Mike Lee is… well he’s Mike Lee, BMF. Mike is one of those larger than life guys, that’s at the same time the coolest dude you’ll meet. We’ve been honored to have Mike Keynote and do regular sessions at 360|iDev… Oops sorry, not Keynote, general session ;)
Q: How long have you been doing iOS development?
A: For as long as there has been such a thing. I was already an experienced Mac developer, so when Apple first announced the iPhone, I knew I had to be on it, and have been ever since.
That’s right! Mike is also presenting (Keynoting!) at 360|MacDev, our Mac Desktop Developer conference in December!
Q: What do you like most about being an iOS Developer?
A: In general, I love being able to express myself creatively, making things that haven’t existed before, and programming is better suited to my abilities than painting. With iOS specifically, I love the way the iPhone and iPad are small enough to get out the way, bringing programming to the next level, where it becomes less about being hosted on the device, and more about transforming the device itself. It’s the closest thing we have to programming the atoms of some future nanotool.
Creatively said! Totally agree. I try out lots of devices, and so far find myself coming back to iOS time and again. I’m not fanboi enough to ignore a better device or better apps, but have yet to see the right combo exist. A true testament to Apple and the iOS community.
Q: What’s your favorite Game?
A: That’s like asking what my favorite song is! There are a lot of games I love for a lot of reasons. Of all time, probably Puzzle Pirates. These days, I’ve been playing a lot of Angry Birds, but ask me again later.
To True. It’s one of those (and maybe should be phrased this way), “what’s your favorite right now?” questions.
Q: What’s your favorite App?
A: Keynote, hands down. It was the app that most inspired me to get into the business of writing apps, and continues to be an inspiration on the fine art of making your users look amazing.
Interesting! That’s the first time that app has been mentioned!
Q: Robots or Ninjas?
A: I suppose it really depends. I rely on robots on a daily basis, and spend a lot of time thinking about robots I want to build. On the other hand, when you need someone assassinated—for using a splash screen, for example—it’s hard to beat a ninja.
Hard to beat a ninja in both senses of the word! Plus Robots, at least for now, are easy to hear sneaking up on you, or your enemy.
Q: What would change about the iOS platform if you could change just one thing?
A: I would make it trivial to use the 30-pin adapter so we could expand the devices in hardware the way we currently do in software. I would love to use my iPhone to control robots.
Yeah it’s a bummer the 30-pin is so locked down. I too would love to see more devices act as docks for iDevices. I think (I Hope) it’s a future evolution of the platform that my iPhone or iPad, can be the driver of my media center, or an auxiliary monitor without extra steps and “server” apps
Q: What are you most excited about 360|iDev Austin?
A: The crowd at 360 is the most passionate I have ever experienced. They leave me as inspired as I can only pray to leave them.
Having seen your last 360|iDev general session, i can say that’s a high bar. Your talk was very inspiring and left us all wow’ed. I agree, I go to a lot of events and have yet to see a community like the iOS community.
Q: Lastly, what would you tell someone on the fence about attending 360|iDev Austin?
A: What kind of pussy sits on the fence hemming and hawing over meeting great people who can only help them in the longrun?
I dunno, but they’re out there! And I want to meet them and convert them :)
with just a week to go, if you’re on the fence, tell us why? What’s keeping you from coming and being a part of something so much bigger than you. You’re career (indie or corp cube monkey) will thank you on Wednesday night. Leave a comment if you’re on a fence, we’d love to hear from you!
Otherwise, Go register!!!
