See: http://etherbox.local:9001/p/programme.md

_NOPUBLISH_

# Programme


## I. WHAT IS SOFTWARE

The first two days of The Techno-Galactic Software Observatory will be  developed in collaboration with the NAM-IP in Namur and will take place  in the surrounding of their collection of historical ’numerical  artefacts’. Viewing software in this long-term context offers the  occasion to reflect on the conditions of its appearance, and allows us  to take on current-day questions from a genealogical perspective. What  is software? How did it appear as a concept, in what industrial and  governmental circumstances? What happens to the material conditions of  its production (minerals, factory labor, hardware) when it evaporates into a cloud?

• 
  

**Wednesday 7 June: NAM-IP**  
08:45 Find us in Midi/South station, main hall  
09:03 Train (look for the TGSO exclusive car ;)) to Namur from Midi/South -- Introduction WHAT IS SOFTWARE, reader (Femke + Peggy)  
10:45 Arrival Nam-IP  
11:00 Start 1st guided tour + demo for francophones w/ Clara  
11:30 Start 2nd guided tour + demo w/ Amal for anglophones  
12:30 Lunch  
13:30 Intro guide/etherbox with collection of list of possible ToC/topics (Michael + Carlin)  
15:00 Exercise: What is a stored program? Where is it stored? (and meta)? Looking at files in different ways (Anita + Martino)  
18:00 Leave the museum, walk to the station  
18:45 Namur - Brussels 19:57 (on the TGSO exclusive car ;)) Introductions: Observations (Michael + Carlin), etherbox with paper backup  
\small Timekeeper: Seda

**Thursday 8 June: Department of electrical engineering, KULeuven room B91.100 and B91.200**  
09:00 Find us in Midi/South station, main hall  
09:14 Train (look for the TGSO exclusive car ;)) to Leuven from Midi/South Brussels, connect to Heverlee in Leuven  
10:00  All go to room where we will work for the day  
10:30 A: Exercise: Side channel attacks (if person that gives it gives it.)  

• B: Computer Museum II (Jean Heuns) group 1  

11:15 Report (optional second tour of Computer Museum)  
12:30 Group A Lunch in KUL-cafetaria  
13:00 Group B Lunch in KUL-cafetaria  
14:00 Discuss the guide ToC  (narrow down topcis/ToC categories from day before)  
15:00 [...]  
17:00 Leave KULeuven  
17:32 Train (TGSO exclusive car!)  to Brussels from Heverlee  
18:30 Opening Constant_V Quantify Wholeheartedly (Natacha Roussel + Samedies): <http://constantvzw.org/site/QUANTIFY-WHOLEHEARTEDLY.html>  
\small Timekeeper: Peggy


## II. WHEN AND WHERE IS SOFTWARE

The second two days will focus on the space-time dimension of IT  development. The way computer programs and operating systems are  manufactured changed tremendously through time, so its production times  and places changed too. From military labs via the mega-corporation  cubicles to the open-space freelancer utopia, what ruptures and  continuities can be traced? From time-sharing to user-space partitions  and containerization, what separations were and are at work? Where and  when is software made today?

**Friday 9 June: WTC25 Koning Albert II-laan 28-30, 25th floor**  
10:00 Introduction WHEN AND WHERE IS SOFTWARE, reader (Martino + Anita) + guide/etherbox (Anita + Femke)  
11:00 Contribution: Entreprecariat (Silvio Lorusso)  
13:00 Push and Pop lunch  
See: <https://users.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/stack_computers/sec1_2.html>  
 
14:00 Mia short introduction to WTC25  
14:30 [...]  
18:00 End  
\small Timekeeper: Carlin

**Saturday 10: WTC25 Koning Albert II-laan 28-30, 25th floor**  
10:00 [...]  
13:00 Lunch Louise Mestrallet + Chris Valens  
14:00 ..??lightening talks (proposals from participants for talks ... use pad to (pre) organize this... ??  
18:00 End  
\small Timekeeper: Martino


## III. OBSERVATION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

The last two days at the Techno-galactic software observatory will be  dedicated to observation and its consequences. The development of  software encompasses a series of practices whose evocative names are  increasingly familiar: feedback, report, probe, audit, inspect, scan,  diagnose, explore ... What are the systems of knowledge and power within  which these activities take place, and what other types of observation  are possible? As a practical set for our investigations, we will  together set up a walk-in clinic in the basement of the World Trade Center, where users and developers can arrive on Monday with  software-questions of all kinds

**Sunday 11: WTC25**  
10:00 Introduction OBSERVATION AND ITS CONSEQUENCES, reader (Carlin + Seda) + guide/etherbox (Peggy + Martino)  
11:00 Exercise: Fingerprinting or brainstorm different observation tools and methods that are in the room  
13:00 Lunch Louise Mestrallet + Chris Valens  
14:00 Preparations walk-in clinic: Tool/Method swap  
18:00 End  
\small Timekeeper: Anita

**Monday 12: WTC25**  
10:00 Preparations walk-in clinic (prepare space, what does intake look like, etc?)  
13:00 Lunch Louise Mestrallet + Chris Valens  
14:00 Walk-in Clinic Opens  
17:00 Closing the clinic, drinks  
19:00 End  
\small Timekeeper: Femke

INTRODUCTIONS
- theme of the block
- reader
- timing of the day; food; toilettes
- observation meets documentation (logbook/daybook + medical diagnoses)
- Techno-Galactic Guide to software observation
- Saturday: local lightenings. Proposals on pad
- Monday: Walk-in clinic

http://www.constantvzw.org/site/Open-Call-for-The-Techno-Galactic-Software-Observatory.html