Hello everyone, SHOT gets underway tomorrow evening in beautiful Pittsburgh. You’ve been seeing a number of emails over the past few months from Jeff Tang and Joe November, who have been doing a great job keeping things on track. Below is a summary of the SIGCIS events planned for the conference, including our very first SIGCIS Workshop (“Michael Mahoney and the Histories of Computing(s)”) and the presentation of our Computer History Museum book prize. There’s also a separate summary of non-SIGCIS panels relevant to the history of computing. It’s shaping up as another record breaking SHOT in terms of the volume and quality of history of computing activity. But first, some reminders: 1. If you are coming to the SIG Lunch on Friday and/or to the SIGCIS Workshop on Sunday, please send Jeff Tang (secretary@sigcis.org) an updated little biography for inclusion in the conference packet. 2. If you are attending the SIGCIS Workshop on Sunday and still did not yet let Jeff Tang know that you are coming, please email him (secretary@sigcis.org). If you are not registered for SHOT itself you will need to buy a $30 one day registration on the door on Sunday. If you are registered for SHOT there is no additional charge. 3. The workshop program features two sessions (one works in progress, one dissertations) with PRECIRCULATED papers. These sessions are at the same time, so please pick one then read and bring with you the drafts shared by participants to enable informed discussion. Find them online at http://www.sigcis.org/?q=workshop09c. Also a NEWSFLASH regarding food at the workshop on Sunday: If you are attending the workshop, we’ve made our choices for Lunch and Dinner. These are paid directly to the restaurant. · Lunch: Primanti Brothers. A local institution and sandwich shop, with an extensive seating capacity. Varied menu, which should have something to suit everyone who can eat bread or doesn’t mind salad. http://www.primantibros.com/menu/city/marketsquare/ Also very affordable. Just around the corner from the hotel. · Dinner: We are making the journey (20 mins walk or very short taxi) over the bridge to the beautiful post-industrial Station Square development. http://www.stationsquare.com/ There’s a great view and bits of old technology lying around. The reservation is for 7pm at Buca di Beppo http://www.bucadibeppo.com/ which is a mid priced chain Italian restaurant specializing in large dishes intended for sharing. It is a nice area for a drink afterwards if anyone wants one. This choice is actually very appropriate for our conference theme, as Mike Mahoney had suggested this chain for our dinner in Minneapolis a few years ago but it was too full to accept our reservation. Lunch will be informal. For dinner, we could do with a final number to make sure that everyone has a seat. So please update Jeff if you would now like to join us for dinner on Sunday or if there is any other shift in your previously stated dinner status (No > Yes, Yes >No, Maybe > Yes, etc). Looking forward to seeing you there. Tom Here are the official SIGCIS events for SHOT: Friday Oct 16 · 10am to 10:30am – “Meet the SIGs” – view our amazingly great poster and meet the SIG officers over coffee in the Balroom Lobby. · 10:30am to 12:30pm – Official SIGCIS Panel, Materiality Meets Practice, Birmingham Room Friday, 10.30 AM-12.30 PM 8. Materiality Meets Practice (SIGCIS Panel) Birmingham Room Chair: James W. Cortada (IBM) Commentator: Gerard Alberts (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands) Organizer: Thomas Haigh (University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee) · Thomas Haigh (University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee): Opening the Beige Box: Materiality and the Evolution of the IBM PC, 1981-95 · Jeffrey Tang (James Madison University): Plug and Play: Standardized Connectors and Home Audio Reproduction · Allan Olley (University of Toronto, Canada): The Right Job for the Tools: Transitioning to the Computer Age · David Alan Grier (George Washington University), The Material Origins of Virtualization · 12:30-2pm: SIGCIS LUNCH, Sterling’s 1 (Lobby Level, behind elevators) o Informal mingling over pizza o Annual Book Auction o Presentation of the Computer History Museum Prize o Announcements Saturday Oct 17 · Official SIGCIS Panel, 10:30-12:30, Rivers Room 37. Paths Not Taken and Paths Retraced in the History of Information Technology Rivers Room (SIGCIS Panel) Chair: Helena Durnova (Technical University of Brno, Czech Republic) Commentator: Peter Meyer (US Bureau of Labor Statistics) Organizer: Thomas Haigh (University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee) · Jonathan Coopersmith (Texas A&M University): Transmission Error: Fax, Failure, and Roads Less Traveled in the History of Technology · Paul E. Ceruzzi (National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution): Manned Space Flight and Artificial Intelligence: “Natural” Trajectories of Technology and their Implications for Historians · Chris McDonald (Princeton University): From Computer Utility to Time-Sharing: Politics and Technology in the 1960s American Computer Industry · Evan Koblentz (InfoAge Science Center): The Pre-History of Portable Computers Sunday Oct 18: All Day SIGCIS Workshop! A Special Workshop on Michael Mahoney and the Histories of Computing(s) 9-10.45 AM Plenary Session Ft. Pitt Room · William Aspray, School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University · Gerard Alberts, University of Amsterdam · Thomas Haigh, School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 10.45-11 AM Coffee Break, East Lobby Concourse 11-12.30 PM, Sunday Traditional Paper Session 1: The Computings of Science Smithfield Room Chair: Andrew Russell, Program in History, Stevens Institute of Technology Commentator: Chigusa Kita, Kansai University · Joseph November, Department of History, University of South Carolina: “The Computer as File Cabinet or Oscilloscope: Two Computings of Biomedical Research” · Buhm Soon Park, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology: “Chemistry by Computer: Machines and Ideas for Computational Chemistry” · Scott M. Campbell, University of Waterloo: “Agendas and the Promise of Computer Science at the University of Toronto” Traditional Paper Session 2: The Computings of Management Ft. Pitt Room Chair: Janet Delve, School of Creative Technologies, University of Portsmouth Commentator: William McMillan, Eastern Michigan University · Lars Heide, Copenhagen Business School: “Punched Cards in German Management of Resources in the Second World War” · David Anderson, University of Portsmouth: “The Corridors of Power: Patrick Blackett and the Political Context of Early British Computing” · Jonathan Aylen, Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, University of Manchester: “’You’ve got to roll with it’: radical adoption of computers and changes to managerial routines at Llanwern steelworks, South Wales” 12.30-2 PM Lunch Break. (Head to lobby to walk around the corner to Primanti Brothers, Market Square location). See below for map. 2-4 PM, Sunday Dissertation Session Smithfield Room · Cristina Turdean, Hagley Program, Department of History, University of Delaware: “Reimagining a Gambling Technology: The Digitization of the Slot Machine (1970-2000)” · Christopher McDonald, Princeton University: “A New Nervous System of Society: The Technology and Politics of Mass Computer-Communications Systems” · Hansen Hsu, Cornell University: “Connections between the Software Crisis and Object-Oriented Programming” Works in Progress Ft. Pitt Room Chair and Commentator: Janet Abbate, Science and Technology Studies Program, Virginia Tech · Rebecca Slayton, Stanford University: “An Evolving Discipline: The Political Economy of Software Engineering” · Pierre Mounier-Kuhn, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique: “The Emergence of Computing as an Academic Discipline in France” · Anker Helms Jorgensen, IT University of Copenhagen: “History of User Interfaces to Computers – A Mahoneyan Perspective” · Sten Henriksson, Computer Science Department, Lund University: “A brief history of the stack” 4-4.15 PM Coffee Break, East Lobby Concourse 4.15-5.45 PM, Sunday Traditional Paper Session 3: Political Institutions in the Histories of Computings Smithfield Room Commentator: Helena Durnová, Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communications, Brno University of Technology · Andrew Mamo, “Computing Societies: Communications Technologies and Social Science in the Cambridge Project” · Stephen Patnode, Temple University: “The Impact of Computers on Corporate Paternalism in the Post-war United States” · David Nofre, Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam: “The Dutch politics of computing and the limits of international cooperation, 1945-65” Traditional Paper Session 4: Computings as They Rose and Fell Ft. Pitt Room Chair: David Hemmendinger, Computer Science Department, Union College Commentator: Paul Ceruzzi, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution · Dave Goodwin, Birkbeck College, University of London: “Digital Equipment Corporation: The mistakes that led to its downfall” · Larry Owens, University of Massachusetts Amherst: “Walking Around Computerville: The PC and the Encyclopedia of Computer Science, 1976-83” 6.30 PM Gather for dinner in the lobby for walk to dinner. (Dinner is 7:00pm at Buca di Beppo in Station Square) – see below for map. Non-SIGCIS Panels Related to History of Computing · Friday, Oct 16: 8:30-10 am 3. Web 2.0 and the History of Technology Ft. Pitt Room Chair: Sheldon Hochheiser (IEEE History Center) Commentator: Thomas J. Misa (Charles Babbage Institute) Organizers: Michael N. Geselowitz (IEEE History Center) and Thomas J. Misa (Charles Babbage Institute) Stephanie H. Crowe (Charles Babbage Institute): Experimenting with Web 2.0 at the Charles Babbage Institute Suzanne Fischer (The Henry Ford): The History Museum as Communication Platform Michael N. Geselowitz (IEEE History Center): The IEEE Global History Network 5: Operating Technological Networks Duquesne Room Includes: Nathan Ensmenger (University of Pennsylvania): From Computer Operations to Operating Systems: The Hidden Costs of Business Computing · Friday, Oct 16, 10:30-12:30 9. Technological Shifts Smithfield Room Chair & Commentator: Glenn Bugos (NASA Ames Research Center) Yasushi Sato (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan): An Inconspicuous Giant in the History of Japanese Computing: NTT and its Early Masterwork, DIPS-1 14. Increasing Women’s Participation in Engineering and Computer Science: Perspectives from the Field and from History - Roundtable Rivers Room Organizer: Jennifer Light (Northwestern University) Participants: Allan Fisher (Laureate Education, Inc); Janet Abbate, (Virginia Tech), Marie Hicks (Duke University), Patricia L. Eng (U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission), Ruth Schwartz Cowan (University of Pennsylvania) · Saturday, Oct 17, 8:30-10am 26. Navigating Virtual and Physical Landscapes: Geocaching, Locative Media, and Video Games Ft. Pitt Room Chair: Stephen H. Cutcliffe (Lehigh University) Commentator: Hugh Slotten (University of Otago, New Zealand) Organizer: Silas Chamberlin (Lehigh University) Silas Chamberlin A High-Tech Easter Egg Hunt: Geocaching in Historical Perspective Nathan Schulman (California Institute of the Arts): Navigating the Cityscape: Digital Locative Media in the Modern City Matthew Schandler (Lehigh University) [Robinson Prize Candidate]: Navigating Virtual Worlds: Agency and Alternatives in the History of Video Games 30. Confrontation and Cooperation in the Cold War (I) Duquesne Room Chair & Commentator: Paul Josephson (Colby College) Helena Durnova (Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic): Computers as the messengers of freedom in Soviet bloc countries Anna Geltzer (Cornell University): Cybernetics without computers? Medical cybernetics in the USSR · Saturday, Oct 17, 10:30-12:30 35. The Instability of Technological Identities Benedum Room Chair & Commentator: Edmund Russell (University of Virginia) (includes) Yasuo Deguchi (Kyoto University, Japan) and Chigusa I. Kita (Kansai University, Japan): Punched cards from accounting office to laboratory: Eckert and von Neumann 36. Consumer Agency in the History of Technology Duquesne Room Chair & Commentator: Karin Zachmann (Deutsches Museum, Germany) (includes) Dov Lungu (York University, Canada) and Zbigniew Stachniak (York University, Canada): The Toronto Region Association of Computer Enthusiasts (1976-85): A case study in the evolution of the Computer Hobbyist Movement in Canada 38. Robots in Practice Forbes Room Chair: Roger D. Launius (National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution) Commentator: Lisa Nocks (New Jersey Institute of Technology) Organizer: Frank Dittmann (Deutsches Museum, Germany) Hironori Matsuzaki (Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany) [Robinson Prize Candidate]: M.A Humanoid robots and the borders of the social world. A cross-cultural analysis between Europe, the USA, and Japan Ralf Spicker (Deutsches Museum, Germany): Between Science Fiction and technological concepts: An Overview over the History and (near) Future of industrial robots Catarina Caetano da Rosa (RWTH Aachen University): Can medical robots act? Frank Dittmann (Deutsches Museum): Service Robots – The Brownies of the 21st Century? · Saturday, Oct 17, 2-3:30pm 40. Girls Buy Dresses; Boys Buy Video Games: Gender, Technology, and Consumption in Twentieth-Century America Smithfield Room Chair & Commentator: Regina Lee Blaszczyk Organizer: Deirdre Clemente (Carnegie Mellon University) (includes) Racquel Gonzales (University of Texas at Austin) [Robinson Prize Candidate]: This is a Man’s Man’s Man’s World?: The Gendering of Video Games through Television Advertising 41. Making Technologies Public Ft. Pitt Room Chair & Commentator: Alex Roland (Duke University) Organizer: Jason Young (York University, Canada) (includes) Andrew Meade McGee (University of Virginia) [Robinson Prize Candidate]: A Sort of Breathing IBM Machine: The Social Security Administration, Publicized Technology, and Promotion of the Public’s Role in an Information System, 1936-79 · Saturday, Oct 17, 4-5:30pm 51. Technological History of the “Third Industrial Revolution” Benedum Room Chair & Commentator: Steven Usselman (Georgia Tech) Co-organizers: Hyungsub Choi (Chemical Heritage Foundation) and Andrew L. Russell (Stevens Institute of Technology) (includes) Hyungsub Choi: The Long Tail of the Third Industrial Revolution: Technology Platform and Supply Chain Relationships at SEMATECH Map: How to get to Lunch on Sunday Map: How to get to Dinner on Sunday