Pierre makes an excellent point. The PC was so inexpensive in comparison to other ICTs that it became the device that spread computing over large swaths of the Earth. So, while the Americans get the credit for inventing the PC, it was the Asians who did a great deal to diffuse the technology, especially Taiwan, and the PC played an extraordinary role in the Soviet Union/Russia from the very ate 1980s through the early 2000s--all stories that are not even superficially understood. Pierre is correct in being specific about Taiwan and the Soviet/Russian piece of the story. And that was all preceded by the French experience, which arguably predates the invention of the PC by many years with its phone system. Jim Cortada On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 3:38 AM Pierre Mounier-Kuhn <mounier@msh-paris.fr> wrote:

Hi Eric, Do you consider including the history of personal computing beyond North America – say, from Europe to Taiwan and the Soviet empire ? Best, Pierre

------------------------------ *De: *"Eric Gade" <eric.gade@gmail.com> *À: *"members" <members@sigcis.org> *Envoyé: *Mardi 6 Octobre 2020 18:58:51 *Objet: *[SIGCIS-Members] Documentary Project on History of Personal Computing

Hi all,

Please forgive me if this message is inappropriate for the list. I am hoping some members will be interested in the following project.

For the past year and a half I have been working on a team that is developing a documentary <https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/messagenotunderstood/message-not-understood/> on the history of personal computing. Our goal is to interview the very people who laid the foundations for personal computing while they are still with us, learning about their original visions and getting their take on the present. In this sense it is both an aspiring feature length documentary project but also an endeavor in oral history and posterity.

Last fall we were able to shoot our first three interviews. We used these to make a short teaser <https://vimeo.com/429045920>, with the idea it could be used to raise funds for future rounds of interviews. That said, we are currently in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign <https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/messagenotunderstood/message-not-understood/> to get the second round funded. If you are interested in learning more, feel free to reach out to me directly and to visit the film's campaign site <https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/messagenotunderstood/message-not-understood/> and website <https://messagenotunderstood.com/>.

Thanks!

-- Eric

_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at 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/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org _______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at 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/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org

-- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada@umn.edu 608-274-6382

Hi You might consider looking at www.archivesit.org.uk<http://www.archivesit.org.uk> – here you will find oral interviews with many of the pioneers of computing, personal and otherwise, in the UK. I hope it might be useful to you. All the best Helen Helen Carter, Executive Assistant to Roger Graham – Chairman, Archives of IT Please Note: I am in the office on Thursday from 9.00am – 4.00pm T: +44 (0)1279 600 345 This e--mail is confidential and may be privileged. It may be read, copied and used only by the intended recipient. If you have received it in error, please contact the sender immediately by return e-mail. Please then delete the e-mail and do not disclose its contents to any person. From: Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> On Behalf Of James Cortada Sent: 07 October 2020 13:57 To: Pierre Mounier-Kuhn <mounier@msh-paris.fr> Cc: members <members@sigcis.org> Subject: Re: [SIGCIS-Members] Documentary Project on History of Personal Computing Pierre makes an excellent point. The PC was so inexpensive in comparison to other ICTs that it became the device that spread computing over large swaths of the Earth. So, while the Americans get the credit for inventing the PC, it was the Asians who did a great deal to diffuse the technology, especially Taiwan, and the PC played an extraordinary role in the Soviet Union/Russia from the very ate 1980s through the early 2000s--all stories that are not even superficially understood. Pierre is correct in being specific about Taiwan and the Soviet/Russian piece of the story. And that was all preceded by the French experience, which arguably predates the invention of the PC by many years with its phone system. Jim Cortada On Wed, Oct 7, 2020 at 3:38 AM Pierre Mounier-Kuhn <mounier@msh-paris.fr<mailto:mounier@msh-paris.fr>> wrote: Hi Eric, Do you consider including the history of personal computing beyond North America – say, from Europe to Taiwan and the Soviet empire ? Best, Pierre ________________________________ De: "Eric Gade" <eric.gade@gmail.com<mailto:eric.gade@gmail.com>> À: "members" <members@sigcis.org<mailto:members@sigcis.org>> Envoyé: Mardi 6 Octobre 2020 18:58:51 Objet: [SIGCIS-Members] Documentary Project on History of Personal Computing Hi all, Please forgive me if this message is inappropriate for the list. I am hoping some members will be interested in the following project. For the past year and a half I have been working on a team that is developing a documentary<https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/messagenotunderstood/message-not-understood/> on the history of personal computing. Our goal is to interview the very people who laid the foundations for personal computing while they are still with us, learning about their original visions and getting their take on the present. In this sense it is both an aspiring feature length documentary project but also an endeavor in oral history and posterity. Last fall we were able to shoot our first three interviews. We used these to make a short teaser<https://vimeo.com/429045920>, with the idea it could be used to raise funds for future rounds of interviews. That said, we are currently in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign<https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/messagenotunderstood/message-not-understood/> to get the second round funded. If you are interested in learning more, feel free to reach out to me directly and to visit the film's campaign site<https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/messagenotunderstood/message-not-understood/> and website<https://messagenotunderstood.com/>. Thanks! -- Eric _______________________________________________ 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/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org _______________________________________________ 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/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org -- James W. Cortada Senior Research Fellow Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota jcortada@umn.edu<mailto:jcortada@umn.edu> 608-274-6382