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About Us

The IT History Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of knowledge about the people, products, and companies that together comprise the field of computing.

Since 1978 our organization, and its hundreds of members, have worked toward this goal, and we invite you to contribute your own knowledge and memories on this website! (read more)

Inventor Ted Hoff's Keynote @ World IP Day- April 26, 2013 in San Jose, CA

Introduction The World IP Day program was to promote and celebrate the many benefits of intellectual property in San Jose and the SF Bay Area. San Jose and Silicon Valley lead the nation in patent generation and the city co-hosted this West Coast event to celebrate the contributions of innovators and creators worldwide. Marcian E. "Ted" Hoff's keynote speech is...
May 11, 2013 By Alan Weissberger 0 Comments Read more...

A Wonderful Adventure in Exhibition Space

Somehow my career has repeatedly led me into doing unexpected and wonderful things. One such piece of serendipity has been the role I landed at the Jerusalem Science Museum as the curator of an exhibition in honor of Alan Turing. This project took a year and half, and gave me the occasion to work with some amazing people at the...
April 09, 2013 By Nathan Zeldes 0 Comments Read more...

Alan Turing’s Earthshaking Philosophical Insight

Being the curator of the Alan Turing Year exhibition at the Jerusalem Science Museum, I was invited to sit on a panel dedicated to Turing’s legacy at the ICON Science Fiction, Imagination and The Future festival in Tel Aviv. My talk there was well received, and touches on some interesting truths, so I decided to share its content here. I...
April 08, 2013 By Nathan Zeldes 0 Comments Read more...

CHM lecture: IBM Fellow Grady Booch on Computing: The Human Experience

Introduction: In this informative March 11, 2013 lecture at the Computer History Museum (CHM), Grady Booch asked and tried to answer this question: "What does it take to make "sentient" devices (that can feel, sense, think and reason) out of silicon and software?" But before we can address that question, there are many others that need to be thought about...
March 13, 2013 By Alan Weissberger 0 Comments Read more...

Using Dense Social Networks to Progress a Brilliant Career in Computer Science!

Introduction The February 10, 2013 Stony Brook (SBU) Northern CA Alumni Association meeting featured a very informative and enlightening talk by Ike Nassi, PhD (1974 Computer Science) about what he learned at SBU, the friends he made there, and use of his social network to further his career. Ike was able to create and maintain a very "dense social network"...
February 18, 2013 By Alan Weissberger 0 Comments Read more...

The Day IBM Let Married Women Work

It's hard to imagine not being able to work at IBM if you're a woman who happens to be married, but Gizmodo has published a memo from January 10, 1951 that discusses a "temporary modification" of IBM's personnel policy—yes, it finally allowed female employees to continue working once they were married. It says: Effective immediately and until further notice: 1...
February 06, 2013 By Jeffery Stein 0 Comments Read more...

The Race for Microprocessor Leadership in Silicon Valley: Jan 7, 2013 IEEE Life Member Meeting in Mt View, CA

Abstract The microprocessor changed what is now known as Silicon Valley from a mostly agricultural and defense electronics region into a center of innovation for many new technologies. How did that happen and what challenges were faced along the way? This IEEE Life Member panel will discuss and debate the development of microprocessor technologies in the 70's, 80's and 90's...
January 16, 2013 By Alan Weissberger 0 Comments Read more...

CEO John Hollar's CHM Progress Report at Jan 7, 2013 IEEE Life Member Meeting

John Hollar, Computer History Museum (CHM) President and CEO, delivered a progress report on CHM activities at the January 7th IEEE Life Member meeting in Mt View, CA. The CHM has become the leading institution that's archived computer artifacts, but is now recognized as a thought leader on the impact of computing on our society. Four CHM areas were cited...
January 14, 2013 By Alan Weissberger 0 Comments Read more...

The Turing Centenary - In Review

As 2012 closes, so does the Turing Centenary Year . The hundredth anniversary of Alan Turing's birth prompted many events, conferences and talks dedicated to Turing. A large list of such events was compiled by the Turing Centenary website. I had the privilege to participate in two such events. One was a special session on the history of computing as...
December 31, 2012 By Allan Olley 0 Comments Read more...

CHM Event Commemorating the 25th anniversary of Sun Micro's SPARC Microprocessor

On November 1, 2012, a panel of Sun Micro luminaries discussed how the company "bet the ranch" on the SPARC microprocessor at an early and critical stage of the company's development. The panel was expertly moderated by my Northeastern University MSEE classmate Dave House. CHM CEO/Prez John Hollar did a great job introducing and closing the program. The motivation to...
November 21, 2012 By Alan Weissberger 0 Comments Read more...

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