Welcome to another edition of the PPCGeek Spotlight where we get enlightening perspectives and great insight from well known community members, developers and leaders. In this edition we highlight a highly respected and talented Touch Pro 2 Windows Mobile ROM developer here at PPCGeeks.com, Sharkie405. Take a look at the biography followed by a Q&A with Sharkie405 below.
Biography with Sharkie405
I was born and raised in Miami, Fl. I moved to Durham, NC about 6 years ago where I still reside with my girlfriend of 3 years. I’m 35 years old. One of the things I miss most about Miami is being so close to the ocean. I love to scuba dive, snorkel and just be in the ocean. One of my favorite things about the ocean is of course, sharks! Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve loved sharks. I love everything about sharks. I have a great white tattoo on my right shoulder that’s my pride and joy!
I never had any training on anything computer related and none of the jobs I’ve had were computer related at all. The only class I took in highschool was a typing class that used typewriters! My girl likes to make fun of me for that. I guess these days that is pretty old. So, needless to say, when I first started to tinker with all of this stuff, I may have well have been reading a foreign language. People would say “look in your Windows directory” and I’d be like, directory? What is that? Come to find out that’s what folders are called!! Who knew!! LOL, I didn’t. That’s just one tiny example of how far I’ve come.
I also try to remember that it wasn’t too long ago that I was a TOTAL noob. I try to answer everyone’s questions and not get caught up in that ‘holier than thou’ attitude that seems to pervade some threads.
I didn’t used to be a ‘phone’ person. I was perfectly happy to have my crappy flip whatever phone. Then a friend sold me an HTC Mogul that he had laying around the house and it was on! I was introduced to the wonderful world of WM! I never got ballsy enought to flash a custom ROM on the mogul but I cabbed the heck of it. You know, Manila 2D the whole nine yards. Then, I stepped on my Mogul one day and, thanks to Asurion, became the proud owner of an HTC Touch Pro! That’s when it really started going!
Q&A with Sharkie405
1 ) How did you find PPCGeeks?
I came across PPCGeeks while using Google Search to search for mods for my mogul. Any google search with anything WM or Manila related will definitely bring up a PPC Geeks thread or two.
2) What projects are you currently working on, if any other than ROM’s?
I’m not currently working on any projects other than my ROM.
3) Have you worked with designing your own themes for ROM’s or do you have help?
I have not worked with anyone else to create my ROM theme. My theme is a mix of a several different themes and my own work combined for a sophisticated yet colorful, “I mean business”, but “I can play too!” overall look and feel of the ROM.
4) When you became interested in ROM development were there any users specifically that you would like to say contributed to your knowledge and success?
Oh man! There are sooooo many! You could probably safely say like all of XDA and PPCGeeks! But if I had to pick out of a few special ones, they’d have to be:
Raidzero: His kitchen was the first one I used and he was always there to answer all of my stupid questions!
Lat and jbradthomas: They were users of RZ’s kitchen and continued to teach me after RZ moved on to Android.
All the guys and gals from the Collaboration Kitchen Thread: These guys just killed it! It was/is a great collection of WM best people and all their work and knowledge is scattered throughout that thread.
Rootlinux: He was always there with great cooking advice!
5) You currently only cook for Windows Mobile right? Do you plan on moving towards the Android or Windows Phone 7 operating system?
I’m not sure yet. Once upon a time I would have said WP7, but in hind sight, I’m not all that impressed which leaves me with Android, one day…maybe. For the moment WM 6.5.X is still going via the name WEH (Windows Embedded Handheld). So there’s still more fun to be had with WM and that’s what I intend to do!
6) Have you ever considered tweaking the iPhone OS?
No, I have no interest in apple.
7) You have built several WM Rom’s. Which one would you say is the most successful and used ROM?
The most downloaded ROMs are always the 6.5.X Sprint ROMs. Most people these days prefer the finger friendliness of 6.5.X and I guess there are just a lot of Sprint users that frequent these threads.
8 ) Have you ever created ROM’s for GSM devices or do you strictly work with CDMA only?
I’ve never owned a GSM phone and so I’ve never built a GSM ROM.
9) Do you work with kitchens when building ROM’s or do you use certain tools? Can you explain?
Yes, my ROM is built using a kitchen. The kitchen I use was originally an Evirus Visual Kitchen. Then it was turned into a Calkulin Kitchen and then it was modified further by the Collaboration Kitchen folks, and then of course it has been turned into my kitchen. The kitchen I use (and most kitchens, I believe) came with a lot of the tools needed to build a ROM. Basically you can build a simple ROM with any kitchen probably, but the more you want to do and the more you learn you can do, the more tools you will need to accomplish these new things and ideas.
10) What are some examples of tools you need to be familiar with when building a WM ROM?
Tools (other than the kitchen) that I would say are needed to make a WM ROM are: Notepad, some sort of cab editor (I use WinCE Cab Editor), a registry editor, EXT_Packages_rebuilder, Packages Creator, rgu-2-xml, XmltoReg, Recmod, M9Editor and cfc-gui, LuaScript, a *.dll editor, a *.dsm editor and I’m sure there are more that I can’t think of right now.
Aside from those necessary tools, I also use Photoshop and/or Gimp2 on regular basis. These are really only necessary for skinning.
11) Do you name your ROM’s individually or by device type? How do you categorize them?
I name my ROMs with simple names based on what they are. They are all “SharkieROMs”. I just add the necessary info. to them such as” “6.5.X Generic SharkieROM v4.5”. I’d thought about naming them different names of sharks that I like, but I figured it’d just be easier all around if I kept it simple.
They are categorized by Build style, whether they are 6.5 or 6.5.X and by Carrier. One is generic for any carrier and one is Sprint specific with a couple of Sprint specific Sense tabs.
12) What is your main goal/focus when building a ROM for any device? Do you shoot for faster speeds, smoother functionality, better battery life, etc.?
I would have to say my no. 1 one goal is stability. I think if one works towards that goal a lot of the other things will fall in line like speed and battery life and what not. I also put a lot of energy and focus into the look and feel of my ROM. It’s definitely evolved into quite a unique look and one that I think is easily recognizable as a SharkieROM.
13) Do you spend a lot of time building a single ROM? How much time does it take to get one going from the ground up?
It’s hard to guage how long it takes to build a ROM since all the work is in the kitchen. That work is an ongoing process and has been built of over long periods of time.
14) 14 ) Do you get great support from the users who use your ROM’s? Do they give you great tips and suggestions?
I get fantastic support from the users of my ROM! They have helped my ROM become the great piece of work that it is today. They are always bringing new ideas to the table and letting me know of any issues that may arise. I also have great group of people beta testing that also provide invaluable feedback.
15) PPCGeeks appreciates any ROM developers who enjoy helping others and benefiting others needs and wants. Do you feel like PPCGeeks is a great place of support and interaction for the hobby you’ve chosen?
Yes, I do feel that PPC Geeks is a great place for support with this hobby of ours! When it comes to CDMA phones, there’s no place I’d rather be!
Geeks, that’s the end of the spotlight with Sharkie405 and we hope you gained some insight or found answers to questions you may have had before reading this. Have you used his Touch Pro 2 ROM’s before or are you still using them? If so, leave some comments and share your appreciation with him below. If you haven’t tried one yet, what are you waiting for? If you still own a WM For now, leave your comments in the boxes below.