http://blog.holdenkarau.com/Behind the LCD is a new series of interviews with experts on The Mobile Computing Revolution. My first interview is with Holden Karau a 21 year old developer whom lives in Ontario, Canada. I discovered Holden when looking through my Google Analytics and saw a few referrals from his blog. I read his resume and I must say, I was very impressed. Now let's get it started...:
Justin: I saw that you had experience working with Amazon, Microsoft & Google. What company was your favorite to work for? Give a Twitter like [140 characters] description of the work environments/culture.
I just did everything by email, which is a very different work environment than say normal from Microsoft and Amazon. Amazon certainly been a more enjoyable place for me to work.
Justin: What made you stop development on allthecode.com?
Holden: A number of things, I guess the biggest one was that, Krugle implemented what I thought was the core feature for what I was doing. They [Krugle] executed better than what I thought I would be able to catch up to.
Justin: So you gave it [all the code.com] a shot and it wasn't for you?
Holden: Ya, well I guess that's pretty much it.
Justin: This is my number one question: The OpenMoko FreeRunner, how does it compare to the iPhone or any other smart phone for that matter?
Holden: It's not the there yet in my opinion, I'm writing some software for OpenMoko right now and my roommate is writing some for the iPhone. And just by looking at our respected development
Justin: Does OpenMoko have a future in this crazy Mobile Platform War?
Holden: I certainly hope so. I think that they don't have a guaranted future and it will take a lot of work for them to establish themselves. They [OpenMoko] aren't on that path right now. I think with a lot of open source developers the software stack can certainly move beyond Apple and other proprietary vendors and its a matter of how their [OpenMoko] partners manage to execute the hardware in the coming year.
Justin: Which wireless carriers in Canada will allow the OpenMoko Neo FreeRunner to run?
Holden: In Canada your only option is Rogers. Unless you are in the northwest territory in which that case your only option is a company who I'm not entirely sure of. They only have service in one city, they don't really matter to me.
Justin: And they [Rogers] will allow you to run that open platform?
Holden: Yes, they [Rogers] actually are very cooperative to the extent of they had acquired a company called Fido which was the only other competitive GSM provider. Fido issued a number of SIM cards which weren't compatible with the OpenMoko FreeRunner. They are willing to replace those SIMS if you show up and explain that you have a FreeRunner and you need a compatible SIM. So they're happy with anyone who wants to use Data. Data is very expensive.
Justin: How do you feel about Google's Android Platform? How does it hold up against all other mobile platforms? Have you ever played with the SDK at all or is it too soon to be a judge since there is no Android phones out?
Holden: I have played with the SDK a bit, but to be honest it lost my interest because there is no hardware.
Justin: With Nokia recently opening up Symbian is that anything of interest or do you not care?
Holden: Nokia also acquired TrollTech who developes Qt [Cute Toolkit] as well and you can get Qt on the FreeRunner. You can also get Qt on other mobile devices. Qt in my opinion has a really wonderful stack, its certainly more mature but it has its pluses and minuses. The OpenMoko team have decided its not for them but it's for developers coming from a desktop application world its very familiar. I think it [Qt] is really nice. With OpenMoko there is a lot of reinventing the wheel and as time goes on it will get sorted out. It doesn't matter how many times the wheel is reinvented as long as it is there for me to play with.
Justin: Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What would be your ultimate dream job? Would it be in the mobile space, hardware or software?
Holden: Thats a tricky question, I do enjoy embedded development as a hobby. I don't really see it as a full time job but I'd love to keep it as a side project.
Justin: Your almost done with school?
Holden: Yup
Justin: What are your plans after graduation?
Holden: I don't know, I might come to the States and work. Or I might stay in Canada. It depends largely on my girlfriend and where I can find the most interesting work.
DISCLAIMER. Holden's views and expressions are not necessarily the same as his Employer.
