- Members - lists.sigcis.org

SIGCIS <--> Substack
by Ceruzzi, Paul 25 Sep '24

25 Sep '24

I have moved my observations on computing history from SIGCIS to Substack. That site seems to be a much better fit for me than other social media, which I have joined and abandoned over the years (AOL IM, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, MySpace, Geocities, LinkedIn, and a bunch of others that I have forgotten.). You might be interested in my latest take on the relations between SIGCIS and SHOT. Comments welcome: Paul Ceruzzi Curator Emeritus National Air and Space Museum substack.com/@paulceruzzi

2 1

Annals 46(3) now available
by Troy Astarte 23 Sep '24

23 Sep '24

1 0

CfP: Shady Subjects workshop | April 24–26, 2025 | Ithaca, NY
by Marc Aidinoff 20 Sep '24

20 Sep '24

Dear All— I hope some of you are able join an academic paper workshop on “Shady Subjects: Everyday Contestation in Automated Systems.” Submission deadline: October 15, 2024. Details below or at https://shadysubjects.org <https://shadysubjects.org/>. Best, Marc ----- CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS Shady Subjects: Everyday Contestation in Automated Systems Workshop | April 24–26, 2025 | Ithaca, NY | Cornell University When things go wrong with automated systems, we tend to call on lawyers, engineers, and regulators for solutions. Fairness audits, disclosure requirements, algorithmic accountability, and civil litigation are just some of the initiatives intended to redress automated harms. Yet, as anthropologists, historians, and sociologists have shown, authoritative systems tend to be gamed (Biagioli and Lippman 2020), appropriated (Eglash et al. 2004), disobeyed (Thoreau 1849), resisted (Scott 1985; Gopal 2019), ridiculed (Waller 2017), and otherwise contested long before official interventions take effect. This academic workshop brings together scholars studying everyday practices of contestation in the shadow of an automated system. Often dismissed, denounced, or overlooked, these practices may seem trivial at first, but play a crucial—and often paradoxical—role in both challenging and sustaining automated systems. How are those affected by these systems adjusting and responding to their situations? What new and non-obvious forms of evasion, obfuscation, gaming, storytelling, false compliance, disobedience, cheating, humor, sabotage, complaining, trolling, misdirection, circumvention, workarounds, and other forms of contestation can we find? What can we learn by looking at these practices across places, times, technologies—and how might these insights help us rethink conventional notions of due process, recourse, and redress in automated systems? What we’re looking for The goal of the workshop is to take stock of these seemingly shady practices to analyze and theorize what happens if we consider them as an integral part of automation. We welcome empirically grounded, methodologically innovative, and analytically generative contributions from scholars in science & technology studies, history, sociology, anthropology, media studies, socio-legal studies, and related fields. We are particularly interested in historical, ethnographic, and other interpretive studies that document, contextualize, and theorize reactive practices in specific areas, periods, and settings. The workshop is an excellent opportunity to share work in progress and think through the broader implications of studying automated systems from the margins. Book chapters, journal articles, dissertation excerpts, or a piece specifically written for the workshop are all welcome. We do not yet have a plan for a particular product. Our main goal is to invite your best, most interesting, and relevant work without prior commitment and see what—if anything—emerges during discussion. What you are expected to do Accepted participants are expected to submit a working paper of not more than 8,000 words for discussion in time before the workshop and act as discussant for one other paper. At the workshop, the discussant, rather than the author, introduces and leads a discussion on the paper. There are no panels or talking heads; all attendees read all papers in advance and offer constructive feedback as full participants. The workshop takes place in person in Ithaca, NY. We will start in the afternoon of Thursday, April 24, 2025 and wrap up after lunch on Saturday, April 26, 2025. How to apply If you’re interested in attending, please submit the following information by October 1, 2024 at https://shadysubjects.org/: * Name, email, affiliation * 600–750-word abstract, detailing your study, contribution, and relation to the workshop theme * Short biography (<200 words) and link to profile/work (if available) * Three articles or books related to the workshop theme you recommend Accepted paper authors will receive a travel stipend and accommodation. Participation is limited; we expect to invite ten paper authors, which leaves space for a small number of Key dates Abstract deadline: October 15, 2024 Selection notification: Early November, 2024 Papers for circulation: March 25, 2025 Workshop: April 24–26, 2025 Questions? Email the organizers at shadysubjects(a)cornell.edu <mailto:shadysubjects@cornell.edu>. Organizers Malte Ziewitz (Cornell) & Marc Aidinoff (IAS, Cornell). Additional Program Committee Members: Gili Vidan & Karen Levy. The workshop is supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Science & Technology Studies, and the Digital Due Process Clinic at Cornell University.

1 0

Musical automatons
by herbert.bruderer＠bluewin.ch 11 Sep '24

11 Sep '24

Dear colleagues: Perhaps of interest to you: Technical Marvels, Part 6: Musical Automatons – Communications of the ACM Posted Sep 11 2024 Best wishes, Herbert Brudere P { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; }

1 0

my new book just came out - a legal history of the videogame industry
by Mailland, Julien Pierre Emmanuel 11 Sep '24

11 Sep '24

Dear SIGCIS -- I'm excited to report that my new book just came out with MIT Press (Game Histories series). The Game That Never Ends: How Lawyers Shape The Videogame Industry, is a legal history of the videogame industry written for non-lawyers. I put together a small website for it here: www.10nes.io It's available through your favorite bookstore, and also as a free open access pdf at https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/5819/The-Game-That-Never-EndsHow-… I've gotten some really cool praise already: “Mailland has not just presented a comprehensive review of the legal history of videogames. He also has provided one of the most complete accounts I have seen of the history of the industry itself.” Jim Levy, founding Chairman and CEO of Activision “Julien Mailland's book tells the fascinating story of the birth of Atari and the video games industry with telling insights gained from the players who made it happen.” Lon Allan, Chairman Emeritus, Silicon Valley Directors' Exchange “Mailland captures the complex legal intricacies engendered by the competition in videogames in an accessible and humorous history full of captivating stories and lively imagery.” Edward D. Manzo, author of Patent Claim Construction in the Federal Circuit Hope this is going to be of interest to you. Feel free to reach out, I'm always happy to give book talks! Hope this emails finds everyone well Take care Julien --------------- Julien Mailland Associate Professor of Media Management, Law, and Policy, Indiana University Media School Adjunct Associate Professor of Informatics, Indiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering Associate Editor, The Information Society Attorney at Law (New York) mailland(a)iu.edu - jmailland(a)yahoo.com - + 1 (310) 227 0886 - www.10nes.io - www.minitel.us<http://www.minitel.us>

1 0

Re: [SIGCIS-Members] The History of Computing from the Paul G. Allen Collection
by D. Schmudde 10 Sep '24

10 Sep '24

Like many others, I'm disappointed to see Living Computer's demise and auction. Preservation is an important part of our discipline and preserving running systems is a monumental task. So a special thanks to all those on this list who put in the effort. I mean this not only as a technical challenge, but as an administrative challenge. Jason Scott's take on this might have ruffled a few feathers (http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/5672) but he made one important assertion, "I want to refocus to the fact that the Living Computer Museum was never a museum." It was always the Paul G. Allen Collection. A warm appreciation to those who have managed to turn Gordon Bell's collection (USA) and Heinz Nixdorf's legacy (Germany) into something longer lasting. And all the others big and small that keep the doors open and even (sometimes) systems running. /David members-request(a)lists.sigcis.org writes: > Send Members mailing list submissions to > members(a)lists.sigcis.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > members-request(a)lists.sigcis.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > members-owner(a)lists.sigcis.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more > specific > than "Re: Contents of Members digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. The History of Computing from the Paul G. Allen > Collection > (Brian Berg) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 8 Sep 2024 16:10:49 -0700 > From: Brian Berg <brianberg(a)gmail.com> > To: SIGCIS Listserver <members(a)sigcis.org> > Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] The History of Computing from the Paul > G. > Allen Collection > Message-ID: > <CAE33aVCj6GKEO-Qru0FABcdyjGYa_72UcXkcFq6s6SFyAiSyeA(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Christie's Auction:The History of Computing from the Paul > G. Allen > Collection > <https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/firsts-history-computing-paul-g-allen-co…> > _________________________ > Brian A. Berg / bberg(a)StanfordAlumni.org > Berg Software Design - LinkedIn Profile > <https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianaberg/> > 180 Lithia Way, Suite 201, Ashland, OR 97520 USA > 14500 Big Basin Way, Suite J, Saratoga, CA 95070 USA > Voice: 408.741.5010 / Cell: 408.568.2505 > Consulting: Flash Memory/USB/Storage/Patents > FMS Technical Chair: www.FutureMemoryStorage.com > IEEE History Committee > <https://www.ieee.org/about/history-center/history-committee.html> > Vice-Chair > IEEE Milestones Subcommittee Chair > IEEE Milestone <http://www.siliconvalleymilestones.com/> > Coordinator & > History Chair - Region 6 <http://www.ieee-region6.org/>/SCV > Section > <https://ieeescv.org/section-officers/> > Curator: www.SiliconValleyMilestones.com > IEEE SCV Section <http://www.ieee.org/scv/> Past Chair / > IEEE-CNSV > <http://www.CaliforniaConsultants.org> Board Director > IEEE Silicon Valley Tech History Committee > <http://www.SiliconValleyHistory.com/> Vice-Chair > Co-Organizer: Celebrating 50 Years of the Internet > <https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ieee_ieee-activity-7221529803944771586-HB7S/> >

2 1

CfA Research Sabbaticals (Fellowships) and Working Groups at the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS)
by CAIS-CFA 09 Sep '24

09 Sep '24

The Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) funds innovative projects that deal with the social opportunities and challenges of the digital transformation. We support individual researchers and groups. You want to spend a sabbatical in a vibrant interdisciplinary research community? Become a fellow at CAIS! A fellowship at the Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) releases you from your regular work obligations and opens up new perspectives. As a fellow, you can spend either six or three months in Bochum, Germany. During this period, we will finance your sabbatical leave from work through compensation (e.g. for a teaching substitute). Alternatively, we will pay grants of up to 2.000 € per month. You can invite guests for collaboration and will receive financial support for research expenses. Individual offices and meeting rooms with modern facilities offer optimal working conditions. In addition, we will provide comfortable apartments free of charge. For the winter semester 2025/2026, we will award up to three fellowships on the topic of “Sustainability in the Age of Digital Transformation” in addition to the usual open call. The special call for applications can be found here: https://www.cais-research.de/wp-content/uploads/Special-Call_Sustainability… Find out more at https://www.cais-research.de/en/cais-college/fellowships/ You want to boost your collaboration? Bring your group together at CAIS! Working groups bring together experts from different locations to work on joint projects in an inspiring environment. We provide modern meeting facilities and catering for working groups of up to ten members. In addition, we will cover travel and accommodation expenses. You can spend up to three weeks in Bochum or get together for up to three shorter meetings. Find out more at https://www.cais-research.de/en/cais-college/working-groups/ Application The next deadline for applications is 31 October 2024. The earliest possible starting date for new fellowships is October 2025. The earliest possible starting date for new working groups is May 2025. Please use the application forms provided on our website. The funding program is open to excellent scholars and practitioners, to all career stages, disciplines and areas of investigation, as well as to pure research and to projects that are more applied in orientation. Further questions? Please contact esther.laufer(a)cais-research.de<mailto:esther.laufer@cais-research.de>.

1 0

Research Fellowships from the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center (apps due 15 Oct 2024)
by Hintz, Eric 08 Sep '24

08 Sep '24

**Hi SIGCIS– Check out the Lemelson Center’s call for fellowship applications, due October 15, 2024. Over the years we’ve had several SIGCIS members join us at research fellows and NMAH has great collections in the history of computing such as the Ralph Baer papers<https://sova.si.edu/record/NMAH.AC.0854>, the Grace Murray Hopper collection<https://sova.si.edu/record/NMAH.AC.0324>, the Computer Oral History Collection<https://sova.si.edu/record/NMAH.AC.0196>, and many other gems. Best, Eric Hintz and Alison Oswald Research Fellowships from the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center (apps due 15 Oct 2024) Through its fellowship programs, the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation<https://invention.si.edu/> supports research projects that present creative approaches to the study of invention and innovation in American society. Projects may include (but are not limited to) historical research and documentation projects resulting in publications, exhibitions, educational initiatives, documentary films, or other multimedia products. Collections: Our programs provide access to the expertise of the Institution's research staff<http://americanhistory.si.edu/about/staff> and the vast invention and technology collections of the National Museum of American History (NMAH). The NMAH Archives Center<http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/collections> holds the archival papers of several inventors including Earl Tupper (Tupperware), Joseph Friedman (flexible straw), Robert Kearns (intermittent windshield wiper), Leo Baekeland (Bakelite synthetic plastic), Marion O’Brien Donovan (household inventions), Jacob Rabinow (optical character recognition), Grace Murray Hopper (software), Ralph Baer (video games), Patricia Bath (cataracts treatments), InBae Yoon (laparoscopic surgery), and Van Phillips (prosthetic limbs). The museum also holds the technical artifacts and business records of several corporations and small entrepreneurial firms, including the Western Union Telegraph Company (telecommunications), the Mergenthaler Linotype Company (printing), Jogbra, Inc. (sports apparel), and Small Beginnings (neonatal care). In addition, the NMAH Library offers long runs of historical technology serials like Scientific American and American Machinist, and the American Trade Literature collection<http://library.si.edu/trade-literature>, 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/. Topics: The Lemelson Center invites all applications covering the broad spectrum of research topics in the history of technology, invention, and innovation. However, the Center especially encourages proposals that align with one (or more) of its strategic research and programmatic areas, including 1) projects that illuminate inventors from diverse backgrounds or any inventions and technologies associated with under-represented groups, such as women, minorities, LGBTQ, and the disabled; (2) projects exploring innovation in sports and sports technology; or (3) projects that explore the broader ecosystem of individuals and institutions that support inventors, including inventors' professional organizations; angel investors, venture capitalists, and financiers; incubators and entrepreneurial coaches; patent agents and IP attorneys; product designers, manufacturers, and marketers; and bankruptcy-liquidation specialists. The Arthur Molella Distinguished Fellowship supports the work of an experienced author or senior scholar (associate/full/emeritus professor level or equivalent) from the history of technology, science and technology studies, business history, museum studies, STEAM education, or an allied field. The specific arrangement is flexible: the Molella Fellow may use the funds as a sabbatical supplement; for several short-duration visits; for a virtual appointment focused on research and writing; or for a series of lectures leading to a major publication. The stipend is $35,000. Funds may be used flexibly to support teaching buyouts, travel for several short-term visits, living expenses for longer residences up to six months, and related research expenses. Dates are flexible. Applications are due 15 October 2024. For application procedures and additional information, see http://invention.si.edu/arthur-molella-distinguished-fellowship. 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 some advanced training. Fellows are expected to reside temporarily in the Washington, D.C. area and participate in the Center's activities. Fellowship tenure is based upon the applicants’ stated needs (and available funding), from two to ten weeks. Stipends will be $850/week for pre-doctoral fellows and $1,100/week for post-doctoral and professional fellows. Applications are due 15 October 2024. For application procedures and additional information, see http://invention.si.edu/lemelson-center-fellowship-program. **The Lemelson Center has suspended its Short-Term Travel Grants for 2025-2026. For updates, please check http://invention.si.edu/lemelson-center-travel-collections-awards. Program Alumni: Click the links to see project descriptions for past and current fellows<https://invention.si.edu/lemelson-center-fellows-1996-present> and travel grantees<https://invention.si.edu/lemelson-center-travel-collections-awards-recipien…>! Contact: Applicants may wish to consult with the fellowship coordinator before submitting an application; contact archivist Alison Oswald at oswalda(a)si.edu<mailto:oswalda@si.edu>. _________________________________________________________________ Eric S. Hintz, PhD (he/him), Historian/Acting Director, Lemelson Center Office +1 202-633-3734 | Mobile +1 610-717-7134 |@EricSHintz hintze(a)si.edu<mailto:hintze@si.edu> | americanhistory.si.edu<http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/> | invention.si.edu<http://www.invention.si.edu/> Now Open! Change YOUR Game / Cambia TU Juego<https://invention.si.edu/change-your-game> Author, American Independent Inventors in an Era of Corporate R&D<https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/american-independent-inventors-era-corporate…> (2021)

2 1

The Pentium as Navajo Weaving
by Dag Spicer 02 Sep '24

02 Sep '24

Hi Everyone, Here is a wonderfully creative and interesting look at the links between traditional weaving and semiconductors by CHM engineer and forensic computer historian, Ken Shirriff. <https://www.righto.com/2024/08/pentium-navajo-fairchild-shiprock.html> [AEn0k_u9m3Ui8W0i2OgKTXbJfZ5ToT4nEIjlz8Yzbkbt8ociFH43VcEUagqL2NYOro3eKx7S3zSikL7kWzKiRHf_DdCGR54csYebvV1elTetd5iFw85SnlxN9b3wGuW9S-cSkk5DcOZL=w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu.jpeg] The Pentium as a Navajo weaving<https://www.righto.com/2024/08/pentium-navajo-fairchild-shiprock.html> righto.com<https://www.righto.com/2024/08/pentium-navajo-fairchild-shiprock.html> (For a previous look at this Shiprock story -- when high-tech met Native American traditions — see the exploration undertaken by Lisa Nakamura in her CHM essay, Indigenous Circuits<https://computerhistory.org/blog/indigenous-circuits/>. (Nakamura is Gwendolyn Calvert Baker Collegiate Professor in American Culture at the University of Michigan). "History is the loom on which the threads of time are woven into the fabric of our collective memory, each moment a stitch in the intricate tapestry of humanity's journey.” — Anonymous. Dag ----- Dag Spicer Senior Curator Computer History Museum Editorial Board, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View CA 94043

1 0

Internet Histories, Volume 8, Issue 3, September 2024 is now online
by Asger Harlung 02 Sep '24

02 Sep '24

To whom it may concern, The Editorial Staff of Internet Histories is pleased to announce that, Internet Histories, Volume 8, Issue 3, September 2024 is now online. One article is open access. Full issue here: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rint20/8/3 Kind regards on behalf of the editors, Asger Harlung Editorial Assistant, Internet Histories - - - In this issue: Follow the updates! Reconstructing past practices with web archive data | Open Access Johannes Paßmann & Lisa Gerzen Greek legacy media organizations in the digital age: a historical perspective of web tool adoption (1990s–2023) Ioannis Angelou & Andreas Veglis “The offline part was the essence of it” – the social history of iWiW, the Hungarian online social network Tamas Tofalvy Book Reviews The Two Revolutions: A History of the Transgender Internet, by Avery Dame-Griff By Avery Dame-Griff, New York, New York University Press, 2023. 272 pp., ISBN 9781479818310, $30 (paperback), $89 (hardcover) Reviewer: Travis L. Wagner A History of Fake Things on the Internet By Walter J. Scheirer, Stanford University Press, 2023, 264 pp, hardcover ISBN: 9781503632882, ebook ISBN: 9781503637047 Reviewer: Alexander O. Smith The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age Thomas S. Mullaney, The MIT Press, 2024, 376 pp, ISBN: 9780262047517 Reviewer: Lai Ma

1 0