Hello

[matt]

Good day/evening--

My name is Matt, and I am, in short, very interested in the KDE project. I 
have been using KDE for about a year now (religiously), and I feel that it 
has become the best (no doubt the largest) open source software development 
project in history. However, there are many areas in which it lacks, and I 
want to change all that.

KDE takes an interesting approach to the "desktop environment," where it is 
an "all-encompassing" roof under which many applications using the same 
libraries create a full-featured desktop suite. This approach has not been 
taken by any other desktop environment (even Gnome), where there is a simple 
set of libraries and applications just "latch on" to what is available. This 
method makes all applications have a similar look and feel, making it easy 
for a new user to use a new program.

The Linux operating system is so much more than a kernel; it is a set of 
software applications that make you productive. KDE seems to provide many of 
them, but there are many that are lacking, especially in the 
more "artsy/creative side" of computing (for instance, video editing, 
illustrating, audio editing, et cetera [everything a Mac is used for]). I 
want to improve KDE to make it the most full-featured "desktop environment" 
one could ask for, with all software components readily available.

However, no one can deny that Linux in general is an operating system with a 
learning curve. Many things in Linux, especially the hardware aspect, is very 
confusing for any new user, and without proper instruction, will leave "Aunt 
Tillie" in the dust. Moreover, installing and finding software can be a 
challenge, especially if your distribution does not have a very effective 
packaging system. I want KDE, as the GUI for all users, to provide a bridge 
for these users to communicate with their computer in a very efficient 
manner. My philosophy is that a computer is a tool for accomplishing a task, 
and the difficulty of using this tool should be as transparent as possible.

Therefore, I think while KDE has made some significant strides in usability, 
there are many more tasks to be completed. I could give you a thousand and 
one things that could be improved in KDE, from new applications to small 
adjustments.

However, I am not all talk and no walk: I want to invest a massive amount of 
time and effort into making the next version of KDE--KDE 4--the most 
revolutionary desktop environment in history. I envision KDE 4 as having a 
full set of near-perfect (as all open source projects are never perfect; 
there is always room for improvement) applications combined with one of the 
most easy-to-use interfaces--both functional and elegant. All users should 
have choice in what software they use, but shouldn't the KDE project's goal 
be making the most feature-full and versatile piece of software out there 
that everyone chooses KDE? The more support a piece of software has, the more 
it improves.

I will admit I am not the strongest in C++, but the next coming months I am 
going to undergo some intense coding hell to strengthen my C++ and Qt/KDE 
knowledge so hopefully I can contribute in the coding aspect. I also would 
love to contribute to the design and functionality of certain applications, 
and trying to improve KDE's overall usability. I also have no problem writing 
documentation, because while if a user ever has to hit "F1" the application 
has failed (at least for simple applications; more complex ones I 
understand), every application should have adequate documentation.

I look forward to working with hundreds of people to make KDE "konquer" the 
world, and I would love to discuss more on the ideas I have, and seeing what 
the rest of you feel would make KDE the best desktop suite ever.

Hasta luego.
-- 
Valê,
Matt
matt at cfxnetworks.com