May 2020 - 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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New book: Code Nation: Personal Computing and the Learn to Program Movement in America
by Thomas Misa 31 May '20

31 May '20

Pleased to announce Michael Halvorson, Code Nation: Personal Computing and the Learn to Program Movement in America (ACM Books 2020). Available in hard/paper at Amazon.com <http://amazon.com/>, BN.com <http://bn.com/>, Bookshop.org <http://bookshop.org/> and (through end of June) available for **gratis download** at https://doi.org/10.1145/3368274 <https://doi.org/10.1145/3368274> either PDF or EPUB. Halvorson covers some familiar terrain in the rise of personal-computing programming in the 1960-70s — lots on BASIC, counterculture, software engineering — but also entirely new material on FORTRAN, Logo, MS Visual Basic, MS-DOS, MS Windows, Mac applications, “C” — commercial and application program development. Michael worked at Microsoft Press for years, and attends to the many varied publications from personal computing. Background for learn-to-program movement today! Check out the many color illustrations: pretty much a first for the history titles from ACM Books. In months to come, look for these ACM Books history titles going into production — Dick van Lente on Prophets of Computing: Visions of Society Transformed by Computing. . . Kim Tracy on software history . . . Jim Pelkey and Andy Russell on early networking industry . . . . Best regards, Tom Misa (ACM Books http://books.acm.org/board#tab17 <https://t.co/sZWSEcgMkP?amp=1>) ==========================

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Queens of Code - Stories from NSA's Computing Women
by Eileen Buckholtz 30 May '20

30 May '20

[image: image.png] For everyone interested in Women in Computing History We are excited to share that the Queens of Code’s article “First Encounters of a Binary Kind,” will be the cover story for the June 2020 issue of the IEEE Annals of the History of Computing Journal. The anecdote highlights the stories of a dozen of the National Security Agency’s women computing pioneers who worked with early computers in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. The Queens of Code Project has collected the stories, experiences, and insights from a number of the 150 women who contributed to early technology development and the national defense at NSA—a secret they’ve kept for over 50 years. Thanks to Gerardo Con Diaz, Mar Hicks, and Dave Walden and the IEEE staff for their encouragement and helping us publish our story. We hope our stories will encourage girls and young women to pursue STEM careers as well as other women who worked in early IT to share their experiences. To hear from some of the Queens of Code, you and your students might like to sign up for the following online talks. The Queens of Code will be presenting four talks about NSA’s Computing Women from the 60s, 70s, and 80s as part of the Cyber Center for Education & Innovation (CCEI) series on the NEPRIS platform. The programs are free, NEPRIS registration is required. The talks are geared to middle and high school students, but all are welcomed. Please share this information with anyone who might be interested. June 4, 2020, 2:00 PM Meet the Queens of Code. Eileen Buckholtz and Maureen McHugh will introduce the Queens of Code and share stories from their careers in technology at NSA. https://nepris.com/sessions/session/detail/72553 June 11, 2020, 2:00 PM PreQueen stories about growing up as “smart girls” and our experiences with early computers <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fccei.nepris.com%2Fsessions%2Fses…> https://ccei.nepris.com/sessions/session/detail/72773 <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fccei.nepris.com%2Fsessions%2Fses…> Talks 3 and 4 will be scheduled later in the summer. For more information, follow the Queens of Code on https://www.queensofcode.com https://www.facebook.com/queensofcode

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'U.S. lawmakers unveil bold $100 billion plan to remake NSF'
by David Ribes 27 May '20

27 May '20

For those of you interested in US science policy, especially about IT and computation, this is not to be missed: U.S. lawmakers unveil bold $100 billion plan to remake NSF https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/us-lawmakers-unveil-bold-100-billio… It's just a senate proposal for now, but it looks like it has legs. While I was caught off guard by the SCOPE of what they are proposing, the SHAPE is unsurprising to me, and looks a much like the NSF may be reorganized according to what I've been writing about recently as 'the logic of domains <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0306312719849709>': a vast and empowered new 'technology' directorate orbited by the various domains, with a support role articulated for social science. Too soon to say for sure, but it sure smells like it. Regardless, it may of interest to members of this list, and I'd be curious if anyone knows more. I'll be following closely. Here is another article, and then the somewhat inscrutable Senate doc itself: https://www.hpcwire.com/2020/05/27/100b-plan-submitted-for-massive-remake-a… https://www.aip.org/sites/default/files/aipcorp/images/fyi/pdf/endless-fron… -- David Ribes Associate Professor Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering (HCDE) University of Washington http://davidribes.com

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Early History of the Domain Name System [Paper]
by Eric Gade 27 May '20

27 May '20

Hello all, After procrastinating for nearly a decade I've decided to publish my MA/MSc thesis online. It covers the genesis and early administration of the Domain Name System, taking a special interest in the decisions that led to the split gTLD/ccTLD structure. Perhaps a scholar looking into DNS history might find it useful. You can find the HTML version here: http://gade.us/thesis/ There is also a PDF version available here: http://gade.us/thesis/naming-the-net.pdf (Apologies ahead of time if it is inappropriate to post such things to this list) -- Eric

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Computing Curricula CC2020
by Jordi 27 May '20

27 May '20

Dear colleagues, Anybody involved in the www.cc2020.net? There is a lot of history on "computing curricula" in this document. History of computing in the curricula is collocated in the "Ethics" topic and scaterred along some competencies. By the way, the draft is open for comments. Bestregards, -- Jordi Fornés C6-216

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History of AI in China
by David C. Brock 20 May '20

20 May '20

I was wondering if anyone on the list is working on the history of AI in China, or could point me to references? +++++++++++++++ David C. Brock dcb(a)dcbrock.net 40 Russell Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 Mobile: 413-522-3578 Skype: dcbrock Twitter: @dcbrock Pronouns: he, him, his

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Hagley Blog Post on Photographer of ENIAC, William M. Rittase
by Erik Rau 18 May '20

18 May '20

Some members of this list may know of, or be interested in, the photography of William M. Rittase<https://www.hagley.org/librarynews/photographer-william-m-rittase-and-his-i…> who took the iconic photographs that introduced the world to the ENIAC. He was also a contemporary of Dorothea Lange and Margaret Bourke-White and shared some stylistic sensibilities with them. Rittase’s work is scattered in several of our collections and has appeared in a few art photography exhibitions (MoMA in 1932, Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2001), but despite its artistic merit, Rittase is relatively obscure. As Hagley’s curator Kevin J. Martin notes in a current blog post on Rittase<https://www.hagley.org/librarynews/photographer-william-m-rittase-and-his-i…> not much is know about his life and even the contours of his career aren’t well known in detail. Even major photography repositories like the PMA, Chicago Arts Institute, the Getty, etc., have only sporadic pieces of his output. Industrial photography is in Hagley’s collecting mission. If you know of any Rittase photographs, or any photographic collections describing American and international business, technology, or industrial design, that are currently not being preserved and publicly accessible, please consider contacting me. -- Erik P. Rau, PhD Director, Library Services Hagley Museum & Library P.O. Box 3630, 298 Buck Road Wilmington, DE 19807 302.658.2400, ext. 344 erau(a)hagley.org<mailto:erau@hagley.org> www.hagley.org www.hagleyheritage.com<http://www.hagleyheritage.com> Sign up for Hagley Library’s monthly newsletter<https://www.hagley.org/research/news/subscribe> to receive the latest research news, collection updates, upcoming events, and more. You can unsubscribe at any time.

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Digital Soviet Union (a new PhD from Finland)
by Petri Paju 15 May '20

15 May '20

Hello all, This phd dissertation from Finland might be of interest for some people on the list. It's from the (Finnish) National defence university so has current military related interest but is using history research, including some from people on this list to understand Russia's present policy regarding the internet: Digital Soviet Union: the Russian national segment of the Internet as a closed national network shaped by strategic cultural ideas, by Juha Kukkola. Downloadable from: https://www.doria.fi/handle/10024/177157 As yet I can't say much of the content and results, but I'll be interested to hear thoughts from someone who is better informed. (I've been planning a side project on IT "businesses" (yes, widely undertood) between the West and the Soviet Union in the late cold war.) Best wishes, Petri from University of Turku, Finland

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Interfaces: Essays and Reviews in Computing and Culture (CFP)
by Jeffrey Yost 14 May '20

14 May '20

Dear Colleagues, Want to announce a new journal and its call: ******* *Interfaces: Essays and Reviews in Computing and Culture* *General Call for Submissions * *(Short Essays and Review Essays)* The Charles Babbage Institute for Computing, Information, and Culture (CBI) is launching a new eJournal. It is entitled *Interfaces: Essays and Reviews in Computing and Culture*. It will have a continuous publication model with publication date for each essay/article (no waiting in queue) and push email to subscribers (and volumes by calendar year).* Interfaces will exclusively publish short essay articles (1,500 to 3,000 words) and review essays (books, film, physical/virtual exhibits, other media) on computer/software/internet studies.* *Interfaces* will be co-edited by CBI Director Jeffrey Yost and CBI Archivist Amanda Wick. The editors are especially interested in content connecting the history of computing/IT studies with contemporary social, cultural, political, legal, economic, and environmental issues--e.g. essays on gender, race, class, users, human computer interaction, identity, labor, gaming, automation, capitalism, inequality, AI, algorithmic thinking, local or global environmental ecosystems, law/criminal justice, cryptocurrencies, security, leisure, and privacy. It, however, is not limited to these (any computing history or historically grounded or contextualized IT studies topics/themes are in scope). The journal seeks to be an interface between disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences/medicine (including/especially CS, HCI, information science, and sciences of the artificial); as well as an interface between academic and broader audiences--our reasoning for keeping essays short, strongly encouraging use of images (CBI has thousands digitized and online, and more than 150,000 overall), being timely (quick response, relatively rapid submission to publication), and pushing for highly accessible writing. Types of* computing history/IT studies essays* could include (but definitely are not limited to): - Essays connecting historical literature (your work and/or that of others) to contemporary societal issues - Essays presenting a case history/study you developed that resonated with students - Editorial-style essay that draws from history or makes fundamental historical connections - Review essay on two or more books on a topic/theme - Review essay on film, museum exhibit/virtual exhibit, gaming, art, music, or other media - Essays on imaginative literature, science fiction - Essays on historiography and/or archival theory - Essays on social, cultural, or economic theory CBI is a leading archives and research institute, and for decades has hosted web publications, including serials of our own (we are experienced in archiving and providing access to digital content over the very long term). *To submit *to* Interfaces: *Send a Word file (1,500 words to 3,000 words) of your essay, which includes a bibliography/sources at the end (bib., image captions, and 75 word or shorter bio, do not count to word maximum). Authors should use in-text parenthetical cites (MLA) with no footnotes/endnotes/note text. Essays should be broadly accessible and seek to avoid, or greatly limit, disciplinary jargon (and if used, done sparingly and clearly defined). Authors retain copyright and only sign a license form allowing *Interfaces* to publish (and the journal is open/free access). Send to Jeffrey Yost (yostx003(a)umn.edu) Amanda Wick ( abwick(a)umn.edu) or the general email cbi(a)umn.edu Authors are strongly encouraged to touch base with Jeffrey or Amanda for feedback on an essay idea, but this is not required and if you prefer, you can just send a submission. ****** With it being continuous publication, and to kick it off, I wrote an essay (PDF is attached--journal will present in both a mobile optimized web version and PDF) entitled "Where Dinosaurs Roam and Programmers Play: Reflections on Infrastructure, Maintenance, and Inequality." PDF attached and Web version and PDF link at https://justcode.cbi.umn.edu/interfaces If you are not already, Amanda and I encourage signing on to CBI's email list. To be added to our email list which includes Interfaces notifications, simply email cbi(a)umn.edu with "subscribe" in the subject line We hope you will consider submitting a short essay to this new publication (articles are reviewed by editors), and/or encourage colleagues to do so. Please forward to potentially interested people. Please email us with any questions. Best, Jeff Jeffrey R. Yost, Ph.D. Director, Charles Babbage Institute Research Professor, Program in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine 222 21st Avenue South University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455 612 624 5050 Phone 612 625 8054 Fax

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