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My 1600-page book on the history of computing has just been published by De Gruyter Oldenbourg, Berlin/Boston
by herbert.bruderer＠bluewin.ch 02 Jul '18

02 Jul '18

Dear colleagues: My new two-volume book on the history of computing (1600 pages) has just been published. You will find all details in English and in German on the webpage of the publisher, De Gruyter Oldenbourg, Berlin/Boston. Meilensteine der Rechentechnik, volume 1 https://www.degruyter.com/view/product/480555 Meilensteine der Rechentechnik, volume 2 https://www.degruyter.com/view/product/503373 Many thanks and best wishes Herbert Bruderer Book reviews (1st edition) Mathematical Association of America (MAA) http://www.maa.org/press/maa-reviews/meilensteine-der-rechentechnik Deutsche Mathematiker-Vereinigung (DMV) in German and in English https://www.mathematik.de/leseecke/geschichte/939-meilensteine-der-rechente… Bruderer Informatik Seehaldenstraße 26 Postfach 47 CH-9401 Rorschach Switzerland Telefon +41 71 855 77 11

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Abstracts Due Saturday June 30 for 10th Annual SIGCIS Conference
by Laine Nooney 25 Jun '18

25 Jun '18

Dear SIGCIS Community, This email is a final reminder about the submission deadline for* our 2018 10th Annual SIGCIS Conference, **STORED IN MEMORY*. Our keynote for the event is Eden Medina, Associate Professor of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University Bloomington. *Abstracts are due this Saturday, June 30.* The SIGCIS Conference will take place *October 14th, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, *on the Sunday of the SHOT conference. Below you can find the full CFP for this year's conference. These details can also be found at our conference website: meetings.sigcis.org Please circulate widely, and we hope to see you in St. Louis! -Laine Nooney, Andrew Russell, Gerardo Con Diaz, Stephanie Dick, Kera Allen and Nabeel Siddiqui ------------------------------------------------------------------ *STORED IN MEMORY**The 10th Annual SIGCIS Conference* *St. Louis, Missouri, USA | October 14, 2018* The Special Interest Group in Computing, Information, and Society [SIGCIS] welcomes submissions to their annual conference meetings.sigcis.org *Proposal Due Date: June 30, 2018* *KEYNOTE SPEAKER* *Eden Medina* Associate Professor of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University Bloomington *THEME* Much of a computer’s work is made possible not by users’ direct actions, but by off-screen manipulations of its memory: storage, allocation, saving, deletion, registration, collection, partitioning, defragmentation, and so on. These processes have been crucial to the computer’s mass popularization during the 20th century and into the 21st—from the first stored program computer, to the rise of the consumer software industry, to the unpredictable and often troubling emergence of the Internet of Things, predictive analytics, and data harvesting. Yet encoding in computer memory is never obvious, given, or inert; choices about how to store and structure data inevitably inform the meaning that can be made with computing machines. In other words, all exercises in memory are also exercises in obfuscation, exclusion, and forgetting. Similarly, historians, theorists, and archivists of information technologies depend on the often imperceptible operations of memory: from the delicacy of human past experiences taken down in oral history, to presences and gaps “captured” in the archive. This problem of what is remembered, and what is forgotten, is the disciplinary condition that renders history as much art as it is science. In honor of the 10th annual SIGCIS conference, STORED IN MEMORY invites scholars, museum and archive professionals, IT practitioners, artists and independent researchers across the disciplinary spectrum to submit abstracts related to the historical conditions of computing. We are especially interested in (but not limited to) work that relates to the theme of “memory,” broadly and imaginatively construed. Areas of engagement may include: - How have computing technologies transformed people’s engagement with their past, present, or future? - What role does computing play in the formation and development of political systems, governance infrastructures, and institutional memory? - How are people’s histories and identities—race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and so on—recorded and represented through information technologies? - Where do computer encodings fit in the longer history of tools and practices with which communities represent the world? What epistemological realities does computer memory afford? - What place does the history of memory (computer, human, sociopolitical, and so on) have in the history of computing? - How have databases served to memorialize and monumentalize certain formations of knowledge, and what is forgotten in these processes? - How has the historiography of computing and information changed over the years, and where could it take us next? (Retrospectives welcome) - What challenges and methods are emerging in the preservation of computing history through archives, museums, oral histories, and digital-born collections? SIGCIS is especially welcoming of new directions in scholarship. We maintain an inclusive atmosphere for scholarly inquiry, supporting both disciplinary interventions from beyond the traditional history of technology, and with respect to promoting diversity in STEM. We welcome submissions from: the histories of technology, computing, information, and science; science and technology studies; oral history and archival studies; digital humanities; critical studies of big data and machine learning; studies of women, gender, and sexuality; studies of race, ethnicity, and postcoloniality; disability studies and the medical humanities; film, media, and game studies; software and code studies; network and internet histories; music, sound studies, and art history; and all other applicable domains. The annual SIGCIS Conference takes place on the final day of the annual meeting of our parent organization, the Society for the History of Technology [SHOT]. Information about the annual SHOT conference can be found at: https://bit.ly/2E6qgko *SUBMISSION FORMATS* SIGCIS welcomes proposals for individual 15-20 minute papers, 3-4 paper panel proposals, works-in-progress (see below), and non-traditional proposals such as roundtables, software demonstrations, hands-on workshops, etc. *WORKS-IN-PROGRESS* The Works-in-Progress (WiP) session will be a workshop wherein participants discuss their work in small group sessions. We invite works-in-progress—articles, chapters, dissertation prospectuses—of 10,000 words or less (longer works must be selectively edited to meet this length). We especially encourage submissions from graduate students, early career scholars, and scholars who are new to SIGCIS. Authors who submit a WiP will also commit to reading (in advance) two other WiPs, discussing them in a small group setting, and providing written feedback on one of those WiPs. Scholars who would like to participate in this session without submitting their own WiP are welcome; we ask that they commit to reading (in advance) at least two of the WiPs. Submissions for WiP only require a 350-400 word abstract, but applicants should plan to circulate their max-10,000-word WiPs no later than September 30, 2018. Scholars who would like to be a reader of WiPs, please email a brief bio or 1-page CV, along with your areas of interest and expertise, to Gerardo Con Diaz [condiaz(a)ucdavis.edu] *SUBMISSION PROCEDURE * Submissions are due June 30, 2018. Applicants should download, fill out and follow the instructions on the application cover sheet at http://meetings.sigcis.org/call-for-papers.html. All submissions will require: - 350-400 word abstract (full panel proposals should additionally include a 250-300 word panel abstract in addition to 3-4 paper abstracts) - 1-page CV or resume for each presenter Please Note: Individuals who have submitted to the main SHOT program are welcome to submit an additional proposal to our workshop, but should make sure that there is no overlap between the two presentations. However, SIGCIS may choose to give higher priority to submissions from those not already presenting at SHOT. Questions regarding submission procedure should be sent to Kera Allen [ kera.allen(a)gatech.edu] *TRAVEL AWARD* The top financial priority of SIGCIS is the support of travel expenses for graduate students, visiting faculty without institutional travel support, and others who would be unable to attend the meeting without travel assistance. The submission cover sheet includes a space to note whether you fall into one of these categories and would like to be considered for an award. These is no separate application form, though depending on the volume of requests and available resources we may need to contact you for further information before making a decision. Any award offered is contingent on registering for and attending the SIGCIS Conference. Please note that SHOT does not classify the SIGCIS Conference as participation in the SHOT annual meeting, therefore acceptance by SIGCIS does not imply eligibility for the SHOT travel grant program. Details of available awards are at http://www.sigcis.org/travelaward <http://www.sigcis.org/travelaward>. *SIGCIS CONFERENCE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE* Laine Nooney <http://www.lainenooney.com/>, New York University (SIGCIS Vice-Chair of Meetings) Andrew Russell <http://www.arussell.org/>, SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SIGCIS Chair) Stephanie Dick <https://hss.sas.upenn.edu/people/stephanie-dick>, University of Pennsylvania Gerardo Con Diaz <https://www.condiaz.com/>, University of California, Davis (SIGCIS Treasurer) Kera Allen <https://hts.gatech.edu/people/person/e2f55e07-937a-571a-a4f8-c32c87fef19d>, Georgia Institute of Technology (Conference Assistant) Nabeel Siddiqui <https://nabsiddiqui.github.io/>, College of William and Mary (Conference Assistant) -- Laine Nooney <http://www.lainenooney.com/> MCC <http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/mcc/> @ NYU <http://www.nyu.edu/> Assistant Professor -Need to make an appt? Click, don't email: https://bit.ly/2GIHuK0 -Probably typed by voice recognition, so please cherish typos -Stop email nonsense: http://emailcharter.org

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Frank Heart, RIP
by Dave Walden 24 Jun '18

24 Jun '18

Frank Heart has died. Among the many accomplishments in his career, he led the team that developed the ARPANET IMP at BBN. Frank went to MIT to study power engineering but the early digital computing course taught by Gordon Welchman led Frank to switch to digital computing. He worked on Whirlwind and joined MIT's Lincoln Lab where he sought out digital applications for computers. Among the life long friends Frank made at Lincoln were Ed Fredkin and Wes Clark. In 1966 Frank was recruited to BBN by Danny Bobrow and Dick Bolt. He remained at BBN until 1994, retiring as president of BBN's research and development activities. Frank's health had been slowly failing over the past few years. I doubt BBN would have been awarded the IMP development contract if BBN had not put Frank forward as project leader.

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Books Claimed
by Ross Bassett 23 Jun '18

23 Jun '18

Thanks everyone for your queries, but the books have been claimed. Ross Ross Bassett Professor of History Director Benjamin Franklin Scholars ross(a)ncsu.edu https://history.ncsu.edu/people/faculty_staff/ross

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Books! A History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System
by Ross Bassett 23 Jun '18

23 Jun '18

Dear SIGCISers, I have three volumes of A History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System that are looking for a new home. They are- The Early Years (1875-1925) National Service in War and Peace (1925-1975) Transmission Technology (1925-1975) I’d be glad to give them to a grad student for free or to anyone else for a $20 donation to SIGCIS. We can discuss shipping. Please contact me off list. Best, Ross Ross Bassett Professor of History Director Benjamin Franklin Scholars ross(a)ncsu.edu https://history.ncsu.edu/people/faculty_staff/ross

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Fwd: [New post] Conf: The Web that was
by Jonathan Coopersmith 17 Jun '18

17 Jun '18

FYI Jonathan Coopersmith Professor Department of History Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-4236 979.739.4708 (cell) 979.862.4314 (fax) Latest article: https://theconversation.com/what-fax-machines-can-teach-us-about-electric-c… *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: Organizational History Network <comment-reply(a)wordpress.com> Date: Fri, Jun 15, 2018 at 2:58 AM Subject: [New post] Conf: The Web that was To: j-coopersmith(a)tamu.edu Steph posted: "The Web that Was: Archives, Traces, Reflections A three-day conference, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, June 19-21, 2019. The third biennial RESAW (Research Infrastructure for the Study of Archived Web Materials) conference. Organized by the Uni" Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on *Organizational History Network* <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__orghist.com_author_step…> Conf: The Web that was <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__orghist.com_2018_06_15_…> by Steph <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__orghist.com_author_step…> The Web that Was: Archives, Traces, Reflections A three-day conference, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, June 19-21, 2019. The third biennial RESAW (Research Infrastructure for the Study of Archived Web Materials) conference. Organized by the University of Amsterdam. *** Keynote speakers *** Megan Ankerson, University of Michigan Florian Cramer, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences Olia Lialina, Merz Akademie Fred Turner, Stanford University *** Special event *** The conference will host a lecture-performance by Geert Lovink (Institute of Network Cultures, Hogeschool van Amsterdam) and guests on the history and preservation of Amsterdam’s early internet culture. *** Call for contributions *** As the first generation of web users goes grey, it's clear that the internet they remember is no longer around. The early web is now simply another object of nostalgia. Tech anniversaries are a dime a dozen, while once cool digital aesthetics have made several ironic comebacks. All of this reinforces a sense that we’ve left behind a digital history that was as clunky and slow as it was idealistic and naïve. How can we rethink this relationship to the web's past and the past web? This question is crucial today as the open web continues to lose ground to platforms and apps. How can this history be reconstructed and re-evaluated, and how are web archives and web histories impacted by technological change? What do traditional problems of preservation and historiography look like at scale? And what stories capture the diverse transformations and continuities that mark nearly 30 years of web history? There is of course no single web history, materially or conceptually speaking. There is instead a politics of archives, technologies and discourses that needs to be uncovered. How can we expand our view of web history beyond Silicon Valley and celebrated cases? And how can we reveal the technological, social and economic contexts that have shaped not just the present web, but how we access its past? What role do archives play in uncovering the histories of the web, platforms and apps, as well as their production and usage contexts? This conference aims to bring together scholars, archivists and artists interested in preserving, portraying and otherwise engaging with the web that was. In addition to paper submissions, we invite proposals for audiovisual installations, posters, software demos, or other media that connects to the conference themes. Submissions in the form of an abstract may relate to, but are not limited by, the following topics: * Web and internet histories * Historicizing the web and digital culture * Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and critiquing periodizations * Past futures and paths not taken * Platformization and the changing structure of the web * Social imaginaries of the early web * Archives and access * Research methods for studying the archived web * Methods for platform and app histories * Ethics of (studying) web archives * Technicity of web archives * Software histories * Archived audiences and histories of internet use * Identity, intersectionality and web history * Digital activism and web history * Histories of net criticism * Media industries and their online histories * Web histories elsewhere: forgotten and marginalized web cultures * Realtime, time travel and other web temporalities * Future histories and the archive of tomorrow *** Submissions *** Submissions are welcomed from all fields and disciplines, and we would particularly encourage postgraduate students and early career researchers to participate. * Individual papers of 20 minutes length (750-word abstract and a short author bio of 100-150 words). * Panel sessions consisting of three individual papers, introduced by a chair (750-word abstract for each paper, a brief description of 300 words of the purpose of the panel, and a short author bio of 100-150 words for each speaker). * Posters, demonstrations, and audio/video/interactive installations (short abstract of no more than 300 words, a list of A/V or other requirements, and a short author bio of 100-150 words) * Workshops (a 500-word rationale for the workshop, including discussion of why the topic lends itself to a workshop format, and a short author bio of 100-150 words for the workshop organiser(s)). Deadline for submission is 19 October 2018. Acceptance will be on the basis of double-blind peer review. *** Timetable *** May 2018 - dates out June 2018 - first call for papers July 2018 - second call for papers August 2018 - third call for papers September 2018 - final call for papers and submissions open 19 October 2018 - submission of abstracts December 2018 - notification of acceptance 19–21 June 2019 - conference *** Organizing Committee *** Anne Helmond, University of Amsterdam, NL Michael Stevenson, University of Amsterdam, NL In collaboration with the RESAW Conference Committee: Niels Brügger, Aarhus University, DK (organiser 2015) Jane Winters, University of London, UK (organiser 2017) Valérie Schafer, University of Luxembourg, LU (coming organiser 2021) *** Program Committee *** Susan Aasman, University of Groningen, NL Gerard Alberts, University of Amsterdam, NL Megan Ankerson, University of Michigan, USA Anat Ben-David, The Open University of Israel, IL Josephine Bosma, independent art critic and theorist, NL Sally Chambers, Ghent University, BE Frédéric Clavert, C2DH Luxembourg Annet Dekker, University of Amsterdam, NL Matthew Fuller, Goldsmiths, UK Sophie Gebeil, Aix-Marseille University, FR Robert W. Gehl, University of Utah, USA Daniel Gomes, arquivo.pt <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__emea01.safelinks.prote…>, PT Arquivo.pt: pesquise páginas do passado <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__emea01.safelinks.prote…> arquivo.pt O Arquivo.pt é um serviço público que preserva informação publicada na Web desde 1996. Stefania Milan, University of Amsterdam, NL Ian Milligan, University of Waterloo, CA Francesca Musiani, CNRS, FR Claude Mussou, Ina, FR Janne Nielsen, Aarhus University, DK Camille Paloque-Berges, CNAM, FR Thomas Poell, University of Amsterdam, NL Bernhard Rieder, University of Amsterdam, NL Marta Severo, University of Paris Nanterre, FR Kees Teszelszky, Koninklijke Bibliotheek/Royal Library, NL Fred Turner, Stanford University, USA Peter Webster, Webster Research & Consulting, UK Katrin Weller, GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, DE *** Sponsors *** The conference is financed in part by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) as part of the research program Innovational Research Incentives Scheme Veni in connection with the projects “The Web that Was” (275-45-006) and “App ecosystems: A critical history of apps” (275-45-009). *** Contact *** https://thewebthatwas.net <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__emea01.safelinks.prote…> organizers(a)thewebthatwas.net *Steph <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__orghist.com_author_step…>* | June 15, 2018 at 7:55 am | Tags: Archives <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__orghist.com_tag_archive…>, web history <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__orghist.com_tag_web-2Dh…> | Categories: Call for Papers <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__orghist.com_category_ca…>, Conferences <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__orghist.com_category_co…> | URL: https://wp.me/p6GNmn-y8 <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__wp.me_p6GNmn-2Dy8&d=Dw…> Comment <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__orghist.com_2018_06_15_…> See all comments <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__orghist.com_2018_06_15_…> Unsubscribe <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__subscribe.wordpress.co…> to no longer receive posts from Organizational History Network. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__subscribe.wordpress.co…>. *Trouble clicking?* Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://orghist.com/2018/06/15/conf-the-web-that-was/ <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__orghist.com_2018_06_15_…> Thanks for flying with WordPress.com <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__wordpress.com&d=DwMFaQ…>

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Reminder - call for student volunteers at Supercomputing 2018
by Kevin Walsh 05 Jun '18

05 Jun '18

Reminder from the email I sent last month. I am the 30th Anniversary team lead for the ACM/IEEE Supercomputing conference. I am looking for some grad students in the history of computing/technology/programming languages. See below on how to participate. When applying, indicate you want to work with the 30th Anniversary team. Spoiler alert - We will have a Cray 1 on display. General announcement - *Are you an undergraduate or graduate student?* *This is one of the best opportunities for your undergraduate and soon to be graduating PhD students!!! Please share widely to students on your campus or organizations you work with!!* *Are you intrigued by the use of advanced computing capabilities to solve the world’s most challenging scientific, engineering, and data challenges?* *Are you interested in participating in the world’s premier conference for high-performance computing (aka scientific computing or computational sciences)?* The Students@SC program will offer ~200 domestic and international students the opportunity to participate in student-oriented as well as standard conference activities at the SC 2018 conference in Dallas, Texas in November 2018. These activities include professional development workshops; technical talks, tutorials and panels by famous researchers and industry leaders; exploring the exhibits; and developing lasting peer connections. Apply now to participate in the *Student Volunteers* (deadline: June 15), *Experiencing HPC for Undergraduates* (deadline: July 31) or*Doctoral Showcase Programs* ( deadline: July 31). We especially welcome applicants from underrepresented groups including women, racial minorities, and persons with disabilities. See attached flyer or website for details: https: //sc18.supercomputing.org/ experience/studentssc/ ### Kevin Walsh Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics Scripps Institution of Oceanography HiSeasNet Support KK6FRK (858)822-3356 <(858)%20822-3356> kwalsh(a)ucsd.edu

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200+ Years of Women in Computing Exhibit
by George Keremedjiev 04 Jun '18

04 Jun '18

Dear History of Computing Aficionados: Our museum opened a new exhibit last Friday - “200+ Years of Women in Computing” with numerous photographs, videos AND 4 very rare items: 1. One of 5 (6?) known offprint copies of Luigi Federico Menabrea's, Sketch of the Analytical Engine invented by Charles Babbage ... with notes by the translator Augusta Ada Lovelace. Offprint from Scientific Memoirs III (1843). London: Richard and John E. Taylor, 1843. In very good condition. 2. A portion of a letter handwritten and signed in full by Augusta Ada Lovelace (very rare as there are few letters on display with this full signature). 3. Manual of Operation for the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, 1946, 1st edition Signed by Grace Hopper. 4. An autographed photograph of mathematician Katherine Johnson (NACA/NASA - featured subject in the movie, “Hidden Figures”). We are now the #1 attraction in the greater Bozeman area per TripAdvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g45095-d481531-Reviews-Americ… <https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g45095-d481531-Reviews-Americ…> ***Should any of you be visiting the greater Yellowstone National Park area this summer - consider emailing me as we would be very pleased to take you on a private tour of our museum.*** Best, George George Keremedjiev Director American Computer & Robotics Museum Bozeman, MT www.compustory.com

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Re-creating the First Flip-Flop
by Brian Randell 04 Jun '18

04 Jun '18

Hi: IEEE Spectrum has a nice article "Re-creating the First Flip-Flop”, sub-titled "The fundamental building block of modern digital design turns 100”. See https://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/hands-on/recreating-the-first-flipflop Cheers Brian Randell — School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU 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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Reminder: PhD position in the history and/or philosophy of programming
by ldemol 04 Jun '18

04 Jun '18

Dear all, this is a gentle reminder of the approaching deadline (20 June 2018) of the call for a PhD candidate in the history and/or philosophy of computer programming. The PhD will be supported by the ANR-funded project PROGRAMme and the candidate will be a member of the research team of the project. More details can be found here: https://programme.hypotheses.org/call-for-application-phd-appel-a-candidatu… If you would have any more questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, with very best wishes, Liesbeth.

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