About

Ones & Zeroes is an independent publication with the mission to open up the history of computing to a broad audience. It is the work of one independent writer, Anne-Laure Fréant - software technical writer by day - with a taste for the history of sciences and technologies.

I especially enjoy the less known stories left out of mainstream narratives of the history of computing. The history of technologies tends to be told linearly, fitting into the wider "modernity and progress" or "successful startup" narratives that assumes "we" are progressing towards a unique and ultimate goal, driven by solitary hero male figures inventing things out of nothing, alone in a garage. The reality is in fact much more nuanced and chaotic, made of experiments, collaborative endaveours, failure and sometimes, dishonesty. It keeps reminding us that technological, political and social shifts go hands in hands, and that technology is never - ever - deprived of political implications, nor about one single person inventing things out of nothing.

Ones & Zeroes is a work of curiosity and exploration. I hope it will inspire many readers, curious minds and technology enthusiasts alike.