Society for the History of Technology: From Computer Operations to Operating Systems
October 15, 2009 #research
Like many terms of art in electronic computing, the concept of the “operating system” represents an appropriation of earlier, pre-computer processes and procedures. Today, of course, we think of an operating system – such as Windows, Linux, or OS X – exclusively as a type of software (indeed, as the original, irreducible essence of software). And yet through much of early decades of electronic computing, the “operating system” was only part of a larger socio-technical system of operations involved in electronic computing.
In this paper presented at the recent Society for the History of Technology Conference, explores the complex system of operations that surrounded most corporate computing efforts in the first decades of electronic computing. Here are the slides.
Engineering a Professional Identity
August 05, 2009 #media
This week I will be attending the IEEE Conference on the History of Technical Societies. This is part of a larger celebration of the IEEE’s 125th Anniversary. I gave a talk entitled “Engineering a Professional Identity: The Place of Professional Societies in the History of Computing.”
Information Technology, Organizations, and Work Processes
June 05, 2009 #media
This week I will be in Copenhagen to comment on papers for a conference on information technology and work processes. An excellent program of papers on everything from software development practices to the history of computing in the banking industry. The full program can be found here.
On the Internet, Everyone is a Crypto-Fascist
April 15, 2009 #research
For a recent graduate seminar run by my friend and colleague John Tresch, I prepared an essay on the economic principles embedded in Godwin’s Law. The result was a very rough thought piece, but a lot of fun to write. So, I present for your consideration On the Internet, Everyone is a Crypto-Fascist
Women of Power Documentaries
April 13, 2009 #media
On Tuesday, April 14, I will be responding to a screening of the documentary “To Dream Tomorrow,” which is about computing pioneer Ada Byron Lovelace, who is often referred to as the first computer programmer.
The film is been shown as part of a series called Women of Power, which includes documentaries about Hildegard of Bingen and the botanist Maria Sibylla Merian.
More information about the Lovelace documentary and its filmmakers can be found here.
Software as History Embodied
February 20, 2009 #publications
Nathan Ensmenger, “Software as History Embodied,” IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 31:1 (2009), 88-91.