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The Obituary of Maurice Wilkes, Among Many Others
by Chris McDonald 03 Dec '10

03 Dec '10

Dear SIGCISers, In light of the recent passing of Maurice Wilkes, I've posted a new blog entry (http://www.sigcis.org/node/120) on the SIGCIS site. Please contribute your thoughts; we welcome your comments and hope to stimulate conversation among historians of computing. Sincerely, Chris McDonald

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Wilkes obit by Martin Campbell-Kelly
by Thomas Haigh 01 Dec '10

01 Dec '10

Further to the initial announcement, I notice that the Independent (a British newspaper) has now posted Martin Campbell-Kelly's obituary notice for Wilkes at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/maurice-wilkes-visionary-and-pi oneering-doyen-of-british-computing-2147811.html. Also, thanks to Paul McJones for pointing out that at least one computer project leader from the 1940s is, as far as we know, still alive: Harry Huskey. Huskey worked on ENIAC and led development of SWAC a few years later. Bill Aspray did an oral history interview with him in 2006. http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/text/Oral_History/Huskey_Harry/ Huskey.oral_history.2006.102657983.pdf Tom Haigh

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Hackers
by Ceruzzi, Paul 01 Dec '10

01 Dec '10

I remember reading the New Hackers Dictionary years ago (at a time when the term had different connotations), and I recall a strong current of Zen in that book. So to continue that thread, "Anyone who calls himself a hacker is, by definition, not a hacker." Or to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, "we are all hackers; we are all programmers." Has anyone tried Ubuntu? I installed it on an old computer of mine, and it is pretty much indistinguishable from Windows/MS-Office. It is so strange--I always assumed that Linux was supposed to be hard. Paul

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Gabrielle Coleman’s Piece in the Atlantic
by Erik P. Rau 01 Dec '10

01 Dec '10

Hey, everyone. You may have heard Gabrielle Coleman (anthropologist of hackers) on PBS’s Here and Now program this morning. She summarizes here course at NYU in a recent (21.Sept) article in the Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/09/the-anthropology-of-h… The interview is here: http://www.hereandnow.org/2010/11/30/hackers She also has an interview on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/7122412 She’s interested in more than hacking culture qua hackers’ meanings, but also work culture, ethics, etc. She’s fairly philosophically grounded in the existential pleasures and work environments of hacking. (“internet as playground and factory”). Sounded fairly meaty. One might ask whether hackers are representative of the internet’s denizens (the answer is no, of course), and what they can tell us about the culture of the internet more generally. -- Erik P. Rau, Ph.D. Assistant Teaching Professor of History Department of History and Politics MacAlister Hall 3025 Drexel University 3141 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104-2875 USA +215.895.0992 (tel) +215.895.6614 (fax) erau(a)drexel.edu http://www.drexel.edu/coas/histpol/Rau.asp

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Member Communications Blog
by Chris McDonald 30 Nov '10

30 Nov '10

Dear SIGCISers, I've recently taken up the vacant SIGCIS Member Communications position. In that capacity, I will be posting blog entries to www.sigcis.org on a regular basis with information and commentary that is (hopefully) of interest to this community. (My first post is up now.) Marie Hicks has also agreed to help me with this task from time to time (thank you!). I will be keeping an eye out for information to pass on, but my success will in part depend on all of you. If you are aware are any events, books, conferences, special journal issues or other items that you think our community should be made aware of on this blog, please e-mail me and let me know. Thanks, Chris McDonald

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Maurice Wilkes died yesterday
by Thomas Haigh 30 Nov '10

30 Nov '10

[Forwarded from James Sumner. Wilkes was probably (at least I can't immediately think of any others) the last surviving leader or senior participant from the major experimental computing projects of the 1940s.] Dear listmembers Sir Maurice Wilkes, leader of the EDSAC project, longterm (1949-1980) director of the University of Cambridge Mathematical/Computer Laboratory, microprogramming theorist and founding president of the British Computer Society, died yesterday, 29 November 2010, at the age of 97. The BCS has an obituary here: http://www.bcs.org/server.php?show=conWebDoc.38150 Best regards James

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Dissertations (fwd)
by Allan Olley 30 Nov '10

30 Nov '10

I may be telling people what they already know but to continue on James point, the largest repository of US and Canadian dissertations is a commercial database operated by ProQuest (accessible through a library subscription, but not open access). ProQuest also holds contracts for supplying much of the microfilm dissertation service in this region and so even if an electronic copy is not available you can often order a copy from them. When they print a copy from microfilm they also create an electronic copy in at least some cases. For example, I ordered a thesis from Columbia 1965 and after I ordered it an electronic copy was available). There are many dissertations on history of computing and allied fields in Proquest, I'm not going to try and list any here, sorry. A list of on-line sources of theses and dissertations is given by Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations: http://www.ndltd.org/find Several of these are open access including Theses Canada (unfortunately a very limited set of actual electronic theses available). I just noticed, ProQuest is running a service for open access dissertations (a very small set compared to their subscription service) here: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/ I could find two dissertations of probable interest, freely available for download on my own quick search of this service: Communities of innovation: Cyborganic and the birth of networked social media by Cool, Jennifer Catharine, Ph.D. University of Southern California. 2008: 420 pages; AAT 3341717. White House computer adoption and information policy from 1969 -- 1979 by Laprise, John Paul, Ph.D. Northwestern University. 2009: 262 pages; AAT 3386523. -- Yours Truly, Allan Olley http://individual.utoronto.ca/fofound/ On Wed, 30 Jun 2010, James Sumner wrote: > A belated follow-up to Jim's message about access to Masters and PhD > dissertations: > > The British Library's Electronic Theses Online Service (EThOS) is shaping up > to be very effective both as a clearing-house for information about > dissertations available digitally, and as a direct-access repository. I'm > surprised it's not better publicised. See: > > <http://ethos.bl.uk> > > The database attempts to list every research thesis/dissertation completed at > a higher education institution in the UK. If a copy has been deposited with > the British Library (which is usually the case) and has no access > restrictions, it can be scanned and prepared for electronic download. > > The beauty of this provision is that, once any user has ordered a thesis to > be digitised, it becomes available to later users at *no charge*. (Users > requesting theses have to register, but there are no restrictions on > registration. Users outside the UK are welcome.) > > A quick search on obvious keywords showed the following as currently > available for direct free download: > > --- > The growth of the Indian software industry : a social history > Author: Warrier, Meera. > Awarding Institution: University of East Anglia > Awarded: 2003 > > The roots and early history of the British home computer market : origins of > the masculine micro. > Author: Haddon, Leslie G. > Awarding Institution: Imperial College London (University of London) > Awarded: 1988 > > Technology, consumption and the future : the experience of home computing. > Author: Skinner, David Ian. > Awarding Institution: Brunel University > Awarded: 1992 > > A history of the theory of recursive functions and computability with special > reference to the developments initiated by Godels incompleteness theorems. > Author: Adams, R.G. > Awarding Institution: Hatfield Polytechnic > Awarded: 1983 > > Learning languages with computers : a history of computer assisted language > learning from 1960 to 1990 in relation to education, linguistics and applied > linguistics. > Author: Fox, Jeremy. > Awarding Institution: University of East Anglia > Awarded: 1991 > > The impact of e-Government in the UK > Author: Organ, Joseph John > Awarding Institution: University of Leeds > Awarded: 2006 > --- > > Theses which have not been digitised usually attract a one-off fee of £40 for > digitisation. Depending on the awarding institution's access policy, however, > digitisation is sometimes free (though there may be a wait of up to 30 days > before access is available). > > The system will also try to link to full-text versions held in local > repositories such as <etheses.whiterose.ac.uk> where it can. > > Hope you find this useful! > Best > James > > On 12/06/2010 17:01, James Cortada wrote: >> Thanks to those of you who were able to respond to this request for >> information. Some of my favorite sigcis e-mail is of this sort as I then >> go and look at many of the citations mentioned. >> >> I particularly like it when colleagues mention their Masters and Ph.D. >> dissertations and provide a link to where we can obtain a copy. This is >> of extraordinary importance because it is incredibly easy not to be >> aware of important research. Therefore, I would like to suggest that if >> you have not shared with everyone your dissertations, that you do so >> electronically, if you can. I for one have kept a copy of each >> dissertation that has been made available through this sigcis so that >> there is at least one copy that gets preserved outside of the normal >> places, and for European and Asian dissertations, a copy in the USA. I >> hope others do the same, particularly at such institutions as CBI and >> universities. >> >> Regards, >> >> Dr. Jim (James) W. Cortada >> IBM Institute for Business Value >> 2917 Irvington Way >> Madison, WI 53713 USA >> jwcorta(a)us.ibm.com >> 608-270-4462 >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> This email is relayed from members(a)sigcis.org, the email discussion list of >> SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ >> and you can change your subscription options at >> http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members > > _______________________________________________ > This email is relayed from members(a)sigcis.org, the email discussion list of > SHOT SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://sigcis.org/pipermail/members/ > and you can change your subscription options at > http://sigcis.org/mailman/listinfo/members

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New book, Science for Welfare and Warfare
by Per Lundin 25 Nov '10

25 Nov '10

You might be interested in a new book on investigates the establishment of state-led science and technology in the economic and industrial development of Cold War Sweden: Per Lundin, Niklas Stenlås and Johan Gribbe, eds., Science for Welfare and Warfare: Technology and State Initiative in Cold War Sweden (Sagamore Beach: Science History Publications, 2010), 320 pp. One chapter in the book deals specifically with history of computing, namely Tom Petersson, "Private and Public Interests in the Development of the Early Swedish Computer Industry: Facit, Saab and the Struggle for National Dominance". For more information see: http://www.shpusa.com/books/welfare_warfare.html or http://www.amazon.com/Science-Welfare-Warfare-Technology-Initiative/dp/0881…. Per Lundin, Div. of History of Science and Technology, KTH, Sweden

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Namur, Dec 10, "Programmer : Un passé pour l'avenir ?"
by Thomas Haigh 23 Nov '10

23 Nov '10

Hello everyone, I received the announcement below for an event in Namur, Belgium on December 10. My French is minimal, but I believe it is free and open to the public. Papers on the history of programming and computer science. Please do forward announcements of relevant events to the list as you come across them. Tom Programmer : un passé pour lavenir ? le vendredi 10 décembre 2010 à 14H00 en lAuditoire I.2 de la Faculté dInformatique rue Grandgagnage 21 5000 Namur Monsieur Jean-Marie Jacquet, Doyen de la Faculté d'informatique, a le plaisir de vous inviter à l'après-midi consacrée à l'histoire de l'informatique qu'il organise, avec Madame Marie d'Udekem-Gevers, dans le cadre du 40ème anniversaire de sa Faculté. Elle a pour thème : « Programmer: un passé pour l'avenir ? » La conférence est ouverte à tous et est libre de droit daccès. Programme Médiatrice : A. DE BAENST-VANDENBROUCKE, FUNDP 13h45 Accueil 14h00 Introduction, J.M. JACQUET (FUNDP) Partie 1 : De la matière à linformatique 14h10 Une longue histoire de la programmation, M. DUDEKEM-GEVERS, FUNDP 14h40 Linformatique en Belgique dans les années 1950-1970. Une vue rétrospective basée sur des réminiscences personnelles, J. LOECKX, Universität des Saarlandes, Sarrebruck 15h10 Lenseignement de linformatique aux FUNDP en 1970 et réflexion sur son actualisation, F. BODART, FUNDP 15h40 Pause Partie 2 : Paradigmes de programmation : de la théorie à la pratique 16h00 Programmation impérative : bilan de mes idées personnelles, H. LEROY, FUNDP 16h30 Dijkstra et la programmation structurée, le « Grand mouvement des années 1970 », P.-A. DE MARNEFFE, Université de Liège 17h00 PROLOG et le projet japonais de la cinquième génération, Y. WILLEMS, KULeuven 17h30 Théorie de la concurrence : histoire des algèbres de processus, J.-M. JACQUET, FUNDP 18h00 Cocktail Invitation Programmer : un passé pour lavenir ? le vendredi 10 décembre 2010 à 14H00 en lAuditoire I.2 de la Faculté dInformatique rue Grandgagnage 21 5000 Namur Renseignements Marie dUdekem-Gevers Faculté dInformatique Tél. : 081/72 49 73 E-mail : mge(a)info.fundp.ac.be Dr. Marie d'UDEKEM-GEVERS Chargée d'enseignement et maître de conférence Conseillère à la formation Vice-Présidente du Centre de Recherche en Histoire des Sciences Faculté d'Informatique Facultes Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix Rue Grandgagnage 21 B.5000 Namur Belgique Tél.: 32 (0) 81 72 49 73 FAX : 32 (0) 81 72 49 67 http://www.fundp.ac.be/universite/personnes/page_view/01001574/

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Arthur L. Norberg Travel Fund grants
by Jeffrey Yost 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Dear SIGCIS members, Please find below the announcement for the Arthur L. Norberg Travel Fund grants--application deadline January 15, 2011. Best, Jeff The Arthur L. Norberg Travel Fund provides short-term grants-in-aid to help scholars with travel expenses to use archival collections at the Charles Babbage Institute. Each year we plan to award two $750 grants. The Charles Babbage Institute (CBI) is an internationally recognized research center and archives focused on the history of information technology. CBI conducts major research projects; publishes books and articles; and collects, processes, and provides open public access to the most diverse and extensive collection of archival materials on computing, software, and networking in the world. CBI collections include the records of corporations, technical and trade associations, personal papers, industry publications, oral histories, photographs, film/video, and an extensive reference library. The Norberg Travel Fund is named for CBI’s founding director, Arthur L. Norberg, and is funded by generous gifts from his friends and colleagues<http://www.cbi.umn.edu/research/ntravelfundcontributors.html> . List of past recipients <http://www.cbi.umn.edu/research/ntfrecipients.html> To Apply: Applicants should send a 2-page CV as well as a 500-word project description that describes the overall research project, identifies the importance of specific CBI collections, and discusses the projected outcome (journal article, book chapter, museum exhibit, etc.). Applicants are strongly encouraged to examine the extensive on-line finding guides to CBI’s 200-plus archival collections at www.cbi.umn.edu/collections/archmss.html. Applicants should estimate how many days they plan to use CBI collections during their visit (travel should generally be in the calendar year of the award). To be eligible, scholars will reside outside the Twin Cities metropolitan region. Notification of awards will be made within four weeks, and travel can commence directly thereafter. Questions pertaining to collection content and access can be directed to Stephanie Crowe, CBI Archivist, at horow021(a)umn.edu. Please direct questions about the Arthur Norberg Travel Fund to Jeffrey Yost, CBI Associate Director, yostx003(a)umn.edu, 612.624.5050. For additional information, see www.cbi.umn.edu. *Materials must be submitted by email to cbi(a)umn.edu or postmarked no later than January 15, 2011.* Charles Babbage Institute: Norberg Travel Fund 211 Andersen Library University of Minnesota 222 - 21st Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455

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