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Don Bitzer (1934-2024)
by Dag Spicer 12 Dec '24

12 Dec '24

<https://computerhistory.org/?p=31451&preview=1&_ppp=fb10475278> [2024_12_BitzerDon_memoriam_003.png] In Memoriam: Donald Bitzer, 1934–2024<https://computerhistory.org/?p=31451&preview=1&_ppp=fb10475278> computerhistory.org<https://computerhistory.org/?p=31451&preview=1&_ppp=fb10475278> ----- Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum Editorial Board, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing ACM History Committee 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View CA 94043 “History is a vast early warning system.” — Norman Cousins, American journalist (1915-1990).

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Donald L. Bitzer, RIP (1934-2024)
by Brian Berg 11 Dec '24

11 Dec '24

In case you didn't see this. Brian Berg *From:* Brian Dear <brian(a)platohistory.org> *Sent:* Wednesday, December 11, 2024 6:58 PM *To:* Dan Donahoe <dan(a)1000kilometers.com> *Subject:* Donald L. Bitzer, RIP (1934-2024) View this email in your browser <https://mailchi.mp/ea26bdcfbd65/donald-l-bitzer-rip-1934-2024?e=2174299134> Friends, It's been seven long years since THE FRIENDLY ORANGE GLOW book came out, and seven long years since an email's been sent to this mailing list. I just learned an hour ago that yesterday, Don Bitzer, creator of the PLATO system, and friend to us all, passed away at age 90 in North Carolina. I'm at a loss for words at the moment and can't think of much to say that I didn't say in my book, which, in hindsight, may kinda sorta be the closest attempt at a biography of Don, but I will say that I never ever met a more generous, supportive, enthusiastic person in the world. He and his wife Maryann, who passed away in 2022, were incredibly generous with their time and patience as I asked a million questions over the years, starting with my first book interview with Don, all the way back in May 1985. We spoke regularly after then for more than 30 years, in all sorts of settings around the country. Bottom line, I would never have been able to start, let alone complete, the book without Don's input and patient support. He was an inspiration to us all, and to the world, which he made a better place. Thanks for everything, Don. Rest in peace. - Brian [ While I have your attention -- if anyone is interested in copies of the hardcover edition of the book, I still have a bunch of new mint copies straight from the publisher. They're very rare. I tried to sell them all on Amazon Marketplace but--believe it or not, that wretched hive of villainy suspended my account because they didn't believe I was the author of the book, or that I was selling legitimate books. They had copies of my passport, drivers license, you name it --it's nigh impossible to sign up to Amazon Marketplace--and they claimed that I was selling "counterfeit Pantheon products." I told the publisher Pantheon about this and they just roared laughing and shrugged--you can't fight Amazon and they were clearly used to hearing these stories of dealing with that company. I've learned since that if you try to undercut the pricing of other sellers, they will lie to Amazon and make up all kinds of claims, and Amazon will simply suspend without investigation, communication, or any form of due process. Amazon has never responded to my pleas for restoring my account. So anyway, I physically have the books, in case anyone wants a personally signed copy of the hardcover original. Email me at brian(a)platohistory.org for details, pricing, etc. I probably can only ship to locations in the US because international shipping is insanely expensive and difficult for books, I've found. Cheers, Brian ] *Copyright © 2024 PLATO History Project, All rights reserved.* This mailing list was launched back around 2010, and gained a lot of notice around the time of the PLATO History Conference in June 2010. Hundreds of people, including you, signed up then or in the years since. *Our mailing address is:* PLATO History Project PO Box 6387 Santa Fe, NM 87502 Add us to your address book <https://friendlyorangeglow.us1.list-manage.com/vcard?u=def798e7e0f681ce3b98…> Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences <https://friendlyorangeglow.us1.list-manage.com/profile?u=def798e7e0f681ce3b…> or unsubscribe from this list <https://friendlyorangeglow.us1.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=def798e7e0f681…>. [image: Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp] <https://login.mailchimp.com/signup/email-referral/?aid=def798e7e0f681ce3b98…>

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Linda Hall Library, 2025-26 Fellowships & Info Sessions
by Benjamin Gross 06 Dec '24

06 Dec '24

Dear SIGCIS Friends, The Linda Hall Library<https://www.lindahall.org/> is now accepting applications for our 2025-26 fellowship program. These fellowships provide graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and independent scholars in the history of science and related humanities fields with financial support to explore the Library's outstanding science and engineering collections. Fellows also participate in a dynamic intellectual community alongside in-house experts and scholars from other Kansas City cultural and educational institutions. The Linda Hall Library holds nearly half a million monographs and more than 43,000 journal titles documenting the history of science and technology from the 15th century to the present. Its collections are exceptionally strong in the engineering disciplines, chemistry, and physics. In addition, the Library boasts extensive resources related to natural history, astronomy, earth science, environmental studies, aeronautics, life science, infrastructure studies, mathematics, and the history of the book. The Library offers residential fellowships to support on-site research in Kansas City, as well as virtual fellowships for scholars working remotely using resources from the Library's digital collections. Applicants may request up to four months of funding at a rate of $3,000 per month for doctoral students and $4,200 per month for postdoctoral researchers. The Library is also offering several fellowships intended for specific groups of researchers: * The National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship provides nine months of residential funding ($5,000 per month) to a postdoctoral scholar whose research explores the intersection of science and the humanities. * The History of Science and Medicine Fellowship, offered in partnership with the Clendening History of Medicine Library<https://www.kumc.edu/school-of-medicine/academics/departments/history-and-p…> at the University of Kansas Medical Center, provides one month of residential funding ($3,000 per month) to a doctoral student whose research examines the intersecting histories of science and medicine. * The Pearson Fellowship in Aerospace History provides up to two months of residential funding ($4,200 per month) to a postdoctoral scholar studying the history of aviation or spaceflight. * The Presidential Fellowship in Bibliography provides up to four months of residential funding ($4,200 per month) to a postdoctoral scholar whose research focuses on the study of books and manuscripts as physical artifacts. Further details about the Linda Hall Library's 2025-26 fellowships can be found on our website: https://lindahall.org/fellowships. While you are there, you can submit an application or sign up for our online information sessions on December 17, 2024<https://www.lindahall.org/research/linda-hall-library-fellowships/fellowshi…> and January 3, 2025<https://www.lindahall.org/research/linda-hall-library-fellowships/fellowshi…>. You are also welcome to email questions directly to fellowships(a)lindahall.org<mailto:fellowships@lindahall.org>. Please note that all application materials, including recommendation letters, are due no later than January 17, 2025. Please share this announcement with graduate students, colleagues, or anyone else who might be benefit from the Linda Hall Library's collections. Many thanks and best wishes, -Ben Gross Benjamin Gross, PhD Vice President for Research and Scholarship Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology 5109 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO 64110-2498 Office: 816.926.8718 [cid:image001.jpg@01DB47DF.930FD8D0]<https://www.lindahall.org/experience/events/life-beyond-earth-exhibition/> http://www.lindahall.org<http://www.lindahall.org/> | http://www.kcinvent.org<http://www.kcinvent.org/> Follow us: Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/Linda.Hall.Library/> | Twitter<https://twitter.com/LindaHall_org> | Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/linda.hall.library/> | LinkedIn<https://www.linkedin.com/company/linda-hall-library>

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[So-Hist-Info] Socio-History of Informatics Seminar 24/12/16 - A transnational history of the introduction of computers in education
by FICHEN Mathilde 25 Nov '24

25 Nov '24

Dear colleagues, We are pleased to announce the second session of our Socio-History of Informatics Seminar, which will take place at the Cnam in Paris and online on Monday, December 16, 2024, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM, featuring Barbara Hof (University of Lausanne). The present is boring, but the future is bright?! A transnational history of the introduction of computers in education since the 1960s Ronan Le Roux (University of Paris-Est Créteil, INSPE) will lead the discussion. The presentation will be in English. Location: Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, 2 rue Conté, 75003 Paris, Room 30-1-18 (Building 30, 1st basement level, Room 18). To facilitate organization, please register using this form: https://framaforms.org/inscription-seminaire-de-socio-histoire-de-linformat… A connection link (BigBlueButton) will be sent the day before the event for remote participants. Summary of the talk: The arrival of new technologies in education has always been shaped by contradictory visions. On the one hand, technologies stoked fears of a loss of competence and the restriction of learners through behaviorist teaching systems; on the other hand, technologies were praised as a means of acquiring skills more quickly through greater individuality. The turbulent history of the slow introduction of computers in schools since the 1960s clearly demonstrates this. As a contribution to the research seminar, this talk will address how the use of computers in education has been repeatedly touted as a breakthrough and reformer of education systems in many countries, while there has always been a mismatch between imaginaries and reality. Of particular interest are the economic and political conditions surrounding this development, as well as some of the key transnational and local actors, and the intermediaries connecting them. Examining expectations of educational technologies helps to uncover some of the underlying assumptions that drive innovation. The talk is based on the author’s contribution to a forthcoming book chapter that will add a historical perspective to the growing critical literature questioning the futurism inherent in digital educational media. Upcoming sessions: * February 10, 2025 - Cédric Neumann - CNAM, HT2S * April 1, 2025 - Marie-José Durand-Richard - CNRS-Paris 7, SPHERE * April 14, 2025, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM - Jaroslav Švelch - Charles University (Czech Republic) * June 16, 2025, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM - Michael Homberg - Centre for Contemporary History (ZZF) Potsdam (Germany) * Date TBD - Théo Lepage-Richer - University of Toronto (Canada) Summaries for each presentation will be shared later. The Socio-History of Computing Seminar is a research seminar organized by the HT2S laboratory research center at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris. This seminar aims to explore new narratives of the long-term history of computing, focusing on how computing intertwines with social, economic, political, and cultural issues. Every two months, we invite a researcher in history and/or anthropology and sociology (with a historical or diachronic perspective) of computing to present their work. Seminar website: https://sohistinfo.github.io/ Looking forward to seeing you there, Kind regards, Mathilde Fichen (PhD candidate, HT2S), Adrien Tournier (PhD candidate, HT2S), and Camille Paloque-Bergès (Researcher, HT2S) for the seminar organization team. Mathilde Fichen Ph.D Candidate CNAM - HT2S<https://technique-societe.cnam.fr/histoire-des-technosciences-en-societe-ht…> Personal page: mathfichen.github.io<https://mathfichen.github.io/>

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Call for papers: Internet Histories Early Career Researcher Award 2026
by Asger Harlung 22 Nov '24

22 Nov '24

Call for papers: Internet Histories Early Career Researcher Award 2026 Deadline 1st October 2025 All submitted and accepted articles will be considered for inclusion in a special issue “Internet Histories Early Career Researchers” Do you study the past? Perhaps you even do historical research and know the difference between the Internet and the Web, and even how to historically and technically explain them? Chances are this Call for Articles may be of interest to you... Read more about previous awards at https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rint20/collections/best-paper-prize-ea… Please see the full call for papers here: https://think.taylorandfrancis.com/special_issues/early-career-researcher-a… Kind regards of behalf of The Editors of Internet Histories Asger Harlung, Editorial Assistant, Internet Histories

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Luddism
by Dag Spicer 21 Nov '24

21 Nov '24

Re: Earlier discussion of Luddism. Today’s JSTOR newsletter has the following: <https://daily.jstor.org/luddites-on-trial/?utm_term=Luddites%20on%20Trial&u…> [luddites_on_trial_1050x700.jpg] Luddites on Trial - JSTOR Daily<https://daily.jstor.org/luddites-on-trial/?utm_term=Luddites%20on%20Trial&u…> daily.jstor.org<https://daily.jstor.org/luddites-on-trial/?utm_term=Luddites%20on%20Trial&u…> Luddism "ended on the scaffold.” — E. P. Thompson. Dag ----- Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum Editorial Board, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing ACM History Committee 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View CA 94043 “History is a vast early warning system.” — Norman Cousins, American journalist (1915-1990).

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In memory of Thomas Kurtz
by Annette Vee 21 Nov '24

21 Nov '24

Hello, SIGCIS, Folks here likely saw this, but I didn't see it come through (apologies if I missed it). Thomas Kurtz, who developed BASIC and the Dartmouth Time-Sharing System (DTSS) with John Kemeny, passed away last week, at 96. NY Times obit <https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/16/technology/thomas-kurtz-dead.html>: “At Dartmouth, long before the days of laptops and smartphones, he worked to give more students access to computers. That work helped propel generations into a new world.” Dartmouth obit <https://faculty.dartmouth.edu/artsandsciences/news/2024/11/remembering-comp…>: "Dartmouth had the largest open-stack library in the world at that time in a college of this type, and the concept of open-stack computing, that was my idea," Kurtz said. "Thatʼs one of the few ideas I had that Kemeny didnʼt have." [he was modest, and deeply admired Kemeny!] Computer History Museum obit <https://computerhistory.org/blog/in-memoriam-thomas-e-kurtz-1928-2024/>: "DTSS was the earliest successful, large-scale timesharing system, a remarkable achievement. [...] DTSS was unveiled on May 1, 1964, along with BASIC. By that fall, hundreds of students were exploring BASIC on the 20 terminals around campus." People on HackerNews <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42141761> are paying their respects by mentioning the influence of BASIC on their lives and careers. I interviewed him in 2017. He was so generous, and as brilliant as you'd expect. He wrote me a memo on "Grammatical Simplifications in BASIC." He loved memos--was an academic mathematician at heart, even at 89! I wrote about the interview here: https://annettevee.substack.com/p/thomas-kurtz-basic-and-computing and also in 2023, in a critical code studies article, "BASIC FTBALL and Computer Programming for All <https://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/17/2/000696/000696.html>” Other great work on BASIC that many here already know: The Birth of BASIC documentary <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYPNjSoDrqw>: from the 50th anniversary of BASIC, in 2014. Rankin, J. (2018) A People's History of Computing in the United States. Harvard: Harvard University Press. Montfort, N. et al. (2014) 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1));: GOTO 10, Cambridge: MIT Press. Annette Annette Vee Associate Professor of English University of Pittsburgh

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Martin Davis correspondence
by David Nofre 21 Nov '24

21 Nov '24

Dear SIGCIS members, I'm interested in the correspondence between the late Martin Davis and Edward F. Moore in the 1950s. I have read about the last year's auction of Davis's personal files. Does anybody know if they are available for research? Best, David -- https://www.davidnofre.com/ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3580-7264

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Internet Histories, Volume 8, Issue 4, December 2024 is now available online
by Asger Harlung 21 Nov '24

21 Nov '24

To whom it may concern, The Editorial Staff of Internet Histories is pleased to announce that; Internet Histories, Volume 8, Issue 4, December 2024 is now available online. This is the third Early Career Researcher Award special issue. The full issue may be accessed at this URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rint20/8/4 It contains the following articles: Editorial: The third internet histories Early Career Researcher Award Niels Brügger, Anat Ben-David, Ian Milligan & Valérie Schafer Articles: “The flames are 50/50 right now”: content moderation practices at the onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States (1982–1990) Kat Brewster Fixing the earth: whole-systems thinking in Silicon Valley’s environmental ideology | Open Access Rianne Riemens Methodological and epistemological challenges in meme research and meme studies | Open Access Idil Galip Book Reviews: The Digital Revolution: A Short History of an Ideology By Gabriele Balbi, Oxford University Press, 2024, 176 pp., ISBN 9780198875970 Tyler West The Digital Departed: How We Face Death, Commemorate Life, and Chase Virtual Immortality By Timothy Recuber, NYU Press, 2023, 288 pp., ISBN: 9781479814947 Nilou Davoudi WhatsApp: From a one-to-one Messaging App to a Global Communication Platform By Amelia Johns, Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández, and Emma Baulch. 2024. Polity Press, 220pp. ISBN 9781509550524 Ben T. Pettis ----------- Kind regards on behalf of the editors, Asger Harlung Editorial Assistant, Internet Histories

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Fwd: Discover Interplay: A Book about Games, Experiments, and Intelligences
by William Morgan 19 Nov '24

19 Nov '24

Dear Colleagues, I am happy to announce the publication of the new book *Interplay <https://www.interplay.games/> *about five experiments in game design. The book, which features contributions from academics, designers, technologists, and scientists, investigates how game worlds can foster cross-intelligence communication without commensuration and in the process develops a theory of the game engine as a technology of worlding. Video trailer for the book here <https://caldo-worldwide.com/>! ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: caldo worldwide <store+30005788(a)g.shopifyemail.com> Date: Fri, Nov 15, 2024 at 5:08 PM Subject: Discover Interplay: A Book about Games, Experiments, and Intelligences To: <williammorgan1015(a)gmail.com> Official launch of the book Interplay by Will Freudenheim & William Morgan ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ [image: caldo worldwide] <https://caldo-worldwide.com/_t/c/A1020005-1808301606AEC68F-DDB1668A?l=AAAdu…> <https://caldo-worldwide.com/_t/c/A1020005-1808301606AEC68F-DDB1668A?l=AAB%2…> Interplay by Will Freudenheim and William Morgan **Welcome to the World of **Interplay**!* ***We are thrilled to share our latest publication with you. *Interplay* takes you on a journey to explore new worlds and different forms of intelligence, made accessible through play. The idea for this book came up with the artist, game designer, and researcher Will Freudenheim's exhibition *Schema *(December 2023 - May 2024) at Caldo Worldwide. The idea developed into a collaborative work with the philosopher of technology, William Morgan, and with Will Freudenheim complementing the publication with other self-developed games and sharing their insightful knowledge and ideas alongside co-authors Flora Weil, Wendi Yan, Doug Stark, and Sylvan Rackham. The book examines five groundbreaking experiments in the field of game design, created through interdisciplinary collaboration among game designers, artists, scientists, philosophers, and sociologists named *Biotopy, Interplay, Schema, Nephila, and Vivarium**. *The games serve as tools to establish and engage in playful interactions and collaborations between human and non-human intelligence. ---> Stay tuned for updates and grab your copy soon.* <https://caldo-worldwide.com/_t/c/A1020005-1808301606AEC68F-DDB1668A?l=AAD6S…> <https://caldo-worldwide.com/_t/c/A1020005-1808301606AEC68F-DDB1668A?l=AABxQ…> <https://caldo-worldwide.com/_t/c/A1020005-1808301606AEC68F-DDB1668A?l=AACOo…> <https://caldo-worldwide.com/_t/c/A1020005-1808301606AEC68F-DDB1668A?l=AADqI…> [image: INTERPLAY by Will Freudenheim and William Morgan] <https://caldo-worldwide.com/_t/c/A1020005-1808301606AEC68F-DDB1668A?l=AAAdM…> Interplay by Will Freudenheim and William Morgan €30.00 To ongoing debates about emerging technologies, namely artificial intelligence and biotechnology, this book contributes the novel hypothesis that interaction sites between human and non-human intelligences, be they human, collective, biotic, synthetic or environmental, are already proliferating according to developments in game design. In short, new genera and species of interactions and of intelligences are already present in playful experiments. This book tracks the evolution of five such intelligence experiments, not unlike a set of petridishes with variant initial conditions. In doing so, what the book offers is not a unified theory of ‘play in the age of AI’, but rather a multifaceted account of how intelligences form and emerge through and across playful interaction surfaces, spaces and dynamics. Authors: ---> Will Freudenheim (NYC, USA) ---> William Morgan (Berkeley, USA) Co-Authors: ---> Doug Stark (Arlington, USA), ---> Sylvan Rackam (London, UK) ---> Flora Weil (Paris, France) ---> Wendi Yan (Los Angeles, USA) *Interplay:* Will Freudenheim, William Morgan, 2024 Book, Softcover 156 pages, 17 x 24 cm Printed in Germany Published by Caldo Worldwide Designed by Christina Mayer ISBN: 9783948288051 Shipping Worldwide * Get a copy <https://caldo-worldwide.com/_t/c/A1020005-1808301606AEC68F-DDB1668A?l=AABdG…> Illustration: Will Freudenheim Photos: Daniel Mayer For appointments or any questions, please email alenamayer(a)caldo-worldwide.com. Caldo Worldwide Dachauer Str. 110c 80636 Munich Germany [image: instagram] <https://caldo-worldwide.com/_t/c/A1020005-1808301606AEC68F-DDB1668A?l=AAAQf…> Unsubscribe <https://caldo-worldwide.com/account/unsubscribe?token=NolwFbUQVPV_UeEBql5yK…> © 2023 caldo worldwide

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