About

Hi, my name is Sébastien, Seb for short. I’m an accountant by trade, but also the office’s go-to tech person. My colleagues regularly come to me to sort out their computer troubles, at work as well as in their personal lives. And I have to admit: I love it.

Why this blog?

GateA1 is first and foremost a hobby. I don’t sell anything here and I don’t earn any money from it: I simply write down what I learn and what I find useful.

The idea came from a simple observation. I kept giving my colleagues the same answers by the coffee machine. Rather than repeating them, I might as well write them down once and for all, with pictures and clear explanations, so that everyone can benefit.

I do it for the pleasure of understanding how things work, explaining them simply and, above all, seeing someone think “oh, so it was that easy!”. The web has fascinated me since the late 1990s, when I built my first websites, often about my other passion, aviation. That curiosity has never left me.

A gate that has been waiting since 2007

GateA1 is not a new name for me. I registered gatea1.net in February 2007 for a blog about aviation, my other hobby. Gate A1 is the first gate in the terminal: the place where the journey starts, and a fitting name for someone who loves planes.

In the early 2010s, Le Carnet de Seb took off and gradually took all my writing time. GateA1 stayed parked at its gate, kept safe all these years, waiting for its next departure.

That departure is now. GateA1 is boarding again, with a new destination: bringing the guides I have been writing in French for years to readers all over the world, in English.

Who is it for?

For anyone who is not a geek and just wants their digital tools to make life easier. No jargon, no judgement: if you have a question, chances are someone has already asked it, and that I have already heard it.

Want to get in touch? Write to me, I read every message.