1980s
Simonyi, Brodie, and the Xerox legacy in the first Word
The development of Microsoft Word 1.0 in 1983 relied on the Xerox experience of Charles Simonyi and Richard Brodie, establishing a WYSIWYG standard for the IBM PC.
The software that changed how we create
Latest additions
2000s
The fork of OpenOffice.org and the birth of LibreOffice
We analyze the transition from OpenOffice.org to LibreOffice using official documents and historical sources, distinguishing verified facts from interpretations about open-source software continuity.
1990s
The Breathing Archive: Office Software and the Death of Paper
Beyond automation, office software transformed the document from a static object to a continuous flow. An analysis of its cultural and technical impact.
1980s
Before it stood on its own, Windows changed how people used DOS
Presented in 1985 as a graphical extension of MS-DOS, Windows began as a new way to access a computer, not as the standalone system many users would later know. The available evidence establishes that broad shift, but not the detailed experience of each release.
1990s
Plain text as digital memory
Analyzes how plain text editors and their file formats defined information preservation in the digital era, distinguishing them from proprietary word processors.
2000s
Tracing an image also tells the story of software
Files, instructions and working documents help reconstruct the tasks entrusted to image-editing software. The available sources show particular uses, while also setting clear limits on what can be claimed.
Contemporary
A Video Game Does Not End at the Screen
Preserving video games means attending both to the game and to the sources that help explain how it was designed, presented and played. Museums, archives and educational projects offer different ways to study this heritage without confusing documentation with memory.
2000s
Video game history does not fit into a single timeline
A history of video games can begin with dates, works or cultural shifts, but each source supports different claims. Reading them together helps distinguish documentation, interpretation and memory.
Contemporary
Preserving a game is not the same as preserving a playthrough
Doom offers a way to frame a present-day preservation question: retaining information, keeping software legible and recreating an experience are related aims, but not identical ones. The available evidence points to technical challenges as well as limits on what can be claimed.
Contemporary
Preserving a video game also means preserving the evidence around it
Museums, libraries and archives approach video games as cultural heritage. The available documentation encourages looking beyond the machine, without mistaking preservation initiatives for evidence about every work or play experience.
Contemporary
Modding communities interpret the past, too
Research on historical strategy-game mods, gender, and video-game memory helps frame what can be documented about gaming communities—and what should remain an open question.
1970s
Saving a program is not enough to make it usable again
Preserving code, documenting a program and getting it to run again are related but distinct tasks. The cited initiatives help explore that difference without conflating preservation with practical availability.
