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Computers in banking @ Halifax
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 16 Aug '08

16 Aug '08

A note to those interested in the history of IBM or computers in banking, you might want to get a hold of Barrow, Richard (2006) Fifty More Years of the Halifax 1953-2003, Halifax: HBOS & Richard Barrow ISBN 13: 9780955298301It is available through Amazon on both sides of the pond. This is a personal but detailed account of the computerization of the Halifax Building Society (the largest mortgage specialists in the UK for much of the 20th century). His memory was helped by unfettered access to the historical records at HBOS in Edinburgh. Style and tone are rather colloquial but there are a number of 'pearls of wisdom' as well as an insight into management thinking and events that will not be available otherwise (as HBOS has a 30 year closure period policy for its records). Halifaxwas unique not only because of its size but also given that it built its own systems based on IBM assembler. They never (or only by exception) purchase 'of the shelf'. Instead their policy was to 'build from scratch' and their motto was "anyone would be fire if they bought IBM". Barrow tells of different encounters in which top management was assaulted by 'Big Blue' but always decided in favour of the in house team. I have recently interviewed Barrow and will be posting the transcript within the sigcis website, where he clarifies details around the deployment of ATM technology. Best, Bernardo

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Computers in banking @ Bordeaux
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 14 Aug '08

14 Aug '08

Dear all, We are happy to inform of further developments around computers in banking enthusiasts. Following the very successful meetings at Aachen and more recently at Bordeux (which proceeded thanks to the financial support respectively of RWTH Aachen University and the Maison des Sciences de L'Homme D'Aquitane and GRETHA-Universite Montesquieu-Bordeaux 4), we are now in a position to expect a first draft by November 1st 2008 of the documents below. Abstracts - http://sigcis.org/?q=node/9 01) Mechanisation or not? Postal Savings in Japan by Katalin Ferber 02) The development of the use of accounting machines in French banks from the 1920s to the 1950s by Hubert Bonin 03) Expanding Business, Scarcity of Workforce and Technical Progress – The Case of German Savings Banks (sbs) in 20th century by Paul Thomes 04) Making Space for Computers in the Business of Banking: Barclays and Britain in the 1960s by Ian Martin 05) Britain’s National Giro, 1965-1977: Computerized Nationalism? by Mark Billings and Alan Booth 06) Organisational Change and the Computerisation of British and Spanish Savings Banks, circa 1950-1985 by B. Bátiz-Lazo and J. Carles Maixé-Altés 07) Automation in Mexican Financial Services: 1950-2007. by Gustavo del Angel 08) Banks as Partners in IT Innovation : A Study of the French Case by Pierre Mounier-Khun 10) Networks, Boundaries, and Gateways: The Visa Payment by Dave Stearns 11) Computarisation of Rabobank - Joke Moij 12) Computers, Banks and Big Business by Lars Haide kind regards Paul Thomes (RWTH-AACHEN); J. Carles Maixe-Altes (A Coru~a); Bernardo Batiz-Lazo (Leicester)

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Mike Mahoney notice from Princeton
by Dag Spicer 28 Jul '08

28 Jul '08

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S21/70/15G51/index.xml?section=to pstories dag -- Dag Spicer Senior Curator The Computer History Museum 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd Mountain View, CA 94043-1311 U.S.A. Tel: +1 650 810 1035 Fax: +1 650 810 1055 Skype: dag_spicer "Civilization is a race between education and catastrophe." H.G. Wells

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My book now in paperback
by ROY SALTMAN 27 Jul '08

27 Jul '08

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Princeton Obituary Mike Mahoney
by Medina, Eden 26 Jul '08

26 Jul '08

>From the Princeton website: http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S21/70/15G51/index.xml?section=t… Michael Mahoney, historian of science and devoted faculty member, dies by Ruth Stevens · Posted July 25, 2008; 04:03 p.m. Michael Mahoney, who earned his Ph.D. from Princeton and then dedicated his 40-year academic career in the history of science to the University, died Wednesday, July 23, at the University Medical Center at Princeton. The 69-year-old professor of history did not recover from cardiac arrest suffered Friday, July 18, during his regular swim at Dillon Pool on campus. "His was a vigorous personality, and he was a superb teacher both of undergraduate and graduate students as well as a brilliant interlocutor in scholarly, or indeed other, discussions," said Charles Gillispie, the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History Emeritus, with whom Mahoney studied as a graduate student. A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University, Mahoney came to Princeton in 1962 after studying for two years at the University of Munich as a German Foreign Exchange Service Fellow. While working on his doctorate in history and in history of science at Princeton, he served as an instructor and was appointed an assistant professor upon the completion of his degree in 1967. Mahoney divided his research and teaching between the development of the mathematical sciences from antiquity to 1700 and the recent history of computing and information technology. He was the author of "The Mathematical Career of Pierre de Fermat, 1601-1665"; a series of monographs on the mathematics of René Descartes, Isaac Barrow, Christiaan Huygens and Isaac Newton; and dozens of articles on the development of computer science and software engineering as new technical disciplines. "I have counted Mike Mahoney as a friend since I first came to Princeton as a graduate student in history," said William Jordan, the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History and the chair of the history department, who earned his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1973. "I learned quickly that his knowledge of medieval history, which I began to specialize in, was profound, and while a graduate student and later as a professor I often talked with him about books and articles on medieval topics. I always came away from those conversations with the feeling that I had been in the presence of a powerful and elegant mind. "I went through a period very early in my career of trying to read at least one major work of all my colleagues in the history department, and I will never forget the impression Mike's study of the great mathematician, Pierre de Fermat, made on me," he continued. "I thought and still think it is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. I remember at the time that the phrase that came into my mind was, 'such a lovely piece of writing, simply lovely.'" For several years, Mahoney served as director of the Program in History of Science and the Program in Science in Human Affairs. He was a member of the former at the time of his death. "Mike has been a mainstay in the Program in History of Science since its founding -- he was one of the program's first Ph.D.s before joining the Princeton faculty," said Angela Creager, professor of history and director of graduate studies for the Program in History of Science. "He took pleasure in maintaining a reputation as both the department's most technologically sophisticated member and its institutional memory. "Mike was a master teacher," she added, "and one of the highlights of my time at Princeton was the graduate seminar on 'Computers and Organisms' that he and I twice co-taught. He had a remarkable ability to render the most difficult technical concepts and texts intelligible, and to show his students what it means to ask historical questions of scientific sources, even computer code." Robert Tignor, the Rosengarten Professor of Modern and Contemporary History Emeritus, joined the faculty two years before Mahoney arrived on campus. He recalled, "[Mike] loved this university and thought it was the finest institution for undergraduate education in the country. He helped to make it even better, for he threw himself wholeheartedly into teaching and advising undergraduates. He taught introductory courses in the history of science and European history and advised many of the best senior theses that were written in the department over the years." Mahoney taught classes on topics ranging from "The Origins of Modern Science, 1500 to 1700," to "Creating the Computer: From ENIAC to the Internet," a freshman seminar he led last fall. He also advised many doctoral dissertations, conducted numerous alumni education programs and taught in the Teachers as Scholars Program, which provides professional development opportunities for area school teachers. In 1979, he set out to design a course on the history of technology. As part of that effort, he decided he needed to learn more about computing and signed up for courses in Princeton's School of Engineering and Applied Science, essentially completing the undergraduate curriculum in computer science. Under a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in the late 1980s, Mahoney worked with three other faculty members to develop engineering curriculum materials for liberal arts students. They brought 20 faculty members from liberal arts institutions to campus during the summer to learn about the materials and how to incorporate them into instruction. In 1984 and 1985, Mahoney served as director of a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar for Secondary School Teachers on campus focused on "Technology and the Human Experience." In an interview on the history department website, Mahoney explained his fascination with the human side of the technological revolution. For example, he cited software glitches with the baggage-handling system that caused the 16-month delay in opening the new Denver airport in the 1990s. "The point is, we have made ourselves dependent on a technology we have not entirely mastered, and it is not yet clear how to master it," he said. "It's not often that a historian gets to watch a scientific and technological revolution as it is happening." Mahoney also worked with secondary teachers through his involvement in the National Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Sciences. He was a member of this group of 600 college and university professors from 1975 to 2001, and chaired its board from 1994 to 2001. The National Faculty was founded in 1968 by Phi Beta Kappa, the American Council on Education and the National Endowment for the Humanities to improve the quality of teaching by exposing secondary school teachers to the latest scholarship in their fields. Mahoney traveled around the country teaching at institutes and workshops and conducting site visits to evaluate programs. Mahoney played leadership roles in several professional organizations, including the History of Science Society, the Society for the History of Technology and the Association for Computing Machinery. In 1990-91, he chaired an advisory panel on computer software and intellectual property for the U.S. Congress' Office of Technology Assessment. Also active in the community, Mahoney was a member of the Princeton Regional Schools board of education from 1982 to 1986, serving as president in 1985-86. An avid swimmer, runner and cyclist, he was a faculty adviser to the University's swim teams. He was heavily involved in youth athletics in the community, including the Princeton Soccer Association, the YMCA swim team, the Princeton Area Swimming and Diving Association and the Nassau Swim Club. He served as a starter at swim meets and developed computer programs to assist with scoring. Born in New York City on June 30, 1939, Mahoney is survived by his wife of 48 years, Jean, who retired in 2000 after 25 years as a staff member at the University, most recently in the Office of Research and Project Administration. Survivors also include their son, Colin, and his wife, Lisa Miller, and their children, Arthur and Elliot, of Lawrence, Kan.; and their daughter, Bridget, and her husband, Jonathan Samuel, and their children, Camilla and Francesca, of Natick, Mass. He was predeceased by his father, Thomas Mahoney. Other survivors include his mother, Dorothy Mahoney, and an aunt, Jo Turner, both of Delray Beach, Fla; three brothers, Daniel Mahoney of Andover, Mass., Timothy Mahoney of Los Angeles and South Dartmouth, Mass., and Patrick Mahoney, of Long Beach, Calif.; and many nieces and nephews. Arrangements will be private. A public memorial service is being planned for the fall. In lieu of flowers, gifts in Mahoney's memory may be made to Andover, which he attended from 1953 to 1957, by mailing: Andover, 180 Main St., Andover, MA 01810; or visiting the school's website<http://www.andover.edu/alumni/giving_volunteering>.

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Fwd: Michael S. Mahoney
by Brent Jesiek 24 Jul '08

24 Jul '08

Just received this sad news about the passing of Michael S. Mahoney, a fantastic supporter of, and contributor to, the history of computing. I am very thankful for having had the opportunity to work with Michael when he was a member of my dissertation committee, and to have finally met him in person at last year's SHOT meeting. Willard's tribute, copied below, helps convey why Michael was so respected and valued as a scholar and person. Brent -- Brent K. Jesiek, Ph.D. Begin forwarded message: > From: Humanist Discussion Group <willard.mccarty(a)MCCARTY.ORG.UK> > Date: July 24, 2008 10:29:49 AM GMT-04:00 > To: humanist(a)Princeton.EDU > Subject: 22.137 Michael S. Mahoney > Reply-To: Humanist Discussion Group <willard.mccarty(a)MCCARTY.ORG.UK> > > Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 22, No. 137. > Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London > www.princeton.edu/humanist/ > Submit to: humanist(a)princeton.edu > > > > Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:24:06 +0100 > From: Willard McCarty <willard.mccarty(a)mccarty.org.uk> > Subject: Michael S. Mahoney > > Dear colleagues, > > The great historian of science, mathematics, technology and computing, > Michael S. Mahoney, Professor of History at Princeton, died last night > after a severe heart-attack while swimming. > > Mike, as everyone knew him, was one of those very few for whom I would > have relinquished many of my years and the life that has come with > them > in order to be his student. I first met him through his writings > while I > was trying to figure out what relation humanities computing might have > to the experimental sciences. I could see that both kinds of practice > shared the epistemic use of equipment, so I figured there must be some > relation worth knowing about. Characteristically Mike put versions of > most of what he wrote online, so familiarity came easily, and some > understanding followed. Then I buckled down and worked my way through > papers such as the wonderful "Software as Science -- Science as > Software" (2002), which I must have read 5 or 6 times at the first go. > Then another historian of science, Jed Buchwald, an old friend and a > former student of Mike's and Thomas Kuhn's at Princeton, invited me to > give a paper at the Dibner Institute (MIT), at a conference on the > history of recent science. This gave me a chance to try out the > ideas I > had formed, based largely on Mike's work, on the subject of humanities > computing and the sciences. Subsequently, as the paper was working its > way into print, Mike served as a reviewer, anonymous of course but > immediately recognizable. Put as simply as I can, his commentary on > that paper taught me how to do it right. Or, rather, as > right as I am able. > > When I was asked to organize a year-long lecture series at King's > London, which I entitled 'Digital Scholarship, Digital Culture', Mike > was one of those I invited. His lecture, "The histories of > computing(s)", along with the rest were later published in > Interdisciplinary Science Reviews 30.2 (2005). Required reading for > everyone in humanities computing, I'd say, and I would extend the > invitation to all historians of any stripe. Faced with a hugely > intractable subject for the intellectual historian's craft, Mike had > the > wit and wisdom to understand and the honesty to express what we cannot > say about computing. "The major problem", he wrote in 'Issues in the > history of computing', "is that we have lots of answers but very few > questions, lots of stories but no history, lots of things to do but no > sense of how to do them or in what order. Simply put, we don't yet > know > what the history of computing is really about." This from someone who > knew the mathematical and technological bases of computing, how to > trace > the many strands of computing's development and (as Siegfried > Zielinski > has said) to look for the new in the old rather than the old in the > new. > "Hype hides history", he remarked in his King's lecture. He knew that > questions were the scholar's gold and that they were being obscured by > the promoter's (and the promoter's academic helper's) shameless > blather. > He did more than anyone else I know to show us how we might find that > wealth. > > I cannot claim a long personal relationship. I wish I had been of the > right age at the right time and place for that to happen. But I can > hear > the voice and see the face. I know more from him of what our kind can > do. Thank you, Mike. Farewell. > > Yours, > WM

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Guest lecture for hobbyist event?
by Evan Koblentz 24 Jul '08

24 Jul '08

Hello everyone, Being that I spoke at SHOT last fall, on the topic of how computer hobbyists can assist computer historians, I think it would be appropriate and useful to have someone from the SIGCIS give a lecture at the Vintage Computer Festival East (Sept. 13-14) on the opposite topic -- that is, what can computer hobbyists learn from computer historians? The VCF East happens at the upstart InfoAge Science Center, located in Wall, New Jersey. An very detailed history of the campus from its Marconi and U.S. Army Signal Corps days is posted at www.infoage.org. I asked Tom to give this lecture, because he's previously worked with the vintage computing hobbyist community, but unfortunately he is unable to attend. Is anyone else here interested in this opportunity? Please contact me off-list with any questions or comments. Thank you, - Evan

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ACM archives going to CBI
by Thomas Haigh 22 Jul '08

22 Jul '08

Hello everyone, The ACM has announced that its archives will be going to the Charles Babbage Association. That's a great development for anyone wanting to write the history of professional identity in computing or the institutional development of computer science. I'd heard this informally some time ago, but I now see that an official press release went out a couple of months ago. http://www.acm.org/press-room/news-releases/babbage I remember from the early days of the ACM History Committee back in 2004 that the historians on the panel were very much pushing this as by far the most useful thing the association could do to further historical work. I tried to explain the importance of archives in my own 2007 Communications of the ACM article "Sources for ACM History." http://www.tomandmaria.com/tom/Writing/ACMHistorySources.pdf I imagine the papers will take some time to catalog but it might not be too soon to start thinking about their potential for future research projects. I'm sure the CBI staff will let us know when they are ready for use. Tom

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New online search tool for the Computer History Museum!
by Dag Spicer 18 Jul '08

18 Jul '08

Dear friends of computer history! I am delighted to announce today the world premiere of the Museum's new online Search system. It is available here: http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/search/ The new system was nearly a year in development and now provides: Up to date access to all cataloged CHM artifact records (including a 'record counter' that shows how many objects are currently in the database). A Media browser with new picture viewer Direct access to 7 CHM Special Collections (Oral Histories, Computer Chess, Fortran, PDP-1, Marketing and IBM Stretch) Predefined web addresses for every CHM artifact allowing external websites (like Wikipedia) to directly link to our collection Easy access to archival finding aids Dublin Core Metadata support It's very simple to use. Just enter a keyword! To narrow down your searches, add the following keywords to your search term as appropriate: text physical object software still image moving image For e.g., for a list of Apple software, you would enter: "Apple software" Here are three of sample records as examples: http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/accession/102638272 http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/accession/102646280 http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/accession/102658233 I hope you will all enjoy using this new system and that it will truly be a useful resource for your research activities. Please let me know what you think--your feedback is of great importance to us. All the best and... Enjoy! Dag -- Dag Spicer Senior Curator The Computer History Museum 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd Mountain View, CA 94043-1311 U.S.A. Tel: +1 650 810 1035 Fax: +1 650 810 1055 Skype: dag_spicer "Civilization is a race between education and catastrophe." H.G. Wells

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Anyone doing history of computers and medicine?
by Dag Spicer 16 Jul '08

16 Jul '08

Dag. -- Dag Spicer Senior Curator The Computer History Museum 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd Mountain View, CA 94043-1311 U.S.A. Tel: +1 650 810 1035 Fax: +1 650 810 1055 Skype: dag_spicer "Civilization is a race between education and catastrophe." H.G. Wells

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