My name is Ian Barker and I am an Embarcadero MVP. As it says on the EMB page – MVPs are experienced Delphi programmers who have a belief that the product provides benefits to developers and are happy to champion Delphi and explain why the MVP thinks RAD Studio and Delphi are great tools. For me, as a Delphi developer since the very first day Delphi 1 was released, it’s a no-brainer. I code, for real, every single day in Delphi. I specialize in ‘shrink-wrapped’ software – applications that go out to end-users rather than corporates or in-house walled-gardens.
My income depends on being able to produce apps which work with minimal problems and are stable, reliable and cost-effective to produce – well, mostly, I create bugs, just the same as other mortals. According to contacts and customers I am a very prolific developer and work on an eye-wateringly large number of projects in a year. This is despite the fact I am quite lazy and have all the normal demands on my time such as dogs who insist on being walked, my wife, Lisa, who apparently likes to do things called “going out and being social with normal people” and a daughter who insists I do dad things.
My spare time is spent learning more about technology and watching episodes of Silicon Valley. I remember the first day I realized I wanted to become a programmer, I’ll tell you about it some time. It was ~38 years ago – and I’ve never regretted it since. I wake up every day and code and people pay me to do it. I am a very lucky man. I am also a published poet (don’t let that scare you too much – poetry is optional) and a professional narrator appearing on various Audible audiobooks.
Dieter Rams is my spirit animal. Almost everything he says and does is pure gold.
For those who wish to know these things: I was born in London, England in the 1960s. Lived in the UK until 2009 when I emigrated to the USA where I now live in Dallas, Texas. I became a US Citizen in 2013. I have a wife, Lisa, one daughter, two dogs and (accidentally) 4 parakeets.