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13 April - Ethernet's Emergence from Xerox PARC: 1975-1980
by Brian Berg 25 Mar '22

25 Mar '22

Hello, The IEEE Silicon Valley Tech History Committee (www.SiliconValleyHistory.com) is hosting a Zoom event next month which will include a panel of *the world's foremost authorities* on this topic. *Register here <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ethernets-emergence-from-xerox-parc-1975-1980-…>, and see full details below.* Best wishes, Brian Berg *Webinar - Ethernet’s Emergence from Xerox PARC: 1975-1980 <https://californiaconsultants.org/event/ethernets-emergence-from-xerox-parc…>* *Wed, 13 April 2022, 1:30-3pm PDT via Zoom* Ethernet was invented in 1973-74 at Xerox PARC in Palo Alto, CA, to network the PARC’s Alto GUI workstations and the world’s first networked laser printer. This presentation will trace the history and development of Ethernet as a 10 Mb/s product up through the release of the DIX (DEC-Intel-Xerox) spec in 1980 as a multi-vendor open spec for industry. DEC and Intel asked for and got a few minor changes, and DIX published the first Ethernet spec in the “Blue Book” (two versions). That formed a proposal to IEEE 802 and was the basis of the IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD standard. This event will feature a panel of the major figures who were involved with creating open 10 Mb/s Ethernet in this time period, with elaboration from a select group of its implementers. This event was organized by the IEEE Santa Clara Valley Section’s Life Members Affinity Group (SCV-LMAG) <https://r6.ieee.org/scv-lm/> and the IEEE Silicon Valley Tech History Committee (SiliconValleyHistory.com <http://www.siliconvalleyhistory.com/>), in conjunction with IEEE-CNSV <http://www.californiaconsultants.org>. About the speaker, *Moderator*: Geoff Thompson <thompson(a)ieee.org?subject=Inquiry%20from%20IEEE-CNSV%20Website> of GraCaSI Standards Advisors Geoff Thompson was an early user of 3-Mb Ethernet at Xerox PARC, supporting Gary Starkweather’s pioneering work on laser printing. Geoff moved to Xerox Systems Development to work on workstations and Ethernet. He started participating in IEEE 802.3 in 1983, and in 1988 moved to SynOptics Communications (later Bay Networks/Nortel) to do standards work full time. He chaired the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group from 1993 until 2002. He was a key technical contributor on the repeater and Power over Ethernet amendments. He remains an active participant in this imporant industry standard. Geoff is an IEEE Life Member, and also an IEEE-CNSV member <https://californiaconsultants.org/members/geoffrey-thompson/>. About the speaker, Bob Metcalfe <etherdad(a)gmail.com?subject=Inquiry%20from%20IEEE-CNSV%20Website> Bob Metcalfe co-invented Ethernet in its 3Mb/s form in 1973 with Dave Boggs. They spread Ethernet’s use along with the Alto personal computer and laser printing throughout the Xerox PARC R&D community during the 1970s. Bob became the relentless promotor of Ethernet both inside Xerox and externally, most visibly as founder and the public face of 3Com. In his many activities since then, he has remained Mr. Ethernet above all else. Bob is a Fellow of The Computer History Museum. About the speaker, Dave Liddle <david.e.liddle(a)gmail.com?subject=Inquiry%20from%20IEEE-CNSV%20Website> Dave Liddle worked in research at Xerox PARC where he provided key elements to the first Ethernets. In 1975 he became head of the new System Development Division (SDD) to productize a better, top-down-designed, customer-rugged version of the Alto and Ethernet. That engineering effort (~250 engineers at its peak) resulted in the end-1980 announcement/1981 delivery of the Xerox Network System of network servers (file, print, gateway) and the Xerox Star 8010 Professional Workstation, all using the new 10-Mb/s Ethernet. He later co-founded and served as CEO for Metaphor Computer Systems, Inc., and was President and CEO of Interval Research Corporation. About the speaker, Gordon Bell <gbell(a)outlook.com?subject=Inquiry%20from%20IEEE-CNSV%20Website> Gordon Bell was an early employee of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), and later became its VP of Engineering. He was instrumental in the decision to choose Ethernet as the network that DEC promoted as an open standard. Gordon’s stints since then include being a researcher emeritus at Microsoft Research. With his wife Gwen he founded the Digital Computer Museum in Massachusetts, whose archives and materials are now part of the Computer History Museum where he is a Board member and Fellow. About the speaker, A Panel of 7 Ethernet Implementers During the program, a panel of 7 industry figures will periocically elaborate about their early experiences of implementing Ethernet in various realms: John Shoch, Bob Belleville, Roy Ogus, Hal Murray, Dave Redell, Robert Garner, and Rich Siefert. John Shoch was at Xerox PARC at the start of Ethernet. He later worked under Liddle, and succeeded him as head of systems development at Xerox before a later career in venture capital. Bob Belleville, Roy Ogus, Hal Murray, Dave Redell and Robert Garner were all involved with the development of 10 Mb/s Ethernet at Xerox before the DIX alliance. Dave Redell was the editor of what became the famous DIX Ethernet Blue Book. Robert Garner has recently been interviewing people and collecting material for a historical paper or book on this event’s topic. Rich Siefert was a major technical contributor from DEC. _________________________ Brian A. Berg / bberg(a)StanfordAlumni.org Berg Software Design - LinkedIn Profile <https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianaberg/> 700 Mistletoe Road, Suite 201, Ashland, OR 97520 USA 14500 Big Basin Way, Suite F, Saratoga, CA 95070 USA Voice: 408.741.5010 / Cell: 408.568.2505 Consulting: Flash Memory/USB/Storage/Patents visit the Storage Cornucopia: www.bswd.com FMS Technical Chair: www.FlashMemorySummit.com <http://www.flashmemorysummit.com/> IEEE Milestone <http://www.siliconvalleymilestones.com/> Coordinator & History Chair for Region 6 <http://www.ieee-region6.org/> IEEE History Committee <https://www.ieee.org/about/history-center/history-committee.html> Member IEEE SCV Section <http://www.ieee.org/scv/> Past Chair / IEEE-CNSV <http://www.californiaconsultants.org/> Board Director IEEE Silicon Valley Tech History Committee <http://www.siliconvalleyhistory.com/> Chair

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Upcoming: LOST WOMAN OF SCIENCE KLÁRI DÁN VON NEUMANN
by Brian Berg 25 Mar '22

25 Mar '22

Hello, all, Upcoming is an interesting event, which will include Thomas Haigh who is subscribed to this listserver. He's an excellent historian who served as one of my Expert Reviewers for the Manchester "Baby" Computer IEEE Milestone for which I was the Advocate. He provided some critical insight during that process, including delineating how the Baby was a stored-program computer - a term correctly attributable to more than one computer as long as you include the correct adjectives! *REVEALING LOST WOMAN OF SCIENCE KLÁRI DÁN VON NEUMANN*Lost Women of Science Initiative Host Katie Hafner and Computer Historian Thomas Haigh in Conversation with Harvey Mudd College President Maria Klawe Tue, 5 April, 7pm PDT - available *live *at the Computer History Museum, Mtn View, CA USA -OR- via *Zoom* https://computerhistory.org/events/revealing-lost-woman-of-science-klari-da… There's also a podcast and a 2-minute overview here: https://lostwomenofscience.org/ _________________________ Brian A. Berg / bberg(a)StanfordAlumni.org Berg Software Design - LinkedIn Profile <https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianaberg/> 700 Mistletoe Road, Suite 201, Ashland, OR 97520 USA 14500 Big Basin Way, Suite F, Saratoga, CA 95070 USA Voice: 408.741.5010 / Cell: 408.568.2505 Consulting: Flash Memory/USB/Storage/Patents visit the Storage Cornucopia: www.bswd.com FMS Technical Chair: www.FlashMemorySummit.com <http://www.flashmemorysummit.com/> IEEE Milestone <http://www.siliconvalleymilestones.com/> Coordinator & History Chair for Region 6 <http://www.ieee-region6.org/> IEEE History Committee <https://www.ieee.org/about/history-center/history-committee.html> Member IEEE SCV Section <http://www.ieee.org/scv/> Past Chair / IEEE-CNSV <http://www.californiaconsultants.org/> Board Director IEEE Silicon Valley Tech History Committee <http://www.siliconvalleyhistory.com/> Chair >

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Reconsidering John C. Lilly Conference
by Hannah Zeavin 23 Mar '22

23 Mar '22

Dear all, I hope you're all well, or in reach of it. With apologies for cross-posting, I am writing to invite you to a one-day conference that I've co-organized, which may be of interest to members of this list: *Reconsidering John C. Lilly* A day long virtual conference on April 2nd, 2022 Schedule and Registration <http://www.reconsideringlilly.info/> John C. Lilly (1915-2001) was a neurophysiologist and trained physician who had one of the most unusual careers in 20th century science: he theorized extra-terrestrial language and intelligence, wrote quasi-philosophical treatises about computer science and consciousness, self-experimented with LSD and ketamine, and developed the first sensory deprivation tank (which he later used for his scientific tripping). Most famously, John Lilly worked with dolphins, trying to understand their forms of communication and to teach them to speak English, later aiming to mediate human and dolphin communication via computers. Because of the wide range and, to contemporary eyes, often extreme nature of his research, Lilly has frequently been reduced to an oddity. But in the 1950s, Lilly was the epitome of mainstream science, respected as a theoretical wunderkind and able to wrangle the resources of NASA, the Air Force, and others. By the end of the 1960s, Lilly established himself as a counter cultural figure, a renegade scientist maligned and disowned by many of his former peers and collaborators but now beloved as California-based guru. Accordingly, Lilly’s work illuminates 20th century cultural and scientific phenomena ranging from cybernetics to the human potential movement. His experiments with radio, taping, and computer-assisted communication make his work pertinent to a range of additional fields such as musicology, sound studies, and media studies. His mid-century prominence as a neurophysiologist further makes Lilly crucial to, albeit understudied within, the history of Cold War science and technology. Reconsidering John C. Lilly thus brings together scholars from a wide variety of disciplines— from animal studies to the history of the human sciences, from the history of architecture to feminist science and technology studies, to reevaluate the life and career of John C. Lilly within his own moment and from our vantage point in ours. warmly, Hannah -- Dr. Hannah Zeavin UC Berkeley author of *The Distance Cure: A History of Teletherapy <https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/distance-cure> *(MIT Press, 2021) zeavin.org

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Kranzberg dissertation fellowship
by Peter Sachs Collopy 22 Mar '22

22 Mar '22

For any SIGCIS members pursuing PhDs: SHOT’s Melvin Kranzberg Dissertation Fellowship is an award of $4000 to support research and writing of a dissertation on the history of technology broadly defined. Please apply! The deadline for applications, including a CV, dissertation summary, plans for the dissertation, and a letter of recommendation, is April 30. And please find a flyer attached with more information, and more still at https://www.historyoftechnology.org/about-us/awards-prizes-and-grants/the-k… <https://www.historyoftechnology.org/about-us/awards-prizes-and-grants/the-k…>. Sincerely, Peter

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Play about Ada and Babbage
by Ceruzzi, Paul 21 Mar '22

21 Mar '22

This message is a little late, and it may appeal only to those of you in the DC area, although I believe the play will be staged in other cities. I haven't seen it yet but plan to next week. A play about Ada Augusta and Charles Babbage: https://avantbard.org/project/ada-and-the-engine/ [https://avantbard.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ada2.jpg]<https://avantbard.org/project/ada-and-the-engine/> Ada and The Engine - Avant Bard Theatre<https://avantbard.org/project/ada-and-the-engine/> >From prolific playwright Lauren Gunderson, Ada and the Engine is a whimsical scientific history sure to delight audiences. avantbard.org Paul Ceruzzi

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15th CIFAS Field School in Ethnographic Research Methods in New York City
by Renzo Taddei 21 Mar '22

21 Mar '22

*Apologies for cross-posting. A few places are still available.* *15th CIFAS Field School in Ethnographic Research Methods in New York City* Online: June 20 to July 1, 2022 – 9 AM to 12 PM EDT On-site in New York City: July 18 to 29, 2022 – 9 AM to 12 PM EDT [image: image.png] The Comitas Institute for Anthropological Study (CIFAS) is pleased to announce the 15th CIFAS Field School in Ethnographic Research Methods. In 2022, the course will take place in two sessions: one in an online format at the end of June and another returning to its face-to-face modality, in New York City, in July (provided sanitary conditions allow). The goal of the Field School is to offer training in the foundations and practice of ethnographic methods. The faculty works closely with participants to identify the required field methods needed to address their academic or professional needs. The Field School is suitable for graduate and undergraduate students in social sciences and other fields of study that use qualitative approaches (such as education, communication, cultural studies, health, social work, human ecology, development studies, consumer behavior, among others), applied social scientists, professionals, and researchers who have an interest in learning more about ethnographic methods and their applications. *Program:* - Foundations of ethnographic research - Theory and practice: social theories in the field - Research design - Data collection techniques - Planning the logistics of field research - Digital ethnography - Ethnography in interface with Social Network Analysis and other trends in the field of the digital humanities - Ethnography in specific fields of activity (applied social sciences, health, social service, environmental studies, public policy design, business, and others) - Principles of organization and indexation of field data - Analyzing field data; qualitative analysis software packages: basic principles The total workload of the course is 30 hours. In this edition of the summer school, the option of earning credits is not available. Places are limited. The tuition fee is US$ 1,200. *Comitas Field School Fellowship:* a limited amount of fellowships are available to students from underrepresented minorities and low-income countries. See information on how to apply at the end of the application form. The application should be completed online *here* <http://cifas.us/field-school-registration-form/>. For more information, please see https://cifas.us/field-school/ or email us at fieldschool(a)cifas.us.

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Historical Computing Machines Series Volumes
by STEPHEN KAISLER 19 Mar '22

19 Mar '22

Folks: Over the past four years, I have published six volumes in my Historical Computing Machines Series through Cambridge Scholars publishing of Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. These books are available through their website: https://cambridgescholars.com The six volumes to date are: Birthing the Computer: From Relays to Vacuum Tubes Birthing the Computer: From Drums to Cores First Generation Mainframes: The IBM 700 Series Second Generation Mainframes: The IBM 7000 Series Mainframe Computer Systems: The General Electric Corporation The Univac Corporation: In From The Beginning The next book in the series: The Burroughs Corporation: Innovation in Architecture, will be submitted in a few week. The next books in the series are anticipated to be (tentative titles): Mainframe Computer Systems: Honeywell Incorporated Control Data Corporation: Speed and More Speed I continue to search for manuals, documents, reports, etc. that can help me provide an accurate picture of these machines that have contributed to the development of Computer Science and Information Processing. Steve Kaisler, D.Sc.

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Swansea Uni hiring
by Troy Astarte 18 Mar '22

18 Mar '22

Hi folks, The Department of Computer Science at Swansea University is hiring a number of full-time, permanent academic positions<https://www.swansea.ac.uk/jobs-at-swansea/current-vacancies/?Resultsperpage…> (link to all). Many of them are in a specific discipline of CS (e.g. cyber security) but there are some which are open to any discipline. Swansea has a research theme in Educational, Historical, and Philosophical Foundations of Computing<https://www.swansea.ac.uk/compsci/research-and-impact/educational-historica…> which due to administrative error was left off the job advert (we’re trying to get this fixed). The Department is actively seeking to improve its research and teaching offering in this area and we would love to attract candidates with this expertise. This is particularly important as we develop a BSc in Digital Technology<https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/coming-soon/#digital-techno…> which will teach students much more about the context, history, and social impact of technology than a conventional CS course. To make this offering excellent we really want to hire more staff with research in these areas—hence my posting on this list! Post links: Lecturer (Teaching pathway): £35–41k<https://www.swansea.ac.uk/jobs-at-swansea/current-vacancies/details/?nPosti…>. Closing date 2022-04-04 (apologies for the short notice). Lecturer/Senior lecturer (Research pathway): £35–50k<https://www.swansea.ac.uk/jobs-at-swansea/current-vacancies/details/?nPosti…>. Closing date 2022-04-24. Senior lecturer/Associate Professor (Research pathway): £42–60k<https://www.swansea.ac.uk/jobs-at-swansea/current-vacancies/details/?nPosti…>. Closing date 2022-04-24. I am happy to field informal enquiries about the EHP / DT aspects, though for most enquiries there is contact info for the heads of department and school in the job listings. Apologies if you see this email multiple times. Best, Dr. Troy Kaighin Astarte (they/them / nhw) Lecturer, Computer Science / Darlithydd, Cyfrifiadureg Swansea University / Prifysgol Abertawe For students: my office hours are Wednesday (online) and Friday (CoFo 407 & online), 10–1100. I fyfyrwyr: fy oriau swyddfa yw dydd Mercher (ar-lein) a dydd Gwener (CoFo 407 ac ar-lein), 10–1100. https://swanseauniversity.zoom.us/my/t.k.astarte Every email has a cost to the climate. Please think before sending short emails. Mae gan bob e-bost gost i’r hinsawdd. Meddyliwch cyn i chi anfon e-byst byr.

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Re: [SIGCIS-Members] The Communicators
by Patrick McCray 17 Mar '22

17 Mar '22

Hi! Lee was very gracious in describing my new book project…and he pretty much nailed it. I’m hoping to use a selection of books published after 1945 as windows into the histories of computing, technology, publishing. The project’s under contract with MIT Press and, with archives slowly opening up, I’m hoping to do a few final research trips and polish it off. We’ll see… Patrick -- W. Patrick McCray Professor, Department of History COORDINATES: Department of History University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9410 Phone (office): (805) 893-2665 Web (official): http://www.history.ucsb.edu/people/person.php?account_id=14 Web (personal): http://www.patrickmccray.com <http://www.patrickmccray.com/> Twitter: @LeapingRobot <https://twitter.com/leapingrobot?lang=en> My new book - Making Art Work <https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/making-art-work> - is out with The MIT Press > On Mar 17, 2022, at 10:12 AM, Lee Vinsel <lee.vinsel(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Hey, bud. I doubt you'll learn anything from the various responses this email has received, but I wanted to make you aware of it in case you miss it otherwise. > > > > ---------- Forwarded message --------- > From: Evan Koblentz <evank(a)njit.edu <mailto:evank@njit.edu>> > Date: Thu, Mar 17, 2022 at 10:58 AM > Subject: [SIGCIS-Members] The Communicators > To: members(a)SIGCIS.org <members(a)sigcis.org <mailto:members@sigcis.org>> > > > I’m interested in a new-to-me research angle: the people who changed computing by writing about it. > > > > Lovelace comes to mind. So do Vannevar Bush and Edmund Berkeley. > > > > Who else should I consider from prior to 1965? (I have the microcomputer generation covered.) > Are there existing papers on this subject? > > > <image001.png> <https://www.njit.edu/> > Evan A Koblentz > Staff Writer, Office of Strategic Communications > Adjunct Instructor, Ying Wu College of Computing > evan.a.koblentz(a)njit.edu <mailto:evan.a.koblentz@njit.edu> • (973) 596-3065 <tel:9735963065> > https://web.njit.edu/~evank > <https://web.njit.edu/~evank%0b>@TechnicallyEvan <https://twitter.com/technicallyevan> > > > _______________________________________________ > This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org <http://sigcis.org/>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ <http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/> and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org <http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org> > > -- > Associate Professor > Department of Science, Technology, and Society > Virginia Tech > leevinsel.com <http://leevinsel.com/> > @STS_News

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How did human computers support the early growth of industry?
by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo 16 Mar '22

16 Mar '22

I assume not many members will read the blog of the Economic History Society, but the content seems relevant to this forum Best Bernardo Northumbria (UK) & Anahuac (Mexico) Cyberpunk Victoria https://ehs.org.uk/cyberpunk-victoria/

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