IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 

About: IEEE Annals of the History of Computing is an academic journal published by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Computer science & History of computing. It has an ISSN identifier of 1058-6180. Over the lifetime, 1403 publications have been published receiving 19644 citations. The journal is also known as: Annals of the History of Computing.

The mythical man-month: Essays on software engineering

Abstract: Like Bahbage, he lobbied for mathematical reform, stumped for the centrality of science in cultural advancement, argued that government support was crucial, and proved a stubborn and crotchety opponent when crossed. And, as Colin Burke reminds us in this fine and fresh new look at Bush, Bush envisioned machines relevant to the history of computing that never lived up to their promise. I doubt that Burke would agree with my description of Bush as a latter-day Babbage; nevertheless, this detailed study makes the comparison almost inevitable. Burke helps us appreciate how Bush's fascination with the mechanization of calculation and comparison caused his inventive work to swirl around problems relevant to the emergence of the modern computer. Moreover, Burke suggests that two of Bush's less familiar engines-one, the Rapid Selector, a bibliographic machine and a close cousin of the Memex of faddish fame; and the other, the Comparator, a cryptanalytic device-provide the stuff to fill in the holes in the history of the computer [p. ix). It is never very clear just what these holes are; this reader, at least, was not convinced that the careers of these two machines were anything but eddies along the shore of the main currents of computer evolution. They were decisive failures, as Burke admits, rooted in a stubborn commitment to intractdbk and ultimately unfashion-able if not outdated technologies. The strengths of this book indeed lie elsewhere. These exotic devices are of interest in themselves and deserve their biographer's attention. Burke details the labors of Bush and friends to use microfilm, electronics, and photoelectricity to mechanize the library-hereby resolving a putative information overload (it turns out that there wasn't one)-and help the U.S. Navy's cryptographers break enemy codes during World War 11. Burke is best, however, when discussing not machines themselves but when individuals and bureaucracies are at loggerheads. Ego, ambition, and organizational and technological vision were at stake. On the military side, and against much intcrnal resistance , Bush allies such as Stanford C. Hooper and Joseph Wenger dreamed of building the next generation of rapid analytic machines and, in doing so, dreamed of upgrading the scientific navy by forging alliances with \" college professors \" like Bush; on the civilian side, Bush and his \" boys \" worked to maneuver the navy into a project that promised much in the way of personal and institutional prestige, income for research, and opportunities for graduate …

Man-Computer Symbiosis

Abstract: Man-computer symbiosis is an expected development in cooperative interaction between men and electronic computers. It will involve very close coupling between the human and the electronic members of the partnership. The main aims are 1) to let computers facilitate formulative thinking as they now facilitate the solution of formulated problems, and 2) to enable men and computers to cooperate in making decisions and controlling complex situations without inflexible dependence on predetermined programs. In the anticipated symbiotic partnership, men will set the goals, formulate the hypotheses, determine the criteria, and perform the evaluations. Computing machines will do the routinizable work that must be done to prepare the way for insights and decisions in technical and scientific thinking. Preliminary analyses indicate that the symbiotic partnership will perform intellectual operations much more effectively than man alone can perform them. Prerequisites for the achievement of the effective, cooperative association include developments in computer time sharing, in memory components, in memory organization, in programming languages, and in input and output equipment.

First draft of a report on the EDVAC

Abstract: The first draft of a report on the EDVAC written by John von Neumann is presented. This first draft contains a wealth of information, and it had a pervasive influence when it was first written. Most prominently, Alan Turing cites it in his proposal for the Pilot automatic computing engine (ACE) as the definitive source for understanding the nature and design of a general-purpose digital computer. >

On the History of the Minimum Spanning Tree Problem

Abstract: It is standard practice among authors discussing the minimum spanning tree problem to refer to the work of Kruskal(1956) and Prim (1957) as the sources of the problem and its first efficient solutions, despite the citation by both of Boruvka (1926) as a predecessor. In fact, there are several apparently independent sources and algorithmic solutions of the problem. They have appeared in Czechoslovakia, France, and Poland, going back to the beginning of this century. We shall explore and compare these works and their motivations, and relate them to the most recent advances on the minimum spanning tree problem.

Implications of Historical Trends in the Electrical Efficiency of Computing

Abstract: The electrical efficiency of computation has doubled roughly every year and a half for more than six decades, a pace of change comparable to that for computer performance and electrical efficiency in the microprocessor era. These efficiency improvements enabled the creation of laptops, smart phones, wireless sensors, and other mobile computing devices, with many more such innovations yet to come. The Web Extra appendix outlines the data and methods used in this study.