Age: 19 Location: Murcia, Spain IRC Nick: pochu
How long have you used Linux, and what was your first distro? I started with Ubuntu in December 2005 with Ubuntu Breezy Badger, and have been using Linux since then. I mostly use Ubuntu, but I have a Debian VM for testing the packages I maintain there.
When did you get involved with the MOTU team and how? I started contributing back in January 2007 with small packaging fixes, adding/fixing desktop files. I had no programming skills by that time (and they are still very poor, although I’m working on that!), so I started with simple tasks, and I’ve been taking more complex things as time passed. I’ve concentrated in some packages too, and I maintain some in Debian and Ubuntu.
What helped you learn packaging and how Ubuntu teams work? The #ubuntu-motu channel in IRC has always been a great help, with a lot of MOTUs and other wannabes hanging there, and willing to answer questions or point to the proper documentation.
Also, the wiki, the PackagingGuide, and the Debian Policy, have been good places to consult when I didn’t know anything, or was unsure. But the most important thing has been to do packaging. You can read a lot of documentation, but won’t learn packaging until you start working on it.
Favorite part of working with the MOTU? The fact that many MOTUs are volunteers motivates me. Also the environment, and the good work the team does in a universe of thousands of packages.
Any advice for people wanting to help out MOTU? Start contributing. You don’t need to know programming. You don’t need to know packaging. You don’t even need to know what that means! Just have a look at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/GettingStarted and https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/TODO, and start contributing. And don’t hesitate to ask in #ubuntu-motu, on IRC or in the ubuntu-motu-mentors mailing list, if you have any questions, even if you think they are obvious.
You have been working on a lot of different packages in the last cycles, what are you going to focus on in Intrepid? I’m contributing to the DesktopTeam, merging gstreamer related packages, and looking at GNOME packages I’m interested in. I’m also looking at the SponsorsQueue from time to time, and do some reviewing. Also, I don’t want to duplicate efforts, so I’ve been working with Sebastian Dröge in having the GStreamer stack in sync with Debian. For the Intrepid cycle, I want to keep the GStreamer packages in sync with Debian, and try to reduce the duplication work between the Debian and Ubuntu GNOME teams.
How do you think Intrepid will be special for our users? With GNOME 2.24, it will be a very solid release. It will be a pity it’s not LTS.
Favorite quote? I don’t have a favourite one, but I like this one a lot: “A real friend takes your hand and touches your heart”
What do you do in your other spare time? I like to go to the cinema, to meet my friends, and to watch the tv.
