Daniel Manrique (roadmr)

About me

I've been a Linux user since 1995, starting with Slackware, then Red Hat, then Debian and Ubuntu. I appreciate Ubuntu's hardware support, friendliness and ease of use, but I'm equally comfortable using the command line to bang out cryptic commands most people don't understand.

Most of my professional experience has been in ISP and server administration environments: installing/configuring Linux servers and daemon software for web, email, databases and whatnot. However I have used Linux for everything, from desktop systems to home routers, to enterprise network bridges, to virtualization hosts/guests. I know about web standards and design, HTML, CSS, and some Javascript. I also enjoy programming, and I'm fluent in C, Ruby, Python, Perl, Java and PHP. I know a little Objective-C.

Prior to Ubuntu, my involvement with the Linux and Free Software community included stuff such as:

• Translation into spanish for the LyX Document Processor, collaborating with Alejandro Aguilar Sierra (back in the 1990's).
• Compiled and maintained the Mexico City Linux User Group's FAQ document (this was back in the 1990's).

• Authored the "X Window System Architecture Overview HOWTO" for the Linux Documentation Project. This document is slightly outdated.

• Active in the Mexican Linux User Group mailing list, usually answering questions from beginning Linux users.

• I like helping people on Stack Overflow.

• A long-time Wikipedia user, I've authored a few articles and helped fix stuff overall.

I also have a blog where I mostly rant but occasionally I post something of technical interest.

Summary of contributions to Ubuntu

Bug triaging and troubleshooting, helping the community on askubuntu.com and Launchpad, translations (to Spanish), work on Checkbox (System Testing application), some patches to Ubuntu components (casper, ubiquity) and GNU software (wget), Hardware Certification-related work, Ubuntu Friendly community testing program.

Contact details

• I'm roadmr on irc (usually on freenode).

• E-mail: daniel.manrique@canonical.com or roadmr@tomechangosubanana.com

• Twitter: @roadmr

• Launchpad: ~roadmr

• My blog is here; it has a nifty contact form to reach me.

Ubuntu

I've been using Ubuntu since 2009 (when I migrated away from Debian). I opened a Launchpad account pretty early on to report on some problems I was having.

I happen to work for Canonical (since January 2011), on the Hardware Certification team as a certification engineer.

My efforts within Ubuntu have mostly focused on bug reporting and helping the OS developers with triaging by performing the tests they require. I 've also done work on the tools that the Hardware Certification team uses to test and certify hardware.

As a result of bugs we've found during testing, I've contributed some code to the Ubiquity installer, the Casper LiveCD environment (also here) and GNU WGet.

I'm also very involved in development and bug-fixing for the checkbox extensible testing tool, which is the testing client used for the Ubuntu Friendly community hardware testing program among other things.

I have done some work with translations for Ubuntu, mainly in Spanish.

As a member of the Ubuntu Friendly Squad, I've been quite involved in the Ubuntu Friendly program from its inception.

I also try to devote some of my free time to helping Ubuntu users (and the Ubuntu project in general):

• Whenever I have the time, I drop by Ask Ubuntu to see if I can help anyone.

• I've done some work, mainly on testing and reporting related to my laptop (Samsung QX410), which works mostly OK except for the keyboard which needs a trivial patch to the udev rules, and the touchpad, for which I did some investigating and pitched in on the upstream bug report (alas, I'm not that good, I couldn't fix it).

• I'm also a member of Ubuntu's Bug Squad and Bug Control teams, where I help with general Ubuntu bug triaging whenever possible.

Plans for the future

I intend to continue helping with questions from the community, mainly in askubuntu.com (where direct answers can be provided) and Launchpad (where a lot of bug triaging help is always welcome), as time permits. Whenever my coding skills are up to the task, I always try to fix the bugs instead of just reporting or triaging; as my knowledge of Python and other Ubuntu technologies and components improves, I'll probably ramp this up. Also, I'm getting more familiar with packaging for Ubuntu and Debian, it's an area where I'd like to start contributing by maintaining packages. Finally, if I come up with ideas (such as Ubuntu Friendly where I'm just another participant) I'll certainly try to push them forward as something that benefits Ubuntu users.

Testimonials

• roadmr has been, and is, very active on triaging, and his help is extremely welcome.His work there, and on fixing Checkbox (and others) is an example of dedication for Ubuntu. I wholeheartedly endorse his application for membership. -- ~hggdh2

• Outside of Canonical, I'm continuously impressed by people who find the time to contribute to the community in addition to their already busy schedule. Daniel Manrique happens to be one of those people who does more bug triaging in Launchpad than I can actually keep up with. It is not only the sheer volume that impresses me but also the quality and the respect of his responses. Daniel also happens to help people on Stack Overflow where he provides answers on a wide range of topics from programming (C, Ruby, and more) to system administration (MySQL, MongoDB and more). A lot of the contributions mentionned in his Ubuntu section are not only a result of working for Canonical but a lot of personal time dedicated to improving free software . If these contributions don't fit the profile of a true Ubuntu Member, I don't know what does. -- ~cr3

• Daniel has made a lot of valuable contributions since he joined the Ubuntu Community. Apart from translations and bug triaging, he has found time to contribute with bug fixes. Also, although he does not mention it, he has become the main checkbox package maintainer, and most of the latest uploads and SRUs came from his detailed work. -- ~apulido

• I've been working with Daniel for over a year now and he always continues to impress me. In this short space of time he has taken over as the maintainer of and main contributor to the Checkbox package, something I rely on in my everyday work. As I observe from mailing lists and IRC, he is also an extremely helpful person and very willing to sacrifice some of his own time to assist anyone. I would definitely recommend Daniel as an Ubuntu member -- ~brendan-donegan

• Daniel is not what you would expect, were you to ever meet him in person. He's quiet, calm, collected. However, if you knew him by his work on Ubuntu you'd expect him to be frenetic. He seems to have a boundless fountain of energy for working on various projects, from Checkbox and it's various parts to being key to getting Ubuntu Friendly launched as well as working on bugs, both in triage and even providing patches to bugs. He's super friendly, always willing to lend a hand, no matter what the task and I think well represents the spirit of Ubuntu. -- ~bladernr

• Whenever issues are hit and problems are snagged Daniel is always on top of multiple solutions and fixes. His depth and breadth of knowledge makes him a valuable resource on any team that is lucky enough to have him. His calm demeanor in communication of issues makes him a first stop (and usually last) in seeking help and resolutions. I would highly recommend him as a Ubuntu member. -- ~maaarc