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Things come in threes...
by Evan Koblentz 02 Apr '15

02 Apr '15

There were two other NY-area computer history announcements here this morning, so I'll make it three: a reminder that the Vintage Computer Festival East is April 17-19, at the InfoAge Science Center, in Wall, New Jersey. Friday's schedule has 16 technical classes and a lunchtime ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the DEC PDP-8 minicomputer. Saturday and Sunday each start with a morning keynote -- Wes Clark and Bob Frankston, respectively. The rest of those days features two hands-on exhibit halls, consignment/vendors, and museum tours. There are 38 exhibits, which makes this event the largest of any of the Vintage Computer Festivals ever produced. Also: Star Trek-themed shirts and mousepads, who could turn down that? Full details are at http://www.vintage.org/2015/east/ and also facebook.com/vcfeast and twitter.com/vcfeast. Come get your hands dirty with historic computers.

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Research project on the material culture of computing (plastics used in electronic artefacts in information and telecommunication technologies)
by Ulf Hashagen 02 Apr '15

02 Apr '15

Dear members of SIGCIS, we plan to hand in a research project about the plastics used in electronic artefacts in information and telecommunication technologies. Two topics are being researched: a) based on selected artefacts from two museums in Munich (milestones of the technological development) we aim to characterise the plastics used in the production of personal computers and of radios. We intend to understand the reasons why plastics were selected for production or for changes in their choice. The plastic selection can be based on some or more of the following reasons: design, function, costs of production, properties of the plastic in question (weight, workability, colour, resistance to shok, resistance to heat, ...), historical reasons as availability or non availabilty of raw materials during war or post war periods, etc. - What were the advantages and disadvantages of past used plastics in the production of electronic artefacts? - Why were some plastics preferred in a certain period and substituted later on? - Which development similarities do we find between the production of personal computers and radios? - What were the main reasons for the selection of plastics in which period of the twentieth century? For the investigation of personal computers we are identifying the plastics by means of infrared spectroscopy of the following elements: - housing - power cables - operating elements (push buttons) - printed circuit board (e.g. mother board) - integrated circuits Below your find the a pre-selection of personal computers dating from 1975 to 2000: Personal Computer Production date Heimcomputer "MITS Altair 8800" 1975 Personal Computer Apple II IA2S2 ca. 1980 Personal Computer Osborne 1 1983 Personal Computer Apple Macintosh 512K ca. 1985 Personal Computer Macintosh Plus 1 Mb Personal Computer, sign.: Commodore 64 1992 Notebook Apple iBook SE 466 2000 b) based on a condition survey of personal computers and radios from two museums in Munich (several hundreds of objects in storage) we aim to identify the main decay patterns of plastic materials (yellowing, discoloration, desintegration, loss of plasticizer). After identifying the main weathering decay forms, we will analyse the plastics, so that we can correlate material and decay. For instance, until now we have noticed that ABS is prone to yellowing, plasticized PVC is prone to loss of plasticizer and tha rubber is prone to desintegration. By identifying the amount of objects at risk in the collection we can establish priorities for the active or passive conservation. We would like to ask you whether you find this topic interesting and kindly ask you to discuss with us our aims and methodology. Best wishes Dr. Marisa Pamplona-Bartsch (& Ulf Hashagen, who forwarded this Email of his colleague Marisa to sigcis) -- Objekt- und Restaurierungsforschungsabteilung Conservation Science Department Deutsches Museum Museumsinsel 1, 80538 München, Germany tel + 49 (0)89 / 21 79 512 e-mail:m.pamplona@deutsches-museum.de

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April 17 | Mistakes Were Made: Computer History, Decompiled
by Laine Nooney 02 Apr '15

02 Apr '15

Hi all, For all computer historians/enthusiasts/aficionados in the greater NYC area for April 17: I've organized an event at NYU called "Mistakes Were Made: Computer History, Decompiled." It features some of our very own SIGCIS champs on the docket. Details below. Hope to see you there! Laine Nooney www.lainenooney.com ISTC <http://socialcomputing.uci.edu/> @ MCC <http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/mcc/> @ NYU <http://www.nyu.edu> Postdoctoral Associate ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: NYU MCC <mcc(a)nyu.edu> Date: Wed, Apr 1, 2015 at 4:24 PM Subject: April 17 | Mistakes Were Made: Computer History, Decompiled To: laine.nooney(a)gmail.com <http://nyu.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=0ac8c97417eade73a7595c79a&id=…> Department of Media, Culture, and Communication *Friday, April 17, 2015* 10:30 AM - 6:00 PM | 239 Greene Street, Floor 8 REGISTER <http://nyu.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=0ac8c97417eade73a7595c79a&id=…> <http://nyu.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0ac8c97417eade73a7595c79a&id=5…> *Copyright © 2015 NYU Department of Media, Culture, and Communication, All rights reserved.* unsubscribe from this list <http://nyu.us4.list-manage2.com/unsubscribe?u=0ac8c97417eade73a7595c79a&id=…> update subscription preferences <http://nyu.us4.list-manage.com/profile?u=0ac8c97417eade73a7595c79a&id=8e53d…>

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Mahoney Prize - submissions due April 15
by Andrew Russell 29 Mar '15

29 Mar '15

Dear SIGCIS - As a reminder, 2015 marks the first time that a new prize, the Mahoney Prize, will be awarded. Please see below for details. Since this is the first time the prize has been offered, I hope that you all can help spread the word about it - especially to scholars whose work connects to the history of computing and IT (broadly conceived), but who might not identify as part of the SIGCIS or SHOT community. If you have ideas about mailing lists (etc.) where we should post this announcement, please let me know. And, of course, I encourage all of you to submit your own work or nominate other articles that you think deserves consideration! Thanks very much, Andy ————— The Mahoney Prize recognizes an outstanding article in the history of computing and information technology, broadly conceived. The Mahoney Prize commemorates the late Princeton scholar Michael S. Mahoney, whose profound contributions to the history of computing came from his many articles and book chapters. The prize consists of a $500 award and a certificate. For the inaugural 2015 prize, articles published in the preceding three years (2012, 2013, and 2014) are eligible for nomination. The Mahoney Prize is awarded by the Special Interest Group in Computers, Information, and Society (SIGCIS) and is presented during the annual meeting of our parent group, the Society for the History of Technology. The deadline for submission (electronic submissions preferred) to all three Prize Committee members is April 15, 2015. For more information, please visit http://www.sigcis.org/mahoneyprize or contact the 2015 Mahoney Prize Committee Chair Prof. Jennifer Light, jslight(a)mit.edu<mailto:jslight@mit.edu>. 2015 Mahoney Prize Committee: Ross Bassett (term ends 2015) Associate Professor of History Director, Benjamin Franklin Scholars Department of History Box 8108 North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC 27695 ross(a)ncsu.edu<mailto:ross@ncsu.edu> Jennifer S. Light, Chair (term ends 2016) Professor of Science, Technology, and Society Professor of Urban Studies and Planning Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Ave., E51-173 Cambridge, MA 02139 jslight(a)mit.edu<mailto:jslight@mit.edu> James Cortada (term ends 2017) Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota 2917 Irvington Way Madison, Wisconsin 53713 jcortada(a)umn.edu<mailto:jcortada@umn.edu> —————

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Oxford ConnectLife Conference: Abstract due Tuesday
by Andrew Russell 29 Mar '15

29 Mar '15

FYI - this might interest some of you (note the specific mention of “History of the Internet”). Cheers, Andy Begin forwarded message: From: Scott Hale <scott.hale(a)oii.ox.ac.uk<mailto:scott.hale@oii.ox.ac.uk>> Date: March 29, 2015 at 9:56:44 AM EDT To: <citasa(a)list.citasa.org<mailto:citasa@list.citasa.org>> Subject: [CITASA] Oxford ConnectLife Conference: Abstract due Tuesday Apologies for cross posting. There is still time to submit an abstract to Oxford's Connected Life conference coming up in June. Registration is only £10 and travel bursaries will be available. Details below and at http://connectedlife.oii.ox.ac.uk/connected-life-15/cfp/ Cheers, Scott ------------- Connected Life 2015 is a day-long conference dedicated to igniting multidisciplinary exchanges and showcasing exciting Internet research. We welcome students and faculty from all disciplines, including (but not limited to) business, computer science, economics, education, history, international relations, law, linguistics, literature, media and communications, medicine, philosophy, politics, psychology, and sociology. Like last year’s inaugural conference, Connected Life 2015 will foster collaborations within and beyond Oxford in pursuit of an enhanced understanding of the Internet and its multifaceted effects upon society. We invite the submission of proposals for presentations on ongoing or recent research. Proposals that address our key thematic questions are particularly encouraged: How does our digital society intersect with existing social structures, institutions, and relationships? What are the impacts of digital technology on society and how will these evolve? Topics of interest include (but are not limited to): Politics and Public Policy Science and Technology Teaching and Education Gender and Identity Digital Humanities Cybersecurity, Surveillance, and Censorship Big Data Methods Entrepreneurship and Innovation Virtual Markets and Economies Internet Infrastructure and Protocols Social Networking History of the Internet Mobile Technologies Media and Journalism The above categories are intended only to provide a general direction for what can be discussed. We welcome submissions on any research topic related to the Internet; if you have questions about this, please contact a member of the organising team. Please note that as we are calling for presentations, not papers, proceedings will not be published. Therefore, we are willing to consider abstracts based on papers submitted to other conferences. However, we do recommend that clarification is first sought from the other intended destination(s) for your work. Submissions for oral presentations should be in the form of either an abstract or blog post of 400-600 words. Please submit via email (to connectedlife(a)oii.ox.ac.uk<mailto:connectedlife@oii.ox.ac.uk>) by Tuesday, 31st March 2015. We encourage blog posts that can be published on this website and generate discussion before and after the conference; however, the choice of a blog post or traditional abstract will not affect acceptance. We are also accepting abstracts or blogs posts (also of 400-600 words) for our Poster and Visualisation Fair, which will be running all day with a dedicated session for questions after lunch. Time and space permitting, any sort of visual is welcome (e.g., videos, interactive displays). We will do our best to accommodate interesting work that fits with the conference theme. All abstracts and blog posts will be reviewed by a committee of students and faculty from the Oxford Internet Institute. Notification of acceptances will be communicated in mid-late April. We are pleased to announce that we are able to provide travel support bursaries (of around £100-150) for a limited number of participants from outside the UK and Europe. If you are in need of financial assistance for travel, please indicate this in your submission. Registration will open in April. Like last year, there will be a registration fee of £10 that covers lunch, tea and coffee, and a reception at the end of the day. We look forward to receiving and reviewing your submissions! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email us at connectedlife(a)oii.ox.ac.uk<mailto:connectedlife@oii.ox.ac.uk>. -- Scott Hale Oxford Internet Institute University of Oxford http://www.scotthale.net/ scott.hale(a)oii.ox.ac.uk<mailto:scott.hale@oii.ox.ac.uk>

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Listserv Transition and Update
by Jesiek, Brent K 25 Mar '15

25 Mar '15

Dear Colleagues: By now you should have received a message indicating that you have been re-subscribed to members(a)sigcis.org - this listserv! We performed this procedure because sigcis.org has moved to a new web host. This meant that we had to rebuild the list and generate new subscriber passwords. Some items to note: 1. All subscriber options have been set back to their defaults. If you had configured any custom subscriber options (e.g., digest mode, setting the "nomail" flag for alternate e-mail addresses, etc.), you will need to log back into Mailman and re-set these options. 2. The listserv archives have a new URL. If you maintain web sites or other directories that link directly to the archives, please check and update your links accordingly: http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ 3. There was a period from about March 13-24 when the listserv was down. (Our regrets!) If you sent items to this list during that period, you may need to resend them. Thanks for your patience with our transition, and please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the members listserv. We hope that our new hosting service will provide higher levels of performance and reliability for both the web site and listserv. Brent Jesiek SIGCIS Internet Infrastructure Officer bjesiek(a)purdue.edu or admin(a)sigcis.org

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HaPoC 2015, 8-11 Octobre 2015, Pisa‏
by Ignasi Meda Calvet 25 Mar '15

25 Mar '15

To whom it may concern... Ignasi Meda-Calvet PhD candidate, UAB, Barcelona Unitat d'Historia de la Medicina Center for the History of Science ignasi.meda(a)uab.cat / ignameda(a)iu.edu ____________________________________________________________ Call For Papers HaPoC 3: Third International Conference for the History and Philosophy of Computing 8 -- 11 October, 2015, Pisa hapoc2015.di.unipi.it ------------------------------------------ The DHST commission for the history and philosophy of computing (www.hapoc.org<http://www.hapoc.org/>) is happy to announce the third HAPOC conference. The series aims at creating an interdisciplinary focus on computing, stimulating a dialogue between the historical and philosophical viewpoints. To this end, the conference hopes to bring together researchers interested in the historical developments of computing, as well as those reflecting on the sociological and philosophical issues springing from the rise and ubiquity of computing machines in the contemporary landscape. In the past editions, the conference has successfully presented a variety of voices, contributing to the creation of a fruitful dialogue between researchers with different backgrounds and sensibilities. For HaPoC 2015 we welcome contributions from historians and philosophers of computing as well as from philosophically aware computer scientists and mathematicians. Topics include but are not limited to • History and Philosophy of Computation (interpretation of the Church-Turing thesis; models of computation; logical/mathematical foundations of computer science; information theory...) • History and Philosophy of Programming (classes of programming languages; philosophical status of programming...) • History and Philosophy of the Computer (from calculating machines to the future of the computer; user interfaces; abstract architectures...) • History and Epistemology of the use of Computing in the sciences (simulation vs. modelisation; computer-assisted proofs; linguistics...) • Computing and the Arts: historical and conceptual issues (temporality in digital art; narration in interactive art work...) • Social, ethical and pedagogical aspects of Computing (pedagogy of computer science; algorithms and copyright; Internet, culture, society...) Our invited speakers are Nicola Angius (Università di Sassari, IT), Lenore Blum (Carnagie Mellon University, USA), David Allan Grier (IEEE & George Washington University, USA), Furio Honsell (Università di Udine, IT), Pierre Mounier-Kuhn (CNRS & Université Paris-Sorbonne, F), and Franck Varenne (Université de Rouen, F). We cordially invite researchers working in a field relevant to the topics of the conference to submit a short abstract of approximately 200 words and an extended abstract of at most a 1000 words (references included) to www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=hapoc2015<http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=hapoc2015> Abstracts must be written in English and anonymised. Please note that the format of uploaded files must be either .pdf or .doc. In order to access the submission page, an EasyChair account will be required. Please notice that what is called “abstract” in the EasyChair “Title, Abstract and Other Information” section corresponds to the short abstract of this call, and what is called “paper” in the EasyChair “Upload Paper” section corresponds to the extended abstract of this call. Please check out the website of HaPoC 2015 for more information on the conference at http://hapoc2015.sciencesconf.org<http://hapoc2015.sciencesconf.org/> A post-proceedings volume is going to appear in the IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology series, published by Springer. IMPORTANT DATES: Submission deadline: June 19, 2015 Notification of acceptance: July 19, 2015 The 2015 conference is located 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, 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 (www.internetfestival.it<http://www.internetfestival.it/>)

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First CfP HaPoC 2015, 8-11 October 2015, Pisa
by Liesbeth De Mol 23 Mar '15

23 Mar '15

Dear all, it is with great pleasure that I send you the first CfP for the third edition of the international conference for the history and philosophy of computing (HAPoC 2015) to be held in Pisa from 8-11 October. As some of you know one of the aims of this conference is to stimulate discussion and collaboration between historians, philosophers and computer scientists and it is thus a great opportunity to reflect further on our role as historians in the academic world and beyond, my best wishes, Liesbeth --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Call For Papers HaPoC 3: Third International Conference for the History and Philosophy of Computing 8 -- 11 October, 2015, Pisa hapoc2015.di.unipi.it --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The DHST commission for the history and philosophy of computing (www.hapoc.org) is happy to announce the third HAPOC conference. The series aims at creating an interdisciplinary focus on computing, stimulating a dialogue between the historical and philosophical viewpoints. To this end, the conference hopes to bring together researchers interested in the historical developments of computing, as well as those reflecting on the sociological and philosophical issues springing from the rise and ubiquity of computing machines in the contemporary landscape. In the past editions, the conference has successfully presented a variety of voices, contributing to the creation of a fruitful dialogue between researchers with different backgrounds and sensibilities. For HaPoC 2015 we welcome contributions from historians and philosophers of computing as well as from philosophically aware computer scientists and mathematicians. Topics include but are not limited to • History and Philosophy of Computation (interpretation of the Church-Turing thesis; models of computation; logical/mathematical foundations of computer science; information theory...) • History and Philosophy of Programming (classes of programming languages; philosophical status of programming...) • History and Philosophy of the Computer (from calculating machines to the future of the computer; user interfaces; abstract architectures...) • History and Epistemology of the use of Computing in the sciences (simulation vs. modelisation; computer-assisted proofs; linguistics...) • Computing and the Arts: historical and conceptual issues (temporality in digital art; narration in interactive art work...) • Social, ethical and pedagogical aspects of Computing (pedagogy of computer science; algorithms and copyright; Internet, culture, society...) Our invited speakers are Nicola Angius (Università di Sassari, IT), Lenore Blum (Carnagie Mellon University, USA), David Allan Grier (IEEE & George Washington University, USA), Furio Honsell (Università di Udine, IT), Pierre Mounier-Kuhn (CNRS & Université Paris-Sorbonne, F), and Franck Varenne (Université de Rouen, F). We cordially invite researchers working in a field relevant to the topics of the conference to submit a short abstract of approximately 200 words and an extended abstract of at most a 1000 words (references included) to www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=hapoc2015 Abstracts must be written in English and anonymised. Please note that the format of uploaded files must be either .pdf or .doc. In order to access the submission page, an EasyChair account will be required. Please notice that what is called “abstract” in the EasyChair “Title, Abstract and Other Information” section corresponds to the short abstract of this call, and what is called “paper” in the EasyChair “Upload Paper” section corresponds to the extended abstract of this call. Please check out the website of HaPoC 2015 for more information on the conference at http://hapoc2015.sciencesconf.org A post-proceedings volume is going to appear in the IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology series, published by Springer. IMPORTANT DATES: Submission deadline: June 19, 2015 Notification of acceptance: July 19, 2015 The 2015 conference is located 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, 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 (www.internetfestival.it)

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Celebrating the 200th anniversary of computer visionary Ada Lovelace
by Brian Randell 13 Mar '15

13 Mar '15

Hi: I don’t recall whether this upcoming event has been publicised on SIGCIS before. From: http://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/adalovelace/ > In 2015 the University of Oxford will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of computer visionary Ada Lovelace. The centrepiece of the celebrations will be a display at the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library (29 October – 18 December 2015) and a Symposium (9 and 10 December 2015), presenting Lovelace’s life and work, and contemporary thinking on computing and artificial intelligence. > > Ada, Countess of Lovelace (1815–1852), is best known for a remarkable article about Charles Babbage’s unbuilt computer, the Analytical Engine. This presented the first documented computer program, to calculate the Bernoulli numbers, and explained the ideas underlying Babbage’s machine – and every one of the billions of computers and computer programs in use today. Going beyond Babbage’s ideas of computers as manipulating numbers, Lovelace also wrote about their creative possibilities and limits: her contribution was highlighted in one of Alan Turing’s most famous papers ‘Can a machine think?’ Lovelace had wide scientific and intellectual interests and studied with scientist Mary Somerville, and with Augustus De Morgan, a leading mathematician and pioneer in logic and algebra. > > The display, in the Bodleian’s new Weston Library, will offer a chance to see Lovelace’s correspondence with Babbage, De Morgan, Somerville and others, and her childhood exercises and mathematical notes. The Symposium, on 9th and 10th December 2015, is aimed at a broad audience interested in the history and culture of mathematics and computer science, presenting current scholarship on Lovelace’s life and work, and linking her ideas to contemporary thinking about computing, artificial intelligence and the brain. Confirmed speakers so far include Lovelace biographer Betty Toole, computer historian Doron Swade, mathematician Marcus du Sautoy, and graphic novelist Sydney Padua. Other activities will include a workshop for early career researchers, a “Music and Machines” event, and a dinner in Balliol College on 9th December, the eve of Lovelace’s 200th birthday. > > Oxford’s celebration is led by the Bodleian Libraries and the University of Oxford’s Department of Computer Science, working with colleagues in the Mathematics Institute, Oxford e-Research Centre, Somerville College, the Department of English and TORCH. Oxford has a remarkable history of programming research, with two winners of the ACM A.M. Turing Award, the Nobel Prize for Computer Science, and the unique breadth and depth of Oxford’s expertise brings a variety of perspectives to understanding Lovelace and the remarkable intellectual community around her, whose ideas > underpin modern computing. > > For more information, please keep an eye on this website, where we’ll be listing events,and other news. Please register your interest to receive an email when we open up the Symposium to registration in June 2015. > > Professor Ursula Martin > Department of Computer Science > University of Oxford Cheers Brian Randell -- 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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Inquiry
by Daniel Ferrell 11 Mar '15

11 Mar '15

Fellow members of SIGCIS: My name is Daniel Ferrell, and I am an independent researcher with no institutional affiliation. I am currently writing a book that incorporates the history of technology. I have also quickly discovered that such an effort (for me) relies heavily upon source material. I'm a college graduate, so I know the basic principles of source citation; but it seems historical writing is a bit unique. For example, I have found that if I were to include source citations for each line of material gained, my footnotes would clutter up every single page. Therefore I reasoned that I should opt for end notes or a works cited page at the end of each chapter. However, any writer wants to stay far away from the charge of plagiarism; so I am trying to discover the best way to write that honors source material, but doesn't bog readers down with a footnote for every line. Knowing that several of you are authors in your own right, I value your input on this matter. -Daniel Ferrell Home Acceptance Corporation (NMLS #1151715). 65 S. Outer Rd. P.O. Box 72 Benton, MO 63736

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