Software Freedom Podcast SFP#2 about KDE with Lydia Pintscher
Nov 11, 2019
Lydia Pintscher, vice president of the KDE community and long-time contributor, shares insights on KDE’s origins and wide range of apps. She talks about balancing a day job with volunteer leadership. Conversations cover KDE’s multi-year goals like Wayland, app distribution and UI consistency, Plasma Mobile and open mobile stacks, mentoring, contributor growth, and sustainability decisions.
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How Lydia Found KDE Through Kubuntu Integration
- Lydia discovered KDE while studying computer science after trying Ubuntu and then Kubuntu, and was impressed by how well KDE apps integrated (mail, address book, IRC, IM).
- That seamless integration convinced her to stay involved and later join the community.
Balance Volunteer Leadership With Flexible Work And Routines
- Use flexible work arrangements plus strict time management to balance paid work and volunteer roles.
- Lydia combines a flexible product manager role at Wikidata with meticulous calendars and to-do lists to serve KDE as VP.
Company Hiring Can Strengthen Community Contributions
- Commercial employment of KDE contributors is not zero-sum; companies increasingly pay contributors to work on KDE directly, freeing time for community work.
- Lydia sees this as empowering people to make a living from free software, benefiting the broader ecosystem.