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Deadline June 1 - Grad student travel funding for SHOT & SIGCIS Workshop
by Thomas Haigh 20 May '09

20 May '09

Hello everyone, Here's a reminder of two things. First, SHOT has travel funding to help the needy attend its annual meeting. Preference is given to graduate students giving a paper or commenting, but funding may also be available for post docs and travelers from outside the US, Canada, and Western Europe. http://www.historyoftechnology.org/awards/travelgrants.html. The deadline for applications is soon - JUNE 1. You have to be a SHOT member to apply. Second, SIGCIS has supplemental travel funds for graduate students presenting on history of computing topics. We hope to make at least two awards of around $300 each. SHOT's application procedure is already rather complicated, and in the interests of fairness and convenience we decided to coordinate with the SHOT committee so that our funds complement the main awards. The full details on our award scheme, the Michael S. Mahoney/MIT Press Graduate Student Travel Awards, are available at http://www.sigcis.org/?q=travelaward. But basically you apply via SHOT with the full details but additionally send your name, paper title, and affiliation to secretary(a)sigcis.org. Participants in SIGCIS sponsored sessions will receive priority but we'll also try to balance things to support people for whom the regular SHOT fund can provide little or no money. There's a twist to this. As I mentioned before, SIGCIS is holding its own workshop in conjunction with SHOT this October. It will be a full day event on the Sunday (October 18). Because we're disorganized slackers the CFP still didn't go out yet, though it should arrive in the next two days. We'd like to get lots of graduate students participating, and are calling for a session on dissertations in progress (feedback on dissertation proposals) and for pre-circulation of works in progress (including draft chapters). So grad students interested in the workshop and in the SHOT and SIGCIS funding possibilities will need to keep an eagle eye out for the CFP, pounce on it, and get their abstracts to us by May 28 so we can do a lightning fast review process in time for them to apply for the travel funding. Sorry for the inconvenience, but you leave everything to the last minute anyway, right ;-). The travel grants are supported in part by donations to the SIGCIS Mahoney Fund. See details and a list of current donors at www.sigcis.org?q=mahoney. They are also supported by cash donations at the annual business meeting and by the proceeds of the book auction, including a large contribution of books from MIT Press. Tom

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Computer History Museum Book Prize
by Jeffrey D. Tang 17 May '09

17 May '09

The Computer History Museum Prize is awarded by SIGCIS to the author of an outstanding book in the history of computing broadly conceived, published during the prior three years (e.g. books published in 2006-2008 are eligible for the inaugural 2009 award). Books in translation are eligible for three years following the date of their publication in English. The prize of $1000, established through the generosity of an anonymous donor who wishes to honor the Computer History Museum, is administered by SIGCIS, SHOT’s special interest group for computers, information and society. 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 1 April 2009. For more information, please contact the prize committee chair or SIGCIS secretary (secretary(a)sigcis.org) Thomas J. Misa [chair] Charles Babbage Institute 211 Andersen Library 222 - 21st Avenue South University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN 55455 tmisa(a)umn.edu Paul E. Ceruzzi MRC 311 National Air and Space Museum PO Box 37012 Smithsonian Institution Washington, DC 20013-7012 CeruzziP(a)si.edu Jennifer S. Light Northwestern University School of Communication Frances Searle Building 2240 Campus Drive, Room 2-152 Evanston, IL 60208-2952 light(a)northwestern.edu

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ICHST 2009 Budapest coming up
by Alberts, G. 15 May '09

15 May '09

ICHST, Budapest, July 28-August 2, 2009 Today the programme for the International Congress for History of Science and Technology in Budapest was released to its participants The website does not have the full program yet http://www.conferences.hu/ichs09/ There are many intereresting sessions and symposia, a number of them directly related to History of Computing. As one may expect on big conferences, these are scheduled largely overlapping The program has standard themes T1-T40 and submitted Symposia S1-S96 each lasting between 1 and 6 two-hour timeslots. Here are the sessions: July 28, 3 slots S 58, Iron curtains and immaterial instruments - The circulation of Software and Computer Science in Cold War Europe July 28-29, 5 slots S 35, History of Numerical Tables - the second meeting on history of exact sciences along the silk road July 29, 2 slots S 72, 60 Years of Cybernetics and Information Theory - Ideas, Artefacts and Instruments August 1, 1 slot T09-10, Computing Sciences and the Internet in the Contemporary Period August 1, 4 slots S45, The Antikythera Mechanism and its place in the history of science, technology and ideas Plus a number of most interesting sessions on on technology in context, on Cold War, on instruments, e.g. July 28, 2 slots S 71, Instrumentalizing Social Practice - Socializing Instrumental Practice Gerard Alberts

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] History of Personal Computers
by Joel West 15 May '09

15 May '09

I agree the crossover success of Ted Leonsis is remarkable. In between he was vice chair of AOL. He sold Redgate Communications to AOL in 1993, which is presumably where he made enough to buy his own hockey team. On the Left Coast, our equivalent is Michael Moritz, who wrote the best book** on Apple ever (Little Kingdom). He then became a VC at Sequoia Capital, betting on Google, Yahoo and PayPal. In 2007, Forbes put him #1 on their "Midas Touch" list http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/99/biz_07midas_Michael-Moritz_1YIC.html So far he hasn't bought a hockey team (Wikipedia prints the rumor he's going to buy a Wales soccer club). However, he did give $50m to Christ Church, Oxford. Joel Joel West http:/www.JoelWest.org/blogs Associate Professor, Innovation & Entrepreneurship College of Business, San Jose State University ** I used all the Apple histories in my dissertation. Little Kingdom is the definitive story of the Apple II era. While Infinite Loop (Mike Malone) is the best book about the 1990s, there are several other books that have similar detail, even if the interpretation is not as accurate. On 1:02 PM -0400 5/15/09, Ceruzzi, Paul hath said: >Paul Edward's query about books on the history of personal computers was >bouncing around in the back of my mind for a while, until I went to my >files & found my notes on a very interesting book: > >"Blue Magic: the People, Power and Politics Behind the IBM Personal >Computer." >Authors: James Chposky & Ted Leonsis. New York: Facts on File 1988. >Yes, the same Ted Leonsis who now owns the Washington Capitals hockey >team, which made a run for the Stanley Cup and is by far the hottest >professional team in DC. Leonsis is easily one of the most popular >people in DC right now, and for a good reason. > >If only the owners of the Washington Redskins, Wizards, and Nationals >could write about computer history... > >Paul E. Ceruzzi >National Air & Space Museum >MRC 311; PO Box 37012 >Washington, DC 20013-7012 >202-633-2414 ><http://www.nasm.si.edu/staffDetail.cfm?staffID=24>

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History of Personal Computers
by Ceruzzi, Paul 15 May '09

15 May '09

Paul Edward's query about books on the history of personal computers was bouncing around in the back of my mind for a while, until I went to my files & found my notes on a very interesting book: "Blue Magic: the People, Power and Politics Behind the IBM Personal Computer." Authors: James Chposky & Ted Leonsis. New York: Facts on File 1988. Yes, the same Ted Leonsis who now owns the Washington Capitals hockey team, which made a run for the Stanley Cup and is by far the hottest professional team in DC. Leonsis is easily one of the most popular people in DC right now, and for a good reason. If only the owners of the Washington Redskins, Wizards, and Nationals could write about computer history... Paul E. Ceruzzi National Air & Space Museum MRC 311; PO Box 37012 Washington, DC 20013-7012 202-633-2414 <http://www.nasm.si.edu/staffDetail.cfm?staffID=24>

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CFP Oral history Summer School - Deadline extended to May 27, 2009
by Petri Paju 13 May '09

13 May '09

Call for Papers - Deadline extended to May 27, 2009 "Oral History and Technological Memory: Challenges in Studying European Pasts" Summer School, 10–15 August 2009, University of Turku, Finland See description and details in: http://www.hum.utu.fi/oppiaineet/kulttuurihistoria/memory.html How to apply: Applicants are to send a cover letter, a CV and a motivation letter, addressing the applicant’s interest in the issues related to the topic of the Summer School by May, 27, 2009 to Prof. Hannu Salmi, email: hansalmi(a)utu.fi. They will be informed about acceptance no later than June 1, 2009. Contact For further information, contact Dr. Petri Paju, Dept. of Cultural History, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, Finland, email: petpaju(a)utu.fi. Sponsors * European Science Foundation * Foundation for the History of Technology (the Netherlands) * Research project Using IBM in Europe to Recapture the Lead (Academy of Finland), part of a European consortium Software for Europe (ESF) * Department of Cultural History, University of Turku, Finland

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Fwd: FW: Bletchley Park update
by Brian Randell 13 May '09

13 May '09

>From: Council of Professors and Heads of Computing in UK >universities [mailto:cphc-members@JISCMAIL.AC.UK] On Behalf Of Sue >Black >Sent: Tuesday 12 May 2009 22:25 >To: cphc-members(a)JISCMAIL.AC.UK >Subject: Bletchley Park update > >Dear all, > >Yesterday I spent the day at Bletchley Park with Stephen Fry and >others. I contacted Stephen via Twitter last February after >realising that he was interested in Bletchley Park. > >I have blogged about it here www.savingbletchleypark.org > >Rory Cellan Jones who was with us yesterday has blogged about it >here on the BBC news website: Bletchley Park - the Fry effect ><http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/2009/05/bletchley_park_the_fry_effect…> > >In January I took some social media gurus to Bletchley Park to show >them what a wonderful place it is and yesterday Christian Payne took >some fabulous photos which you can see here on his Flickr pages. ><http://www.flickr.com/photos/christianpayne/> > >Stephen Fry has said that he is in for the long haul in terms of >saving Bletchley Park and I believe that his involvement will make a >considerable difference to the public awareness and hopefully >pressure on government to give substantial and sustained funding to >Bletchley Park. > >Thanks again very much to everyone for your supportive messages and >for signing the petition. > >Best regards > >Sue > >-- >Dr Sue Black, Head of Department, University of Westminster, UK. > >Homepage: www.sueblack.co.uk > >Blog: savingbletchleypark.org -- School of Computing Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK EMAIL = Brian.Randell(a)ncl.ac.uk PHONE = +44 191 222 7923 FAX = +44 191 222 8232 URL = http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/people/brian.randell

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Write biographies for Annals.
by Thomas Haigh 12 May '09

12 May '09

Hello everyone, 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. There is currently no queue of material, giving a great opportunity for people to see their work in print in the near future. 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. Best wishes, Tom Haigh

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History of computing days, FUNDP, Namur, Belgium, 18-19/5/2009
by Sandra Mols 11 May '09

11 May '09

With apologies for crossposting and for the late notice. Dear colleague, We have the pleasure to invite you to the "Computing History" Day and Workshop of these coming 18-19/5/2009, to be held at the Informatics Faculty, at the University of Namur, Belgium. On the 18th of May, we will have: - A presentation by Gerard Alberts, Professor at the University of Amsterdam on the history of programming and software - A presentation on the Machine Mathématique IRSIA-FNRS, electronic computer built in Belgium (1951-1962), in the Antwerp offices of the Bell Telephone Mfg Cy - And a round table and discussions with Belgian informatics pioneers. The working language of this day will mostly be French. On May 19th the programme includes talks on Belgian science and technology and computing history and time for discussions on computing history in Belgium and the Netherlands and its issues and future perspectives. Working languages for this day will be French and English Further information on these events can be found as attachement and at the following web address: http://www.info.fundp.ac.be/~smo/BCHDays/Alberts&Soft-EU_18052009_v.7_0518+… Registration for these events is free of charge. With best wishes, Sandra Mols

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books on history of the Internet
by Ceruzzi, Paul 11 May '09

11 May '09

Paul E.: It is unfortunate that the price, and heft, of our book on _The Internet & American Commerce_ may discourage its use for courses. However, MIT Press is making it available as a .pdf download--you have to pay, but it is not as much and may be more comfortable for today's generation of students, who are loathe to purchase old-fashioned books. I don't have the URL, but I think you can find it through MIT Press's web site. The book may also be available as an illegal download from a Chinese web site, but I am not going to go there! Talk about a teachable moment. Best, Paul Ceruzzi ________________________________ From: members-bounces(a)sigcis.org on behalf of members-request(a)sigcis.org Sent: Fri 5/8/2009 6:41 PM To: members(a)sigcis.org Subject: Members Digest, Vol 15, Issue 4 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. Re: Introducing myself (Geoffrey C. Bowker) 2. Re: Introducing myself (Thomas Haigh) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 08 May 2009 14:35:49 -0700 From: "Geoffrey C. Bowker" <gbowker(a)scu.edu> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Introducing myself To: Paul Edwards <pne(a)umich.edu> Cc: members(a)sigcis.org Message-ID: <4A04A5B5.8030401(a)scu.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" Hi Paul, Good questions all - I'll be interested in the response. Henry Lowood has some nice stuff at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/lowood.html, though I suspect you know this already. Doug Engelbart's demo is on the web. I could set up a skype session with Regis McKenna, who knows SV backwards. There was a Nova or BBC series which I heard good reports on, but I forget the details. Exciting is hard to come by in general though. Laura de Nardis' excellent new work on internet names will not be accessible enough I fear. There's also The Wealth of Networks, though I'm not too attuned to the analysis - http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/wealth_of_networks/Main_Page. take care, geof Paul Edwards wrote: > All - > > I'm getting ready to teach an undergrad course (juniors and seniors) > on "History of Computers and the Internet" for the first time in 7 years. > > I'm looking for suggestions on three things: > > 1) A recent book on the history of personal computers that's > well-written and exciting for undergrads. I used to use Fire in the > Valley, but that's very dated now. > > 2) On history of the Internet, I've been using Janet Abbate's > Inventing the Internet for years. It's a great book but somewhat > inaccessible for undergrads, and now a bit dated. > > 3) Books or articles -- again, exciting for undergrads -- on history > of the WWW. Please, not Tim Berners-Lee's awesomely self-centered memoir. > > Thanks for any and all. > > - Paul > ????????????????? > Paul N. Edwards, Assoc. Professor of Information > > School of Information > 3078 West Hall > University of Michigan > 1085 South University Ave. > Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107 > (734) 764-2617 (office) > (206) 337-1523 (fax) > http://www.si.umich.edu/~pne/ <http://www.si.umich.edu/%7Epne/> >

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