A Short Intro

• Located in: Erlangen, Germany
• Occupation: Student of Computational Engineering
• Nickname on IRC: Tronical
• Claim to Fame: Some framework stuff of Konqueror, parts of kparts, some little hacks in khtml, various koffice hacks, Konqueror/Embedded, DCOP C bindings.
• Fav. KDE applications: Konqueror, KSirc, Konsole and oh yes, KPat ;-)
• Hardware: P3/500mhz

The Interview

What is your role within KDE?

Hmm, just developer, hacking here and there, enjoying the fun that it is when being part of a team.

How and when did you get involved in KDE?

As usual (at least for a german KDE developer :-) I read that famous KDE article by Kalle in the c't magazine (his first KDE article in the c't, he wrote quite some brilliant ones!) . At that time my devel platform was good old DOS, and I was involved in the demo scene. I was very impressed by the screenshots and soon after that downloaded it. It was just the right new platform I was looking for (as all the other scene people went over to Windows, which I did not like at all) . I followed the development passively for a while and did my first steps in the CVS repository with a koffice application template. I figured some things were missing in the OpenParts framework at that time (in particular a statusbar :-) , so I started hacking and sent a patch to Torben. That was about the beginning, and it changed my life.

How much time do you spend on KDE?

Not enough :)

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

I switch between vi and xemacs quite a lot. I'm happy with both.

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

No special process. The very first thing I try to do is to talk to other people about it, discuss ideas and implementation details (I love teamwork). So usually I bug other KDE people on IRC :-) . Often we have endless discussions about apparently trivial things like how to name a certain method to make it a good API and the like.

What was your first computer?

A good old 80286 running DOS 4.x . In fact it was my father's computer and it lacked any games. All it had was GWBASIC, so all I could do on it was learning BASIC, which I enjoyed though ;-)

Which program would you say every KDE user should have?

Konqueror.

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

Hmm, I can't think of any :-) I'm not very creative when it comes to special features. Usually I see other people coming up with the ideas and then I realize that their idea is something I've been waiting for years without knowing :-)

What application/game would you like to see ported to KDE?

All those good old adventure games like Monkey Island 1/2, Simon the Sourcerer or Indiana Jones. I loved playing those :-).

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

I hope I'll be near finishing my studies in 2 years and KDE just being as smooth as it is now.

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

I'm working on KDE in my free time.

Personal Questions

Where and when were you born?

In Deggenhausen/Germany on February the 13th, 1980.

Which University/School did you go to?

I'm still studying Computational Engineering at the University of Erlangen, in the first term.

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

Single, and yes, up for adoption ;-)

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

I would love to be able to answer this question. I'm still single though :(

Do you have children?

No.

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

Probably my CDs and my Saxophone. I can't live without music. Impossible.

What are the elements for a perfect vacation?

Time, a free mind, a nice surrounding (landscape) and perhaps a good network connection ;-)

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

Having founded a family and having met as much KDE developers as possible :-)

What do you (and your s.o) like to do in your spare time?

I enjoy playing the Saxophone.

What song brings back a favorite memory? And why?

Any Nils Landgren song. Brings back the memory of two live concerts I had the luck of being able to see/hear. And any Stan Getz song, bringing back memory about my old Saxophone teacher, who was one of the most impressive people I've ever met.

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

Matt Groening, as I'm a fan of Simpsons/Futurama. J.R.R. Tolkien, as Lord of the Rings is the most impressive book I've ever read. Terry Pratchett for the Discworld series.

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

I met a lot of people at various occasions (KDE-2, CeBIt, LinuxTag, other fairs).

Name your favorite quote/saying.

"Der Mensch erfand die Atombombe, doch keine Maus der Welt würde eine Mausefalle konstruieren."
    Albert Einstein
(translation): "Mankind invented the atomic bomb, but no mouse would ever construct a mousetrap."