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Showing 104 articles
January 21, 2014
Why Care Who Invented the First Computer?
During January some of you might have noticed a running dialogue among historians and other interested parties about who invented the “first” computer. There was no agreement reached on the correct answer to that question. Discussions about “firsts” pop up about every five years, almost like...
January 10, 2014
Old Software and Games....They're Alive!
Ever get the urge to mess with VisiCalc or WordStar again? Play the original Donkey Kong or Adventure on your computer? Now you can! The Internet Archive, in a Christmas gift to the world, has unleashed the Historical Software Archive, a collection of prominent and historically notable pieces of...
December 25, 2013
Computer Pioneer Alan Turing Pardoned by UK for "crime" he didn't commit
The United Kingdom has finally pardoned Alan Turing for a gay sex conviction which tarnished the brilliant career of the code breaker credited with helping win the war against Nazi Germany and laying the foundation for the computer age. Turing’s contributions to science spanned from computer...
December 15, 2013
Testimonials to Doug Englebart: Dec 9, 2013 @CHM
Computer visionary Doug Engelbart was posthumously honored on December 9th at the Computer History Museum (CHM) in Mt View, CA. The date of this event was significant, because December 9 was the 45th Anniversary of the “Mother of All Demos.^” Doug's wife, daughter, and several people that worked...
December 9, 2013
Fire Damages Internet Archive Scanning Center
There was a fire at the Internet Archive’s San Francisco scanning center recently. The good news is that no one was hurt and no data was lost. Their main building wasn't affected except for damage to one electrical run which caused them to lose power to some servers for a while. The San Francisco...
December 6, 2013
History of IT at the History of Science Society 2013 Boston
The History of Science Society held its annual meeting two weeks ago (November 21st to November 24th) in Boston MA. The meeting celebrated among other things the centenary of the journal Isis, the organ around which the society was eventually formed. The meeting covered a broad range of topics in...
November 11, 2013
The Story of LEO
LEO, more formally known as Lyons Electronic Office, was the world's first business computer, having been developed by the British company J. Lyons & Co. Ltd. between 1947-1954. John Simmons was very much the genius behind this adventure into business process re-engineering. His papers are archived...
November 9, 2013
Highlights of Intel's Justin Rattner at CHM: Oct 8, 2013
The event was in the form of an interview/conversation led by CHM CEO/moderator John Hollar. Mr. Rattner spent a lot of time discussing his early life at Hollywood High School and how he got involved in electronics and as a EE student at Cornell University. It was less about Intel's early...
October 7, 2013
Honoring Computer Pioneer Tommy Flowers and Colossus
In November 1943, an electrical engineer working in the telecommunications department of Britain's General Post Office named Tommy Flowers designed and built the world’s first programmable computer. Named "Colossus," the thermionic tube-based programmable computer successfully broke the supposedly...
October 5, 2013
Summary, photos & videos of Oct 1st IEEE Panel: Intel's Transition to Success!
This was a hugely successful panel session on Intel's transitions, twists and turns into the world's most successful semiconductor company of all time. Many attendees complimented our 2 panelists and myself for a great learning experience and intellectually stimulating session. The great stories...
August 8, 2013
iCHSTM 2013
Almost two weeks ago I was at the 24th International Congress for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (iCHSTM) in Manchester, England. At more than 1700 registered participants it may have been the largest gathering devoted to the history of science, technology and medicine ever. The...
May 26, 2013
Bob Metcalfe's Closing Keynote at Ethernet Innovation Summit - May 23, 2013, CHM in Mt View, CA
Bob Metcalfe's key points on the Ethernet Innovation Summit are summarized in this article: http://community.comsoc.org/blogs/alanweissberger/bob-metcalfes-closing-keynote-ethernet-innovation-summit-may-23-2013-chm-mt-vi 40 years of Ethernet history discussed during day one; day two featured...