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George Felton Obituary - The Guardian
by Brian Randell 12 Aug '19

12 Aug '19

Hi: Today’s Guardian has an excellent obituary for George Felton by Martin Campbell-Kelly: George Felton obituary Pioneering computer scientist who became the UK’s foremost software authority George Felton, who has died aged 98, was the doyen of computer-industry software designers. In the early 1950s the term “software” had not been invented, and for most computer manufacturers responsibility stopped with delivering the hardware – programming the computer was the customer’s problem. Felton helped change that perception. He managed, and largely implemented, the programming scheme for the Ferranti Pegasus computer, first delivered in 1956. It was a programming regimen of unprecedented completeness that made life a great deal easier for computer users. He went on to become the UK computer industry’s foremost software authority. <snip> Cheers Brian Randell — School of Computing, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk<mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk> PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = http://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/people/profile/brianrandell.html

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John Cleese Compaq tv commercials
by Joly MacFie 10 Aug '19

10 Aug '19

https://youtu.be/Xj1hpoePXkg -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast -------------------------------------------------------------- -

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] John Cleese Compaq tv commercials
by Brian Randell 10 Aug '19

10 Aug '19

Hi Joly: Splendid - even better than IBM’s Charlie Chaplin PC ads! Many thanks. Cheers Brian Randell On 10 Aug 2019, at 10:14, Joly MacFie <joly(a)punkcast.com<mailto:joly@punkcast.com>> wrote: https://youtu.be/Xj1hpoePXkg -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast -------------------------------------------------------------- - _______________________________________________ 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, Newcastle University, 1 Science Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5TG EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk<mailto:Brian.Randell@ncl.ac.uk> PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 URL = http://www.ncl.ac.uk/computing/people/profile/brianrandell.html

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job opening Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Science, Technology, and Society
by Ksenia Tatarchenko 10 Aug '19

10 Aug '19

Dear all, This is to attract your attention to the job posting advertising the position of the Lecturer / Senior Lecturer in Science, Technology, and Society at the Singapore Management University. The add can be found here: https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=58742 <https://www.h-net.org/jobs/job_display.php?id=58742> It specifies the classes to be taught as “Artificial Intelligence and Society” but we will be looking at a broader range of computer related issues. I should add that I just joined the institution and it has beed a very smooth and enjoyable experience. We are a young and dynamic team interested in global perspectives on computing, data, and society. Do not hesitate to write with questions, I will be happy to answer. Ksenia

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History of Analog Computing Lecture-Linda Hall Library (Aug. 8)
by Benjamin Gross 06 Aug '19

06 Aug '19

Hello, everyone! This Thursday, August 8, the Linda Hall Library will be hosting a public lecture that may be of interest to the broader SIGCIS community. Corey Maley, an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Kansas, will be presenting a talk entitled "Analog Computation in a Digital World: Understanding the Place of a Bygone Technology in Contemporary Science." Here is a synopsis from the Library website<https://www.lindahall.org/event/analog-computation-in-a-digital-world-under…>: Analog computers were once the dominant computing machines in engineering and science, but have now been almost completely replaced by digital computers. While there are practical reasons for preferring digital computers over analog, there are theoretical reasons to rehabilitate our understanding of analog computation. Neuroscientists and cognitive scientists, for example, routinely explain the workings of our minds by appealing to the computations that the brain performs. But, because these computations seem to be analog, rather than digital, we need to know more about what "analog" means. In this lecture, Dr. Corey Maley will discuss how research into the history of analog computers allows us to understand computation in a non-digital way. While the history of digital computation is well-understood, the history of analog computation has received very little attention. He will also show how this broader understanding of computation helps make sense of contemporary claims about the computational nature of the mind and brain. Prof. Maley's presentation begins at 7:00 PM, CDT (8:00 PM, EDT). Those of you in the greater Kansas City area are welcome to register for a free e-ticket<https://www.eventbrite.com/e/analog-computation-in-a-digital-world-understa…> to attend this event. If you are unable to be here in person, you can still tune into the discussion on Livestream.com<https://livestream.com/lindahall/analogcomputing> or the Library's Facebook page<https://www.facebook.com/Linda.Hall.Library>. We also encourage livetweeting using the hashtag #LHLLive. If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know. Thank you, -Ben Gross Benjamin Gross, PhD Vice President for Research and Scholarship Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology 5109 Cherry Street Kansas City, Missouri 64110 816.926.8718 grossb(a)lindahall.org<mailto:grossb@lindahall.org> www.lindahall.org<http://www.lindahall.org/>

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English commands and keywords in programming
by Eji Layo 04 Aug '19

04 Aug '19

I've been curious about a particular question for sometime. After reading the works of various authours in the history of computing field, I directed my questions to the authours. I was then made aware of the SIGCIS. To the question... How did the English language become the "default" language for computer programming. Why do Python, C, C++, ALGOL, Java, COBOL etc. borrow their natural language commands from English? I am especially curious about the way this came about after the Second World War. The era of the cold-war seems to have presented an opportunity for states like the USSR, East/West Germany and the Scandinavian countries to benefit from pushing an international (or national) language for programming.I am curious to know what members of this group think of this question? Some further questions include - Why did ALGOL's implementation (despite its 3 levels of description) not accommodate the diversity of linguistic representation of those who subsequently participated in developing it? I am curious to know if IBM's SHARE user group's hesitation to ALGOL may have resulted in how it was received globally. I imagine that standards (or idiosyncratic practices) also played a part in this process and I wonder how that may have occurred? Finally Grace Hopper's speech in Wexelblat's ACM's History of Programming Languages, implied that COBOL's success came from work she did showing that an interpreter could help in compiling the multi-lingual expressions of the same commands. Again why did this not become the reality of contemporary "mainstream" programming? Any clues would be helpful. Thank you. Sincerely, Eji Mimiko.

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NASA contributions to computer development
by Alex Roland 03 Aug '19

03 Aug '19

Friends: I have been a passive member of SIGCIS for many years now, even though I am no longer an active researcher in the field. Still, I follow your correspondence with great interest. I am writing now because I have received an inquiry from a reporter for the Wall Street Journal who is interested in NASA’s historical contributions to computer development. I know from research on my book Strategic Computing: DARPA and the Quest for Machine Intelligence, 1983-1993 (2002) that NASA was involved in the Federal High Performance Computing Program in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I do not, however, know of other significant contributions by NASA to computer development. If anyone knows of such contributions, I would be happy to know about them. Thanks, Alex Roland

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Claude Shannon: The Bit Player
by Brian Berg 03 Aug '19

03 Aug '19

Hello, I saw a screening last night of *The Bit Player* at the Computer History Museum (CHM) in Mtn. View, CA USA. It was quite an impressive film. Interviews with Shannon, including an extensive one in the early 1980s at his home, formed the basis of much of the film by way of a key one being reproduced using actors. John Hutton played Shannon - he has extensive acting chops on stage (including as King Lear; some info here <https://cupresents.org/2016/02/24/john-hutton-returns-csf/>) and on film (various, including a small part in Spielberg's *Lincoln* as Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner). It was a brilliant way to tell Shannon's story as it portrayed his in-person eccentricities - and there is no significant actual footage of this aspect of Shannon. This was accompanied by interesting animations and discussion of his seminal paper and famous Master's thesis in order to convey the gravity of his importance, along with portions of the 1952 “Theseus” Maze-Solving Mouse film <http://cyberneticzoo.com/mazesolvers/1952-%E2%80%93-theseus-maze-solving-mo…>. The film was concluded with just-discovered brief footage of Shannon juggling on a unicycle - that was fantastic to see! More info, presented in an excellent and sophisticated fashion, is at www.TheBitPlayer.com <http://www.thebitplayer.com/> The panel who discussed the film after the screening (including Writer/Producer/Director Mark Levinson) noted that there would be a screening of the film in San Francisco in September. I do not know where else it will be shown in the future. The website shows the CHM screening as the film's third. It's the quality of film that I could easily and eagerly watch a second time even as soon as next month. Do study the website as it is brilliantly executed. This was the first documentary film funded by the IEEE Foundation, and it was done in conjunction with the IEEE Information Theory Society (ITS). BTW, the ITS is the only IEEE society whose "basis" has a definitive starting date - the 1948 publication of Shannon's *A Mathematical Theory of Communication <http://math.harvard.edu/~ctm/home/text/others/shannon/entropy/entropy.pdf>* . Enjoy. _________________________ Brian A. Berg / bberg(a)StanfordAlumni.org Berg Software Design 14500 Big Basin Way, Suite F, Saratoga, CA 95070 USA Voice: 408.741.5010 / Cell: 408.568.2505 Consulting: Flash Memory/USB/Storage/Patents visit the Storage Cornucopia: www.bswd.com FMS Technical Chair: www.FlashMemorySummit.com IEEE Milestone <http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Milestones:List_of_IEEE_Milestones> Coordinator and History Chair for Region 6 <http://www.ieee-region6.org/> IEEE SCV Section <http://www.ieee.org/scv/> Past Chair / IEEE-CNSV <http://www.CaliforniaConsultants.org> Board Director IEEE Silicon Valley Tech History Committee <http://www.SiliconValleyHistory.com/> Chair

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Workshop: Fostering Historical Research in CSCW&HCI (CSCW'19, Austin, TX, USA)
by David Ribes 30 Jul '19

30 Jul '19

Workshop: Fostering Historical Research in CSCW&HCI (CSCW'19, Austin, TX, USA) This day-long workshop aims to support and grow the community of CSCW and HCI scholars that investigate the past to inform the design, critique and conceptualization of technology. At this workshop, we will learn from examples of historically-based CSCW and HCI work, explore issues in historical method that come up in such work, share methods and techniques, provide feedback and support to ongoing investigations; and define a shared agenda for future research on this topic. The workshop will also highlight research and methods that focus on non-Western contexts and that give voice to historically marginalized groups. Based on the workshop, we will develop a white paper and a website that will collect resources to support CSCW based historical investigations. To apply, please send a 4-page position paper to cscwhistory(a)gmail.com by September 21st 2019. Position papers should be the ACM Extended Abstract format and take one of the following forms: 1) description of an ongoing historical research project which seeks to make contributions to CSCW and/or HCI; 2) engagement with questions of how one or more historical methods can be carried out in our field, including discussion of validity and evaluation of historical research; 3) discussion of specific contributions that historical research can make to CSCW and HCI. The workshop will take place as part of the 22nd ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing in Austin, Texas during November 2019. More information about the conference is here: http://cscw.acm.org/2019/. At least one author of each accepted position paper will be required to register for the workshop and at least one day of the conference. More information about this workshop can be found at: https://cscwhistory.com. Please email any questions to: cscwhistory(a)gmail.com.

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Some quotations
by Ceruzzi, Paul 28 Jul '19

28 Jul '19

Greetings SIGCIS members: We recently moved offices during a building renovation, and in the process I found a lot of stuff, including a folder of quotations. I've pulled out some of the better ones, and excluded ones that I could not verify. I hope you don't mind: Paul Ceruzzi National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC ___________________________ “I have discovered a truly remarkable proof of this theorem, which this margin is too small to contain.” – Pierre Fermat, 1640 “…the Analytical Engine weaves algebraic patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.” – Ada Augusta, 1842 “For about a year now I’ve been occupied with thoughts about a mechanical brain.” – Konrad Zuse, 1937 “First actual case of bug being found.” - Grace Hopper, 1947 “Calculations can be performed at high speed only if instructions are supplied at high speed” – John Mauchly, 1948 “Anyone who considers arithmetical methods of producing random digits is, of course, in a state of sin.” – John von Neumann, 1949 “The unexpected results would then enable machine owners to say with something akin to parental pride, ‘My machine (instead of “my little boy”) said such a funny thing this morning!’” – Alan Turing, ca 1950 “…the push-button age is already obsolete; the buttons now push themselves.” -- John Diebold, 1952. “…if it should ever turn out that the basic logics of a machine designed for the numerical solution of differential equations coincide with the logics of a machine intended to make bills for a department store, I would regard this as the most amazing coincidence that I have ever encountered.” – Howard Aiken, 1956 “Open the pod bay doors please, Hal.” – “Dave” (played by actor Keir Dullea), 1968 “Go To Statement Considered Harmful” – Edsger Dijkstra, 1968 “Give us a reading on the 1202 program alarm.” – Neil Armstrong, July 20, 1969 “Nothing would please me more than to hire ten programmers and deluge the hobby market with good software.” – Bill Gates, 1976 “…I’m doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won’t be big and professional like GNU) for 386 (486) AT clones.” – Linus Torvalds, August 25, 1991 “Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.” – John Perry Barlow, 1996

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