Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!harpo!floyd!vax135!ariel!houti!hogpc!houxm!hocda!spanky!burl!duke!unc!brl-bmd!Human-Nets-Request@rutgers
From: Human-Nets-Request%rutgers@brl-bmd.UUCP
Newsgroups: fa.human-nets
Subject: HUMAN-NETS Digest   V6 #32
Message-ID: <591@brl-bmd.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 9-Jul-83 16:15:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-bmd.591
Posted: Sat Jul  9 16:15:38 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 11-Jul-83 20:38:48 EDT
Lines: 345



HUMAN-NETS Digest        Saturday, 9 Jul 1983      Volume 6 : Issue 32

Today's Topics:
                 Queries - Request for Famous Bugs &
                       Keyboards (2 messages),
                       Programming - Debuggers,
              Computers and People - Jobs in the future,
       News Articles - DOD To Join Co-Op For Semicon Research &
                   AP article on Computer Security,
 Announcements - 1984 National Computer Conference: Call for Papers &
             Bulletin Board For Micro Users Set Up By NBS
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: John Shore 
Date: Mon, 6 Jun 83 11:17:14 EDT
Subject: Request for Famous Bugs

In discussions of software and software engineering, it sometimes
helps to cite famous bugs.  To this end, I am collecting a list.  I
have in mind bugs that caused major problems as well as bugs that
could have but were prevented by suitable human intervention.

Some examples of bugs I've heard about but for which I don't have
documentation: (a) bug forced a Mercury astronaut to fly a manual
re-entry; (b) bugs were problems in the first two Apollo moon
landings; (c) bug caused NORAD to alert U.S. forces about incoming
Soviet missiles (the moon); (d) process synchronization bugs delayed
the first space shuttle launch.

Can you help?  I would appreciate receiving brief descriptions of
famous or should-have-been famous bugs of all types (space program,
banking, nuclear power, census, etc.).  If possible, please include
references that will help me to filter out the apocryphal bugs.

Please pass this message on to others who might be interested.  I
will send a copy of the resulting bug-list to all who contribute.

Thanks in advance.

                     John Shore
                     Code 7591
                     Naval Research Laboratory
                     Washington, D.C. 20375
                     (202)767-3056

                     shore@nrl-css

------------------------------

Date: 3 Jun 1983 1200-PDT
From: Lynn Gold 
Subject: Keyboards

Is there an ANSI standard on this?  If so, could someone please
direct me to it?

My husband and I have been debating over where a few keys are
supposed to be placed.

--Lynn

------------------------------

Date: 4 Jun 1983 0:51-PDT
From: Greg Davidson  
Subject: Keyboards are a very personal thing

Spare me from having to use anyone else's ideal keyboard.  I'd much
rather use their toothbrush!  In fact, having to use two different
keyboards that I both like is terrible.

I think that the best thing that could happen to keyboards is for
ANSI to define a standard ASCII keyboard interface, so that people
can own their own keyboards & plug them in anywhere.  Once I can
count on not having to go back, I'll eagerly try chord keyboards,
DSK keyboards, etc., until I find the one I like best.

-Greg

------------------------------

Date: 14 Jun 1983 03:20:13-PST
From: whm.arizona@Rand-Relay
Subject: Debuggers

I have developed a recent interest in debuggers for high-level
languages.  I'm looking for references on source-level debuggers of
various sorts.  The primary interest is in novel ideas in debuggers,
for instance, screen-oriented debuggers, and debuggers written in the
language they serve as debuggers for.  Also of interest are debuggers
for unconventional languages.  A secondary issue is that of
interactive program development environments such as those associated
with Lisp, APL, and Mainsail.

I'm familiar with the various debuggers under UNIX (4.1bsd), I've used
some Lisp debuggers, and I've had excruciating amounts of experience
with "symbolic debuggers" of various types.  I've heard about a recent
(last year) conference on High-Level Debugging and understand that the
proceedings are due out in a couple of months or so.  That's about all
that I know of in the line of debuggers.  As for interactive
development environments, I know of the ones mentioned; are there
others?

So, if you know of articles, books, etc., concerning debuggers or
interactive development environments, I'd like pointers to them.  If
you have something in mind, please try to reply by about July 7 and
I'll report my findings about a week or so after that.

                                Thanks,
                                Bill Mitchell
                                whm.arizona@rand-relay
                                {kpno,ihnp4,mcnc,utah-cs}!arizona!whm

------------------------------

From: "CACHE::TS1::BURROWS Jim Burrows c/o" 
Date: 7-JUN-1983 00:38
Subject: Jobs in the future

    I doubt things will go much like the experts in the articles
Lauren submitted expect. The guy who said:

         "If anybody told us in 1933 that only 3 percent of the
    labor force would be in agriculture today, we would have
    foreseen all sorts of cataclysmic problems in terms of what
    would those poor farmers do with their skills in the big
    cities,"

is probably the most realistic of the bunch. I'm especially
skeptical of the union spokesman who claimed that strong government
backed union action is needed to avert the coming disaster. Somehow
I just can't shake the notion that he has a vested interest in that
course of action.

    I think the real trend was pointed to by the ex-steel-worker
who's studying to be a computer technician, who said:

         "There's a trade-off. My income won't be as high, but the
     computer industry won't collapse overnight like the steel or
     auto industries. The future is what I'm shooting for."

and the quote that

         Isabel V. Sawhill, an economist with the Urban Institute,
    predicts workers will "increasingly trade off higher wages for
    various kinds of non-wage benefits," such as better working
    conditions, job training and mobility, more flexible hours and
    locations and day care facilities. These demands, she says, will
    be caused in part by an increase in the number of two-earner and
    single-parent households, "where conflicts between work and
    family responsibilities loom large."

    What I see in my crystal ball is more lower paying jobs, many of
them created by the high tech industries. There was an ABC (?) news
report a couple of weeks ago about the "false promise" of high tech.
Their main point was that high tech industry produces low tech jobs.
They showed how many low paying assembly jobs were created in
Austin, Texas by the computer and electronics moving there. What
they failed to notice was that virtually all of the workers and city
government people interviewed were really happy that there were any
new jobs at all. They emphasised how much less the workers were
making in their new high-tech/low-tech jobs, missing the fact that
they were really thrilled to be working at all.

    What I think is happening is the American worker is finding that
he has to compete with workers in other countries, and that in order
to compete he's going to have to settle for a wage more like theirs.
This cheaper labor, and automation could put us more in competition
with other high tech countries (where the wages are coming up
towards ours). I expect the lowering of individual incomes will
cause the trend towards multi-income families to continue. I also
suspect it will head off the shortening work week. (You ain't gonna
be happier about working few hours for fewer dollars per hour.

    Finally, just to be heretical, I am also skeptical about some of
the claims made for the degree to which computers will dominate our
lives.  Specifically I am not expecting either the predictions that

    Office personnel eventually will simply dictate into a machine
    that will type the letter itself.

or that

    the need for sales clerks will decline as consumers start using
    home computers to make purchases.

I, for one, don't trust machines enough to let them shop or take
dictation for me.

------------------------------

Date: 20-Jun-83 15:38 PDT
From: WBD.TYM@OFFICE-2
Subject: DOD To Join Co-Op For Semicon Research

i just read that the DOD will be joining the Semiconductor Research
Corp. (SRC) within the next 2 weeks.  Does this mean that research
done by the institute will have to be cleared by DOD before it can
be published?

--William Daul

------------------------------

Date: 6 July 1983 00:06 edt
From: TMPLee.DODCSC at MIT-MULTICS
Subject: AP article on Computer Security

Sometime between June 24th and July 5th the Associated Press put out
a story on their wires about a recent article written by a couple of
Naval lieutenants dealing with computer security.

The article, which appeared an an obscure publication called the
Naval Institute Proceedings is entitled "The Eagle's Own Plume" and
deals with a hypothetical set of scenarios reflecting the results of
subversion (trap doors and trojan horses) of Naval combat computer
systems.

Has anyone here seen either the article or the AP story, and, if so,
could they please comment.  (comments directly to me; I'll
summarize/redistribute to HNets and to my Security-Forum if that
seems appropriate).  It would be even more interesting if one of the
sites that seems to be plugged into the AP wires managed to capture
the story.

Ted Lee

------------------------------

Date: Fri 17 Jun 83 05:09:09-PDT
From: Jim Miller 
Subject: 1984 National Computer Conference: Call for Papers

     The call for papers for the 1984 National Computer Conference has
been released; a copy of it is enclosed below.  As the program chair
for the artificial intelligence / human-computer interaction track, I
hope that you will give serious thought to preparing papers and
sessions for NCC.  This meeting offers us a real voice in the
conference's program, as six program sessions will be devoted to these
topics, far more than in the past.  Proposals on any aspect of AI or
human-computer interaction are welcome; I would only note that most of
the people attending the conference will have little familiarity with
these topics.  Consequently, extremely technical papers or sessions
are probably not appropriate for this meeting.  I am particularly
interested in sessions that would summarize important subareas of AI
or HCI at an introductory or tutorial level, perhaps especially those
that that are beginning to have an impact on the computer industry and
society at large.  Please contact me if you have any questions about
the conference; my address, net address, and phone are below.

     Jim Miller


------------------------------------------------------------------

            A CALL FOR PAPERS, SESSIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS
                 1984 NATIONAL COMPUTER CONFERENCE
     July 9-12, 1984    Convention Center    Las Vegas, Nevada

              E N H A N C I N G    C R E A T I V I T Y

     You are invited to attend and to participate in the 1984 NCC
program.  The 1984 theme, "Enhancing Creativity," reflects the
increasing personalization of computer systems, and the attendant
focus on individual productivity and innovation.  In concert with the
expanded degrees of connectivity resulting from advances in data
communications, this trend is leading to dramatic changes in the
office, the factory, and the home.

     The 1983 program will feature informative sessions on
contemporary issues that are critically important to the industry.
Sessions and papers will be selected on the basis of quality,
topicality, and suitability for the NCC audience.  All subjects
related to computing technology and applications are suitable.

     YOU CAN PARTICIPATE BY:

   - Writing a paper

        * Send for "Instructions to Authors" TODAY.

        * Submit papers by October 31, 1983.

   - Organizing and leading a session

        * Send preliminary proposal (title, abstract, target
          audience) by July 15, 1983.

        * After preliminary approval, send final session
          proposal by August 30, 1983.

   - Serving as a reviewer for submitted papers and sessions

     Authors and session leaders will receive final notification of
acceptance by January 31, 1984.

     Send all submissions, proposals, correspondence and inquiries
about papers and sessions on ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE or
HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION to:

    James R. Miller
    Computer * Thought Corporation
    1721 West Plano Parkway
    Plano, Texas 75075
    214-424-3511
    JMILLER@SUMEX-AIM

     Send all other proposals or inquiries to:

    Dennis J. Frailey, Program Chairman
    Texas Instruments Incorporated
    8642-A Spicewood Springs Road
    Suite 1984
    P.O. Box 10988
    Austin, Texas 78766-1988
    512-250-6663

------------------------------

Date: 17-Jun-83 16:42 PDT
From: WBD.TYM@OFFICE-2
Subject: Bulletin Board For Micro Users Set Up By NBS

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- An electronic bulletin board that will inform
microcomputer users about upcoming conferences, seminars and
workshops, as well as update them on the latest telecomputing
services, publications and users groups, has been established by the
Commerce Department's National Bureau of Standards (NBS).

Dubbed the Microcomputer Electronic Information Exchange (MEIE), the
service will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Both
federal and nonfederal users with Asci terminals that communicate
at 300 bit/sec with eight data bits, no parity and one stop bit can
reach the exchange by calling (301) 948-5718.

Further information on MEIE can be obtained fom the NBS.

   From June 13th issue of COMPUTERWORLD

------------------------------

End of HUMAN-NETS Digest
************************