with mine. CBI and the University of Minnesota Library eagerly welcome new archival materials dealing with IT, as we saw recently with the massive acquisition of Jean Sammet's papers. I intend to continue donating my notes and other archival materials to CBI as I complete future book projects. My current project is a large history of IBM, to be published by MIT Press early next year. For a brief description of what I deposited at the Hagley see https://www.hagley.org/librarynews/new-collection- james-w-cortada-collection-information-technology-publications -- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada(a)umn.edu 608-274-6382

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Copyright advice sought
by Bernard Geoghegan 20 Jul '18

20 Jul '18

Dear Members, I’m looking for some copyright tips. I’d be grateful for feedback. I’m trying to figure out if I need copyright holder permission to reproduce in an academic publication images from the following items that appeared in print between 1923 and 1963, i.e. a period when things normally require explicit copyright renewal to stay out of the public domain. I can’t figure out if some of these materials count as government documents. Unless noted, none of these materials come from an archive or otherwise privileged source. Figures from IBM manuals for SAGE from 1958. There’s no evidence the manual was copyrighted, nor that the copyright was renewed, but there is a statement in the manuals that reads “This document contains information of a proprietary nature. Any use or reproduction of this document for other than government purposes is subject to the prior consent of International Business Machines Corporation.” A figure from a 1950s RAND memo prepared for the US Air Force—no evidence that it was copyrighted, nor that the copyright was renewed. There is a statement on the cover that permission must be sought from RAND to quote or reproduce its contents. Figures from a 1947 report produced by a university-based laboratory for the US Air Force, no evidence that it was copyrighted, nor that copyright was renewed. I don’t think it was publicly circulated. I got my copy from a US government archive. Pre-1964 magazine advertisements, I have no information about their copyright status. Thanks for your advice, colleagues. Best, Bernard -- Bernard Dionysius Geoghegan Senior Lecturer in the History and Theory of Digital Media www.bernardg.com Department of Digital Humanities King's College London The Strand Building Room S3.08 WC2R 2LS Office: +44 (0)20 7848 4750 Cell: +44 (0)75 7713 9098

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Postdoc opportunity with Wendy Chun at SFU
by Thomas Haigh 19 Jul '18

19 Jul '18

Not historical, but certainly STSy and might fit with the interests of some SIGCIS participants. Tom Anfang der weitergeleiteten Nachricht: Von: Wendy Chun <whkchun(a)gmail.com <mailto:whkchun@gmail.com> > Betreff: Please spread word of this post-doc opportunity Datum: 17. Juli 2018 um 23:01:03 MESZ The Digital Democracies Group at Simon Fraser University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellowship for a full academic year to work with Professor Wendy Chun at the SFU School of Communication, starting September 2018. The Digital Democracies Group integrates research in the humanities, social sciences and data sciences to address questions of equality and social justice. Current research projects focus on ways to combat the current proliferation of online "echo chambers" and discriminatory algorithms by creating alternative data literacies and paradigms for connection: from applications and methods to transform hostile social media exchanges into productive dialogs, to critical analyses of fake news and its historical evolution. The successful candidate will be involved in a research project examining the relationship between networked and physical segregation, as well as ways to combat this segregation through the development of new networking models. Candidates must have their Ph.D. in a relevant discipline-within the humanities, social sciences, or physical sciences-a demonstrated ability to conduct high-quality research in Natural Language Processing, Data/Network Science, and/or Media Theory, and strong written and oral communications skills. They should also have experience working in an interdisciplinary setting. This fellowship is renewable for up to a total of 3 years; renewals are based on performance and availability of funding. The fellowship carries an annual stipend of CA$45,000. Candidates should email their CV, a summary of research interests, and the contact details of two references to Mark Campbell (mark_campbell(a)sfu.ca <mailto:mark_campbell@sfu.ca> ). Review of applications will begin on July 25, 2018, and continue until a suitable candidate has been identified.

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Fair Use
by David C. Brock 13 Jul '18

13 Jul '18

On Bernard’s question, this from Barndon Butler from the University of Virginia who is a fair use/copyright expert: > Interesting! For an article, if the images serve the argument, I’d say rely on fair use, no worries. And it sounds like the odds are quite good that most of this stuff is in the public domain anyway. All the bombastic warnings demanding permission are surely unenforceable. I wouldn’t be daunted at all in using this stuff. The Authors Alliance just put out a nice new book on fair use for nonfiction authors that might be useful: https://www.authorsalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AuthorsAllianceF…. +++++++++++++++ David C. Brock dcb(a)dcbrock.net 40 Russell Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 Mobile: 413-522-3578 Skype: dcbrock Twitter: @dcbrock

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Cybernetics and Industry
by Bjorn Westergard 12 Jul '18

12 Jul '18

Esteemed SIGCIS members, Which are the indispensable histories (and/or shorter historical essays) of cybernetics that touch on its social context? I'm particularly interested in the influence of self-styled cyberneticians on those playing a directive function in private enterprise (industrial/process engineers, managers, etc.) and vice versa. This question was prompted by a (characteristically!) gnomic remark of Wiener's in *The Human Use of Human Beings*, in which he appears to be quite fluent in "Taylorist" idiom: "The notion of programming in the factory had already become familiar through the work of Taylor and the Gilbreths on time study, and was ready to be transferred to the machine. This offered considerable difficulty of detail, but no great difficulty of principle." (p150) Cheers, Bjorn

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Call for Submissions: Information & Culture
by Scoville, Sheila L 11 Jul '18

11 Jul '18

Information & Culture: A Journal of History is actively soliciting articles for publication. The journal publishes high quality, peer reviewed articles on the history of information. The social and cultural context of information and information technology, viewed from an historical perspective, is at the heart of the journal’s interests. Typical papers might focus, for example, on the histories of information institutions, agencies, domains, or businesses; the history of information work and workers; the history of information in everyday life; the history of information and communication practices; the history of information artifacts (ranging from books to computers, information infrastructures and networks); the history of the organization and classification of information; the history of concepts and theories in the information domain; and intellectual and theoretical approaches for writing information history. The intention is to juxtapose papers on a wide variety of topics related to the history of information to stimulate connections between the research of library historians, information science historians, historians of print culture, historians of computing, historians of media and communication, labor historians, gender historians, economic historians, business historians, political and diplomatic historians, cultural studies scholars, critical theorists, and science and technology scholars. Instructions for contributors are available at http://www.infoculturejournal.org/submissions Interested authors should contact the editor: Ciaran B. Trace School of Information University of Texas – Austin Email: cbtrace(a)austin.utexas.edu<mailto:cbtrace@austin.utexas.edu>

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Cash and Dash: How ATMs and Computers Changed Banking (Oxford)
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 09 Jul '18

09 Jul '18

Colleagues Some of you might be interested in this title which was released this week (also via Amazon): https://global.oup.com/academic/product/cash-and-dash-9780198782810?cc=gb&l… <https://global.oup.com/academic/product/cash-and-dash-9780198782810?cc=gb&l…> Among other things, it benefited from the support of a Norbert Travel fund to Charles Babbage. Best wishes Bernardo Bangor University (Wales) Cash and Dash How ATMs and Computers Changed Banking Bernardo Bátiz-Lazo Covers the digitalisation process of banking from the 1960s to the present day An index of technological change in banking explains the organizational and technological challenges to develop computer networks Questions the cultural significance of ATMs Uses cross-country comparisons to study why, in spite of globalization, retail payment systems map to national borders

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