First Computer Programmers Inspire Documentary

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

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From: Adam Peake [mailto:ajp () glocom ac jp] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 12:34 PM
To: dave () farber net
Subject: First Computer Programmers Inspire Documentary

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First Computer Programmers Inspire Documentary
Decline in Numbers of Women in Computer Science Threatens U.S. 
Competitiveness, Say Experts
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES

Dec. 4, 2007 (ABCNews)

During World War II the Army ran out of male mathematicians and 
turned to six women to program the world's first computer - ENIAC. 
Historian Kathy Kleiman (left) has recorded oral histories of these 
women - now in their 80s - in her upcoming documentary film, 
"Invisible Computers."  ...

At 83, Betty Jean Jennings Bartik -- a devoted bridge player and 
grandmother of five -- had a secret past that was invisible to many 
who knew her.

Her grandson Alex knew her story. He stormed out of school one day 
when his teacher refused to believe his gray-haired granny was a 
computer pioneer who had calculated firing tables and ballistic 
trajectories during World War II.

The boy's parents had to explain to the teacher that Bartik and five 
other women had, indeed, legally hacked one of the world's first 
computers, converting it into a stored machine and eventually helping 
to usher in the digital age.
(more at <http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=3951187&page=1>)





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