Hello everyone, The annual SHOT meeting is almost upon us. This time in Lisbon. I have sent a message on lunch arrangements to everyone who has signed up for it or previously let me know they were attending. If you think you are coming but did NOT get the email with map, etc. then let me know as soon as possible otherwise there will be no food for you. We have 40 registered so far, and last time I saw the figures were tied with the environmental history people as the biggest SIG! We’ve tended to run an informal dinner (just eat drink chat, no speeches or business) as well as the official lunch. With the need to make lots of announcement and conduct business at the lunch the dinner tends to be more relaxed and smaller, so it can be a good chance to get to know people working in the field. Looking at the program we’ve got a reception on Saturday, the banquet on Monday, so that seems to leave Sunday night, where the only thing programmed after 7:30 appears to be an “international comics festival” with a reception. So we’d probably meet around 8pm on Sunday. This will only happen if I hear people are interested, and details on final arrangements will only be sent to people who reply to this message. As well as the lunch we have a number of computing related sessions. I count four panels devoted to some form of IT (including cybernetics) and three more papers scattered over panels with other themes or assembled from individually contributed papers. That’s down from last year, but still a very healthy trend compared with five years ago. It’s not too soon to start thinking about the 2009 meeting (10/15/2009 - 10/19/2009 Pittsburgh, PA). We hope to run at least one extra session and possibly an additional full day of programming in conjunction with this meeting. The one SIGCIS organized panel this year is 1:30-3:30 on Sunday, Oct 12. 17. <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia12/Session17/Session17Abstract.pdf

Looms, Chips, Users and Code: The Business of Computing

Room: Art’s II Chair: Helmuth Trischler, Deutsches Museum , Munich Organizer: Thomas Haigh, University of Wisconsin , Milwaukee Commentator: Thomas Haigh, University of Wisconsin , Milwaukee Janet Delve, University of Portsmouth , <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia12/Session17/Paper%201.pdf> “New Perspectives on “Jacquard” Looms and the Development of Punched Cards" Jeffrey Yost, University of Minnesota , <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia12/Session17/Paper%202.pdf> “Manufacturing Mainframes: The Evolving Semiconductor Strategies of IBM and Sperry Univac, 1960- 1975” Pierre Mounier, CNRS/Université Paris-Sorbonne, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia12/Session17/Paper%203.pdf> “A Department for Ordinary Business: Application Software in the French Plan Calcul (1966-1975)” Peter B. Meyer, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia12/Session17/Paper%204.pdf> “Computer Use and Earnings Inequality, 1960- 2000” At the same time, there is one IT history paper in this session. 19. Networks and Large Technological Systems Room: Ruby II Chair: Johan Schot, Eindhoven University of Technology Commentator: Marc Jacquinet, Universidade Aberta, Portugal Daniela Helbig, Harvard University , Cambridge , MA , <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia12/Session19/Paper%201.pdf> “Beyond the system’s limits: Marga von Etzdorf’s last flight” (Robinson Prize Candidate) Ana Paula Silva, New University of Lisbon, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia12/Session19/Paper%202.pdf> “ Portugal in the building of a transnational network - a winner or a loser?” Katja Girschik, ETH Zurich, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia12/Session19/Paper%203.pdf> “Taming the mass of goods and data. The emergence of a computer-aided merchandise management system at the Swiss retailer Migros” Elsewhere on the program and later in the day from 3:45-5:45. Note: Simon had to drop out, so there will just be three papers. 25. <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia12/Session25/Session25Abstract.pdf

Computing at Transnational Cross-Roads: Technology and Politics in the Cold War

Room: Art’s II Chair: Gerard Alberts, University of Amsterdam Organizer: Corinna Schlombs, University of Pennsylvania Commentator: Eden Medina , Indiana University Corinna Schlombs, University of Pennsylvania , <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia12/Session25/Paper%201.pdf> “The Mission of Marshall Plan technical aid: Productivity machines for Europe ” Petri Paju, University of Turku, Finland, Helena Durnova, Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia12/Session25/Paper%202.pdf> “Computing Close to the Iron Curtain: Inter/national Computing Practices in Czechoslovakia and Finland ” Ksenia Tatarchenko, Paris - Sorbonne, “ <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia12/Session25/Paper%203.pdf> Visiting Akademgorodok : “in(s) and out(s)”A portrait of Siberian computing from an international perspective” Simon Donig, University of Passau , Germany , <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia12/Session25/Paper%204.pdf> “Computing as modernisation: technology transfer and the emergence of a culture of management in the GDR (1964-1969)” At Monday 1:30-3:30 42. <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia13/Session42/Session42Abstract.pdf

Standardizing Technology: Lesson Learned

Room: Art’s I Chairs: Andreas Fickers, University of Maastricht Organizer: Andrew Russell, Duke University Commentator: Pascal Griset, Université Paris - Sorbonne Peter Van den Bossche, Erasmus University College Brussels, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia13/Session42/Paper%201.pdf> “The Interaction Between Standardization, Technology and Market: The Early Development of the Electric Vehicle as an Example” Jeffrey Tang, James Madison University, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia13/Session42/Paper%202.pdf> “Gateway to Success: LPs, 45s, and the Format War that Wasn’t” Gard Paulsen, Norwegian School of Management, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia13/Session42/Paper%203.pdf> “Programmed Tensions and Standardized Transitions: The Design of CCITT’s Programming Language for Telephone Switches" Dong-oh Park, Science and Technology Policy Institute, Korea, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia13/Session42/Paper%204.pdf> “Making ‘National’ Character Code: Debates Over Korean Standard Character Code and its Effect in Unicode” (Robinson Prize Candidate) Monday 3:45-5:45 49. <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia13/Session49/Session49Abstract.pdf

Cybernetics and Information Theory – 1948 and beyond

Room: Art’s I Chair: Nathan Ensmenger, University of Pennsylvania Organizers: Frank Dittmann, Deutsches Museum, Germany Bernard Geoghegan, Northwestern University, USA Rudolf Seising, Jena, Germany, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia13/Session49/Paper%201.pdf> “Cybernetics, System Theory, and Information Theory in the 1950s and 1960s” Lars Bluma, Ruhr University of Bochum, Germany, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia13/Session49/Paper%202.pdf> “Early Cybernetic machines: artifacts, discourses, and organisms” Jan Mueggenburg, Vienna, Austria, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia13/Session49/Paper%203.pdf> “From Cybernetics to Bionics: The Biological Computer Laboratory” Ronald Kline, Cornell University, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia13/Session49/Paper%204.pdf> “The Disunity of Cybernetics” Bernard Geoghegan, Northwestern University, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia13/Session49/Paper%205.pdf> “Informed Ideology: The Politics of Information Theory from French Structuralism to British Cultural Studies” Philipp Aumann, Munich, Germany, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia13/Session49/Paper%206.pdf> “Between Ideology and Methodology. Cybernetics in Western Germany” Frank Dittmann; Deutches Museum Munich, Germany, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia13/Session49/Paper%207.pdf> “Cybernetics in GDR between euphoria and rejection” Tuesday 8:30 to 10:00. 53. <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia14/Session53/Session53Abstract.pdf

New Research Tools for Contemporary History

Room: Diamante I Chair: Thomas Misa, University of Minnesota Organizer: Thomas Misa, University of Minnesota Commentator: TBD Per Lundin, Isabelle Dussauge, Department of History of Science and Technology, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia14/Session53/Paper%201.pdf> “Documenting the Use of Computers in Society between 1950 and 1980: Witness Seminars and Writers’ Web” Andreu Veà, Barcelona , <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia14/Session53/Paper%202.pdf> “Internet history and Internet research methods: Engineering the worldwide WiWiW project” Thomas Misa, Joline Zepcevski, Univertiy of Minnesota, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia14/Session53/Paper%203.pdf> “Realizing user-centered computer history: Designing and using NSF’s FastLane (1990-present)” And at the same time, with one IT paper 54. <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia14/Session54/Session54Abstract.pdf

Beyond ‘Eureka!’: Maintenance and Operations in the History of Technology

Room: Art’s I Chair: Alexander B. Magoun, David Sarnoff Library, Princeton Organizer: Kenneth Lipartito, Florida International University Commentator: David Edgerton, Imperial College London Kevin L. Borg, James Madison University, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia14/Session54/Paper%201.pdf> “Maintenance Made Visible: How Policy Makers Helped Engineers Create Dependable American Cars” Nathan Ensmenger, University of Pennsylvania, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia14/Session54/Paper%202.pdf> “Fixing Things That Can Never be Broken: Software Maintenance as Heterogeneous Engineering” Kenneth Lipartito, Florida International University, <http://www.shotlisbon2008.com/program/dia14/Session54/Paper%203.pdf> “Flying on the Ground: Maintenance, Operations and the Space Shuttle” Best wishes, Tom Haigh