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New diss. on computing and white-collar work
by Dag Spicer 15 Jun '12

15 Jun '12

FYI, a new diss on computing and white-collar work: http://dissertationreviews.org/archives/1299 From the abstract: "The connection between computing systems and managerial practices in the workplace is an extremely rich one. Mamo’s dissertation engages usefully with scholarship in the history and anthropology of computing. For those interested in the relationships between business, computing and the business of computing (i.e., IT or Information Technology), this dissertation serves as an excellent starting point for further analysis." Dag -- Dag Spicer | Senior Curator | Computer History Museum Editorial Board | Annals of the History of Computing 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. | Mountain View CA 94043 Tel: +1 650 810 1035 | Fax: +1 650 810 1055 Twitter: @ComputerHistory FB: facebook.com/computerhistory Technology married with the humanities makes our hearts sing. -- Steve Jobs

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Members Digest, Vol 24, Issue 4
by Dag Spicer 13 Jun '12

13 Jun '12

If Noam Chomsky fell in the forest, would anybody care? Dag On Jun 13, 2012, at 9:00 AM, members-request(a)sigcis.org wrote: > Send Members mailing list submissions to > members(a)sigcis.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > members-request(a)sigcis.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > members-owner(a)sigcis.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Members digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Noam Chomsky on the "Inventor of Email" (Thomas Haigh) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:33:34 -0500 > From: "Thomas Haigh" <thaigh(a)computer.org> > To: <members(a)sigcis.org> > Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] Noam Chomsky on the "Inventor of Email" > Message-ID: <02eb01cd48d2$42702430$c7506c90$@org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Hello everyone, > > > > I'm resisting the urge to keep spamming the group with updates on the > increasingly bizarre public career of email history. > > > > However, as Slashdot has recently noted > http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/06/12/167227/inventor-of-email-gets-suppor > t-of-noam-chomsky, a second statement attributed to Noam Chomsky recently > appeared on one of V A Shiva Ayyadurai's websites at > http://www.inventorofemail.com/noam-chomsky-on-invention-of-email-va-shiva-a > yyadurai.asp. Also as a press release from Reuters, via Ayyadurai's > International Center for Integrative Systems. > http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/12/idUS149910+12-Jun-2012+PRN20120612 > > > I do recall Chomsky's usual prose style being a little more elegant, his > grammar and punctuation a little more standard, and his exposition a little > more cogent. It's odd that a great linguist would write sentences such as > "Note Shiva, received his formal Copyright registration in 1982." Or "What > continue to be deplorable are the childish tantrums of industry insiders who > now believe that by creating confusion on the case of "email", they can > distract attention from the facts." > > SIGCIS members may also be interested in Ayyadurai's attempt to dispel > "False Claims About Email" at > http://www.inventorofemail.com/claims_about_email.asp. Ayyadurai's current > argument appears to be that "email" has a completely different meaning from > "electronic mail" and that the world has been misusing "email" all these > years. He claims to have given "email" its canonical meaning in 1978, > although I still can't find any original 1978 or 1979 documents on his site > including the word or a definition. Ayyadurai currently favors a definition > of "email" (published, apparently for the first time, this month) with > around 80 characteristics including "searching address book by zipnode" and > "relational database engine". Few current email systems would precisely > meet all of them. > > > > Finally, Ayyadurai has persuaded a second WGBH radio host, Emily Rooney, > that he invented email (around 23:00-24:40). > http://www.wgbh.org/programs/The-Emily-Rooney-Show-854/episodes/Thurs-51712C > onquering-Digital-Clutter-38713 > > > > One day an excellent STS or media studies dissertation will probably be > written on this topic. > > > > Tom > > > > > >

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Noam Chomsky on the "Inventor of Email"
by Thomas Haigh 12 Jun '12

12 Jun '12

Hello everyone, I'm resisting the urge to keep spamming the group with updates on the increasingly bizarre public career of email history. However, as Slashdot has recently noted http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/06/12/167227/inventor-of-email-gets-suppor t-of-noam-chomsky, a second statement attributed to Noam Chomsky recently appeared on one of V A Shiva Ayyadurai's websites at http://www.inventorofemail.com/noam-chomsky-on-invention-of-email-va-shiva-a yyadurai.asp. Also as a press release from Reuters, via Ayyadurai's International Center for Integrative Systems. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/12/idUS149910+12-Jun-2012+PRN20120612 I do recall Chomsky's usual prose style being a little more elegant, his grammar and punctuation a little more standard, and his exposition a little more cogent. It's odd that a great linguist would write sentences such as "Note Shiva, received his formal Copyright registration in 1982." Or "What continue to be deplorable are the childish tantrums of industry insiders who now believe that by creating confusion on the case of "email", they can distract attention from the facts." SIGCIS members may also be interested in Ayyadurai's attempt to dispel "False Claims About Email" at http://www.inventorofemail.com/claims_about_email.asp. Ayyadurai's current argument appears to be that "email" has a completely different meaning from "electronic mail" and that the world has been misusing "email" all these years. He claims to have given "email" its canonical meaning in 1978, although I still can't find any original 1978 or 1979 documents on his site including the word or a definition. Ayyadurai currently favors a definition of "email" (published, apparently for the first time, this month) with around 80 characteristics including "searching address book by zipnode" and "relational database engine". Few current email systems would precisely meet all of them. Finally, Ayyadurai has persuaded a second WGBH radio host, Emily Rooney, that he invented email (around 23:00-24:40). http://www.wgbh.org/programs/The-Emily-Rooney-Show-854/episodes/Thurs-51712C onquering-Digital-Clutter-38713 One day an excellent STS or media studies dissertation will probably be written on this topic. Tom

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Recollections of MANIAC
by Drucker, Thomas L. 07 Jun '12

07 Jun '12

The current (6 June 2012) issue of the Princeton Alumni Weekly includes, as promised, a brief report on Eric Schmidt's remarks at the Turing centennial events at Princeton last month. Perhaps of greater interest were letters from a number of students who had been involved in various ways with the MANIAC computer in the 1950's. Typical of the remarks is the following: 'We were not welcome at the Institute. The scientists' concept of appropriate use of the computer was to read in a small amount of data, computer for a long time to produce an important result, and output a small amount of data. Since our project involved a great deal of input and output, they accused us of using their computer as a punch-press!' (Letter from Bill Clarkson, Class of 1958) Thomas Drucker University of Wisconsin-Whitewater druckert(a)uww.edu

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History of Nordic Computing 3, published papers
by Per Lundin 03 Jun '12

03 Jun '12

Some of you might be interested in the proceedings from the conference History of Nordic Computing 3 (HiNC3) that took place in Stockholm late 2010. They are now published as: John Impagliazzo, Per Lundin and Benkt Wangler, eds., History of Nordic Computing 3: Third IFIP WG9.7 Conference, HiNC 3, Stockholm, Sweden, October 18-20, 2010: Revised Selected Papers (Heidelberg: Springer 2011), and are available at http://www.springer.com/computer/general+issues/book/978-3-642-23314-2 A HiNC4 conference is planned to take place in Copenhagen 2014. Best, Per

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SIGCIS in Boston Magazine profile of "email inventor"
by Thomas Haigh 02 Jun '12

02 Jun '12

Hello everyone, SIGCIS and our recent role in discussion of the "inventor of email" incident are written about in the recently published Boston Magazine article "Return to Sender" by Janelle Nanos. She follows the default journalistic "report the controversy" angle, which in my view can be a disservice to readers in a case like this. Anyway, some interesting updates there. SIGCIS is defined as "a sort of Internet cabal within the Society for the History of Technology" which is certainly a colorful definition. http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/2012/05/shiva-ayyaduri-email-us-posta l-service/ Tom

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identifying a word processor
by Matthew Kirschenbaum 30 May '12

30 May '12

I'm trying to suss out which word processor might have been set to deliver up the warning message, "The paragraph is going to be too long; you should press the Return button." It would have been on a Mac, c. 1990. I've been unable to reproduce this with ClarisWorks or MS Word 4,5, or 5.1. Any ideas? Thanks, Matt -- Matthew Kirschenbaum Associate Professor of English Associate Director, Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) University of Maryland 301-405-8505 or 301-314-7111 (fax) http://mkirschenbaum.net and @mkirschenbaum on Twitter The Track Changes project: http://trackchangesbook.tumblr.com/ I am on leave, Aug. 2011-12; please refer to my personal leave policies: http://mkirschenbaum.wordpress.com/2011/07/31/during-my-fellowship/

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History of Nordic Computing 3, published papers
by Per Lundin 25 May '12

25 May '12

Some of you might be interested in the proceedings from the conference History of Nordic Computing 3 (HiNC3) that took place in Stockholm late 2010. They are now published as: John Impagliazzo, Per Lundin and Benkt Wangler, eds., History of Nordic Computing 3: Third IFIP WG9.7 Conference, HiNC 3, Stockholm, Sweden, October 18-20, 2010: Revised Selected Papers (Heidelberg: Springer 2011), and are available at http://www.springer.com/computer/general+issues/book/978-3-642-23314-2 A HiNC4 conference is planned to take place in Copenhagen 2014. Best, Per

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CFP: iConference 2013 | Data * Innovation * Wisdom
by Medina, Eden 23 May '12

23 May '12

Call For Participation: iConference 2013 Fort Worth, Texas February 12-15, 2013 http://www.ischools.org/iConference13/2013index/ The iConference is an annual gathering of scholars and researchers concerned with critical information issues in contemporary society. iConference participants advance the boundaries of information studies, explore core concepts and ideas, and create new technological and conceptual configurations—all situated in interdisciplinary discourses. These issues will be addressed during our four-day event in Fort Worth, Texas, February 12-15, 2013. The conference theme is Data, Innovation, Wisdom: Scholarship in Action. Please join us for a multitude of high-quality papers, posters, and workshops, along with interactive alternative events that will frame the conversation. In addition, the will host a Doctoral Colloquium and an Early Career Workshop, lots of social events, and many networking opportunities. iConference 2013 is hosted by the College of Information at the University of North Texas. The presenting sponsor is Microsoft Research, which is also providing support for the conference’s inaugural Social Media Expo. The iConference series is presented by the iSchools (www.ischools.org<http://www.ischools.org/>), a growing association of Schools, Faculties and Colleges in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Affiliation with the iSchools is not a prerequisite of participation; we encourage all information scholars and practitioners to take part in the conference. * Conference: http://www.ischools.org/iConference13/2013index/ * iCaucus: http://www.ischools.org/site/ * Past Proceedings: http://www.ischools.org/site/conference/ SUBMISSION INFORMATION In response to requests for more varied opportunities to participate, we are offering several new submission formats this year. * Papers: Results of completed original research, 8-10 pages in length in publication format; papers will be refereed in a double-blind process. Submissions will be in PDF format. Submission deadline: September 3, 2012. Notification: Early November. Final version due: December 3, 2012. * Notes: Reports of early and partial results, 4 pages or less in length in publication format; Notes will be refereed in a double-blind process. Submissions will be in PDF format. Submission deadline: September 10, 2012. Notification: Early November. Final version due: December 3, 2012. * Posters: We welcome submission of Posters presenting new work, preliminary results and designs, or educational projects. Applicants will submit an abstract describing the proposed Poster, and these abstracts will undergo a single-blind blind review process (i.e., reviewers will know the identity of authors, but not vice versa). Poster abstracts are not to exceed two pages in length. Abstract submissions will be in PDF format. Completed Posters will be presented at the iConference. Abstract submission deadline: September 24, 2012. Notification: Mid-November. Final abstract due: December 7, 2012. Completed poster due: February 12, 2013 * Workshops: Workshops can be half- or full-day and can focus on any area related the conference theme (Scholarship in Action) or more broadly to the purview of the iSchools, namely, the relationships among information, people and technology. A proposal template is provided on the website; submissions should be in PDF format. Submission deadline: September 24, 2012. Notification: Early October. Final version due: Early November. * Alternative Events: These can include panels, fishbowls, performances, storytelling, roundtable discussions, wildcard sessions, demos/exhibitions, and more. All should be highly participatory, informal, engaging, and pluralistic. A proposal template is provided on the website; submissions should be in PDF format. Submission deadline: September 24, 2012. Notification: Mid-November. Final version due: December 7, 2012. * Research Paper Development Roundtable: This new iConference submission track is for researchers developing manuscripts for submission as journal articles. The goals of this track are to provide a forum for interactive development of research papers, enable a discussion of current research ideas, provide a clear path to journal publication, and increase collaboration opportunities for junior faculty. Papers reporting work in progress and late breaking research are welcome. See website for additional details. Submission deadline: Extended abstracts due August 1, 2012. Notification: Early October. Full draft due: January 7, 2013. OTHER EVENTS SCHEDULED * Doctoral Colloquium: The doctoral student colloquium will provide doctoral students the opportunity to present their work to senior faculty and one another in a setting that is relatively informal but that allows for the fullest of intellectual exchanges. Students will receive feedback on their dissertation and/or current research from participating faculty and student peers. Participation in the doctoral colloquium is restricted to students who have applied for and been accepted into the colloquium. The colloquium will not be open to observers. Visit the doctoral colloquium webpage for more information: http://www.ischools.org/iConference13/doctoral/ Application deadline: September 24, 2012. Notification: Mid-November. * Early Career Colloquium: This half-day event is intended for assistant professors, post-docs, or others in pre-tenure positions and builds on the tradition of highly successful events at past iConferences. The program will include an introductory presentation on the tenure process, panels by recently tenured faculty and experienced former deans, and small group discussions to provide informal dialogue, guidance, and insights. Visit the early career colloquium webpage for more information: http://www.ischools.org/iConference13/jr_faculty/ * FUSE Labs iConference Social Media Expo: The iConference, in collaboration with FUSE Labs of Microsoft Research, is pleased to announce the first iConference Social Media Expo. The exposition is designed to showcase exceptional interdisciplinary research and development work from information school programs specializing in social media. Students are asked to form interdisciplinary teams of 3-5 students to perform research, design, development or community engagement exploring technological solutions to people’s real needs around the theme of leveraging social media to foster lifelong learning in everyday life. A representative team from each participating school will be selected to attend and featured in a presentation at a special session of the iConference in February of 2013. Visit the Social Media Expo webpage for more information: http://www.ischools.org/iConference13/expo/ Initial notification: Letters of Interest due September 14, 2012 * New this year, the leadership of the iCaucus and the iConference 2013 organizers have arranged for a special full-day workshop on Information Privacy. The workshop is being co-organized by the following iCaucus members: University of California, Berkeley School of Information; Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz College; Indiana University, School of Informatics and Computing; University of Michigan, School of Information; and Singapore Management University, School of Information Systems. The deans from each of these five iSchools have committed to send top faculty researchers in information privacy (spanning technology, management, law and policy) to participate. Details on how to take part will be publicized in the future. ORGANIZERS Honorary Co-Chairs: Elizabeth Liddy, Syracuse University; Herman Totten, University of North Texas Conference Chair: William Moen, University of North Texas Program Co-Chairs: Kevin Crowston, Syracuse University; Martin Halbert, University of North Texas Program Committee: Randolph Bias, University of Texas Wade Bishop, University of Kentucky Pia Borlund, Royal School of Library and Information Science Copenhagen Peter Brusilovsky, University of Pittsburgh Joy Davidson, Glasgow University Robert Deng, Singapore Management University Pedro Ferreira, Carnegie Mellon Andrew Flinn, University College London Fred Fonseca, Pennsylvania State University Maria Gade, Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin Steve Howard, University of Melbourne Heikki Keskustalo, University of Tampere Anita Komlodi, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Cory Knobel, University of California, Irvine Eden Medina, Indiana University Eric Meyers, University of British Columbia Karine Nahon, University of Washington Arcot Rajasekar (Raja), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Howard Rosenbaum, Indiana University Steve Sawyer, Syracuse University Mega Subramanian, University of Maryland Elaine Toms, University of Sheffield Judith Wusteman, University College Dublin Iris Xie, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee Learn more at: http://www.ischools.org/iConference13/2013index/ -- Eden Medina Associate Professor of Informatics Adjunct Associate Professor of History School of Informatics and Computing Indiana University, Bloomington edenm(a)indiana.edu<mailto:edenm@indiana.edu> www.edenmedina.com<http://www.edenmedina.com> Learn about "Cybernetic Revolutionaries: Technology and Politics in Allende's Chile" (MIT Press, 2011) @ www.cyberneticrevolutionaries.com<http://www.cyberneticrevolutionaries.com/>

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Computer history book on sale!
by David Greelish 20 May '12

20 May '12

I wouldn't mind moving a few more copies out of this stack of 100 freshly printed books! So I'm knocking $3 off and it's shipped free in the US ($3 off international shipping). http://www.classiccomputing.com/CC/HB_Book.html Best, David Greelish, Computer Historian - Author, "The Complete Historically Brewed" - Founder, Atlanta Historical Computing Society - "Classic Computing Show" podcast - "Stan Veit's History of the Personal Computer" audiobook podcast - "Retro Computing Roundtable" podcast ClassicComputing.com | atlhcs.org

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