GSOC 2012/Student Application Samridh90

Contact Information

 * Name: Samridh Srinath
 * Email Address: [mailto:samridh90@gmail.com samridh90@gmail.com]
 * Telephone: +919945817784
 * Blog URL: Started a blog at http://samridh90.tumblr.com. That's where I'll be blogging my progress through the summer if approved
 * Linkedin Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/samridh-srinath/36/239/a0b
 * Freenode IRC Nick: samy241190 on freenode. You can find me on #fedora-devel or #aeolus but you can also send me a message privately.

Why do you want to work with the Fedora Project?
Fedora 11 was the first linux distro I ever used and even though since then I've used many other distros, I always find myself coming back to Fedora again and again. I'm using Fedora 15 currently (for me, the GNOME 3 desktop was a big attraction), but that's the part that I want to change. I've always been a user but never a contributor. It's time that I gave back to the FOSS community after so many years of taking from it. Moreover, the Fedora project is very large and diverse. The experience that I will gain from contributing to Fedora is not something every organization can provide. I definitely have the interest and curiosity to become a part of 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)?
I have not had any experience contributing to the Fedora project or in fact, any other open source project in the past. But it's never too late to start is it? :) As I mentioned above, this time around I want to contribute to the Fedora project, and what better way for a college student to start than through GSoC.

Did you participate with the past GSoC programs, if so which years, which organizations?
I have not participated in past GSoC programs.

Will you continue contributing/ supporting the Fedora project after the GSoC 2012 program, if yes, which team(s)/area(s), you are interested with?
I would definitely be willing to continue contributing to the Fedora project on a more permanent basis in the future. I am graduating from college June of 2012 and will be more than excited to invest more time to support some part of a project as large as Fedora. I have not really explored all the teams that come under Fedora, but I would like to contribute to the Aeolus-project and the Ruby SIG. The former because the cloud is something that's always caught my attention and OS virtualization is something I would want to contribute to. I chose the Ruby SIG because I learnt Ruby recently and I love what it's capable off. In fact I have already subscribed to the rubySIG mailing list and added myself to the list of people interested in it, if that's any measure of my interest in the area :). Also, I'm definitely open to being assigned to a particular project depending on the match between the need and my skills.

Why should we choose you over the other applicants?
In my opinion, the Fedora project should choose me for the following reasons:  I am a college senior with a major in Computer Science and have a very strong foundation in basic CS fundamentals. I have a very good academic record to back up my claims (CGPA of 9.59/10.0 accumulated over the past 4 years). I have really good communication skills and a passion for learning new things. I have worked with languages like Python, Ruby, C++, Java, etc., and open source web frameworks like Django and Rails. I have had internships with two very reputed companies namely Microsoft India R &amp; D(India Development Center) and National Instruments India R &amp; D, which has given me a lot of industry exposure and taught me volumes about the software development life-cycle and how development actually takes place in the real world. I always take up the initiative to try and solve any issues that may come up during projects. I am a team player tend to gel very well with my team-mates. Most of my academic projects have involved working in a team of 2 or 3. I pick up new languages/technologies really fast and know how to use documentations effectively. I need a very minimal ramp-up time before I can get started with a project. I effectively use the mailing-lists and irc communication channels to resolve any queries or issues I may have. I am also very comfortable using source repository and version control tools like svn, git and hg.  If given a chance to work with the Fedora project, I would definitely ensure that I give enough time to the project and see it through to successful completion. I would be available the whole of the summer to work on the project.