Yo-man, Mo-man, App-man – Our very own Imthiaz Rafiq a.k.a. Imthi

I’ve known him since he was born. I’ve seen him grow up (length x width!). I’ve admired him for ever. I’ve longed to have his brains! (the genius part only!).

Although he is not my ‘Superhero’, he is my ‘Super Bro’!

He was the kid who NEVER stopped yapping! Always getting into trouble. The darling of all the relatives. (He was damn chubby and pinch perfect!). They brat who had the guts and the ‘beedi’ at a young age! (the Beedi is a miniature version of a cigar – the Indian cigar). Although a pest, he was a joy to have around. Never a dull moment when he was there. Always with a big smile.

Being his brother was a different thing altogether. I succeeded when he was young, now it’s impossible! You all know why. We did have our fights, but thank god it got over when it ended. He never keeps a grudge for a long time. He will patch up as soon as the fight ends. He wants to make everyone happy and everyone to succeed. Now having got married and all, he has started giving advice to people, though in a good manner.

Having said all that, he has an exceptional brain. He was introduced to programming early, and stuck to it almost instantly. By the time he started college he was soaked in it. In college he bettered his skills. He started taking classes for his mates. The teachers left him alone, never wanted to mess with him. hahaha. His flair for programming, made him enter competitions and he wont the 3rd place in ‘Shastra 2002’ (IIT Madras) an All India Open Software Competition for the IGate – Proxy/Chat/Web Server. He was the President of Department of Computer Science,  Jerusalem College of Engineering, University of Madras.  He conducted two inter-college technical symposiums. He was also the  ‘Programmer of the Month’ from planetsourcecode.com thrice! He has written code for games, cd’s, applications, web… you name it and he was been involved.

His blog, although he writes less now because of his busy work schedule, is a huge hit with tech guys. They take information and download code and applications he created from there. A very interesting site – please visit http://imthi.com.

His passion for programming is infectious. People working with him get inspired with his ideas and his knowledge. Currently he is with Flip Media in Dubai Media City for more than 5 years.

Below is an interview extract from the company website – http://www.flipcorp.com

Q1. You’re the App-man at Flip. What superhero did you want to be when you were a kid? Why? Would change your choice of superhero today?

My favourite superhero while growing up was Superman. I was fascinated by his powers: superhuman strength, the ability to fly and travel faster than a bullet, and time travel. I’m definitely still sticking with Superman. As far as I’m concerned, he’s the original. Why would you choose any other superhero?

Q2. What was the first app you ever built? What do you think when you look at the app today?

My first app was Mumbaikar. It took a great deal of time for me to develop and understand the mobile application process. When I look at it today, I see how many mistakes I made with the application. Mumbaikar was my stepping stone within the world of application development and I am really proud of what I achieved almost two years ago.

Q3. What was your first job ever?

My first job was as a system administrator. It was during my first year of college, in 1998. My responsibilities were to maintain and troubleshoot a cafe’s computer for software and hardware problems and my monthly salary was INR1,600 (AED125).

Q4. How long have you been at Flip? What kind of personality do you think makes for a successful apps programmer?

I have been working with Flip for the past five years. To become a successful programmer, you need to be hard-working and a quick learner who researches current technology news. It’s important to be patient and ready to take risks. Also, using lots of other apps will help you understand the current relevant designs and techniques.

Q5. You have a need for speed. Tell us the back-story on your secret Andretti life.

Motorbikes fascinate me but any reference to Andretti is pushing it. I prefer cruising over long distances rather than speeding round a hair-pin bend on a track. I have travelled to lots of places within Tamil Nadu and have plans for ‘the great journey’ in the future. I’d love to do a cross-country motorbike ride from Leh and Ladakh in the north of India, all the way down to Kanyakumari in Kerala.

Q6. To build the apps that you do, you need to be in-the-know all the time. Where do you go for the latest tech-talk? Why?

I subscribe to technical blogs, follow relevant programmers on Twitter and I’m also a member of technical email groups. Twitter doesn’t offer detailed information, but programmers tend to tweet the problems they’re facing or the bugs they come across and how they’ve fixed them, which is a big help. Blogs are along the same lines, but they offer a more in-depth view of the back-end work on any project.

Q7. What’s the best application you’ve ever used? If you could improve it, what would you do?

Slide Reader for the iPhone is the best application I’ve ever used. I like this app because it was developed by Flip Media to provide users with a great reading experience. But there’s always room for improvement, so I’d make it faster, more efficient and more intuitive.