APR
21
2006
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Frans EnglichA Short Intro
The InterviewIn what ways do you make a contribution to KDE?As with most other KDE developers I do a little bit of each. I try to help the KDE-artists with technical issues, have been involved with Free Desktop's icon naming spec (seconded by the Tango project), and written parts of kdelibs' KUtils library, for example. Occasionally, I stir the water with an article or two. How and when did you get involved in KDE?Likely as many others, by reading documents on developer.kde.org and lurking on the various mailing lists. My first contribution, if memory serves me correctly, was a syntax highlightning script for Kate that handles the scripting language found in games built upon Id Software's Quake engine. It shipped with KDE 3.0, and is probably a nice example of classic itch-scratching. Are you being paid to work on KDE?Many people have commented on the drawbacks of being paid for exercising your passion. Their points are to me fair, but I think nevertheless I would be able to handle it, as well as enjoy it. Do you have any plans for KDE 4?MS Internet Explorer, the Mozilla family, Safari, and Opera supports XSL-T 1.0. Konqueror does not, and is really lagging behind in this area. My plan for KDE 4 is to add XSL-T 2.0 support to Konqueror, and by that hopefully making it the most attractive browser on this planet in this aspect. But I'm developing on an Open Source basis, so what actually happens is unsure. What motivates/keeps you motivated to work on KDE?I am not that determined on that. I would for example find it to be great fun to work more with the GNOME people, partly because of how excellent usability engineers they are. What chances do you see in your country for KDE as a desktop platform?I think Sweden and Denmark have an KDE/Open Source adoption approach similar to other western countries. That is, not that much home users, but educational institutions, technical areas, back office and so forth. Which text editor do you use? Why?Vim, although I don't get religious about it. Emacs seem fine, and it is one of many things I would like to look closer at. However, Vim & friends are to me indescribable time savers. I can't imagine serious coding with the text edit widgets you find in the mainstream IDEs. What makes you develop for KDE instead of the competition?You mean why I work on KDE instead of Microsoft Windows? Because that's the only competitor KDE has, due to Microsoft's market dominance. I probably have no strong reason to pick KDE in front of for example GNOME. I think that KDE at the moment has a better technical foundation, but GNOME has the advantage of better usability. I am quite sure we can find different opinions on that. What does your desktop look like?Broken. An old Slackware installation with layers of installed software, behaves and looks there after. It's one of those machines you need to type furiously at to get started. What type is your laptop/desktop? What is it named?My machines are named by characters in the Phantom comics. My switch is named Guran (he's the head of all the pygmys), and isn't Eden a nice place to answer an interview on. What is your most brilliant KDE hack?I'm not that impressed by brilliant hacks. Anyone, after having sweeped a half can of coffee, can code straight through a day delivering a "cool" proof-of-concept. What impresses me is the stable, well-documented, regression-tested, and usability tested software. That's something a user can use. One doesn't get very far with a piece of software that was created for showing off the programmer's ego. What is your most embarrassing KDE moment?I am probably blocking that out... but I remember at least one. Did you go to Akademy? What did you see/What did you miss?No, I have unfortunately not been to any Akademy, due to financial reasons. It would be fun to meet KDE developers and the Apple folks face to face. Personal QuestionsIf someone visits your country, which spot is a must-see?Sweden has lots of forest. I think the deep, dark forest has a wonderful calm to it. Perhaps one must grow up with it. Who or what in your life would you say influenced you most?Birth. Richard Stallman or Linus Torvalds?I try not to camp. Anyone who questions his craft receives my attention, and Linus does that. He seems to be a good engineer. What is your favourite place in the world?The shower, no question. Considering the cuddly feeling one gets, it must be some kind of a womb simulator. I solve many problems while being massaged by the hot, sparkling water. |