I, Andreas Wenning, apply for MOTU.

Who I am

Who am I? First of all: I am 23 years old and from Denmark. I usually live in Glostrup, Denmark but I'm currently studying in Bangkok, Thailand. I have a bachelor in IT and Telecommunication with focus on networks (2008), and is currently studying to become for Master in Telecommunication.

Apart from my involvement with Kubuntu/Ubuntu I'm a hardcore scout, and loves spending time outdoor (hey, you need some counter-weight to all the time you spend in from of the computer doing Ubuntu/Kubuntu work).

My Ubuntu story

I actually switched to Kubuntu directly from Windows back when dapper was the new thing. After using it as a second workstation/server for some time, I ended up switching to use Kubuntu edgy as my primary operating system on all I had of hardware. I quickly started developing some interest in how it all worked behind the scene; upgrading to alpha/beta releases and reporting bugs.

My more serious involvement started in the beginning of 2007. Ubuntu was changing to apache2 only and all apache1 only modules needed to go away or get updated; I helped investigating possibilities, filing removal reports, sharing my investigations with Debian and taking maintainership in Debian for the modules to be kept, but missing a maintainer. After that I started helping out some more with Kubuntu during the last part of the hardy cycle.

My involvement

Kubuntu Member since November 2008

Ubuntu-dk loco member since October 2008

Examples of my work / Things I'm proud of

Getting kde-guidance somewhat in shape for hardy: https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kde-guidance

My first security update, couldn't even remember that one: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/sdl-image1.2/+bug/185782

Helping to get kde3.5.10 ready for hardy-updates by fixing regressions: kdepim kdebase

I've been looking at a number of kde/qt apps making sure that they were as good as possible for release, including: kdesvn kile

Helping with the arts-removal process involving quite many packages: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kile/+bug/320915

Somewhat larger security-update for mediawiki: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mediawiki/+bug/323842

Helping getting kde4.1.4 ready for intrepid-updates, including some regression fixing as well: https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/kdepim/4:4.1.4-0ubuntu1~intrepid2

Areas of work

Apart from being very keen on helping with kde/qt applications, I'm very focused on stability and security.

When I encounter a problem, I'll always give it a thought if it is feasible for an SRU; and have done quite a number of SRU's. To account for that I also do some SRU verification / testing as well.

I have my primary focus on Kubuntu packages either in main or universe, but I'm in no way limited to that. Apart from the general helping out with kde/qt applications I try to conquer packages one by one. This includes going through a lot (in many cases all bugs) trying to fix as many of them, subscribe to the bugmail so the shape doesn't lower when I move on to the next package. For now these includes: kile kdesvn qtoctave varnish imapsync offlineimap mediawiki squirrelmail ... and of course packages I'm maintainer for in Debian. I've probably forgot some, but I'll remember as soon as I get a bug from the package.

Some universe packages has a high "visibility" security-wise from outside, when being installed on the machine. And I've started making a personal commitment to be sure to do regular security-updates for some packages in this category. This includes subscribing to info from upstream as well as Debian to be able to pick fixes as quickly as possible. For now this is: * mediawiki - hardy onwards (as the packaging prior to hardy is some script downloading the upstream tarball). * squirrelmail - dapper onwards

Things I could do better

There is always ways to improve; and I'm confident that some more experience will give me that. One thing I know, is that I should be better to remember to include bug numbers in my changelog, and sometimes be a little more verbose.

Plans for the future

General

Keep helping out to improve Kubuntu in any way possible.

Look out for some more packages to commit myself to.

Start venture more into new areas; I'm very keen on the Ubuntu server and could see myself helping out there eventually.

What I like least in Ubuntu

One of the things I've been seeing as missing in Ubuntu is a way to be aware of security problems in packages. In many cases we rely on the security flaw to be reported in Launchpad which isn't always reliable.

A way to get at least some of those problems, could be to check debian uploads for security advisories / CVE numbers, or to have regular queries of the CVE database. I'm still not sure what an optimal solution could be, but for now I'm just trying to do my drop in the ocean with some high-visibility universe packages...

Comments

If you'd like to comment, but are not the applicant or a sponsor, do it here. Don't forget to sign with @SIG@.

Endorsements

As a sponsor, just copy the template below, fill it out and add it to this section.

ScottKitterman

General feedback

I don't know how many of Andreas' packages I sponsored. It's been a lot and they are virtually always problem free. In the rare cases they are not he follows through and gets things fixed. I've never known him to let go of a problem unsolved. He has my strong endorsement for MOTU.

He is very good at digging through upstream svn and finding fixes for problems we are having. He did this quite well in both KDE 3.5.10 and 4.1.4. I do not think we'd have KDE 3.5.10 in Kubuntu 8.04.2 without Andreas' dedication to solving kdepim regressions. He is also very open to new tasks. More than once (kdesvn is one example) I've suggested there was something that needed doing and he just jumped in and did it.

Specific Experiences of working together

Most, if not all, of the work I've done with Andreas has been on KDE related packages both in Main and Universe. I worked with him on improving kde-guidance for Hardy, getting the regressions resolved for KDE 3.5.10 in Hardy and 4.1.4 in Intrepid. I also worked with him on kile and kdesvn. I don't really have any negatives to report. He's just great to work with.

Areas of Improvement

I'd like it if he were more active on #ubuntu-motu and not just in #kubuntu-devel.

Jonathan Thomas (JontheEchidna)

General feedback

I have sponsored one of Andreas' kile updates. It was good quality overall and pbuilt perfectly, and I had no qualms uploading on the first try. But there's more to it than that. In 8.10 Kile was still at a KDE3 version and was somewhat crippled due to some missing KDE3 components. (The program basically worked but was castrated) Now, come 9.04, a stable release of a KDE4 version of Kile is still a bit off. Andreas has worked his tail off packaging svn snapshots of Kile and working extensively in Launchpad bugs to close KDE3 bugs fixed by the KDE4 version of Kile and to find new bugs introduced by the KDE4 version. He has also been great with working with upstream in regard to bugs.

He is very responsible and has a firm grasp of the Debian/Ubuntu packaging technologies. I believe that most of the aRts removal uploads were based on his debdiffs, most of which didn't require any changes prior to upload. In fact, before this I had assumed he already was an MOTU or something, due to the amount of work I saw in the debian/changelog of guidance-power-manager.

Specific Experiences of working together

I guess that would be a Kile upload. A user reported a somewhat-serious bug in the svn snapshot of Kile. That bug got upstreamed and was promptly fixed by upstream the other day. Yesterday Andreas updated the package and asked me to upload it, which I did. I found nothing to be dissatisfied with.

Areas of Improvement

None that I can think of.

Steve Stalcup

General feedback

I've sponsored a few of Andreas' and reviewed several of his KDE release update packages. I have no complaints about his thoroughness. Although I was not involved with the KDE 3.5.10 release, I have been a consumer of his work. He did a remarkable job, and one that most of us were not able to spend time on. He works with the Kubuntu team very well, and is always ready to jump in and help. Overall, I think he would make a wonderful addition to the MOTU team. His aptitude for packaging is bar-none, and he definitely has the know-how needed for the job.

Specific Experiences of working together

The most recent example I have to share is in regards to the KDE 4.2.1 release update. Andreas was not only providing great results on some rather difficult packages, he was helping solve issues others were experiencing. For each new release, we also backport the newest release. Andreas wrote a great snippit on what needed to be done to the $JUANTY_VERSION to successfully move to a buildable $INTREPID_VERSION. It was very helpful, and streamlined the entire process.

Areas of Improvement

I don't have any specific areas I think he can improve on. He is an overall solid Developer.

TEMPLATE

== <SPONSORS NAME> ==
=== General feedback ===
## Please fill us in on your shared experience. (How many packages did you sponsor? How would you judge the quality? How would you describe the improvements? Do you trust the applicant?)

=== Specific Experiences of working together ===
''Please add good examples of your work together, but also cases that could have handled better.''
=== Areas of Improvement ===

CategoryMOTUApplication