GSOC 2012/Student Application kumaran93r/AudioCreationSpin

Fedora Audio Creation Spin

Contact Information

• Email Address: kumaran@kums.in
• Telephone: +91-97505-25555
• Blog URL: http://kums.in/blog
• Freenode IRC Nick: kumaran

Why do you want to work with the Fedora Project?

Fedora means a lot to me. I first got introduced into the world of Free and Open Source Software with my RHCE (Redhat Certified Engineer) exam. I probably was the youngest in the world to clear it at that time (around 12 years.) For preparation of my RHCE exam, I used Fedora Core 1. From that time, I have been in love with Fedora and it has remained my primary distribution of choice ever since. I’m emotionally attached to Fedora because it has allowed me to explore not only the many FOSS tools available, but also the ideology and philosophy of FOSS, and the workings of the Open Source community.

I am happy to note that my dad’s office has been running on 100% Fedora, without any issues for the past 7 years. I am also fairly experienced in the process of creating remixes. Being a school student, I thought that my school should run on 100% FOSS, so I’ve persuaded my school’s management to go for a 100% FOSS conversion. I have started on this project, and I am using Fedora extensively, especially for the CS lab. I have created a Fedora remix, tailor-made to my school’s requirements, with lots of educational and programming tools that we use regularly. I have also undertaken a project of converting a Orthopedic hospital to Linux. Here again, I am using Fedora heavily. I’ve also created a lite version of Fedora, to be used by the thin-client architecture which is available there. I have also created a Fedora remix with a few proprietary bits to help ease a lot of my friends’ transition to Linux.

Since, I have been using Fedora to a great extent in most of my computing endavours, I thought I need to give something back to The Fedora Project. So, I thought of using GSoC to ‘kick-start’ my contributions to The Fedora Project.

Do you have any past involvement with the Fedora project or with any another open source project as a contributor (if possible please add some references as well)?

No, I don’t have any past involvement with the Fedora project or another open source project as a contributor. But I’ve used Fedora to create a few downstream remixes. I also have a good rapport with The Free Software Foundation, and especially Richard M. Stallman, who had dinner at my home at Chennai a couple of months back.

Did you participate with the past GSoC programs, if so which years, which organizations?

No, I’ve not participated with any of the past GSoC programs. In fact, this is the first year that I’m eligible to apply.

Will you continue contributing/ supporting the Fedora project after the GSoC 2012 program, if yes, which team(s)/area(s), you are interested with?

Absolutely! For now, I would like to contribute to the spins maintanance SIGs. I’m interested in developing a India-specific spin, which has all the language packs and common free software that most people in India use.

Why should we choose you over the other applicants?

I think I’m a better candidate primarily because of my interest, experience and commitment towards Fedora. I’ve always wanted to contribute something back to The Fedora Project. I’ve also been a keen observer of what goes on with Fedora, version by version. I also love the way Fedora and its contributors work, right from the release naming elections. I think my knowledge of creating working remixes and the experience of deploying Fedora in many real-world applications would help me a lot.

Proposal Description

An overview of the proposal

With this project, I intend to create a Fedora Audio spin. This spin should include the best of the Free Software tools available for Audio Creation in the Linux landscape. This spin should reduce the time and effort required for Audio engineers and enthusiasts to begin Audio creation. It should also reduce their learning curve.

The need I believe it fulfils

Most of today’s Audio creators and engineers use macs for helping them with the Audio creation. Most don’t know about the rich Free Software that is available in Linux today. This spin, would not only help them with the Audio creation process but also be a showcase of the best Linux Audio Creation tools available today.

Relevant experience that I have

As I have already mentioned, I am experienced in creating remixes. I also have some experience in packaging various tools. I also love bash scripting. I have been closely following most of the spin review process right from Leonidas.

How I intend to implement the proposal

Steps I’d like to follow to create the Audio Creation spin:

1.Create a list of Audio creation tools available already in the Fedora repos.

2.Create a working kick-start file including all these packages.

3.Package/port other useful Audio applications not found in the Fedora repos.

4.Create a kick-start file with all the newly packaged tools.

5.Create a front-end for automating all of these using PyGTK/PyQt.

6.Package the front-end and create another kick-start file with the front-end.

7. Get the Audio creation spin approved by the Fedora Spins SIG to get the spin included in the Get Fedora page for Fedora 18 release time.

Keep in touch with the Audio SIG to help review the packages and the kick-start files as and when they are ready.

A rough timeline for the progress

The first two steps should be over in no time. Packaging might take a few weeks depending on the software to be packaged. Creating the front-end might take more than a month, depending on the level of functionality that we get from the existing tools.

Other details for consideration

I am also interested in making ALSA easy to handle multiple cards simultaneously. I am also interested in creating a system-wide equalizer like KXStudio, although I don’t think I can finish it within the time frame of GSoC. I think I’ll be able to go ahead with this after GSoC.

Have you communicated with a potential mentor? If so, who?

Yes. I am in touch with Mr. Brenden Jones.