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MAY
21
2001
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Anne-Marie MahfoufA Short Intro
The InterviewWhat is your role within KDE?Very modest. I wrote a KDevelop + QtDesigner tutorial for beginners (see the KDE-women website). I would like to promote eduware within KDE, i.e encourage developers to explore that area. I am learning to code and I began small KDE educational applications. I also translate within the French team, I am the French translator of the KDevelop website. How and when did you get involved in KDE?I began to translate for KDE some 2 years ago just after I tried Linux and last year, I began to learn how to code (after downloading KDevelop). One of the first days I went on IRC, the kde-women project was being started and I got involved somehow. How much time do you spend on KDE?As much as I can, I have to keep a good balance between KDE and my family. What is your favorite tool? (for developers; what is your favorite editor?)KDevelop + KWrite. Is there a process you follow when you design/write code/translate/write documentation?For writing a doc or coding, I begin by thinking about it a lot, clarifying things in my head, sometimes putting ideas on paper. Then I have to find several hours of time alone (i.e. without any kid interfering) to start the project and after that I carry on, thinking aloud, mumbling, cursing, searching the web, looking into books and magazines, telling everyone about it, annoying people on IRC, ... until I achieve a result. What was your first computer?A SEGA, a clone of the Spectrum. Which program would you say every KDE user should have?Konqueror. If you could add one personal feature to KDE what would that be?An eduware package for children. What application/game would you like to see ported to KDE?A good encyclopedia and the ADI series for children (from Cendant Software). Is there any unreleased/unrevealed stuff in your pipe? (New applications/technologies for developers, new icon sets/themes for artists, ...)hmmm, not much. I am beginning to write a FAQ for KDevelop and then I plan a sequel to my tutorial Qt-KDevelop with more advanced help. If you were going to design desktop themes, what would your themes be like?I am really hopeless in design but a theme featuring Katie the Dragoness would be nice (with really good sounds). What is the worst thing you ever had to do for KDE?Hmmm, I don't think there ever was such a thing. Where do you see yourself and KDE 2 years from now?We plan to move to Canada so I see myself in another country. I know that life can often be surprising so I don't plan too much, I'll grab the opportunity when I see one. KDE will mature and make it to the embedded devices. Are you being paid to work for KDE and if yes by who?No. What is your suggestion for the next KDE meeting? Where should it be held and when? Will you attend?A meeting for KDE-developers in London would suit me nicely, with all the people that I meet on IRC. Hack and be happy! Which section of KDE is underrated and could use more publicity?The documentation section and the work of all the translators. The docs really are now very up-to-date and in a lot of countries, several hundreds of individuals work very hard on translation. If you had to design a banner with a KDE slogan, what would it say?KDE Deals with Excellency! Who would you hire to play in a KDE commercial? And what would the scene be like?Julia Roberts. She would start her computer and discover that linux/KDE is installed instead of the other OS. Personal QuestionsWhere and when were you born?In France (Colmar, Alsace) the 5th July 1959 (yes, true, I'll soon be 42!) How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?18 (!!!) Who did you want to be when you grew up?Carl Friedrich Gauss. Which University/School did you go to?University of Marseille (France) What's your status, are you single and up for adoption?Married. If married/girlfriend/partner(m/f), how does he/she cope living with a KDE addict?He is quite pleased of what I do and the rest of the family now knows that KDE is not a linux distro but a desktop. Do you have children?4 (who can claim better?) (ages 14, 13, 10 1/2 and 3) What is the first hour of your day like?Coffee and breakfast, news on the radio, waking up the kids, thinking about what each individual of the house might need today and will forget if I am not there. What that event really made a difference in your life?Installing Linux for the first time (and being hooked) What piece of (real or fantasy) software or electronic equipment would make your life easier?A vacuum-cleaner robot (specialized in teenagers' bedrooms), an ironing robot and an electronic recipe database telling me what I can cook when I have no idea. What is your most indispensable possession and why?My guitar as it was quite expensive at the time I bought it. What is the best birthday present you could receive?I've already had it: my laptop last year (by my husband). What was your favorite trip within your own region?The Isle of White. What custom in your country, do you wish did not exist?In the country I live in at the moment: the Christmas pudding. If someone plans on visiting your country, what special spot is a must-be?Stonehenge, the mysterious stones. Of all the places you've lived or visited, which was your favorite? Would you want to live there?Athens in Greece. No, I don't want to live there, it's a holiday place. What would you do if you had the time?Learn to play the saxophone What do you see from your window?My (small) garden and the rain, most of the time ;) If you could have five other lives/careers, what would they be?
What book have you read that was truer than this morning's newspaper?Rebel Code from Glyn Moody. What would go into your time capsule?My cheese pie recipe, some black and white photos I did, a C++ programming book. What would you do if you didn't have to be moral or honest for a day?Hack a capitalist bank system and heratically erase data, transfer funds, change names, etc... If you knew that the world would end tomorrow, what would you do today?Play with my kids. If you could only take 3 people with you on a trip around the world, who would you take and why?Evariste Galois (french mathematician, died in May 1832 aged 21, Galois group theory) We all know the No Smoking signs. If you could put an original "No ........." sign on your door, what would it say?No proprietary code, thank you. List 3 of your favorite url's.http://www.andamooka.org/ Name your favorite quote/saying.Don't do tomorrow what you can do today. |