The BeOSJournal dragged Philipe Rubio of the Masquerade project, kicking and screaming into our secret interview chamber deep within the earth's core, and we had a pleasant chat.


Thanks Philipe for being able to withstand our questioning for such a long period of time... ;)

Rubio: Good day sir Technix.

How did you get started with BeOS?

Rubio: Well I got introduced to BeOS by my uncle in 98 I think, it was BeOS R4.5, and I'd always been fond of testing new alternative OS'es but after testing BeOS I've been using it ever since.

What are you currently working on these days?

Rubio: Well I was actually doing some programming on the Masquerade project when I heared a beep from BeShare. I'm mostly working on it about 4 - 5 hours a day now. but I also have one other project. It's an app for writing theatre plays.

Have you made any updates with Adso Development Studio since it was last posted to BeBits?

Rubio: There has been some updates yes, and Masquerade has derived some of the code from Adso. So Masquerade is sort of the next generation Adso.

How is the Masquerade project going? Care to let slip a little more details, since the website is so secretive? I'm sure our readers would love to know some juicy bits.

Rubio: The project is progressing well and I have been working a lot on the project file support, I have also re-written the syntax styling engine 3 times to get the perfect design. As some of you may have noticed I have also added a tools menu (left side view). You can add and remove your own tools of choice to it. Masquerade has been localized to around 10 languages now, and we hope to get it localized to even more languages.

Some time ago I posted some news of a killer feature on the site and I've also worked a bit to make it perfect, What this feature does is a bit of a secret but if you're sick of doing cut/copy and paste of code over and over again you will love it. If there are some specific things about Masquerade you want to know just ask!

Where are you living now, and how is it for you to be part of the BeOS Community?

Rubio: I'm living in Oslo, in Norway right now and have been living here for about 2 years. To be a part of the BeOS Community is pure joy if I may say so. As of now the community is kinda small but that makes it like a family.. It is great to see the community grow again, after the focus shift many left the community but it seems that people are coming back, with new users joining the community.

How does the internet affect your programming routine?

Rubio: I remember the days I didn't have internet connection at home, it was horrible. When programming you often need to look up in some references or would like to get hold of some tutorials. It was a pain in the ass to have to go borrow books from friends or look for that same information in the library. So it realy sped up the progress of my work. One problem though is that I tend to logon to BeShare or IRC and sit and chat for hours while I had planned to do some programming.

What is your day job?

Rubio: I work as an IT consultant and programmer for a company called Aker Kvaerner now. It is one of Norways biggest companies. It is actually an enginering company building ships, oil rigs and deepsea equipment. We're about 200 people working in the IT department.

Do you have any interesting hobbies?

Rubio: Yes, I like to write poetry and play guitar as well, I have played guitar in several bands, but at the moment I currently don't have a band, but wish to start one again this year. And of course, I like to program.

What do you make of the news that SkyOS is using open sourced components such as OpenBeFS for their own use? Do you foresee any of your own work being ported for platforms other than the BeOS?

Rubio: I have already anounced a port of Masquerade for Syllable, Well I think it's great that SkyOS wishes to use our beloved FS. I haven't tested SkyOS so I dont have too much hands-on with it but it looks cool. My main platform will probably always be BeOS if it stays alive, but I will probably port or make application for other OS's as well.

If you were stranded in the desert, what would be the one book choice you would make, and why?

Rubio: Les fleurs du mal, a french poetry book by Charles Baudelaire. Depressive1800 poetry, it would keep me from getting bored while walking through the desert for day and days, course you can always read poerty over and over again. The depressive part is probably not that good if you're alone in the desert but...

Thanks Philipe!

Rubio: Thanks for the interview and hope I'll see you all again.

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Philipe Rubio is the lead programmer and overall project leader of the Masquerade project, an IDE for the BeOS, and can usually be reached via email here: Philipe@masquerade.beosmax.org.