(I just sent this to the Mercurians list - Andrew Butrica forwarded James's SIGCIS post - and thought I would also post it here) Following James Sumner's lead, I have also posted a 'preprint' of my piece at http://arussell.org/papers/Russell_HoT_28_preprint.pdf I am embarrassed to find that I failed to acknowledge an enlightening conversation with Sheldon Hochheiser, who helped me understand the evolution of AT&T's coin-operated telephones. Andy Russell On May 20, 2009, at 4:09 AM, James Sumner wrote:
Dear all
Listmembers may be interested in a new collection, edited by myself and Graeme Gooday (Leeds), entitled "By whose standards? Standardization, stability and uniformity in the history of information and electrical technologies". This is Volume 28 of the annual series _History of Technology_ (series editor: Ian Inkster), and carries a 2008 date.
Alongside several chapters on electrical engineering and related topics, there are pieces by Laura DeNardis (Yale) on the post-IPv4 Internet addressing controversy; Frank Veraart (TU Eindhoven) on Basicode, the Dutch- originated lingua franca for hobbyist computing, used for radio software transmission in 1980s Europe; and myself on the roles of compatibility in the development of proprietary and PC-compatible microcomputer formats.
Another contributor who will be familiar to many on this list is Andrew Russell (Stevens), who's also worked on IP/OSI issues -- his chapter here is from rather earlier in his research period, looking at AT&T's drastic standards- focused reaction to the 'telephone slug' racket in the 1920s. Full contents below.
A preprint of the volume introduction, which is also intended as a a survey of relevant literature on standards and technological negotiation, is online at <http://www.jbsumner.com/offprints/2008-history-of-technology- intro.pdf>
The volume's available now from Continuum. The international standing of the pound sterling being what it is, purchasers may be best served by going through the UK outlet: order page via <http://www.tinyurl.com/hot28>. The US order page is at <http://www.tinyurl.com/hot28us>.
All comments welcome. Best regards James
--- History of Technology Volume 28 Special Issue: By whose standards? Standardization, stability and uniformity in the history of information and electrical technologies ISBN: 9780826438751
Table Of Contents
Introduction: does standardization make things standard? James Sumner and Graeme Gooday
IPv6: standards controversies around the next-generation Internet Laura DeNardis
Standardization across the boundaries of the Bell System, 1920-1938 Andrew L Russell
Morality, locality and 'standardization' in the work of British consulting electrical engineers, 1880-1914 Stathis Arapostathis
Perceptions, standardization and closure: the case of artificial illumination Chris Otter
Standards and compatibility: the rise of the PC computing platform James Sumner
Basicode: co-producing a microcomputer Esperanto Frank Veraart
Battery birds, 'stimulighting' and 'twilighting': the ecology of standardized poultry technology Karen Sayer ---
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