Editing Matthias Ettrich (section)

== Free software projects ==
Ettrich founded and furthered the [[LyX]] project in 1995, initially conceived as a university term project. LyX is a graphical frontend to [[LaTeX]].

Since LyX's main target platform was [[Linux]], he started exploring different ways to improve the [[graphical user interface]], ultimately leading him to the [[KDE]] project. Ettrich founded KDE in 1996 when he proposed on [[Usenet]] a ''"consistent, nice looking free desktop environment"'' {{sic}} for [[Unix-like]] systems using [[Qt (software)|Qt]] as its widget toolkit.<ref name="New Project: Kool Desktop Environment (KDE)">{{cite newsgroup
| title = New Project: Kool Desktop Environment (KDE)
| url=http://groups.google.com/group/de.comp.os.linux.misc/msg/cb4b2d67ffc3ffce
| first= Matthias
| last=Ettrich
| newsgroup= de.comp.os.linux.misc
| message-id=53tkvv$b4j@newsserv.zdv.uni-tuebingen.de
| date=14 October 1996
| access-date=4 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url = http://www.efytimes.com/e1/fullnews.asp?edid=25412
| title = Matthias Ettrich: The KDE-Man!
| agency = EFY Times.com
| publisher = EFY Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.
| date = 15 March 2008
| access-date = 30 April 2011
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151030124536/http://www.efytimes.com/e1/fullnews.asp?edid=25412
| archive-date = 30 October 2015
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>

On 6 November 2009, Ettrich was decorated with the [[Federal Cross of Merit]] for his contributions to [[free software]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itwire.com/opinion-and-analysis/open-sauce/29166-kde-founder-ettrich-receives-german-award|title=KDE founder Ettrich receives German award}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| url =http://dot.kde.org/2009/11/06/matthias-ettrich-receives-german-federal-cross-merit
| title=Matthias Ettrich Receives German Federal Cross of Merit
| last=Boehm
| first=Mirko
| agency = KDE.NEWS
| publisher = KDE
| date = 6 November 2009
| access-date = 30 April 2011}}</ref>