Ask the Dev is back from its one week hiatus! In our 13th Ask the Dev , our very own Keyan got to sit down with Jdkoreclipse, the creator of ViciousAOSP and PopcornKernal, among other things.

Check out below and be sure to tweet your questions with the hashtag #ATD!

Work Time

Q: Tell us about yourself and what you do.

A: For the most part, I’m just an average person. I’m a full-time High School student, full-time football player, and a part-time Android enthusiast. I am in the Scholar class in my school, and I have a 100.6 average. I also play football for the school’s team, where I am a Defensive tackle and Offensive Guard. I try to stay as well-rounded as possible, because it is good to experience a little bit of everything.

Q: What are you currently working on?

A: I m working on my AOSP rom, ViciousAOSP for the Galaxy Nexus CDMA/Gsm and the Nexus S/Ns4g, PopcornKernel for the Galaxy Nexus, and PopcornKernel for the LG Spectrum.

Q: What is your favorite thing about developing ROMs?

A: My favorite thing is the testing process. More specifically, the first flash after adding new features. It is exciting to see the extent of your mods for the first time. It is one thing to see your mod in code, and it is totally another thing to see what that code really does.

Q: What got you into developing ROMs and kernels?

A: Seeing other people’s roms and mods got me into developing. I figured “if they can do it, so can I.” This was a mistake, however due to my stubbornness and persistence, I was able to learn the right way of how to do things.

Q: How did you learn how to create ROMs/Kernels?

A: I learned by reading. Not so much by following a specific tutorial, but by looking at many different tutorials, reading forum posts, and even using trial by error. Also, I made sure to ask questions as much as possible. Even to this day, all I do is ask questions.

Q: Discuss jdkoreclipse.net

A: The reason that I created Jdkoreclipse.net was because I thought it would be good to broaden my horizons. I already dev roms and kernels, so why not learn how to write news articles and run a site. We (jdkoreclipse.net staff) are planning a lot of good things for the site, including giveaways and podcasts.

Q: How is it juggling a website while making ROMs and such?

A: It’s a challenge to say the least. Sometimes roms take a good 6 hours out of my day, and then I have to look forward to spending another couple of hours working on the site.

Q: What makes you keep developing, even when things don’t work at first?

A: Anticipation of the finished product always keeps me coming back for more code-induced pain. I am persistent, so when I start something, I will not stop until I get it where I want it. For me, I develop for myself, but I share for others. I look forward to seeing what I have done and to see if I have fulfilled my own expectations and have developed to my standards. On the other hand, I share my work because it does make me happy to see how people like my software.

Q: What is your current dev computer?

A: Toshiba Satellite.

Q: What does your current Android family consist of? What are some of your former devices?

A: Right now I have a Galaxy Nexus and a HTC Thunderbolt. My past devices include the HTC Evo 3d, Samsung Fascinate, and the HTC Incredible.

Q: If you could have an app do anything, what would it do? 

A: It would be able to make on-the-fly kernel tweaks. Many apps have this functionality, but none of them have all of the same options.

Q: If you could have any electronic device available, what would it be?

A: The Galaxy Nexus, of course. In my opinion, it has many great features to it, and it handles everything that I throw at it with ease.

Q: What are your thoughts on the “fragmentation” problem in the Android world? What do you think Google can do to fix it?

A: To put it very frankly, fragmentation sucks. It is not fair that some phones are still running an outdated OS. While it is true that some devices can’t handle the latest and greatest, these devices are the minority. The only devices that can’t support ICS are the ancient phones like the Eris, G1, MyTouch Slide, HTC Legend, Htc Hero, HTC MyTouch, etc. Anything Newer than those like the Nexus One, HTC Evo, etc are still going strong. So, if the Evo can still run fine on ICS, then why can’t newer phones like the Thunderbolt get attention paid to them.

I think this issue is out of Google’s hands. It’s more of a carrier/manufacturer thing.

Q: What are your suggestions for up and coming developers?

A: Reading and asking questions are imperative to any up and coming developer. I did not take classes on any of this, all I did was research, ask questions, and look at other people’s code to get an idea of how to implement certain things. However, you have to remember certain things when following my method: 1) some devs don’t want to be bothered with you questions, so be sure to ask the right people. 2) Don’t be annoying when asking questions. 3) Some tutorials are VERY incomplete, so just get in the habit of double checking the information in the tutorial. 4) GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE!

Q: Where can we keep up with you?

A: Twitter, RootzWiki, jdkoreclipse.net, Gtalk. I’m very easy to find, as my username for basically every site is jdkoreclipse.

Fun Time

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

A: Android pretty much takes up all of my free time.

Q: If you could add anything to the AOSP code, what would you add?

A: Compatibility for every phone. I know that projects like CodeAurora and CyanogenMod do this, but it would be nice to have built-in compatibility.

Q: Who is your favorite Android manufacturer?

A: It’s hard to say, because each one has their own strong and weak points. I have to say HTC, though, because their phones don’t feel cheap in your hand, they perform well, and they usually have the best specs. Too bad they ship their phones with Sense.

Q: What’s your favorite type of music?

A: Any type of Rock/Metal, and occasionally rap.

Q: What do you listen to when you work?

A: It depends on my mood. If I’m getting a lot done and it’s working well, I’ll listen to anything by Queen (my favorite band). If I’m experiencing some code induced pain, I’ll listen to Disturbed.

Q: How did your online alias become jdkoreclipse?

A: I just randomly thought it up, and it was one of a few that I was considering. It was the one that flowed the best. In case you’re wondering, it has absolutely no meaning. Most people just call me Jd, Jdk, or Jdko. Outside of Android, people either mispronounce my name or try to shorten it, so I don’t care what I’m called. Like the saying goes, “you can call me anything you want, just don’t call me late for dinner.”