Marching On: Leiche Becomes New LXDE
Maintainer
by Darrel Johnston (djohnston)
How did you became Neal's successor as the maintainer of LXDE?
I got a request from Neal. He said that my knowledge of LXDE made me the most logical choice. In Neal's words: “Beyond those things, I trust you with 'my baby,' PCLinuxOS-LXDE.“ I asked him, “How do I create an ISO?“, and he taught me.
What is it about LXDE that attracts you?
LXDE is simple and lightweight. It works well with any programs that I can install. You often need to use a text editor to configure the LXDE-Desktop. Looking ahead, and thinking about how many more people will be using it, more applications will be written especially for LXDE.
What tools have you written for use with LXDE?
As an extra tool for LXDE, and from an idea by parnote, I wrote LXautostart. All other programs or tools were written as a result of suggestions, or because I wanted to write it. Sleeptimer was written because of an issue from pclxd3os on the PCLinuxOS forum, and I was asked what would be needed to write it.
This was my thinking:
a little question...
What is needed for an automic shutdown program?
Maybe two scripts...
First script, for shutdown
|
#!/bin/bash
|
Second script
A script where the number of minutes to wait before shutting down the computer can be entered ...
When it's needed, I can create a little app for that...
The latest creations, (LXtemp, LXuptime, XSearch), were suggestions from Neal. Screenie was written by Neal, and I added some things. LXTemp was a group effort in cooperation with Neal, ghostbunny, and me. Ghostbunny had written most of the code. One evening I was watching a DVD on my laptop, and it switched to a black screen with the monitor offline. That was when I started looking at how to stop the computer from turning off the monitor. In our repo is Caffeine, a good application, but it needs a lot of resources. So I wrote LXdpms.
What other packages have you contributed to PCLinuxOS?
I don't know. If an update is available for a package in the repository, I try to package it. I keep a close eye on mediainfo and dvdstyler, but I try to do other packages, too. When I have problems, I ask the maintainer, or our other packagers. And we find a solution.
On holiday in Denmark.
What motivated you to become a packager for PCLinuxOS?
My first, ahhh, second script was systeminfo, and I was thinking this is exactly what is needed for us noobs. I asked maik3531 for help, and he taught me how to build my first package. Thank you, maik3531. My first script was saa713x, and it was designed to capture video from my tv card. My mentor on this was flux. He helped me with my first steps in shell scripting. Thank you, flux.
You indicated that you issued another ISO because it had been three months since the last one? Do you intend to stick to a three month schedule?
Yes, that's right. Our latest LXDE ISO is 2012.01, and before that it was 2011.09. Whether or not I can create a new ISO every three months, I cannot say. If it is needed, I will create a new ISO.
Out of all of the desktop environments available, what role do you see LXDE fulfilling?
Fulfilling? I like it simple, and LXDE is simple and lightweight.
Do you have any plans for more special additions to LXDE?
I don't know, let's see what the future brings. If something is needed, I will add it.
What is your given name?
Daniel Meiß-Wilhelm. Of course, I go by Leiche on the forum.
What is your profession?
Since 01 August 1992 I have been working for the MAN company in a truck workshop. My main area is electrical systems.
Are you married?
Yes, I am. Over 10 years now. We have two children, a girl, and a boy. And we have a cat.
What do you like to do to have fun or just relax?
In the summer, I like to ride my bike. I like to experiment with some scripts, and read topics in our forum. In the winter, I just relax and watch TV, or listen to music. I know I should be more active in sports, but I lack motivation.
Do you still play in the Die Kellerleichen band?
No, Kellerleichen band is really dead.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
What else can I share? What I have created is in our repositories. Music - see my last answer. We all can help to move PCLinuxOS forward. This is the beauty of a community that cares.
Playing miniature golf on
holiday in Denmark
