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"CSIRAC: Last Of The First" available in PDF
by Justin Zobel 13 Oct '15

13 Oct '15

CSIRAC, one of the first computers built, was documented in the book the Last Of The First (McCann and Thorne, 2000), a comprehensive overview of the machine itself, its history, and how it was used. This book, published by the University of Melbourne, has just been made freely available as a PDF from http://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/2155137. Originally designed and built in Sydney as the CSIR Mk1 in 1947-49, it was one of the first few stored-instruction computers, and as far as we know is the oldest computer that is still substantially intact; it is a permanent exhibit at Museum Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. It was relocated to Melbourne in 1955 and relaunched as CSIRAC in 1956, where it operated until 1964. Since then it has been preserved and documented by a dedicated team, including several of its original users; over the last decade, the core of this team was Judith Hughes, Jurij Semkiw (the engineer who assembled it on arrival in Melbourne in 1955), John Spencer (dec. 2014), and Peter Thorne. The Melbourne Museum maintains information about CSIRAC at http://museumvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/whatson/current-exhibitions/cs…. You can also read about CSIRAC on our web pages, http://www.cis.unimelb.edu.au/about/csirac/ – and you can listen to examples of the very first computer music, played by the CSIR Mk1 in a public exhibition in 1951. Justin Zobel Head, Department of Computing & Information Systems University of Melbourne

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SHOT 2015 Robinson Prize
by M. Hicks 11 Oct '15

11 Oct '15

Hi all-- I case you didn't make it to SHOT this year, or you did but weren't at the banquet, I just wanted to let you know that one of the papers on the SIGCIS-EDITH panel (that I co-organized with Ruth Cowan) won the Robinson Prize for 2015! Sarah McLennan's paper "Computing and the Color Line" looked at black women computers at NASA, employing oral histories as well as written records to tell the story. I'm so glad Sarah's paper got this recognition and, by extension, that the SIGCIS got recognition for the new and diverse perspectives on computing history we are helping bring to SHOT. Best, Marie ______________________ Marie Hicks, Ph.D. Asst. Professor, History of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL USA mariehicks.net | mhicks1(a)iit.edu | @histoftech

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AT&T Archives and History Center
by HOCHHEISER, SHELDON H 07 Oct '15

07 Oct '15

I look forward to seeing many of you at SHOT starting tomorrow. As many of you may know, in June I returned to AT&T where I am once again Corporate Historian and Manager of the AT&T Archives and History Center in Warren, NJ. I'd be delighted to talk to folks about AT&T history, and the resources of the AT&T Archives. And since a couple of folks asked before I returned to AT&T, while there are drafts here of a number of never published chapters from the old History of Engineering and Science in the Bell System, none of them are about any aspect of Bell Labs' computing work. Sheldon Sheldon Hochheiser, Ph.D. Corporate Historian, AT&T AT&T Archives and History Center 5 Reinman Road Warren NJ 07059 P: 908-546-5247 sheldon.hochheiser(a)att.com<mailto:sheldon.hochheiser@att.com>

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2016-2017 Lemelson Center Fellowships, Smithsonian Institution (Apps Due: 1 Dec 2015)
by Hintz, Eric 07 Oct '15

07 Oct '15

Dear SIGCIS colleagues- I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at SHOT/SIGCIS in Albuquerque Oct 8-11! Please stop and say hi if you are interested in learning more about our Lemelson Center fellowships and travel grants! Best- Eric Hintz --- Research Opportunities at the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center Apps Due: 1 Dec 2015 The Lemelson Center Fellowship Program and Travel to Collections Award Program support projects that present creative approaches to the study of invention and innovation in American society. These include, but are not limited to, historical research and documentation projects resulting in dissertations, publications, exhibitions, educational initiatives, documentary films, or other multimedia products. The programs provide access to the expertise of the Institution's research staff and the vast invention and technology collections of the National Museum of American History (NMAH). The NMAH Archives Center documents both individuals and firms across a range of time periods and subject areas. Representative collections include the Western Union Telegraph Company Records, ca. 1840-1994 and the Earl S. Tupper Papers, documenting Tupper, and his invention, Tupperware. In addition, the NMAH Library offers long runs of historical technology serials like Scientific American and American Machinist, and the American Trade Literature collection, which includes 300,000 catalogs, technical manuals, and advertising brochures for some 30,000 firms, primarily from 1880-1945. For a comprehensive catalog of objects, manuscripts, images and research materials available at the NMAH (and other Smithsonian units), see http://www.collections.si.edu/. The Lemelson Center invites applications covering a broad spectrum of research topics that resonate with its mission to foster a greater understanding of invention and innovation, broadly defined. However, the Center especially encourages project proposals that will illuminate the role of women inventors; inventors with disabilities; inventors from diverse backgrounds; or any inventions and technologies associated with groups that are traditionally under-represented in the historical record. Pertinent NMAH collections include the papers of Victor L. Ochoa, a Mexican-American aeronautical inventor; the papers of Dr. Patricia Bath, an African-American inventor of a patented cataracts treatment; the Safko International papers, documenting assistive technologies built for the physically disabled; and the HIV/AIDS and LGBT Reference Collections, which document innovative public health programs and associated technologies. The Lemelson Center Fellowship Program annually awards 2 to 3 fellowships to pre-doctoral graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, and other professionals who have completed advanced training.　 Fellows are expected to reside in the Washington, D.C. area, to participate in the Center's activities, and to make a presentation of their work to colleagues at the museum. Fellowship tenure is based upon the applicants’ stated needs (and available funding) up to a maximum of ten weeks. Stipends for 2016-2017 will be $630/week for pre-doctoral fellows and $925/week for post-doctoral and professional fellows. Applications are due December 1, 2015. For application procedures and additional information, see http://invention.si.edu/lemelson-center-fellowship-program. Researchers are encouraged to consult with the fellowship coordinator before submitting a proposal - contact historian Eric S. Hintz, Ph.D. at +1 202-633-3734 or hintze(a)si.edu<mailto:hintze@si.edu>. The Lemelson Center Travel to Collections Award Program annually awards 2 to 3 short-term travel grants to encourage the use of its invention-related collections. Awards are $150 per day for a maximum of 10 business days and may be used to cover transportation, living, and reproduction expenses; they are intended only for applicants who reside or attend school beyond commuting distance of the NMAH. Applications are due December 1, 2015.　 See http://invention.si.edu/lemelson-center-travel-collections-awards for application procedures and additional information. Researchers are encouraged to consult with the travel award coordinator before submitting a proposal - contact archivist Alison Oswald at +1 202-633-3726 or oswalda(a)si.edu<mailto:oswalda@si.edu>.

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If coming to SHOT, remember to bring books (& cash) for the auction
by Thomas Haigh 06 Oct '15

06 Oct '15

Dear SIGCIS, Those of you coming to the annual SHOT meeting, starting Thursday evening, please remember to scour your shelves before you leave for the airport and throw in a book or two relevant to the interests of our members. I've been asked by Andy Russell, the current SIGCIS chair, to reprise my traditional role as book auctioneer to raise money to fund our graduate student travel awards. So bring a nice wad of cash with which to bid generously on the books donated by others. The auction will take place during the SIGCIS lunch meeting which I've been able to confirm is as usual on Friday. Some of the SHOT program is online at http://www.historyoftechnology.org/media/ABQ/2015_schedule_of_sessions.pdf but there is apparently a deliberate policy not to put the complete program with locations, SIG events, etc. online to deter freeloaders. I don't think the meeting website information even tells you when and where to register to get the real program! Fortunately there is an overview schedule of sessions hiding inside the newsletter PDF at http://www.historyoftechnology.org/media/newsletters/SHOT_2015_newsletter.pd f. Details of the SIGCIS workshop, all day Sunday, are at http://www.sigcis.org/workshop15. I note that the SHOT online program claims that the workshop starts at 8am, but our own website promises a much less scary 9am start. In this case, trust SIGCIS. Best wishes, Tom

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Leslie Lamport 2013 Turing Award lecture
by Dave Walden 05 Oct '15

05 Oct '15

I don't remember if this has been mentioned before on this list (please forgive me if it has). I was going through my to-read pile of journals recently and noticed this publication in the June 2015 issue of the Communications of the ACM (pp. 71-76). Lamports says in the introduction: "This is a personal view of the first dozen years of the history of the field of concurrency--a view from today based on 40 years of hindsight.", i.e., it is at least somewhat of a computing history paper (with technical content).

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Help Needed Identifying Computer Component
by Laine Nooney 29 Sep '15

29 Sep '15

To my favorite cabal of computer historians: I've been contacted by a colleague of a colleague who is an art historian writing on the work of Chilean artist Guillermo Núñez <https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillermo_N%C3%BA%C3%B1ez>. In the late 1970s, Núñez produced a seriograph (v. similar to a silkscreen) partially depicting what my colleague believes is a piece of computer technology in it. She is trying to identify what the image is of so she can write about it with a bit more specificity. I'm providing a dropbox links to two image files, on of the full seriograph and one that is a close up. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/86iutdvvbkz2814/AAB8IdZ5IMGcK_h4gAiAGG2la?dl=0 CONTEXT: Núñez told the art historian that he used a photo that he had found of "one of those computers that takes up a whole room," then xeroxed it, then superimposed it over his own photograph and used those images to make the serigraph stencil. Thus the image is not very detailed, as its been processed through several kinds of media. It is also like that Núñez put put some pieces of string on the canvas when he printed, and then removed them, so in addition to any wires that may be in the original image, there are also imprints that resemble wires as well. Núñez made the prints in 1977-1979, so the images are from that time period or earlier. He sourced all kinds of images from different countries, usually from magazines and old books. There is no reason to believe the image or the technology represented in Chilean or South American. Obviously, the thing looks like a breadboard. What I don't know is how common place something like this would have been in mid-century computer equipment, what its function might have been, etc. This is all well beyond my area of expertise. There's a bit of writing you can read on the board in the second image. I welcome any comments or thoughts as replies to the group or individually, and I'll pass them on. Best, Laine -- Laine Nooney www.lainenooney.com DM <http://dm.lmc.gatech.edu/> @ LMC <http://lmc.gatech.edu/> @ GT <http://www.gatech.edu/> Assistant Professor

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e-Books? Never mind, books are back.
by McMillan, William W 24 Sep '15

24 Sep '15

Dear SIGCISers, Promising signs for the future of the book: http://fortune.com/2015/09/23/e-books-digital-publishing/ Regards. Bill

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Reproduction SCELBI 8B Project
by Mike Willegal 19 Sep '15

19 Sep '15

I just put up a video showing a demonstration of a number of the SCELBI 8B's features. It’s not professional quality, but it gives you an idea of what the system was capable of. http://www.willegal.net/podcast09-18-15.mov <http://www.willegal.net/podcast09-18-15.mov> regards, Mike Willegal > On Sep 17, 2015, at 2:15 PM, Dag Spicer <dspicer(a)computerhistory.org> wrote: > > GREAT work Mike!! > > CONGRATS!!!!!! > > Dag > -- > Dag Spicer > Senior Curator > Computer History Museum > Editorial Board, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing > 1401 North Shoreline Boulevard > Mountain View, CA 94043-1311 > > Tel: +1 650 810 1035 > Fax: +1 650 810 1055 > > > > On Sep 17, 2015, at 7:20 AM, Mike Willegal <mike(a)willegal.net<mailto:mike@willegal.net>> wrote: > > Hi, > > I hope that this might be of some interest to some of you on this list. > > I just finished bringing up a complete operating reproduction of a SCELBI 8B with TTY and Cassette interfaces. I have previously completed a SCELBI 8H reproduction. Between the two projects, it has taken 3 and 1/2 years, required reproducing 13 different printed circuit boards. Each reproduction system contains over 900 components, including over 100 memory ICs. > > The SCELBI 8H was the first microcomputer known to be marketed to hobbyists. The first ad for the SCELBI 8H was published in QST magazine in March, 1974. The SCELBI 8B was released about a year later and included more memory capability (16K) and a built in monitor, assembler and editor, essentially a complete integrated development environment. There are only a few surviving SCELBI 8B’s and as far as I know, none of them are in fully functional condition. > > More information on the SCELBI and my reproduction efforts can be found by following these links. > http://www.scelbi.com > http://www.willegal.net/scelbi/the8008andScelbi.html > > and my blog > http://www.willegal.net/blog/ > > > best regards, > Mike Willegal > _______________________________________________ > 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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Fwd: Anyone working the history of computer manuals?
by Murray Turoff 17 Sep '15

17 Sep '15

forgot to copy this on user manuals to the whole membership ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Murray Turoff <murray.turoff(a)gmail.com> Date: Thu, Sep 17, 2015 at 6:13 PM Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Anyone working the history of computer manuals? To: Thomas Haigh <thaigh(a)computer.org> A lot of work in the early days was oriented to single page manuals. There is some good examples in the book The Network Nation: Human Communication via computers by hiltz and turoff 1978 and 1993 reprinted. A number of manuals for some vary complicated user systems were done on the EIES system from 1974 to 1990. The detailed manuals and descriptions of some of the user oriented communication systems are free from the NJIT library at http://library.njit.edu/archives/cccc-materials/index.php there are reports with user guiders from 1972 to 1995 and some specific user manuals. On Thu, Sep 17, 2015 at 11:47 AM, Thomas Haigh <thaigh(a)computer.org> wrote: > Hello SIGCIS, > > > > I have an interesting request from Angela Creager, a professor at > Princeton, who is wondering if anyone out there is working on computer > manuals. My impression is that she is looking for historical or STS work > with manuals as a focus, rather than archival or preservation efforts. If > you, or someone you know, is taking this approach then please let her know. > Contact detail is Angela N. Creager creager(a)princeton.edu. > > > > Best wishes, > > > > Tom > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > -- *please send messages to murray.turoff(a)gmail.com <murray.turoff(a)gmail.com> do not use @njit.edu <http://njit.edu> addressDistinguished Professor EmeritusInformation Systems, NJIThomepage: http://is.njit.edu/turoff <http://is.njit.edu/turoff>* -- *please send messages to murray.turoff(a)gmail.com <murray.turoff(a)gmail.com> do not use @njit.edu <http://njit.edu> addressDistinguished Professor EmeritusInformation Systems, NJIThomepage: http://is.njit.edu/turoff <http://is.njit.edu/turoff>*

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