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Kevin Dahan

Homepage: n/a

IRC nick(s): Unet

Role in SMGL: Section maintainer for audio/graphics/video

Age/Birthdate: 27

Location/Country: Dijon, France

Common

When did you first start using Linux and why?

My first experiments with Linux took place back in 1998, at this time, in France, a lot of magazine began to propose a cd with a linux distro. I remember I was a little scared before partitioning my drive to install RedHat 5.1. Since then I've used Linux – not at 100% though, since the audio/video applications weren't as many & useful as they are today… But, hey, I like coding so linux one of the dream OS for that.

How long have you been using the SMGL distribution?

I installed SGL just one or two weeks before the forks. As soon as I've installed it, I understood the true power it had, and I immediately asked Kyle to maintain the multimedia section (I wasn't aware of all the things going on….). When the forks occured, I chose to stay with on the GPL side – Lunar looked like a commercial project to me…

What piqued your interest in SMGL initially?

At first, the possibility to have a fast linux box – as opposed to the binary-distros, whose I always found slooooow.

What future do you personally see for SMGL?

Brilliant. What is the most amazing thing with SMGL, over speed and customization, is the true modularity of the system. One can build a server, or a desktop workstation, or an enhanced multimedia station, etc…, just by using the patched kernels, and selecting spells…

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Education/Career/Skills?

Wow. Basically I'm a musician (20 years piano) who have been computing non-stop since….1984 (with an Alice – a beast !! Motorola 6803 - 0,89MHz - 4Kb RAM :-P)

Right now I'm doing my PhD thesis in Computer Music. I've got my masters in Music & Computer Music. – will surely try to grab a masters in AI or something like that too…

No career atm, but I consider everything related to computers and/or music… =)

Any personal messages for the Source Mage users out there?

Yes. Even if it's sometimes hard, keep the distro going, spread the word!

What other OS programs/software have you worked on?

Well – almost everyone I guess. BeOS was fun, but closed, same with QNX. I like trying every OS around (AtheOS, Plan9, etc…)... and I'm always looking for non-x86 hardware… specially SGI – contact me if you got [another] one to give =)

Flamewars

vi or emacs?

Definitely emacs.

KDE or GNOME?

KDE, but I'm quite open to others (gnome 1 was ugly, will have a look at 2).

UPDATE: gnome2 is still ugly – I'll keep with KDE 3 until e17 is out (if it ever is…). I use WM when I need fast feedback from the system when doing live sets.

UPDATE: I now use openbox (2) for everything…

BSD or GPL?

GPL – I don't like the fact a closed source project can 'steal' open source developments.

Strictly personal

Do you have any family?

Yes. A wife and a 3-year old daughter.

What kind of car do you drive? Or what is your dream car?

The kind with four wheels and a steering-wheel. I really don't care about cars, so the only I dream of is a working one =)

Please attach a recent photograph of yourself – if you're brave enough ;=)

Nah- I'm not brave. Plus I don't have a single digit one… Maybe some day….