Annals of the History of Computing, IEEE

David Alan Grier pays tribute to the American Computer Museum and previews the five articles featured in this issue of Annals. View full abstract»

Eduard Stiefel, in 1948 the first director of the Federal Institute of Technology's newly established Institute of Applied Mathematics, recognized that computers would be essential to this new field of mathematics. Unable to find exactly what he wanted in existing computers, Stiefel developed the ERMETH. This article examines the rationale of, and objectives for, the first Swiss computer. View full abstract»

In 1956, the Swedish office equipment company Facit embarked on a plan to produce large-scale computers for the Swedish and Western European markets. The plan involved recruiting several top engineers known as the BESK Boys, who developed a computer for Facit that briefly was the world's fastest. Circumstances, however, ultimately worked against Facit. View full abstract»

The author, a pioneer in the early days of shrink-wrapped PC products, was also an early participant in ADAPSO. This article, the first part of which appeared in the Annals' October-December 2004 issue, traces the author's career from running the Software Products Group at Dun & Bradstreet to the early days of Vanguard Atlantic Ltd. View full abstract»

Human-computer interaction is considered a core element of computer science. Yet it has not coalesced; many researchers who identify their focus as human-computer interaction reside in other fields. The author examines the origins and evolution of three HCI research foci: computer operation, information systems management, and discretionary use. The author describes efforts to find common ground and forces that have kept them apart. View full abstract»

Multiplication is vital to the conduct of commerce but is time-consuming and error-prone. Among the many aids developed over two centuries to address these issues, the most widely used was the ready reckoner, a printed book containing tables of precalculated multiplication results that could be useful in business transactions. View full abstract»

This department article features stories about the following: RAMAC named IEEE Milestone, Japan Prize goes to Makoto Nagao, When Computers Were Human, Cray-Cyber.org, a history paper reviewed in IEEE Spectrum, History of Computing exhibit at the National Science Museum, computer speed claims, and history-themed student Web design contest. View full abstract»

Kenneth Iverson, whose dissatisfaction with conventional mathematical notation as a graduate student led to the development of the APL and J languages, died in Toronto, Ontario on 19 October 2004 in his 84th year. This article reviews his early education, his graduate work at Harvard, and his careers with IBM in the United States and I. P. Sharp in Canada, and his retirement when he developed J, which he considered a modern dialect of APL. View full abstract»

This essay argues that computer histories contribute to collective memory and are especially important in nations where knowledge of the past has been erased or suppressed. Computer histories also can enrich national understandings of the past and contribute to ongoing debates over history and its relation to the present. View full abstract»