A Short Intro

• Located in: Munich, Germany
• Occupation: Student of Computer Science
• Claim to Fame: Trying to be a good teacher to my Karate kids, becoming a KDE developer
• Fav. KDE applications: Konqueror
• Hardware: PII 400 w/ 192MB RAM, 17'' screen

The Interview

What is your role within KDE?

Currently I'm working on KNotes and its integration with PDA sync utils but other than that I don't have a fixed role within KDE yet. I try to fix the bugs I find, write hopefully useful bug reports and if there's nothing better to do (coolo will certainly kill me for that sentence... ;) I browse bugs.kde.org to close already fixed bugs, duplicates or to find real bugs I can fix. And very much of my time I spend reading the lists (often this is the only thing I can do).

How and when did you get involved in KDE?

A friend of mine constantly wanted me to switch over to linux after I decided to by a new Computer. But at that time I was using my good old Atari with GFA Basic and LaTeX and thus had everything I could imagine, so I didn't want to leave that thing behind. With my new Computer I had MiKTeX (running on Windows) so it took about half a year till I tried linux for the first time - with the "new" KDE 1.0 :-) I was a plain user till KDE 1.1.2; after that release I didn't want to wait for the next release and downloaded and compiled the cvs regularly. With Qt 2.0.0 I finally started to write linux-apps myself.

How much time do you spend on KDE?

Depends, during the lectures it must be something between 1 and 3 hours a day, during the holidays the whole day if possible.

What is your favorite tool? (for developers; what is your favorite editor?)

As a user: Konqi without doubt, as a developer: kdevelop, kwrite and xemacs.

Is there a process you follow when you design/write code/translate/write documentation?

The very fist thing that is always the same is to create and think about the required classes and their connections. Hacking them down afterwards is usually straightforward. But then there's always the bugfixing...

What was your first computer?

The first computer I have seen in my life was an Atari ST with 512KB RAM, my first own computer was an Atari Mega STE with 4 MB RAM :-). I learned programming in a very lovely language named GFA Basic. With this one I wrote my first big program - a program I was able to edit and learn my vocabulary with. The aim was to have a very fast app that won't crash, no matter what key you hit. (I had to learn my words with an app that isn't really usable from my point of view...) I'm still impressed by that app and proud of it every time I try it out ;-))

Which program would you say every KDE user should have?

Konqueror, of course. Hmm, but if I think about it then you definitely can't live without Kicker.

If you could add one personal feature to KDE what would that be?

Usually I have an editor with some code and a konsole to start the compiler on my desktop. Again and again I just move my eyes from the editor to the konsole and start typing... So what I really miss is "Focus follows mind" ;-) But wait, seems that there was already a guy who promised to implement that - somehow I must have missed the magic patch ;-))

Where do you see yourself and KDE 2 years from now?

Myself: still studying, hopefully working much more on KDE
KDE: still the greatest and completest DE available in the world, now used by about 20-30% of all the users out there.

Are you being paid to work for KDE and if yes by who?

No, I'm doing it just for fun.

Personal Questions

Where and when were you born?

In Hamburg, Germany, on 23th of October 1979.

Which University/School did you go to?

I went to the "Gymnasium Penzberg" for nine years and now I'm visiting the "Ludwig Maximilians Universität München".

What's your status, are you single and up for adoption?

I don't know exactly ;-)). If she's fast enough, then no, if not, well...

If married/girlfriend/partner(m/f), how does he/she cope living with a KDE addict?

Hmm, if I had a girlfriend, perhaps I'd have another addiction? ;-)

Do you have children?

No.

What are the biggest turning points/events in your life?

The day I reached the final round of the "16. Bundeswettbewerb Informatik" and, perhaps most important, last years international budo course in Greece. Besides being a real turning point it was one of the nicest and greatest weeks I ever had in my life.

What is the nicest thing anyone ever did for you?

To ask how I was feeling.

If your house is on fire what would be the first thing you would grab to take with you?

My computer. It's the only really important thing I own at the moment ;-) If there would be some time left after that I'd grab all my photos.

What are the elements for a perfect vacation?

I don't know if I'd like to have a "perfect" vacation but what I really don't want to miss are some good friends, the ocean and a sunny weather.

Very much Karate. In fact, my spare time consists mainly of KDE and Karate, I can't live without even one of them. Karate is the ideal counterpart to programming and really great to get your head clean.

What are the things you want to have done before you die?

I'd like to visit China to dedicate a year or so to martial arts.

What was the last movie you have seen?

In cinema? I can't remember... but on TV the last (good ;) one was 12 Monkeys.

What was the last fiction book that your have read?

Raymond Feist, Schlangenkriegsaga 2 (Die Smaragdkönigin). This is really the best fantasy story I ever read, and if you like "Lord of the Rings": read it! Altogether the story consists of 18 books - this is why I'm reading it for about three years now.

What song brings back a favorite memory? And why?

No Woman, No Cry. This song was played on my last evening with some really good friends I found during a windsurfing course in Turkey.

If you could be invisible for 2 hours where would you go and what would you do?

I have no idea, really.

You having some friends over for a party and you're allowed to invite 3 famous people who would you invite and why?

Albert Einstein, Peter Frankenfeld and Laeticia Casta. That would be a nice mixture: Some science, fun and a cute woman :-)

Did you meet your best friend (no family) virtually or in person?

In person, of course

Did you ever met a fellow KDE'r in person, when and where?

No, unfortunately not yet. Hopefully this will change in the future...

Name your favorite quote/saying.

"Wenn Du redest, dann mu deine Rede besser sein, als es dein Schweigen gewesen wre." - Something like "If you talk, then your speech must be better, than it would have been your silence."