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Anyone working the history of computer manuals?
by Thomas Haigh 17 Sep '15

17 Sep '15

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 <mailto:creager@princeton.edu> . Best wishes, Tom

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Reproduction SCELBI 8B Project
by Mike Willegal 17 Sep '15

17 Sep '15

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

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HaPoC 2015: Final Call for Participation
by Giuseppe Lettieri 14 Sep '15

14 Sep '15

Final Call For Participation HaPoC 2015: 3rd International CONFERENCE on the HISTORY and PHILOSOPHY of COMPUTING October 8-11, 2015, Pisa, Italy http://hapoc2015.di.unipi.it *** Early Registration extended until September 20, 2015 ! *** **** Now the program is available at http://goo.gl/QVJFqv **** This is an invitation to attend the 3rd International Conference on the History and Philosophy of Computing (HaPoC 2015). The conference brings together researchers interested in the historical developments of computers and their sciences, as well as those reflecting on the sociological and philosophical issues springing from the rise and ubiquity of computing machines in the contemporary landscape. The conference is composed of 30 research presentations, with no parallels sessions, and 6 invited talks from renowned experts in the relevant fields. The conference will take place in Pisa, the cradle of Italian computer science: here the first Italian computers were designed in the mid-Fifties and the first Master course in informatics was established in 1969. The Museum of Computing Machinery (Museo degli Strumenti per il Calcolo), part of the University of Pisa, shows some artefacts from the early days of Italian CS, as well a selection of personal computing machines. Besides its artistic attractions, among them the world-famous leaning tower, during the days of the conference Pisa will host the Internet Festival, devoted to all the aspects of the net (http://www.internetfestival.it) Invited speakers ------------------- Nicola Angius, Universita' di Sassari Lenore Blum, Carnegie Mellon University David Alan Grier, IEEE & George Washington University Furio Honsell, Universita' di Udine Pierre Mounier-Kuhn, CNRS & Universite' Paris-Sorbonne Franck Varenne, Universite' de Rouen Visit http://goo.gl/ubgl2E for the list of abstracts. Accepted Talks --------------- The list of accepted abstracts can be found at http://goo.gl/BTJsTC Venue ------ The conference will take place in Pisa, at the Museum of Computing Machinery. Additional information can be found at http://goo.gl/APJPff Registration information -------------------------- Registration is required to attend. You may find all the information concerning the registration fee at http://goo.gl/j0mZMV

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travel to University of Minnesota=based archival collections
by Thomas J. Misa 08 Sep '15

08 Sep '15

Dear Colleagues, In addition to support from the Norberg Travel Fund (deadline upcoming in mid-January), several CBI researchers have successfully been supported by the Elmer L. Andersen Research Scholars Program <https://www.lib.umn.edu/pdf/ELAResearchScholars2015.pdf>: up to $2,000 with a deadline of 25 September. The key here is to find more than one archival collection, since the University Libraries loves such cross-collection funding. So that could be CBI "plus" any of the following: • Andersen Horticultural Library • Children’s Literature Research Collections • Givens Collection of African American Literature • Immigration History Research Center Archives • James Ford Bell Library • Kautz Family YMCA Archives • Northwest Architectural Archives • Performing Arts Archives • Sherlock Holmes Collections • Social Welfare History Archives • Special Collections and Rare Books • Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies • University Archives • Upper Midwest Jewish Archives • Upper Midwest Literary Archives • Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine Best, Tom (Misa)

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Grad student/early-career Lovelace workshop deadline extended
by James Sumner 08 Sep '15

08 Sep '15

Apropos recent discussions... still time to submit proposals for this up to Friday 18th. JS -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Deadline extended: CfP Ada Lovelace Postgraduate Workshop Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2015 10:21:43 +0100 From: Kanta Dihal <kanta.dihal(a)ELL.OX.AC.UK> Reply-To: Kanta Dihal <kanta.dihal(a)ELL.OX.AC.UK> To: MERSENNE(a)JISCMAIL.AC.UK *Texts and contexts: the cultural legacies of Ada Lovelace* /“That brain of mine is more than merely mortal; as time will show.”/ A workshop for graduate students and early career researchers Tuesday 8 December 2015 Mathematics Institute and St Anne’s College, Oxford The mathematician Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), daughter of poet Lord Byron, is celebrated as a pioneer of computer science. The notes she added to her translation of Luigi Menabrea’s paper on Charles Babbage’s analytical engine (1843) are considered to contain a prototype computer program. During her short life, Lovelace not only contributed original ideas to the plans for this early computer; she also imagined wider possibilities for the engine, such as its application to music, and meditated on its limitations. Lovelace leaves a legacy not just as a computer scientist, but also as a muse for literary writers, a model to help us understand the role of women in science in the nineteenth century, and an inspiration for neo-Victorian and steampunk traditions. As part of the University of Oxford’s celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of Lovelace’s birth, this one-day workshop will bring together graduates and early career researchers to discuss the varied cultural legacies of this extraordinary mathematician. The day will feature an expert panel including graphic novelist *Sydney Padua* and biographer *Richard Holmes*, as well as a keynote address from *Professor Sharon Ruston*, Chair in Romanticism in the Department of English and Creative Writing at Lancaster University. The day will conclude with a reception and buffet when there will be opportunities to meet with speakers from the Ada Lovelace 200 Symposium, which will also take place in the Mathematics Institute on the following two days (9-10 December). Researchers from all disciplines are invited to submit proposals for papers on the influences of Lovelace’s work, on topics including, but not limited to, literature, history, mathematics, music, visual art, and computer science. This might include: * Lovelace’s place in the study of the history of science; * Lovelace and *women in science* in the nineteenth century; * Early nineteenth-century *scientific networks*, including Lovelace’s relationship with such individuals as Charles Babbage and Mary Somerville. We also encourage papers which consider other scientific networks from this period, beyond Lovelace’s circle; * Lovelace and discussions about the *role of the imagination in scientific practice* in the nineteenth century; * Lovelace as *translator and commentator*; * *Mathematics**and music*, and the musical possibilities Lovelace envisaged for Babbage’s engine; * Lovelace’s own *textual legacies*, such as her correspondence, childhood exercises and mathematical notes held in the Bodleian; * Lovelace’s *technological legacies*, from her seminal work on Babbage’s Analytical Engine to her impact on computer programming today; * Lovelace’s role in the *steampunk tradition*, from Gibson and Sterling’s /The Difference Engine/ to Sydney Padua’s /The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage/, and neo-Victorian fashion; * Efforts and activities to *commemorate and memorialise *Lovelace, from the recent Google Doodle to the annual Ada Lovelace Day. Proposals, not exceeding 250 words, for 15-minute papers should be submitted to adalovelaceworkshop(a)ell.ox.ac.uk <mailto:adalovelaceworkshop@ell.ox.ac.uk> by *Midnight**, Friday 18 September 2015*. Those who are accepted to speak at this graduate workshop will also be offered free registration for the Ada Lovelace 200 Symposium taking place on the following two days.

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article by Haigh and Priestley in the Sept issue of CACM
by Dave Walden 06 Sep '15

06 Sep '15

Has this been mentioned to the list already? It is titled Historical Reflections Innovators Assumble: Ada Lovelace, Walter Isaacson, and the Superheroines of Computing.

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Heinz Nixdorf museum photos
by Brian Randell 05 Sep '15

05 Sep '15

PS I omitted to provide a link to the museum’s pages about the exhibition. See http://www.hnf.de/en/sonderaustellungen/preview-ada-lovelace.html Cheers Brian -- School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 FAX = +44 191 208 8232 URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/people/brian.randell

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Heinz Nixdorf museum photos
by Brian Randell 05 Sep '15

05 Sep '15

Hi Tom: I’ve placed the set of photos that I took earlier this week (using just my iPhone) at the Heinz Nixdorf museum in Paderborn on the web at http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/Web-albums/HeinzNixdorf2015/ind…. (The selection of subjects reflects my interests, and gives a far from comprehensive survey of the scope of the museum’s collection.) I was there for the opening of their special exhibition “It began with ADA - Women in Computer History 2 September 2015 - 10 July 2016”. The exhibition was impressive, though it didn’t provide much analysis of Ada’s contribution. (In contrast to the rest of the museum, all the explanatory notices were provided in English as well as German.) This was my first ever visit to the Museum. Its size and lavishness, and the richness of its collection, were very impressive. Cheers Brian -- School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 208 7923 FAX = +44 191 208 8232 URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/people/brian.randell

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enigma for sale
by Jonathan Coopersmith 05 Sep '15

05 Sep '15

Bonham's is offering an Enigma at auction in two weeks: In case you have a spare $160-180,000 lying around, here is the description: ENIGMA MACHINE. A Rare Early 3-Rotor German Enigma I Enciphering Machines (aka Heeres Enigma), Berlin, early 1930s. An early Enigma machine in working condition, serial number 1024, in original oak box with hinged front panel and leather handle, inner front panel with "ENIGMA" and "Klappe schliessen" stamps, rotors I, II, III and reflector with matching serial number A1024, standard QWERTY keyboard of 26 keys, white on black backgrounds, battery switch, ebonite Steckerbrett [plugboard] with 12 stecker cables (12 plugged into the Steckerbrett and 2 spares stored in the top lid of case), battery case with 2 packages of functioning spare light bulbs, upper lid with 10 bulbs, green glare filter, and replica "Zur Beachtung" sign. 13 1/4 x 11 x 6 1/2 inches. Split in oak at lid, glass on key "Q" cracked, internal wires in wiring maze replaced to avoid problems with deteriorating insulation. WITH: A 1934/1936 German Ta.P. Baumuster T1 Telegraph key; 2 facsimile Enigma operating manuals; 1 copy of Dr. Tom Perera's book,*Inside the Enigma; The Secrets of the ENIGMA Machine and other Historic Cipher Machines*. *FULLY OPERATIONAL, EARLY ENIGMA MACHINE*. The low serial number 1024 indicates that this machine was made in the early 1930s, making it among the very first Enigmas to be delivered to the German Military as they built up their armed forces in violation of the Versailles Treaty. A video of the machine operating can be viewed on our website at *www.bonhams.com/video/19793/ <http://www.bonhams.com/video/19793/>* Patented by Arthur Scherbius in 1918, the Enigma machine utilizes three interchangeable rotors which scramble plain-text messages and produce a cipher text message which is then sent, generally via Morse code, to a receiving party with an Enigma set up in the same configuration as the sending Enigma. All of the machines could use the interchangeable wheels from any enigma, so to find a matching set of wheels with the same serial number as the Enigma is quite rare. Though the German military was familiar with the Enigma, it was not adopted as their primary cipher device until 1926, when they discovered that all German naval coded messages had been intercepted and read by the British during the latter half of WWI. It is unknown exactly how many enigma machines were made, but we know that few survived the war. Rather than have the machines fall into enemy hands, they were destroyed by the Germans upon retreat and documents pertaining to their manufacture were burned or in many cases simply lost. On top of this, Churchill ordered all Enigma machines to be destroyed at the end of the war, so few machines remain intact. This example of the standard three rotor enigma machine "Modell 1" was used principally by the army (Wehrmacht), and was their favored enciphering device. British attempts to break the Enigma code were fruitless for years. The breakthrough eventually came after the creation of the famous British codebreaking center Bletchley Park. Using the technology transferred to them from the brilliant Polish codebreaking team, as well as documents supplied by the French Intelligence from a German spy, the great Alan Turing, along with Knox, Foss and many others were able to break the Enigma code, shortening the war by en estimated two years, and saving countless lives. http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/22964/lot/73/ http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/22964 Jonathan Coopersmith Associate Professor Department of History Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-4236 979.845.7151 979.862.4314 (fax) http://historynewsnetwork.org/blog/author/42 * FAXED. The Rise and Fall of the Fax Machine* is now available from Johns Hopkins University Press. The press is offering a 30% discount if ordered from its website using the code HNAF ( https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/faxed)

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Innovators Assemble: Ada Lovelace, Walter Isaacson, and the Superheroines of Computing
by Thomas Haigh 04 Sep '15

04 Sep '15

Hello SIGCIS, Following our recent discussion, it's fitting that my new article with Mark Priestley puts a toe into matters cultural. "Innovators Assemble" mashes up Isaacson's The Innovators and Marvel's Avengers Assemble (as the first movie is known in the UK) to explore the reliance of popular history on superhero narratives and the damage that does to responsible history. Among other things, we critique his posturing as a rescuer of forgotten women, open up some black boxes to argue that Ada Lovelace's famous table wasn't actually a program, reposition the "women of ENIAC" as hands-on operators rather than programmers, and dive into some accounting records to reveal that (contrary to the myth that men built hardware and women programmed it) that ENIAC was built by forgotten blue collar women. So it's an odd mix of perspectives from cultural history, labor history, and technical history. It's in Communications of the ACM, so I'll be interested to see how the computer science community takes it. We're grateful to the SIGCIS community, including comments made by Janet Abbate during our discussion of Isaacson's book last year and private exchanges with Brian Randell, Doron Swade, and Laine Nooney. Open access, HTML at http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2015/9/191176-innovators-assemble/fulltext (missing some figures) Proper PDF from http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2817191.2804228 <http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2817191.2804228&coll=portal&dl=ACM> &coll=portal&dl=ACM. Best wishes, Tom

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