I'm ROCHE Didier, aka DidRocks.

About Me

I am a 24 year old French system administrator, living near Paris.

About my Linux profile, I started using Linux with Red Hat 6 in 1999. I then really become a regular Linux member since Mandrake 7.0 with a KDE based interface. I used Mandrake until 9.0 release of Mandrake, and then decided to try debian, and was truly satisfied with it, despite the long configuration time it took to have a working environment. I found the apt tools really cool compared to rpm one. With the project to go to Africa (see below), I was seeking for an easy-to-use and install Linux distribution. I found the "no-name-yet", known as Ubuntu today, and become to make some test with it. I have sticked with it and Ubuntu make me love the GNOME environment since this date.

As a programmer, I know C++, XHTML/CSS, PHP, XML/XSL/XPATH, shell scripting (Bash/Ksh) and java languages. I am currently learning python which seems to rock on!

Ubuntu Involvement

• I am involved in french [http://www.ubuntu-fr.org ubuntu-fr] loco team as a member of the administration team and part of the chair (as the secretary) of ubuntu-fr french association.

• I am also the author of [http://www.framabook.org/ubuntu.html Simple Comme Ubuntu], free book (under CC:By-Sa licence), part of [http://www.framabook.org framabook collection ], solded at more than 2 000 copies only by the Internet, and downloaded more than 200 000 times at the very moment. This book is always updated with the last version of Ubuntu.

• I contribute to french [http://doc.ubuntu-fr.org documentation] and wrote some wiki pages like [http://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/ndiswrapper ndiswrapper] page or [http://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/smartmontools Smartmontools] page.

• I also went in Africa for 1 month with a non-governemental organisation, [www.africedu.fr Africedu] : (project 1996 : Lome, capital city of Togo), shipping in a school 60 computers set up with Ubuntu 5.10 (and upgraded there to 6.06 from on old hard drive!). We made some training there.

• [https://translations.launchpad.net/~didrocks Few (unfortunately) translations] on [https://launchpad.net/people/ubuntu-l10n-fr Rosetta]

• My main goal now is to promote Ubuntu in France, and particularly in Paris with [http://www.ubuntu-party.org Ubuntu Party]. This is why I am one of the main organizers of Ubuntu events in Paris (like "Ubuntu Gutsy" and recently "Ubuntu Hardy"). In November 2007, 3rd & 4th: Gutsy Party was and amazed party with more than 3 000 visitors in two days. Main channels : #ubuntu-fr-party@Freenode

• Finally, I try to represent the French community at big events (like [http://2008.rmll.info/ RMLL] and [http://www.solutionslinux.fr/fr/index.php Linux Solution]) or smaller one ([http://www.libreacces.org/ LibreAcces], festival of free music where people can download the music from Ubuntu workstation).

About future involvement

In addition to my ubuntu-fr administrators tasks :

• Ensure stronger relationship beetween Press and Ubuntu-fr association
• Organize a monthly meeting of Ubunteros who live near Paris (many people are actively working on this)

• Creating a parental control GUI in a GTK style (projet available in launchpad: [https://launchpad.net/gchildcare])

• Begin to package in Ubuntu in order to become a MOTU.

Testimonials

JonathanMarsaud : Didier Roche has many times showed how he is involved on ubuntu-fr LoCoTeam : from the view of a moderator of #ubuntu-fr, I saw how his book has helped a lot of new users to use Ubuntu. His participation to Ubuntu Party and administration of ubuntu-fr.org merits to be granted

NicolasBarcet : Didier is a very committed Ubuntu actor in the french speaking community, and a very well known one, through his involment in documentation, translation, his book and participation in install party and numerous events. I therefore recommend to the board to grant him a membership he could have claim a long time ago.