People of openSUSE: Rossana Motta

Please introduce yourself!

Born in September 1981 in Italy and raised there. Right after my Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering in Italy I moved to U.K., also switching to Computer Science field. In August 2006 I moved to Florida, Tallahassee. I am currently a PhD student in Computer Science at Florida State University. My PhD topic deals with Distributed Systems Security.

Tell us about the background to your computer use.

I started using computers quite late, around 17 years old. Not that I regret a childhood spent running in the openair, rather than stuck in a room at a game console! I have been a (dumb) Windows-only user until, on a hot boring summer day of 2005, I tried SuSE (9.2 at that time).. just to kill the time and get some “fun”. And immediately I literally fell in love with Linux and started getting more and more interested in Computers in general, spending a lot of my time trying to learn more and more. I would have never switched from Biomedical Engineering field to Computer Science without this step.. I really can say that Opensuse has changed my life!

When and why did you start using openSUSE/SUSE Linux?

June 2005… just for fun! I picked up Suse because I got the installation CDs from a friend.

When did you join the openSUSE community and what made you do that?

June 2005 again, I registered to boards in order to get help.. like most of newbies do.

In what way do you participate in the openSUSE project?

I have had the chance and priviledge of working as a moderator in the staff of SuSELinuxSupport.de for two and a half years, helping out with the Forums, the Wiki and the Downloads sections. I also wrote a few KDE servicemenus (not strictly Opensuse-related) and published on kde-apps.org.

What especially motivates you to participate in the openSUSE project?

It has been, and always is, awesome to be part of Opensuse community, not only to learn more about linux and computers in general but also to “meet” great people located all over the earth. I really feel like in a big family, that is walking all together to improve the whole community and OS.

What do you think was your most important contribution to the openSUSE project/community or what is the contribution that you’re most proud of?

My contributions are really petty compared to those of developers… I hope anyway to have been helpful in SuSELinuxSupport.de, to keep up the site board and the IRC channel.

When do you usually spend time on the openSUSE project?

In the early morning I always check the forums of SuSELinuxSupport.de… then whenever I have some time. In fact it has been my browser home page for over 2 years!

Three words to describe openSUSE? Or make up a proper slogan!

Creative power, right in the top of your fingers.

What do you think is missing or underrated in the distribution or the project?

I’m not able to find anything missing or underrated.

What do you think the future holds for the openSUSE project?

More and more improvements especially in the Community… which is no less important than the OS itself.

A person asks you why he/she should choose openSUSE instead of other distribution/OS. What would be your arguments to convince him/her to pick up openSUSE?

I would just drop in their hands a live dvd and let them realize and see with their own eyes… There are so many things for which I’m so happy to stick with Opensuse, that I would struggle to list them all. And yet words cannot persuade as much as facts.

Which members of the openSUSE community have you met in person?

Unfortunately I have not had the chance to meet any.

How many icons are currently on your desktop?

3: link to trash, My Computer, Music folder.

What is the application you can’t live without? And why?

Firefox… door to the World! Everything you wish is a click, or an extension, or a plugin!

Which application or feature should be invented as soon as possible?

Since I work in the field of RFIDs, I have been thinking sometimes how neat it would be to replace the traditional password-login with RFID Authentication… there are actually some home made experiments around but the cons will probably prevent, at least in the near future, a commercial implementation of such feature.

Which is your preferred text editor? And why?

Kwrite. User-friendly, easily customizable, versatile,… it’s got it all!

Which famous person would you want to join the openSUSE community?

I would personally not care at all about the popularity of a person, rather how valuable he/she is. Plus celebrities are often dumb and selfish.

Which computer related skills would you like to have?

Those of the perfect System Administrator… I would like this much better than the “Massive Coder”.

The Internet crashes for a whole week. How would you feel, what would you do?

Lost! But there are some decent alternatives: sports, sun, sleep, just to mention a few.

Which is your favorite movie scene?

Movie Scene, hmmm… When the start a movie, the Kaffeine popup that complains of the missing plugin!! Searching through repositories to fix libraries and stuff like that… what more could a nerd ask for?!

Star Trek or Star Wars?

None of the above.

What is your favorite food and drink?

Blended pineapple (food+drink altogether).

Favorite game or console (in your childhood and nowadays)?

Old Lego.

Which city would you like to visit?

Rather than a specific city, the wilderness of Australia.

What is your preferred way to spend your vacation?

Visit somebody, such as family or friends, that live far away.

Someone gives you $1.000.000. What would you do with the money?

Buy an amazing house.

If traveling through time was possible, when would we be most likely to meet you?

Now and here! I’m happy to have the chance of living this Age.

There’s a thunderstorm outside. Do you turn off your computer?

No, I have UPS, in the worst case I will have to replace the fuse.

Have your ever missed an appointment because you forgot about it while sitting at your computer?

No, at most I am slightly late, but I tend to be meticolously punctual in everything.

Show us a picture of something, you have always wanted to share!

(it’s just one of the Windows typical hilarious error messages… “wanted to share”, in order to persuade more and more people to switch to Linux instead!)

You couldn’t live without…

Sports, computers, internet and… people! Even nerds ARE social creatures!

Which question was the hardest to answer?

“Which is your favorite movie scene?”

What other question would you like to answer? And what would you answer?

This is a sillly one, anyway: Q: “What color would you like for the next version boot splash” A: “Silver”