Coding without thinking: an interview with the author of Titanium Backup, part one
Joel Bourquard (Joel Burkard) from Switzerland is with us today. He is the author of the most respected app among Android enthusiasts - Titanium Backup . This program is only 7.5 months old and all this time it remains a service program for Android devices No. 1 and is in the TOP-20 rating of 101 Best Android Apps (all time).
Users know Joel as a very prolific author - Titanuim Backup updates are released weekly. Having become a legendary developer, he remains open for communication and agreed to give an interview to Russian users of Android and Titanium Backup. At the request of the author, this interview will be published here earlier than on our blog exactly for a day.
Disclaimer: the interview turned out to be not small, because we are publishing the first part so far Tomorrow will be the second, if you want.
')
Joel, tell me the story behind Titanium Backup? Russian users consider you one of those crazy beta testers who change firmware every day.
They are mistaken: my passion is programming without thinking. This is somewhat similar to the approach of crazy testers. They put on their devices any interesting firmware, and I write new functions when I need them without asking anyone. Experience shows that many users like this desperation.
But still, why the backup program? Somewhere on the XDA forum, there was a rumor that you came up with Titanium Backup when you lost your personal data?
Well, yes, when I first tried to replace the original firmware of my HTC Hero with the MoDaCo firmware, I received no doubt an interesting firmware, but there was no data, no settings, no previously installed programs in it. I looked in the Market and did not find anything suitable for transferring this information between the firmware. So I wrote it myself, laid out for review on the MoDaCo forum, and then the first alpha version of my program appeared in the Market. It was December 2009.
Why titanium?
I love everything strong and reliable. Titanium is one of the hardest metals. And melts at temperatures above 1900 degrees Kelvin. And in fact, I just love all sorts of metal tools. You can see this in the Titanium logo and in the photo.
How did you promote your program?
Yes, in general, did not promote. The branch on the MoDaCo forum gained popularity only because users shared a link to it. Then the guys from the MoDaCo team offered to include my program in their build, well, after all the privileged users of their site began to receive an advanced (paid) version of Titanium Backup as a bonus.
Yes, I tried the same trick in other forums, but from experience it turned out that the audience easily found the “main” thread on the MoDaCo forum using only rumors on its own.
Now on the Market there is only one application released by you. Why? Do you like to be a “one-program hero”?
Cool guess, but programming is just a hobby for me. I have a full job, family and child. My time is limited. Moreover, I have an even more exciting hobby - digital simulation of images in real time. On my site you can see different three-dimensional planes, rapidly rotating around the geometric center - this is it. The point is that I don’t use pre-drawn images, I only write an algorithm that generates every frame “on the fly” literally from nothing. Sometimes I think about experimenting with this technology on Android phones, but this is just a dream.
And for what reason did you choose the Android platform for programming? What was more: emotion or calculation?
Oh, what a calculation that you are. I am fond of technology. My wife gave me a toy last year - the HTC Hero. I turned the device, then the development environment, then got root-access, well, then you all know.
Your program for more than six months was number 1 among all programs for Android. Did you expect such popularity Titanium Backup? What are the reasons for this success, do you think?
Well, when I laid out the very first alpha, about two dozens of people "felt it" for about two weeks. I did not build any special illusions, since the community of owners of “rooted” Android phones is, by definition, small. And then life surprised me - the community turned out to be much more extensive than I expected, and they all liked the program ...
And how many TB downloads are done now, tell me?
In total, the program uses more than 80 thousand people. Weekly this number grows by another 6 thousand. Normally, I'm not complaining.
On the official TB page, you call it the ONLY backup application. But after all in the Market there are about ten similar programs. Some even prettier and more comfortable to use, at first glance ... How do you maintain the loyalty of your users in such a competition? Not afraid that you will be beaten with your own weapon?
Naturally, the topic of backups is “hot.” The same Nandroid can back up the entire firmware, and MyBackup Pro has root mode and makes backup copies of user-installed programs. But no program on the Market can compare with my use of FLEXIBILITY.
For example, you can restore applications separately, create dozens of backup copies for the same application, restore only the data or program settings from the archive, but not the program itself, freeze the program and it will not be updated (hello) and much more ...
In general, competition is good. Maybe someday I will not be able to call my program one-of-a-kind, but the title “the most sophisticated” or “the very first on the Market” is not taken away from Titanium Backup by anyone. Well, in general, you understand, I have enough modesty at all.
But seriously, I think that TB is out of competition for the following reasons:
Okay, let's digress from your modesty and talk about money. Your program is not sold at a fixed price, but uses the donation model. What were the smallest and biggest donations in your practice?
2 bucks minimum, 50 maximum. How much I earned on TB in general - I will not say. Work does not replace, but it turns out well.
You recently released Chinese localization. Well this is almost a half billion potential users. They probably already covered you with yuan? By the way, what do Chinese people most often use to transfer donations? And in general, which nation is the stingiest?
The Chinese refer to Android philosophically. In other words, they are more interested in how to break it and repair it slowly. They buy phones, make them root, install a free TB version and wait patiently for him to make or restore backups without the help of busybox.
Of course, donations from China come, but not billions or even thousands. They use only PayPal.
By the way, surprisingly, but the most greedy were the Japanese.
What about piracy? Are you doing something about this?
Today I have nothing to complain about. Pah-pah.
99.9% of TB users are loyal and do not publish licenses on the web. Three times, it was the case, they published a warez, but I withdrew those licenses, banned customers, and the cases stopped.
Mathematical protection Titanium Backup is very resistant to cracking. Some poor Chinese could still break the second version, but starting from the third version I strengthened the algorithms and the problem disappeared.
In general, I am very grateful for the loyalty of TB users. It strengthens my faith in people and gives additional strength. Thanks you.
END OF FIRST PART
In the second part of the interview with Joel Burkard you will learn:
Author's site
Russian review of Titanium Backup
Users know Joel as a very prolific author - Titanuim Backup updates are released weekly. Having become a legendary developer, he remains open for communication and agreed to give an interview to Russian users of Android and Titanium Backup. At the request of the author, this interview will be published here earlier than on our blog exactly for a day.
Disclaimer: the interview turned out to be not small, because we are publishing the first part so far Tomorrow will be the second, if you want.
')
Joel, tell me the story behind Titanium Backup? Russian users consider you one of those crazy beta testers who change firmware every day.
They are mistaken: my passion is programming without thinking. This is somewhat similar to the approach of crazy testers. They put on their devices any interesting firmware, and I write new functions when I need them without asking anyone. Experience shows that many users like this desperation.
But still, why the backup program? Somewhere on the XDA forum, there was a rumor that you came up with Titanium Backup when you lost your personal data?
Well, yes, when I first tried to replace the original firmware of my HTC Hero with the MoDaCo firmware, I received no doubt an interesting firmware, but there was no data, no settings, no previously installed programs in it. I looked in the Market and did not find anything suitable for transferring this information between the firmware. So I wrote it myself, laid out for review on the MoDaCo forum, and then the first alpha version of my program appeared in the Market. It was December 2009.
Why titanium?
I love everything strong and reliable. Titanium is one of the hardest metals. And melts at temperatures above 1900 degrees Kelvin. And in fact, I just love all sorts of metal tools. You can see this in the Titanium logo and in the photo.
How did you promote your program?
Yes, in general, did not promote. The branch on the MoDaCo forum gained popularity only because users shared a link to it. Then the guys from the MoDaCo team offered to include my program in their build, well, after all the privileged users of their site began to receive an advanced (paid) version of Titanium Backup as a bonus.
Yes, I tried the same trick in other forums, but from experience it turned out that the audience easily found the “main” thread on the MoDaCo forum using only rumors on its own.
Now on the Market there is only one application released by you. Why? Do you like to be a “one-program hero”?
Cool guess, but programming is just a hobby for me. I have a full job, family and child. My time is limited. Moreover, I have an even more exciting hobby - digital simulation of images in real time. On my site you can see different three-dimensional planes, rapidly rotating around the geometric center - this is it. The point is that I don’t use pre-drawn images, I only write an algorithm that generates every frame “on the fly” literally from nothing. Sometimes I think about experimenting with this technology on Android phones, but this is just a dream.
And for what reason did you choose the Android platform for programming? What was more: emotion or calculation?
Oh, what a calculation that you are. I am fond of technology. My wife gave me a toy last year - the HTC Hero. I turned the device, then the development environment, then got root-access, well, then you all know.
Your program for more than six months was number 1 among all programs for Android. Did you expect such popularity Titanium Backup? What are the reasons for this success, do you think?
Well, when I laid out the very first alpha, about two dozens of people "felt it" for about two weeks. I did not build any special illusions, since the community of owners of “rooted” Android phones is, by definition, small. And then life surprised me - the community turned out to be much more extensive than I expected, and they all liked the program ...
And how many TB downloads are done now, tell me?
In total, the program uses more than 80 thousand people. Weekly this number grows by another 6 thousand. Normally, I'm not complaining.
On the official TB page, you call it the ONLY backup application. But after all in the Market there are about ten similar programs. Some even prettier and more comfortable to use, at first glance ... How do you maintain the loyalty of your users in such a competition? Not afraid that you will be beaten with your own weapon?
Naturally, the topic of backups is “hot.” The same Nandroid can back up the entire firmware, and MyBackup Pro has root mode and makes backup copies of user-installed programs. But no program on the Market can compare with my use of FLEXIBILITY.
For example, you can restore applications separately, create dozens of backup copies for the same application, restore only the data or program settings from the archive, but not the program itself, freeze the program and it will not be updated (hello) and much more ...
In general, competition is good. Maybe someday I will not be able to call my program one-of-a-kind, but the title “the most sophisticated” or “the very first on the Market” is not taken away from Titanium Backup by anyone. Well, in general, you understand, I have enough modesty at all.
But seriously, I think that TB is out of competition for the following reasons:
- Most users are happy with TB and they do not need anything else (well, I hope so).
- All developers know the level of TB and its competitors with respect to the backup of user applications (this is the most popular feature). It’s hard to come up with something cooler and if they write programs for backup, they’ll probably focus on pumping other chips into them.
- Time is on my side. TB didn’t immediately become like this; I listened attentively to user needs when I satisfied my own. To make an application with so many functions, speed and get such an army of testers, takes a long time. Probably the closest to me in this regard came MyBackup Pro.
Okay, let's digress from your modesty and talk about money. Your program is not sold at a fixed price, but uses the donation model. What were the smallest and biggest donations in your practice?
2 bucks minimum, 50 maximum. How much I earned on TB in general - I will not say. Work does not replace, but it turns out well.
You recently released Chinese localization. Well this is almost a half billion potential users. They probably already covered you with yuan? By the way, what do Chinese people most often use to transfer donations? And in general, which nation is the stingiest?
The Chinese refer to Android philosophically. In other words, they are more interested in how to break it and repair it slowly. They buy phones, make them root, install a free TB version and wait patiently for him to make or restore backups without the help of busybox.
Of course, donations from China come, but not billions or even thousands. They use only PayPal.
By the way, surprisingly, but the most greedy were the Japanese.
What about piracy? Are you doing something about this?
Today I have nothing to complain about. Pah-pah.
99.9% of TB users are loyal and do not publish licenses on the web. Three times, it was the case, they published a warez, but I withdrew those licenses, banned customers, and the cases stopped.
Mathematical protection Titanium Backup is very resistant to cracking. Some poor Chinese could still break the second version, but starting from the third version I strengthened the algorithms and the problem disappeared.
In general, I am very grateful for the loyalty of TB users. It strengthens my faith in people and gives additional strength. Thanks you.
END OF FIRST PART
In the second part of the interview with Joel Burkard you will learn:
- about the most idiotic feature requested by users;
- whether TB will be released for phones without root;
- from where Joel took nickname Keramidas;
- how much time is spent on the support and development of TB;
- opinion of the developer about Google, Android and Android Market and many more tasty.
Author's site
Russian review of Titanium Backup
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/99664/
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