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The emergence of "the Digital."
by Ceruzzi, Paul 13 Apr '20

13 Apr '20

Another shameless plug for the book "Exploring the Early Digital." We now realize the significance of the transformation from analog to "the digital," of which the invention of the stored program electronic computer is but a part, albeit a significant part. Here is a concise and powerful example of an early hint of that transformation, as spoken by Joe Dimaggio. (wait until the end): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx7Q8t9m4Ns Paul Ceruzzi (too young to remember Joe. Mickey Mantle is still my all-time hero.)

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Fwd: [cybersecurity] FACULTY PRESENTATION: "The Early History of Computing" - John Keyser talks TODAY
by Jonathan Coopersmith 13 Apr '20

13 Apr '20

Sorry for the late notice, but we are not that good in communication at A&M. Stay sane, keep washing those hands, and practice social solidarity as well as distancing, Jonathan Jonathan Coopersmith Professor Department of History Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-4236 979.739.4708 (cell) 979.862.4314 (fax) Most recent oped: "Will Artemis fail in the halls of Congress?" https://www.thespacereview.com/article/3836/1 Apollo thoughts: https://today.tamu.edu/2019/07/19/would-apollo-11-have-happened-without-rus… *FAXED. The Rise and Fall of the Fax Machine* (Johns Hopkins University Press) is the co-recipient of the 2016 Business History Conference Hagley Prize for best book in business history. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Jennifer Cutler <jenniferjoe(a)tamu.edu> Date: Mon, Apr 13, 2020 at 9:59 AM Subject: [cybersecurity] FACULTY PRESENTATION: "The Early History of Computing" - John Keyser talks TODAY To: <CYBERSECURITY(a)listserv.tamu.edu> *Texas A&M Computer Science Department* *Presents* *681 Speaker* TODAY *https://tamu.zoom.us/j/116195249* <https://tamu.zoom.us/j/116195249> *TITLE:* The Early History of Computing *John Keyser* Professor Texas A&M University 4:10PM – 5:25PM, TODAY https://tamu.zoom.us/j/116195249 *Abstract* This talk is a walk through the early history of computing, from the earliest days of mechanical computation devices through the early forms of computers and software that we use today. We’ll talk about people who were key parts of many of these developments, and we’ll discuss the factors that drove them into these developments. *Biography* John Keyser is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University. He joined Texas A&M in 2000, after receiving his PhD in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina, and earlier earned Bachelor’s Degrees in Applied Math, Engineering Physics, and Computer Science from Abilene Christian University. His research has spanned a wide range of graphics, with the majority of his work in the areas of geometric modeling, especially in robust solid modeling applications, and physically-based simulation. He has also worked on topics in rendering, data visualization, and a large interdisciplinary project on scanning and reconstructing small animal brains at sub-micrometer resolution. *Faculty Contact: * Ricardo Gutierrez rgutier(a)cse.tamu.edu *Department of Computer Science and Engineering* |Texas A&M University 3112 TAMU | College Station, Texas 77843-3112 Ph: 979-458-3870 | fax: 979-845-1420 | news(a)cse.tamu.edu www.cse.tamu.edu

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CFP: Special Issue of ROMchip on Esports History
by Laine Nooney 08 Apr '20

08 Apr '20

Insofar as esports intersects with histories of video games, distributed networks, the information economy, and computation, I thought this call may be relevant to some folks on this list... -------- *CFP: Special Issue of ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories on ‘Esports’ * Over the last decade, esports – the most commonly accepted term for organized video game competition – has grown from a mostly online subculture to a modest media industry in its own right. As a result, scholars in a range of fields have become interested in competitive gaming as a research topic. This special issue of ROMchip both contributes to and challenges the emerging interdiscipline of 'esports studies' by asking the reflexive question, “what is esports history a history of?” Is it a dispassionate record of wins and losses, a hagiography of elite players, or a catalog of the many games that have supported professional play? An investigation into the many technologies — from arcades to living room consoles to digital distribution platforms — that have shaped competitive gaming? Or an accounting of the financial arrangements that have made esports economically viable (or, seemingly just as often, non-viable)? Whose interests do these different constructions of esports history serve, and who or what is excluded by particular orientations towards competitive gaming? The editors of this issue take as a given that all (esports) histories are partial and that no one approach is inherently more valuable than any other. Even so, as critically-engaged scholars, we are conscious of historical inquiry as a site of contestation and we welcome scholarship that addresses professional gaming’s relationship to a range of contemporary ills, from ecological devastation to commercial surveillance to the concentration of corporate power. We are especially eager for contributions from scholars who have expertise in areas with relevance to esports (science and technology studies, critical internet studies, celebrity studies, platform governance, political economy, content moderation, platformization, surveillance, geography, physical cultural studies, infrastructure studies, media theory, etc.), but for whom digital games and esports may not be a primary research area. To support such scholars, we will be offering extensive editorial support both prior to and after the submission of abstracts. This may include suggestions about the objects of research based on scholars’ theoretical interests, primers on the context of particular objects and histories in esports, and, when appropriate, introductions to potential co-authors. In organizing our critical inquiry into esports, we encourage contributors to consider the following sample questions: - How do industry narratives about esports function in the production of esports history? How is “esports history” constructed across the esports industry and beyond? - How do global media infrastructures serve as contexts for practice in esports? In what ways do local cultures and political economies intersect with the planetary computing stack? - In what ways do esports dramatize broader issues of race, class, gender, and nationality? - For what reasons have scholastic esports programs proliferated, and on whose terms have these programs been developed? How do these programs interact with existing organizations, cultures, and infrastructures? What are the implications of educational athletic programs and campus life activities becoming dependent upon game publishers? - In what ways have esports historically been commodified and how have the affordances of particular media technologies shaped the political economies of competitive gaming? What revenue models have different esports stakeholders, from teams to tournaments to publishers, utilized and to what effect? - How do the broadcast structures of platform-native esports competitions influence esports fandom and spectatorship? - In what ways does esports celebrity intersect with or challenge the broader phenomenon of internet celebrity and “influencing” as a whole? - What are the ecological and environmental costs of professional video game competition and how have they changed over time? - What purposes do data serve in esports, and in what ways are data produced, collected, circulated, and monetized? *Format* Prospective contributors should submit an extended abstract of 1000-1200 words, inclusive of citations. Abstracts should clearly detail the research object, theoretical framework, and method scholars plan to employ; scholars should also indicate whether or not data collection has been completed, if relevant. In particular, we ask contributors to be reflexive about how their chosen approaches construct esports as an object of research. We are also open to discussing alternative timelines with scholars whose ability to perform research has been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Please email romchipesports(a)gmail.com with all submissions. Please contact co-editors William Clyde Partin (wcpartin(a)live.unc.edu) and Iris Bull ( irbull(a)indiana.edu) with any and all questions. *Important Dates* April 6, 2020 – Submissions Open May 31, 2020 – Submissions Close June 15, 2020 – Notifications October 1, 2020 – First Drafts Due July 1, 2021 – Publication

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Postponement of 2020 Computer History Museum Prize
by Andrew Russell 05 Apr '20

05 Apr '20

Dear SIGCIS - After consultation with SHOT leadership, as well as with the members of the Computer History Museum Prize Committee, we have reluctantly arrived at the unanimous decision to postpone the 2020 CHM Prize competition <https://www.sigcis.org/chmprize>. SHOT recently made a similar announcement to postpone a few of its prizes <https://www.historyoftechnology.org/about-us/awards-prizes-and-grants/> - with extended eligibility so that any submissions eligible for 2020 prizes will remain eligible for 2021 prizes. We are, however, moving ahead with the Mahoney Prize for 2020, which has a May 1 deadline for nominations. For details on the Mahoney Prize, including directions for nominations, please visit https://www.sigcis.org/mahoneyprize <https://www.sigcis.org/mahoneyprize>. Take care, Andy

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Tree diagrams in computer science and other fields (i.e. genealogy)
by Bernard Geoghegan 28 Mar '20

28 Mar '20

Dear Colleagues, A little query sent across the lockdowns and quarantines: Can anyone recommend scholarship on the tree-style diagrams that circulate both in computer science and a wide range of other fields, for example, genealogy, kinship? Is there any good work on the history of these diagrams, their intersection, and what they might say about possible links in styles of reasoning across fields that might, otherwise, seem remote? Thanks for your thoughts, b -- Bernard Dionysius Geoghegan Senior Lecturer in the History and Theory of Digital Media Chair of the UG Assessment Board, Digital Culture 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

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Publication Announcement
by James Cortada 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

Dear Colleagues, I just published a short book--really an extended essay-- *Living with Computers: The Digital World of Today and Tomorrow* with Springer-Verlag. It speculates on the role and meaning of computers in society, combining things we historians have learned with what other disciplines are doing now (e.g., in AI) and potential effects on humans going forward. I raise questions and discuss implications. The book is aimed at a broad audience, discussing issues from the perspective of an historian. This book should not be confused with the 2 that Bill Aspray and I published last fall, Fake News Nation and From Urban Legends to Political Fact-Checking. -- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada(a)umn.edu 608-274-6382

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Tree diagrams in computer science and other fields (i.e. genealogy)
by Taylor-Smith, Ella 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

Hi Bernard i'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but it seems relevant to me.. Fishwick, P. (2014). Computing as Model-Based Empirical Science. Proceedings of the 2nd ACM SIGSIM/PADS conference on Principles of advanced discrete simulation. Pp.205-212. -ella Dr Ella Taylor-Smith School of Computing Edinburgh Napier University 10 Colinton Road Edinburgh, EH10 5DT Email: e.taylor-smith(a)napier.ac.uk https://www.napier.ac.uk/people/ella-taylorsmith http://about.me/EllaTaylorSmith @EllaTasm ________________________________________ From: Members [members-bounces(a)lists.sigcis.org] on behalf of members-request(a)lists.sigcis.org [members-request(a)lists.sigcis.org] Sent: 26 March 2020 20:38 To: members(a)lists.sigcis.org Subject: Members Digest, Vol 61, Issue 10 CAUTION: This email originated from outside Edinburgh Napier University. Do not follow links or open attachments if you doubt the authenticity of the sender or the content. Send Members mailing list submissions to members(a)lists.sigcis.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to members-request(a)lists.sigcis.org You can reach the person managing the list at members-owner(a)lists.sigcis.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Members digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Tree diagrams in computer science and other fields (i.e. genealogy) (Bernard Geoghegan) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2020 21:05:49 +0100 From: Bernard Geoghegan <bernardgeoghegan2010(a)u.northwestern.edu> To: Sigcis <members(a)sigcis.org> Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Tree diagrams in computer science and other fields (i.e. genealogy) Message-ID: <91066E92-7E9A-4022-B6B6-D780040C6D04(a)u.northwestern.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Dear Colleagues, A little query sent across the lockdowns and quarantines: Can anyone recommend scholarship on the tree-style diagrams that circulate both in computer science and a wide range of other fields, for example, genealogy, kinship? Is there any good work on the history of these diagrams, their intersection, and what they might say about possible links in styles of reasoning across fields that might, otherwise, seem remote? Thanks for your thoughts, b -- Bernard Dionysius Geoghegan Senior Lecturer in the History and Theory of Digital Media Chair of the UG Assessment Board, Digital Culture 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 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/attachments/20200326/6…> ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ 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 ------------------------------ End of Members Digest, Vol 61, Issue 10 *************************************** This message and its attachment(s) are intended for the addressee(s) only and should not be read, copied, disclosed, forwarded or relied upon by any person other than the intended addressee(s) without the permission of the sender. If you are not the intended addressee you must not take any action based on this message and its attachment(s) nor must you copy or show them to anyone. Please respond to the sender and ensure that this message and its attachment(s) are deleted. It is your responsibility to ensure that this message and its attachment(s) are scanned for viruses or other defects. Edinburgh Napier University does not accept liability for any loss or damage which may result from this message or its attachment(s), or for errors or omissions arising after it was sent. Email is not a secure medium. Emails entering Edinburgh Napier University's system are subject to routine monitoring and filtering by Edinburgh Napier University. Edinburgh Napier University is a registered Scottish charity. Registration number SC018373

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postponing of HaPoP-5, 27 may 2020, Paris
by lidemol 19 Mar '20

19 Mar '20

Dear all, in view of the latest developments with respect to the COVID-19 crisis, we, the chairs of HaPoP-5, have decided to postpone the fifth symposium for the history and philosophy of programming (HaPoP-5) to the spring of next year. We will be issuing a new call for papers later on. Those who have already submitted can of course resubmit their work. We want to thank all of those who have already submitted. In such difficult situation, we are sure everyone will understand this decision. Liesbeth De Mol and Tomas Petricek

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My new book - Media Distortions - is OUT and OPEN ACCESS
by Carmi, Elinor 18 Mar '20

18 Mar '20

Hi everyone, I'm not sorry for cross-posting because this book is about spam so it's kind of on brand. In what seems to be the worst time in a century, I'm mildly excited to announce my book is finally out, and it is OPEN ACCESS! Media Distortions: Understanding the Power Behind Spam, Noise and Other Deviant Media (Digital Formation Series, Peter Lang) Here's the blurb: Media Distortions is about the power behind the production of deviant media categories. It shows the politics behind categories we take for granted such as spam and noise, and what it means to our broader understanding of, and engagement with media. The book synthesizes media theory, sound studies, science and technology studies (STS), feminist technoscience, and software studies into a new composition to explore media power. Media Distortions argues that using sound as a conceptual framework is more useful due to its ability to cross boundaries and strategically move between multiple spaces—which is essential for multi-layered mediated spaces. Drawing on repositories of legal, technical and archival sources, the book amplifies three stories about the construction and negotiation of the ‘deviant’ in media. The book starts in the early 20th century with Bell Telephone’s production of noise, tuning into the training of their telephone operators and their involvement with the Noise Abatement Commission in New York City. The next story jumps several decades to the early 2000s focusing on web metric standardization in the European Union and shows how the digital advertising industry constructed web-cookies as legitimate communication while making spam illegal. The final story focuses on the recent decade and the way Facebook filters out antisocial behaviors to engineer a sociality that produces more value. These stories show how deviant categories re-draw boundaries between human and non-human, public and private spaces, and importantly, social and antisocial. Check out the book's website - https://media-distortions.net/ - where you can find: 1. A link to download the book for FREE. 2. More info about the book. 3. What the wonderful endorsers - scholars who have inspired my work since the beginning - had to say about the book, THANK YOU Tiziana Terranova, Evelyn Ruppert, Jussi Parikka and Robert W. Ghel! 4. The book's playlist with songs/tracks that will bring the dark atmosphere of the book to you, so you can dance in between the sections. For the advanced music snobs who think they can create a better playlist - this is the time to make a positive use of your reviewer 2 energy and send me your playlist interpretation of the book so I can add them to the website! 5. I also kept my shattered dreams, I mean USA book tour that had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus but which will be rescheduled for the fall, if humanity will survive. 6. More info about me. If you're interested in an inspection/review copy please write back to (don't 'reply all' although spamming everyone is a duty when it comes to this book 😉 ) me and I'll connect you with the publisher to get your copy. I want to thank Liverpool University for making this book open access! I hope you enjoy and May the Schwartz be with you. Stay healthy and take care in your social distancing. Dr. Elinor Carmi, Postdoc Research Associate - Digital Media & Society, Department of Communication and Media, Faculty of the Humanities and Social Sciences, School of the Arts, Liverpool University, UK. https://elinorcarmi.com<https://elinorcarmi.com/> Twitter: @Elinor_Carmi

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Motherless Brooklyn: Moses' Overpasses
by Luke Fernandez 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

Just an FYI that in Netflix/Edward Norton's recently released movie Motherless Brooklyn there's a passing reference to Robert Moses's infamous NYC low overpasses. Which, of course, is of obvious interest to any of us who like to teach Winner's "Do Artifacts Have Politics?" I neglected to note exactly where in the movie it is....about half way through I'm guessing..... Best, Luke

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