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Vacuum Tube Development Committee
by Evan Koblentz 09 Sep '10

09 Sep '10

Last week I visited Harvard's archives of the Radio Research Lab, and found some meeting minutes of the Vacuum Tube Development Committee (1943-1945 timeframe) .... I can't find much online that nicely summarizes this committee and its activity / purpose. Can someone here point me to a good overview?

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Announcing The Bubble Chamber: Where History and Philosophy of Science Meets Society and Public Policy
by HAPSAT Society 09 Sep '10

09 Sep '10

*The Bubble Chamber* is a new blog written by historians and philosophers of science for discussing contemporary issues of science and society through the lens of historical context and critical analysis. Founded by the University of Toronto's Science Policy Working Group, *The Bubble Chamber* is a forum for those interested in a critical assessment of science in society and the development, regulation, and trajectory of science. http://thebubblechamber.org/

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History of computing exhibition in Paris
by Pierre Mounier 06 Sep '10

06 Sep '10

Hi, The 60th anniversary of the first French electronic calculators will be celebrated next week, near Paris, with an exhibition on the history of computing. Please find the announcement attached. Best, Pierre E. Mounier-Kuhn CNRS & Université Paris-Sorbonne

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New member- about Al Kossow
by Al Kossow 04 Sep '10

04 Sep '10

Hello all, Having just joined this email list, I am obeying the request to post a brief paragraph about myself. I am the Robert N. Miner Software Curator at the Computer History Museum, a position that I have held since 2006. Previously, I was a Senior Software Engineer with Apple Computer from 1986 through 2005. My interests include digital preservation, software archaeology, history of computing, history of systems engineering, and trying to convince the world that preserving software is important. I also created and maintain bitsavers.org, which is one of the largest on-line archives of historic computer hardware and software documentation in the world.

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Announcement: Spontaneous Generations 4:1 now available online
by HAPSAT Society 01 Sep '10

01 Sep '10

Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science is pleased to announce the publication of its latest issue at http://spontaneousgenerations.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/SpontaneousGene… . We invite you to review the Table of Contents here and then visit our web site to review articles and items of interest. Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science Vol 4, No 1 (2010): Scientific Instruments: Knowledge, Practice, and Culture Table of Contents http://spontaneousgenerations.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/SpontaneousGene… Focused Discussion -------- Scientific Instruments: Knowledge, Practice, and Culture [Editor’s Introduction] (1-7) Isaac Record The Challenge of Authenticating Scientific Objects in Museum Collections: Exposing the Forgery of a Moroccan Astrolabe Allegedly Dated 1845 CE (8-20) Ingrid Hehmeyer People as Scientific Instruments (21-29) Maarten Derksen Equipment for an Experiment (30-38) Rom Harré An Instrument for What? Digital Computers, Simulation and Scientific Practice (39-44) Wendy S. Parker Great Pyramid Metrology and the Material Politics of Basalt (45-60) Michael J. Barany Let Freeness Ring: The Canadian Standard Freeness Tester as Hegemonic Engine (61-70) James Hull The Machine Speaks Falsely (71-84) Allan Franklin Reading Measuring Instruments (85-93) Mario Bunge Engineering Realities (94-110) Davis Baird Conceptual Sea Changes (111-115) Paul Humphreys Extended Thing Knowledge (116-128) Mathieu Charbonneau Otto in the Chinese Room (129-137) Philip Murray McCullough Humans not Instruments (138-147) Harry Collins Apparatus and Experimentation Revisited (148-154) Trevor H. Levere Material Culture and the Dobsonian Telescope (155-162) Jessica Ellen Sewell, Andrew Johnston Taming the “Publication Machine”: Generating Unity, Engaging the Trading Zones (163-172) François Thoreau, Maria Neicu Concepts as Tools in the Experimental Generation of Knowledge in Cognitive Neuropsychology (173-190) Uljana Feest Articles -------- Domesticating the Planets: Instruments and Practices in the Development of Planetary Geology (191-230) Matthew Benjamin Shindell “Old” Technology in New Hands: Instruments as Mediators of Interdisciplinary Learning in Microfluidics (231-254) Dorothy Sutherland Olsen Opinions -------- Out the Door: A Short History of the University of Toronto Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments (255-261) Erich Weidenhammer, Michael Da Silva Reviews -------- Ian Hesketh. Of Apes and Ancestors: Evolution, Christianity, and the Oxford Debate (262-265) Sebastian Assenza Marc Lange. Laws and Lawmakers: Science, Metaphysics, and the Laws of Nature (266-269) Christopher Belanger William Sims Bainbridge. The Warcraft Civilization: Social Science in a Virtual World (270-272) Bruce J. Petrie Steven Shapin. The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation (273-275) Michael Cournoyea Learning From Artifacts: A Review of the “Reading Artifacts: Summer Institute in the Material Culture of Science,” Presented by The Canada Science and Technology Museum and Situating Science Cluster (276-279) Jaipreet Virdi Aaron A. Cohen-Gadol and Dennis D. Spencer. The Legacy of Harvey Cushing: Profiles of Patient Care (280-282) Delia Gavrus Adrian Parr. Hijacking Sustainability (283-285) R. Moore Eileen Crist and H. Bruce Rinker, eds. Gaia in Turmoil: Climate Change, Biodepletion and Earth Ethics in an Age of Crisis (286-288) Julia Agapitos David Pantalony. Altered Sensations: Rudolph Koenig’s Acoustical Workshop in Nineteenth-Century Paris (289-291) Sarah-Jane Patterson Michael Strevens. Depth: An Account of Scientific Explanation (292-299) Anthony Kulic _____________________________________________________ Spontaneous Generations http://spontaneousgenerations.library.utoronto.ca/ Isaac Record, Editor isaac.record(a)utoronto.ca Please distribute widely. Apologies for cross-postings.

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Info: Workshop on Zuse, Bremen Sep 30 2010
by julie hugsted 31 Aug '10

31 Aug '10

Hello, a brief promotion of this exciting workshop on the work of Konrad Zuse in Bremen. It is part of a 100 years celebration of Konrad Zuse's birth. Here is a link to the general activities during the Year of Zuse: http://www.horst-zuse.homepage.t-online.de/horst-zuse-zuse-jahr-2010-html/e… And here is a link and below a copy/paste about the workshop: >From the web: http://www.horst-zuse.homepage.t-online.de/informatik-geschichte-html-2008/… Excuse my German, but I preferred posting it in German rather than skipping it due to heavy work load, I did not have time for translation. Parts are in English as well as the general website. My excuses if it has already been posted and I somehow forgot The best regards Julie » Neue Forschungen zu Konrad Zuse « Workshop der „Fachgruppe Informatik- und Computergeschichte“ Leitung Hans Dieter Hellige (Universität Bremen) Termin 30. 9. 2010, 9.00 - ca. 19.00 Uhr Ort Campus der Universität Leipzig, Universitätsstraße 3 Hörsaalgebäude, Raum S 229 9:00-10:30 Uhr Perspektiven der Zuse-Forschung Leitung: Rudolf Seising (European Center for Soft Computing, Mieres) 9:00-9:30 Rudolf Seising Einführung: Die Zuse-Forschung und die Probleme der Pionier-Geschichten 9:30-10:15 Wilhelm Füßl (Deutsches Museum München) Der wissenschaftlich-technische Nachlass Konrad Zuses als Grundlage für neue Forschungsfragen und eine biografische Neubewertung 10:15-10:30 Diskussion 10:30-11:00 Kaffeepause 11:00-13:00 Uhr Konrad Zuse als Erfinderunternehmer im NS-Staat Leitung: Wolfgang Coy (Humboldt-Universität Berlin) 11:00-11:45 Hans Dieter Hellige (Universität Bremen) Die Kontrollnetze und 'Rechnenden Räume' des Konrad Zuse im Dritten Reich 11:45-12:30 Ulf Hashagen (Deutsches Museum München) Von Berlin ins Allgäu: Der Erfinderunternehmer Konrad Zuse 1945-1948 12:30-13:00 Diskussion Kommentare: Paul Ceruzzi (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.) Stephan Lindner (Universität der Bundeswehr München) 13:00-14:00 Mittagspause 14:00-15:30 Uhr Konrad Zuses Rolle als Unternehmer und Technologievermittler Leitung: Friedrich Naumann (Technische Universität Chemnitz) 14:00-14:45 Horst Zuse (Technische Universität Berlin) Unternehmenskultur, Entscheidungsstrukturen und Führungsprobleme in der Zuse KG 14:45-15:30 Hartmut Petzold (Berlin) Konrad Zuses Beziehungen zu N. Joachim Lehmann und anderen DDR-Computerpionieren 15:30-16:00 Kaffeepause 16:00-18:00 Uhr Konrad Zuses Beiträge zur Informatik-Forschung und -Theorie Leitung: Gerard Alberts (Universität Amsterdam) 16:00-16:45 Klaus Waldschmidt (Universität Frankfurt a. M.) Konrad Zuse und die parallele Rechnerarchitektur – Einige Gedanken und Beispiele 16:45-17.30 Roland Vollmar (Universität Karlsruhe) Konrad Zuses informatisches Universum 17:30-18:30 Schlussdiskussion: Konrad Zuse – Neue Sichten und Fragen Leitung: Paul Ceruzzi

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Donate your books for auction....
by Thomas Haigh 30 Aug '10

30 Aug '10

Hello SIGCIS members, As those of you who have attended our annual lunch meeting in recent years are aware, our annual auction of donated history of computing books is the SIG's main income source for its annual operating expenses. The tradition was inaugurated at our 2007 meeting in DC with the late Mike Mahoney as auctioneer. Last year the auction raised about $800 to fund several of the graduate student travel awards for year's meeting. While the MIT Press remains a very generous sponsor of the event we do also rely on our members to provide books. Now is a good time to look at your bookshelf for spare or duplicate copies of works in our field and consider finding them a loving new home. The auction is specifically for historical works related to the history of computing, both scholarly and popular. So please either put a book or two on one side and bring it with you to Tacoma or mail me the books within the next two weeks so I can carry them myself. If you're interested in the latter option send me a personal reply and I will verify the details and give you my mailing address. We're off to a good start, as Paul Ceruzzi already sent me two boxes of books. SHOT is a registered charity so the value of the book(s) can be treated as a charitable donation and deducted from your taxable US income (if you itemize -- consult your tax professional, etc). On request we can track the amount raised from your donation and sent a receipt. Best wishes, Tom Haigh www.tomandmaria.com/tom

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IBM 1401: The Musical! (almost)
by Thomas Haigh 30 Aug '10

30 Aug '10

This odd discovery brought a smile to me on a frustrating day: http://www.amazon.com/IBM-1401-A-Users-Manual/dp/B000S5AMS2 ($4.95 download) http://www.amazon.com/Ibm1401-Users-Manual-Johann-Johannsson/dp/B000I0SGSA/r ef=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8 <http://www.amazon.com/Ibm1401-Users-Manual-Johann-Johannsson/dp/B000I0SGSA/ ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1282877401&sr=1-1> &s=music&qid=1282877401&sr=1-1 (regular CD) Summary: Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson has recorded an orchestral work inspired by and incorporating the sounds of the first IBM 1401 installed in Iceland. (Perhaps the first computer in Iceland Petri Paju would know this) The title is IBM 1401 A Users Manual. Its also interesting to see that the trick of generating music via radio interference long predated the microcomputers of the 1970s, as the sounds are supposed to have come from his fathers work in 1971. Its not actually a musical, but parts were apparently used for modern dance and there are some spoken passages. Im playing the first track (movement?) right now, and it is deeply strange. This should put everyone in the right mood for the Materiality and Immateriality theme of our forthcoming workshop. If only more Icelanders back in 2006 had put their quirky ingenuity into celebrating old technology rather than structuring financial deals. Tom

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Write biographies for Annals
by Thomas Haigh 27 Aug '10

27 Aug '10

Hello SIGCIS members, Here's another invitation, following one I sent out about eighteen months ago that has already lead to several interesting published biographies. The flow has slowed rather recently, so it seemed time for another appeal. I am writing to encourage you to submit material for the biographies department of IEEE Annals of the History of Computing (www.computer.org/annals) which I've been editing since 2002. This can be a great way of getting new research into print quickly. You can read all the details at http://www.tomandmaria.com/tom/resources/annalsbiographies.htm But briefly: biographies should be carefully researched, add some new information or perspectives, and be 2,000 to 3,000 words in length. Subjects do not have to be dead, and in fact about half of our subjects are still alive. Researching a good biography is a lot of work, and so I encourage you to think of making a biography an initial or additional publication as part of a broader project. Having done the research on a particular story or institution it is common to learn a lot about the lives of individuals, but often this material is not fully used in the main book or article. You may also find yourself ready to contribute a biography at a relatively early state in the overall project. Biographies can also be peer reviewed on request. (As departmental articles the default is a speedier process where you work directly with me on revisions). This might be particularly attractive to those of you getting your publications counted for tenure or other review processes. Annals is widely indexed, and available at pretty much all research universities via the IEEE Digital Library. We're also told that the biographies are a favorite feature of the publication with our loyal subscriber base. Best wishes, Tom Haigh

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Stan Viet passed away
by Evan Koblentz 27 Aug '10

27 Aug '10

*http://tinyurl.com/28kejof*

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