Submitted by mhicks on Tue, 11/08/2011 - 20:30
This year's workshop has now come and gone successfully and thanks are in order for all of the speakers and attendees who made it a success. Tom Misa has offered slides from his keynote talk to be posted here.
Submitted by mhicks on Sat, 11/05/2011 - 00:04
After today's syllabus session at SHOT it seems like an ideal time to remind folks that we have a great repository of syllabi in the history of computing, information, and technology here on the site. Go to www.sigcis.org/syllabi or navigate down to "syllabi" in the bar on the left hand side.
Submitted by cfmcdonald on Mon, 10/24/2011 - 19:23
Apropos of my post a while back on the hidden engineers behind Steve Jobs' recent triumph, video-game historian Benj Edwards has posted an article on MacWorld that provides a nice synthetic account of the origins of the iPod. Edwards covers a number of the major figures responsible for the design and development of the iPod. Tony Fadell (formerly of the General Mag
SIGCIS offers an integrated program of travel awards to broaden the base of participants in its annual workshops. Maximizing our support here is the top financial priority for the SIG, and a highly cost effective investment in the future of our field.
SIGCIS Travel Award Programs
Our awards are named in recognition of their various sponsors, but the eligibility criteria and application process is the same for all of them.
We have three ongoing awards programs:
Submitted by cfmcdonald on Sat, 10/15/2011 - 20:31
Apologies for my recent radio silence, and thanks to Marie for picking up the slack. I still don't have anything terribly profound to say, but I wanted to point out a wonderful on-line historical resource that went up a couple of months ago: MIT's 150th anniversary interviews, dubbed Infinite History. The dozens of interviews at the site, with important figures in MIT's academic history, include both a video and a synchronized transcript. Interviews in the collection relevant to the history of computing include Leo
Submitted by mhicks on Thu, 10/06/2011 - 01:27
In a sad but expected follow-up to Chris's post from a little over a month ago, this entry marks the passing of Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, who has died at the age of 56.
Submitted by mhicks on Mon, 09/26/2011 - 14:50
Recently, the BBC reported that the London Science Museum plans to add to its collection in the history of computing by digitizing Charles Babbage's huge store of design notes on the Analytical Engine. Though the 19th c. Analytical Engine is often pointed to as a machine that presaged the modern computer, a working version was never fully built in Babbage's lifetime (although the notes on the potential machine resulted in the first computer program, written by Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace). And historians have not been the only ones fascinated with this machine--alternate histories in which the Analytical Engine was successfully built form the bedrock of a significant amount of science fiction, particularly in the steampunk subgenre.
Submitted by mhicks on Fri, 09/09/2011 - 18:58
Those of you in or around NYC might be interested in the exhibit series called the Silent Series at the New Museum, which aims to present interactions between contemporary art and technology.
Submitted by cfmcdonald on Mon, 08/29/2011 - 22:46
SIGCIS Workshop 2011: Cultures and Communities in the History of Computing
November 6, 2011. Marriot Cleveland Hotel
Latest Updates:
0) The workshop is over, but you can see pictures of all the fun. Also of the less fun parts -- we don't discriminate.
1) The program is now complete.
2) Thomas J. Misa, director of the Charles Babbage Institute, is our keynote speaker this year. His opening keynote will be on "Designing and Using Cyberinfrastructure: Challenges and Opportunities for History." See the slides from his talk.
3) There will also be an all star closing plenary session devoted to the the workshop theme, aimed at discussing where the field has been and where it is going--be sure to stay for that!
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