April 2021 - Members - lists.sigcis.org

2021 Mahoney Prize nominations
by Elizabeth Petrick 10 May '22

10 May '22

Hello everyone, It's time for the 2021 Mahoney Prize for outstanding article in the history of computing and information technology, broadly conceived. Articles published in 2018, 2019, or 2020 will be considered. Self-nominations and nominations of others are both welcome. Please email a copy of the article to members of the prize committee, listed here: https://www.sigcis.org/mahoneyprize Deadline is May 1, 2021. Best, Liz ------------- Elizabeth Petrick Associate Professor Department of History Rice University http://elizabethpetrick.com/

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whirlwind, radar and real-time tracking
by Guy Fedorkow 26 Apr '21

26 Apr '21

Greetings Colleagues, I've been working on restoring a 1951 Whirlwind program, written at MIT, used to demonstrate real-time tracking of aircraft with radar for the purposes of guiding an interception (the Cold War was in full flight in the 1950's). This work ultimately led to the massive SAGE air defense network in the US. You can see some rather informal preliminary notes on the work at https://www.historia-mollimercium.com/whirlwind/WW-Track-while-Scan-Draft-N… The program does work in simulation; you can see a four-minute video of the simulator running an intercept at https://www.historia-mollimercium.com/whirlwind/Track-while-scan-Apr-23-202… Spoiler alerts: The original really did display moving dots on a CRT, but the graphics are "spartan" to say the least. And nothing in particular happens when the intercept actually happens. Would anyone know of contemporaneous work involving digital computers for either radar tracking or real-time computing around 1951? I think all the familiar digital computers from those years were used in applications where batch operation was perfectly acceptable, e.g., computing ballistics tables. Innovations like this rarely occur in a complete vacuum, but I don't see references to any similar digital computing projects. If anyone has pointers, do let me know! Thanks Guy Fedorkow

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5 Eyes
by Brian E Carpenter 25 Apr '21

25 Apr '21

Hello, Is anyone here aware of a study of the history of the "Five Eyes" signals intelligance sharing agreement? As there is currently some kind of effort to turn it into a political or diplomatic pseudo-alliance, its history is of some interest. As far as I know it originated quite late in World War II, well after Pearl Harbour, and the first formal agreement was the UKUSA agreement in 1946. Already in 1944, there was a data link from the UK via Canada to the USA, and there was a plan for a link via Honolulu to Melbourne, Australia. There was a New Zealand representative at the Australian sigint centre in Melbourne. At that time, Australia, Canada and NZ were very much trated as subservient to the UK (they were technically still Domains, not 100% independent) so the formal agreement was only between the UK and the USA. How all this evolved during and after the Cold War is unclear to me. Any pointers? Regards Brian Carpenter

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] whirlwind, radar and real-time tracking
by Chuck House 23 Apr '21

23 Apr '21

I interviewed Les Earnest for the Cisco Foundation in 2014, supported by the Computer History Museum. This was a couple of years after the 'official CHM interview' by Dag Spicer It might add a bit of color to the story you are chasing Chuck House www.innovascapesinstitute.com <http://www.innovascapesinstitute.com> www.anywhereanytime.io/covid19 <http://www.anywhereanytime.io/covid19> http://innovascapes.blogspot.com 805-570-6706 On 4/23/21, 4:28 PM, "Members on behalf of Pierre Mounier-Kuhn" <members-bounces(a)lists.sigcis.org on behalf of mounier(a)msh-paris.fr> wrote: Hello Guy, As you certainly know, Whirlwind is considered to be the first digital computer designed for real-time computing, particularly for radar tracking and interception guidance or assistance to tactical decision. I have studied air-defense systems in Europe, particularly in France: The first projects involving digital computers did not appear before the mid-1950s, at IBM France and in a small Paris company, SEA, which was also developing digital control devices for machine-tools. At that time, several similar digital computing projects were being developed, in the USA of course (at GE, in the US Navy with Univac, etc.) but also in Britain and in the USSR. It is true that "innovations like this rarely occur in a complete vacuum": The Whirlwind was built at MIT, one of the world's richest environments for innovation in electronics and defense systems, which had worked on a previous analogue calculator project for the US Navy. Air defense systems already existed, based on radars, telecom lines, control rooms and command centers: The idea to replace manual operators with a computer to process signals and make decisions faster "naturally" came to various people in the context of the Cold War. The Whirlwind was nevertheless a leap forward in technology, logical design and use. Hoping that these simple remarks help you. Best, Pierre Mounier-Kuhn CNRS & Sorbonne Université, Paris ----- Mail original ----- De: "Guy Fedorkow" <guy.fedorkow(a)gmail.com> À: "members" <members(a)sigcis.org> Envoyé: Vendredi 23 Avril 2021 22:41:03 Objet: [SIGCIS-Members] whirlwind, radar and real-time tracking Greetings Colleagues, I've been working on restoring a 1951 Whirlwind program, written at MIT, used to demonstrate real-time tracking of aircraft with radar for the purposes of guiding an interception (the Cold War was in full flight in the 1950's). This work ultimately led to the massive SAGE air defense network in the US. You can see some rather informal preliminary notes on the work at https://www.historia-mollimercium.com/whirlwind/WW-Track-while-Scan-Draft-N… The program does work in simulation; you can see a four-minute video of the simulator running an intercept at https://www.historia-mollimercium.com/whirlwind/Track-while-scan-Apr-23-202… Spoiler alerts: The original really did display moving dots on a CRT, but the graphics are "spartan" to say the least. And nothing in particular happens when the intercept actually happens. Would anyone know of contemporaneous work involving digital computers for either radar tracking or real-time computing around 1951? I think all the familiar digital computers from those years were used in applications where batch operation was perfectly acceptable, e.g., computing ballistics tables. Innovations like this rarely occur in a complete vacuum, but I don't see references to any similar digital computing projects. If anyone has pointers, do let me know! Thanks Guy Fedorkow _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ 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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TNMOC Virtual talk - Percy Ludgate (1883 -1922) - Charles Babbage’s First Successor - A virtual talk by Professor Brian Randell
by TNMOC Museum 22 Apr '21

22 Apr '21

Dear SIGCIS Members, I am delighted to announce that have a scheduled talk - Title- Percy Ludgate (1883 -1922) - Charles Babbage’s First Successor - *A virtual talk by Professor Brian Randell* *Information:* Charles Babbage and Percy Ludgate were pioneers in computing, developing the first "analytical engines" - yet their stories couldn’t be more different. Babbage was a mathematician and inventor who received many thousands of pounds from the British government to help fund his work on a difference engine before he went on to design his analytical engine. Ludgate was a clerk to a corn merchant and an amateur scientist who designed his engine during his spare time, largely unaware of Babbage’s project, before publishing an account of his design in 1909. Brian Randell - who is Emeritus Professor at Newcastle University’s School of Computing - stumbled across Ludgate's story and released a research paper on it in 1971. Since then almost nothing further had been found out about Ludgate or his incredible achievement – until recently. In this TNMOC talk, Professor Randell will describe the findings of a project he’s been participating in, that is led by Dr. Brian Coghlan of Trinity College Dublin, into the life and work of this amazing and little-known successor of the famous Babbage. The talk will last about an hour.Here is a link for your community to join, please note there are a few ticket options for those that may already be supporters of TNMOC *https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/145546999995 <https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/145546999995>* Kind regards Jacqui Garrad Museum Director The National Museum of Computing Tel: 01908 374708 Mobile: 07807 024455

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] From Brian Berg to Meaning of "Bluetooth"?
by Irish, Sharon Lee 22 Apr '21

22 Apr '21

Editor’s Note: Brian Berg included a photo that was too big for the listserv. I took the liberty of reducing its size. ~Sharon Irish This is the message that Brian sent with his photo: From <brianberg(a)gmail.com<mailto:brianberg@gmail.com>> I saw a painting of Harold Bluetooth in the Roskilde Cathedral, the most important church in Denmark. It is the official royal burial church of the Danish monarchs to this day, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Info about the church and Bluetooth is here<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://jelling.natmus.dk/en/about-jelling/gorm-…>: http://jelling.natmus.dk/en/about-jelling/gorm-thyra-and-harald/harald-blue… and I have attached a photo that I took of the image of him while inside that beautiful church in July 2019. [cid:4CE476B2-44CA-4059-9B8E-EEDD68500EB0@iTV-3.com] _________________________ Brian A. Berg / bberg(a)StanfordAlumni.org<mailto:bberg@StanfordAlumni.org> Berg Software Design - LinkedIn Profile<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianaberg/__;!!DZ3…> 14500 Big Basin Way, Suite F, Saratoga, CA 95070 USA 700 Mistletoe Road, Suite 201, Ashland, OR 97520 USA Voice: 408.741.5010 / Cell: 408.568.2505 Consulting: Flash Memory/USB/Storage/Patents visit the Storage Cornucopia: www.bswd.com<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.bswd.com__;!!DZ3fjg!vmTrjGA8kkR3brCu…> FMS Technical Chair: www.FlashMemorySummit.com<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.FlashMemorySummit.com__;!!DZ3fjg!vmT…> IEEE Milestone<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Milestone…> Coordinator & History Chair for Region 6<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.ieee-region6.org/__;!!DZ3fjg!vmTrjGA…> IEEE History Committee<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ieee.org/about/history-center/histo…> Member IEEE SCV Section<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.ieee.org/scv/__;!!DZ3fjg!vmTrjGA8kkR…> Past Chair / IEEE-CNSV<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.CaliforniaConsultants.org__;!!DZ3fjg…> Board Director IEEE Silicon Valley Tech History Committee<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.SiliconValleyHistory.com/__;!!DZ3fjg…> Chair

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CBI Tomash Lecture of Aaron Mendon Plasek on May 5th on History of ML
by Jeffrey Yost 22 Apr '21

22 Apr '21

Dear Colleagues, We at CBI are delighted to announce this free virtual lecture of CBI Tomash Fellow Aaron Mendon-Plasek (ABD, History, Columbia University). We very much hope you will join us for this CBI event on May 5th (1-2 pm Central; 2-3 E; 11-noon P). Registration is required and will close several days prior to the event day (please register now/soon). Best, Jeff <http://umn.edu/> <https://justcode.cbi.umn.edu/> A CBI Tomash (Virtual) Lecture on the History of Machine Learning <https://justcode.cbi.umn.edu/home> Please join CBI on Wednesday, May 5 at 1 p.m. CST as our 2020 - 2021 Tomash Fellow Aaron Mendon-Plasek, History Department, Columbia University presents his paper *"How 1950s ideas about creativity in machine learning continue to inform social and political possibility today."* *This virtual event is free and open to the public but registration is required. * Register <https://umn.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dyVYwVCJQXiYNpvwZQ5e-A> *Brief Abstract: *Accounts of early machine learning often center on late 1950s work well-known to artificial intelligence researchers such as Samuel's checkers-playing program and Rosenblatt's perceptron. However, as Newell observed retrospectively in 1983, by 1955 machine learning researchers had already splintered off from what "became the AI community.” If early machine learning wasn’t artificial intelligence, what was it? This talk provides an answer. (Full abstract is on the event page on the CBI Website.) *Bio* Aaron Mendon-Plasek is a historian of science and U.S. history and a Ph.D. candidate at Columbia University. His work examines how schemes of quantification, including their material, cultural, technical, and institutional instantiations, have been used to imagine, enact, and justify social order. *About the Tomash Fellowship* Each year the Adelle and Erwin Tomash Graduate Fellowship is awarded to a standout ABD graduate student for doctoral dissertation research in the History of Computing, Information, and Culture. [image: Facebook] <http://www.facebook.com/> [image: Twitter] <http://www.twitter.com/BabbageInst> [image: Website] <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi> *Copyright © 2021 Charles Babbage Institute, All rights reserved.* *Our mailing address is:* Charles Babbage Institute Andersen Library, University of Minnesota 222 21st Ave S Ste 211 Minneapolis, MN 55455-4400 *"Injustice wears the same harsh face wherever it shows itself."*-Ralph Ellison Jeffrey R. Yost, Ph.D. Director, Charles Babbage Institute Research Professor, Program in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Co-Editor (w/ Gerard Alberts), Springer, History of Computing Book Series Founder and Co-Editor (w/ Amanda Wick), *Interfaces: Essays and Reviews in Computing and Culture* c <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces>se.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces <https://cse.umn.edu/cbi/interfaces> 222 21st Avenue South University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455 612 624 5050 Phone 612 625 8054 Fax

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Archivist / Curator Job Opportunity
by Research 22 Apr '21

22 Apr '21

Archives of IT is an online archive of the oral history of the IT and communications industry 1950 to present day https://archivesit.org.uk We have an opportunity for a part time archivist / curator to develop the archive and promote its content to the public and academic users, including young people. The role offers scope for creative approaches to collecting and presenting material in a web environment Contact research(a)archivesit.org.uk<mailto:research@archivesit.org.uk> for more information

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Electronic copy of Jean Sammet's 'Programming Languages: History and Fundamentals' 1969
by David C. Brock 21 Apr '21

21 Apr '21

Dear All, Could anyone share with me an electronic copy of Jean Sammet’s book ‘Programming Languages: History and Fundamentals’ from 1969, or could point me to where I could get/access a copy? I’ve looked in all my usual spots to no avail. Apologies if I missed something obvious. There is a copy temporarily readable on HathiTrust, but not downloadable. I’m surprised this isn’t more accessible. Best, David +++++++++++++++ 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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Enquiry: Computer History Museum Prize 2021
by Yoneda, Emmy 21 Apr '21

21 Apr '21

Hello all at SIGCIS, I hope you're keeping well. Could you please let me know when the deadline for nominations to the Computer History Museum Prize is this year. I see that 2020's prize was postponed but can't see the date for this year. Thank you for your time. Best wishes, Emmy Emmy Yoneda (she/her) Publishing Coordinator Penguin Press +44 (0) 20 7139 3505 | 20 Vauxhall Bridge Rd, London, SW1V 2SA This email may contain information which is confidential. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender immediately and then delete it. Please do not copy it, disclose its contents or use it for any purpose. This email is sent on behalf of a company in the Penguin Random House UK group of companies, comprising The Random House Group Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with number 954009, registered office 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA, Penguin Books Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with number 861590, registered office 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, SW1V 2SA, Dorling Kindersley Limited, a company registered in England and Wales with number 1177822, registered office One Embassy Gardens, 8 Viaduct Gardens, London, SW11 7BW and their respective subsidiary companies.

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