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SHOT Panels -- last chance
by Thomas Haigh 15 Mar '10

15 Mar '10

Hello everyone, Looking at what has come in so far, we are in need of extra proposals in the following areas to help get us to possible three person panels: . "International Perspective on the History of Computing" . "Reconsidering the History of the Internet" The Internet idea might be part of or in addition to Andrew Burtica's suggestion of a join SHOT/Mercurians panel. I'll try to coordinate with him on this topic. Again, this is for the main conference so SIGCIS panel proposals would go through a review process within SHOT and would not be guaranteed acceptance. There's just two weeks left to the deadline, so I'll make decisions on the possible panels based on what we have by Wednesday. Tom

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Proposed Session for SHOT
by Andrew Butrica 12 Mar '10

12 Mar '10

Greetings! I have proposed the following idea to the Mercurians SIG and feel that it is equally appropriate for the Computers, Information, and Society SIG. We could make this a combined Mercurians-SIGCIS session proposal. Here is the proposal: I would like to propose that Mercurians organize a SHOT session around the theme of the computer as a communications device. Obviously, we could do this jointly with the computer SIG, as well. The papers could be on any aspect of the topic. They might touch on the development of the technology, the roots of the idea of computers as communication devices in cybernetics (Norbert Wiener et al), the role of federal dollars, the role of federal policy (eg, communication policy), the role of the military, or the applications of the computer as a communication device, such as in making medical assistance available over great distances or in isolated regions or various auction (e-bay) and other commercial uses. Consumer applications, of course, would dovetail with one of SHOT's themes for this conference. Approaches could be historical, philosophical, sociological, anthropological, etc. Any ideas, suggestions, or proposals? Andrew Butrica Andrew J. Butrica MERCURIANS ANTENNA Newsletter P.O. Box 30224 Bethesda, MD 20824-0224 USA mercurians(a)earthlink.net www.mercurians.org

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Call for Submissions -- SIGCIS Computer History Museum Prize
by Thomas Haigh 12 Mar '10

12 Mar '10

Hello everyone, Please find below the call for nominations for our history of computing book prize. Last years went to Christophe Lecuyer for Inventing Silicon Valley. Theres a nice write up in the CBI newsletter: http://www.cbi.umn.edu/newsletter/article3.html. Jen Light is chair of the prize committee this year, and Pierre Mounier-Kuhn joins the committee to replace Paul Ceruzzi. Tom Misa is now in his final year on the panel. Thanks to all of them for their service to SIGCIS. Jen has told me that to renominate a book submitted last year you or your publisher need send only ONE additional copy, to Pierre Mounier-Kuhn as the new committee member. $1000 and a certificate could be yours! Tom THE 2010 CHM PRIZE CALL The Computer History Museum Prize is awarded to the author of an outstanding book in the history of computing broadly conceived, published during the prior three years. The prize of $1000 is awarded by SIGCIS, the Special Interest Group for Computers, Information and Society. It is established through the generosity of an anonymous donor who wishes to honor the Computer History Museum. SIGCIS is part of the Society for the History of Technology. Books published in 2007-2009 are now eligible for the 2010 award. Books in translation are eligible for three years following the date of their publication in English. Publishers, authors, and other interested members of the computer history community are invited to nominate books. Send one copy of the nominated title to each of the committee members listed below. To be considered, book submissions must be postmarked by 15 April 2010. For more information, please contact the prize committee chair. Current information about the prize may always be found at http://www.sigcis.org/?q=chmprize. 2010 Prize Committee Members Jennifer S. Light (Chair) Northwestern University School of Communication 2240 Campus Drive, Room 2-152 Evanston, IL 60208-2952 light(a)northwestern.edu Thomas J. Misa Charles Babbage Institute 211 Andersen Library 222 - 21st Avenue South University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455 tmisa(a)umn.edu Pierre Mounier-Kuhn CNRS & Université Paris-Sorbonne 28 rue Serpente, 75006 Paris, France mounier(a)msh-paris.fr

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Documenting Swedish IT-history
by Per Lundin 10 Mar '10

10 Mar '10

You might be interested in the results of a rather large project on documenting Swedish IT-history from a user-centered perspective, which was finished last year. The project, called From Computing Machines to IT, was a collaboration between the Div. of History of Science and Technology at KTH, The Swedish Computer Society and the Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology. It aimed to create, collect, preserve and disseminate sources on how computing shaped and transformed Swedish society between 1950 and 1980. In the project, more than 160 oral history interviews were conducted, almost 50 so-called witness seminars were arranged, and about 230 written recollections were acquired with the help of traditional questionnaires as well as Internetbased collection of memories. The created sources consist of more than 8,000 pages of text. The material is, unfortunately, at least for non-Scandinavians, in Swedish, but we have provided the oral history interviews and the witness seminars with abstracts in English. The material is accessible on the Internet as fully searchable pdf-files. The project and the created and collected sources are furthermore contextualized, described and evaluated in a final report available in English at: http://en.scientificcommons.org/54397748 or http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-11945. The final report provides links to the material. Swedish speaking users might also benefit from the website: www.ithistoria.se. Best regards, Per ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ Per Lundin Div. of History of Science and Technology Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) SE-100 44 Stockholm Sweden Phone: +46 8 790 87 41 Fax: +46 8 24 62 63 http://www.teknikhistoria.se ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

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Reminder: CFP SHOT 2010 -- SIGCIS Proposals?
by Thomas Haigh 08 Mar '10

08 Mar '10

Hello Everyone, I haven't had many proposals for individual papers in need of integrating into panels for the main SHOT conference. Which is fine if it means that everyone has found their own panel arrangements already. However experience tells me that people tend to ignore the first call and then respond to the follow up. So if you do have anything please get in touch ASAP as the deadline is getting closer. One suggestion has been for a panel dealing with Internet history -- we have one possible paper. Another has been for a panel addressing Microsoft in some way, but was have no specifics for that and oddly I'm aware of no ongoing work on the topic. Best wishes, Tom Haigh -----Original Message----- From: Thomas Haigh [mailto:thaigh@computer.org] Sent: Monday, February 22, 2010 4:41 PM To: 'members(a)sigcis.org' Subject: CFP SHOT 2010 -- SIGCIS Proposals? Hello Everyone, The Call for Papers for the 2010 SHOT Meeting is pasted below. The SHOT deadline in 31 March, and the conference takes place in Tacoma, Washington September 30-Oct 3. We also plan to hold a full day SIGCIS workshop on Oct 3, following the successful format of our 2009 workshop. A separate call for this will go out later. The current call is for the main conference. People can submit for both. This email list is available as a clearinghouse for those interested in assembling coherent panel proposals for the meeting. In addition, one of my main activities as chair has been to organize SIGCIS sponsored panels and work with authors to shape their abstracts accordingly. Weve proposed 3 panels for each of the past three meetings. In 2007 all 3 were accepted, in 2008 just 1, and in 2009 2 of 3. So that's a two thirds success rate overall. Our sessions tend to be lively and well attended. If you are interested in taking part in a SIGCIS organized panel send me an informal message by the END OF THIS MONTH with an idea of what topic you would present. Try not to let cost put you off. As always, SHOT has travel grants available -- primarily for presenters who are graduate students, coming from poorer countries, or recent graduates without permanent jobs. Funding is not guaranteed but is often quite generous and well worth applying for. http://www.historyoftechnology.org/travel_grants.html In addition SIGCIS expects to have funds to make some small supplemental grants ($200 to graduate student members (and perhaps others in the same categories) to top up SHOT's awards. We will announce details for 2010 later. The statement of themes seems very inclusive and somewhat vague with the proximity of Seattle IT is mentioned as a welcome topic. Other themes we might be able to hit: globalization, consumption, the Pacific world. The program committee mentions that it would like to see panels with diversity of countries, institutions, and outreach to scholars in aligned and/or related fields. A welcome is also extended to those "new to SHOT." SIGCIS is well placed to satisfy those requirements. The call includes the usual statement to indicate if a proposal is sponsored by one of SHOTs special interest groups. However no policy on SIG sponsorship seems to exist, so were not sure there is a maximum number of panels beyond which sponsorship becomes counterproductive. Also were not sure if we can put the SIG stamp of approval on relevant sessions organized by others. Perhaps in response to some requests for clarification we made last year the latest call clarifies a few items of SHOT practice formerly assumed to be tacit knowledge. It states that the Program Committee discourages scholars from presenting papers at two consecutive meetings held in North America. Exceptions can be made for scholars traveling from overseas. If you presented in the main conference at Pittsburgh but would like to be a chair or commentator then please let me know. Unless we hear otherwise we'll assume that having presented in the SIGCIS workshop in 2009 does NOT count against you in competition for the main SHOT program in 2010. Another clarification in the new CFP: in general we discourage panels with more than three papers. Let's make 2010 another record setting year for the history of computing at SHOT. Tom ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- OFFICIAL CALL FOLLOWS, taken from http://www.historyoftechnology.org/shot2010cfp.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ Deadline: 31 March 2010 SHOT 2010Call For Papers The Society for the History of Technology will hold its annual meeting in Tacoma, Washington from September 30 to October 3, 2010. The Program Committee invites paper and panel proposals on any topic in the history of technology, broadly defined. Sessions dealing with non-Western technologies are particularly welcome. Of special interest for 2010 are proposals that engage in themes that resonate with the concerns of the specific locale. These include: Consumption: In the popular imagination, the Tacoma-Seattle area is associated with several important corporate entities (Boeing, Microsoft, Nintendo, Starbucks, etc.) whose goods and services are deeply embedded in global consumer culture. At a moment in time when consumption, sometimes excessive, sometimes globalized, sometimes exploitative, is of great concern to both the public and policy-makers, Tacoma is an appropriate place for historians to (re)consider technologies of consumption. We are especially interested in papers that see production and consumption as coterminous processes and which historicize consumption as part of broader processes in the history of technology. We define consumption very broadly to include the publics active engagement with technologies and technological systems, which may include environmental, communications, and obsolete technologies. The Program Committee encourages sessions dealing with topics appropriate to the meeting location, such as aerospace and maritime history, labor history, forest products, information technology, and themes relevant to the Pacific world. We also encourage historians of technology to reach out to scholars in aligned and/or related fields when constructing research proposals as one way to create a more interdisciplinary environment. Finally, we invite papers and panel proposals that emphasize the longue durée, particularly those that problematize demarcations such as modern/premodern, colonial/postcolonial, and preindustrial/industrial. As always, sessions dealing with pre-modern, Medieval, and ancient topics are especially welcome. The Program Committee's highest priority in evaluating paper and panel proposals is scholarly excellence. The Committee welcomes proposals for individual papers or sessions, as well as works-in-progress from researchers of all stripes (including graduate students, chaired professors, and independent scholars). It welcomes proposals from those new to SHOT, regardless of discipline. Multinational, international, and cross-institutional sessions are also desirable. We especially encourage proposals from non-Western scholars. For the 2010 meeting the Program Committee continues to encourage unconventional sessions; that is, session formats that vary in useful ways from the typical three/four papers with comment. These might include round-table sessions, workshop-style sessions with papers that are pre-circulated electronically, or "author meets critics" sessions. We also welcome poster proposals for presentation in poster sessions. Please note that in general we discourage panels with more than three papers. The DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS IS 31 March 2010. Please submit your proposals to The Shot Program Committee. Proposals for individual papers must include: 1. a one-page abstract (maximum 600 words) 2. a one-page curriculum vitae, including current postal and e-mail addresses Proposals for complete sessions must include: 1. a description of the session that explains how individual papers contribute to an overall theme. 2. the names and paper titles of the presenters 3. for each presenter, a one-page summary (maximum 600 words) of the papers topic, argument(s), and evidence used 4. for the commentator, chair, and each presenter: one-page c.v., with postal and e-mail addresses Please indicate if a proposal is sponsored by one of SHOTs special interest groups. Submission Instructions: 1. Materials should be sent as a single text attachment to an e-mail message to the Program Committee Chair, Asif Siddiqi at shot.tacoma2010(a)gmail.com 2. Proposals for complete sessions as well as individual papers should be submitted in one file. 3. Please adhere to the 600-word limit for each paper. Use no unusual fonts or special formatting, and save your attachment either as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) or as a Rich Text Format (.rtf) file. Nearly all word processing programs, including those used on Apple computers can save text in the Rich Text Format. Do not use Adobe Acrobat (pdf). 4. Name your attachment with your last name and the word proposal, e.g. Smith_proposal.doc. 5. A session organizer should also deliver a description of the overall session. If you are organizing a session and proposing a paper in that session, you will be delivering both an abstract and proposal, plus your c.v. 6. If you are proposing a non-traditional session you may indicate that in the abstract. These also require a curriculum vitae. General information: While SHOT rules exclude multiple submissions (i.e., submitting more than one individual paper proposal, or proposing both an individual paper and a paper as part of a session), scholars may both propose a paper and serve as a commentator or session chair. Generally speaking, the Program Committee discourages scholars from presenting papers at two consecutive meetings held in North America. Exceptions can be made for scholars traveling from overseas. Individuals are always welcome to serve as chairs and commentators and are encouraged to let the Program Committee know if they are available. For questions, please contact SHOT Secretary Bernie Carlson at shotsecy(a)virginia.edu.

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"computers and society" position at Encyclopaedia Britannica
by Thomas Misa 05 Mar '10

05 Mar '10

>> >> The science and technology group in Encyclopaedia Britannica's >> editorial department, of which I am group leader, has an opening in >> an area that I like to call "computers and society." Our HR >> department has posted the job opening at the Web sites of >> organizations such as the History of Science Society and the >> Society for the History of Technology, but so far we've had no >> responses. I've decided to take a more active role in the job >> search by contacting academics associated with programs in the >> history of society and technology, particularly in the area of >> electronics and electronic media. >> >> It has occurred to me that academic programs such as yours might >> have a number of graduate students who would be willing to consider >> an editorial job with a reference publisher. If your department's >> policies permit, I will be happy to send you our HR department's >> brief job description, along with my own perhaps less cryptic >> description, for you to disseminate or post at your institution as >> you see fit. >> >> I look forward to your response. >> >> Sincerely, >> >> Robert Curley >> Senior Editor, Science & Technology >> Encyclopaedia Britannica >> Tel.: (312) 347-7913 >> Fax: (312) 294-2162 >> E-mail: rcurley(a)eb.com > Attached is our HR department's job description, which describes in > a general way the company's expectations of a candidate for any > associate or assistant editor's position, with a few added comments > regarding general science background. The description is heavy in > the day-to-day responsibilities of the job, but light in the subject > area. > > As I prefer to describe it, the editor would be responsible for > maintaining and enriching EB's coverage of the technical aspects of > computers and information technology, but what I'd especially like > is somebody who actively thinks about the impact of IT on the modern > way of life. The editor would formulate what EB has to say, for > instance, about the digital divide, and not just the microprocessor. > > To that end, EB has many technical articles on electronics and > telecoms, from the telegraph to the transistor. We also have many > biographies and a growing number of articles on computer and > electronic companies. In recent years we've been expanding our > biographies and historical articles in the area of computer history, > from Charles Babbage's Analytic Engine to Sergey Brin and Larry > Page's search engine. We're also trying to expand into more popular > or social aspects of the computer revolution, publishing articles, > for instance, on virtual communities by Howard Rheingold and on the > history of computer games by Henry Lowood. > > The editor would be responsible for commissioning new or revised > articles from such authors, so far as annual editorial budgets > allow. But the editor would also do quite a bit of his or her own > updating and new writing, depending on his or her expertise and the > level of detail needed. The editor would work with our illustrators > and photo editors in obtaining drawings and photographs for > articles, and he or she would work with all other departments in our > editorial workflow that are responsible for moving articles from the > editor's computer to our online and print publications. > > Though possibly coming from an academic background, the editor would > have to know that EB is a business, and that efficiency and > scheduling are central to the organization of our work. We're proud > to produce a quality product, but we have to produce a marketable > product, and so editors must know how to place reasonable limits on > projects and move them along to the customers. > > I believe the attachment states that applicants should send their > resumes directly to the email address Staffing(a)eb.com, citing the > specific position being applied for. But if there are any questions > related to my comments above, please feel free to contact me. > > Sincerely, > > Rob Curley > > Senior Editor, Science & Technology > Encyclopaedia Britannica > Tel.: (312) 347-7913 > Fax: (312) 294-2162 > E-mail: rcurley(a)eb.com >

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Book / Computing in France
by Pierre Mounier 03 Mar '10

03 Mar '10

This is just to advertise my just-published book on computing in French research and higher education : http://pups.paris-sorbonne.fr/pages/aff_livre.php?Id=838 Best, Pierre E. Mounier-Kuhn CNRS & Université Paris-Sorbonne 28 rue Serpente, 75006 Paris A "big science" transfer (1967). Moving the NCR-Elliott 4130 of the Institut Blaise-Pascal to the new science faculty at Orsay, as seen by an assistant of the lab.

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Arithmetic Logic Unit ?
by Marie Gevers 02 Mar '10

02 Mar '10

As far as I know, only the concept of Arithmetic Unit was included in the von Neumann's Draft of 1945 . I would be happy to know who introduced the concept of Arithmetic Logic Unit and when. Which computer was the first one to be built with an ALU? Thanks in advance for any answer. Marie Gevers

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Quote on IT Productivity
by James Cortada 28 Feb '10

28 Feb '10

We have all heard variations of a quote that goes something like this, "If cars had improved as much as computers, you would be able to buy a Rolls-Royce for $5, etc." I may have found the original quote all quite by accident and thought you might want it: "If we compare the automotive and computer industries over the last 30 years, we find that if there had been similar progress in the auto industry as there was in the computer industry . . . then the auto industry would today be able to offer us a Rolls-Royce for $2.50 with an E.P.A. gas rating of 2 million miles per gallon." --an IT executive quoted in "Computing for Business Into the 1980s," Fortune (June 5, 1978), page 25 (full article pp. 23-86). If anybody has an earlier quote, share. Enjoy! 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

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Oxford DNB: Sir Edwin Nixon
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 24 Feb '10

24 Feb '10

Hello Seems quite interesting and relevant but I don’t have capacity to deal with it. If anyone is interested then please contact Alex May at OUP directly. Kind regards, Bernardo From: MAY, Alex [mailto:alex.may@oup.com] Sent: 23 February 2010 11:22 To: b.batiz-lazo(a)leicester.ac.uk Subject: Oxford DNB: Sir Edwin Nixon Dear Dr Batiz-Lazo, As you may know, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography was published in September 2004 simultaneously in print (in 60 volumes) and online. Since then we have added some 2000 new lives to the dictionary – 1000 covering the recently-deceased (people who died in 2001-5), plus another 1000 or so covering people who died before our original cut-off date of the end of 2000 – as well as various lists, feature essays, teaching materials, etc. Thanks to an agreement with the Museums and Libraries Association the online version of the dictionary is now available in nearly all public libraries in the country (most of which allow ‘remote access’ from home computers), as well as in many university libraries throughout the world. There is more information about the dictionary on our website: http://www.oxforddnb.com. I am writing now to ask whether you might be willing to write the Oxford DNB entry on the late Sir Edwin Nixon, the chief executive of IBM, banker, and pro-chancellor of Leicester. What we would be hoping for is an article of approximately 1200 words to be delivered, if at all possible, by the end of April 2011. The fee we can offer for the article is £100. This is, I realise, no more than an honorarium. Nevertheless, I am confident that if you were to write this article, it would be consulted frequently. I hope, also, that you might enjoy writing it. If you are willing to write this entry, we will send copies of the obituaries in the national broadsheets, GRO certificates, some sample entries, and various other materials. I hope very much that you will feel able to say ‘yes’. With best wishes, Yours sincerely, Alex May --------------------- (Dr) Alex May Research editor, Oxford DNB Tel: 01865-355047 E-mail: alex.may(a)oup.com http://www.oxforddnb.com/ Oxford University Press (UK) Disclaimer This message is confidential. You should not copy it or disclose its contents to anyone. You may use and apply the information for the intended purpose only. OUP does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message. Any views or opinions presented are those of the author only and not of OUP. If this email has come to you in error, please delete it, along with any attachments. Please note that OUP may intercept incoming and outgoing email communications. Oxford University Press (UK) Disclaimer This message is confidential. You should not copy it or disclose its contents to anyone. You may use and apply the information for the intended purpose only. OUP does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message. Any views or opinions presented are those of the author only and not of OUP. If this email has come to you in error, please delete it, along with any attachments. Please note that OUP may intercept incoming and outgoing email communications. Oxford University Press (UK) Disclaimer This message is confidential. You should not copy it or disclose its contents to anyone. You may use and apply the information for the intended purpose only. OUP does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this message. Any views or opinions presented are those of the author only and not of OUP. If this email has come to you in error, please delete it, along with any attachments. Please note that OUP may intercept incoming and outgoing email communications.

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