Ratio Interactive

Chris Hawkins – iOS Developer

rick — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:59:21 +0000

1. What was the last film that really moved/disturbed/thrilled you and why?

- Avatar, the skill and vision that James Cameron had to build the technology needed to make a film he had envisioned 10 or more years ago. And then to make a great movie in terms of story telling, in addition to the technology.

2. Whats the worst/most embarrassing CD/Album you’ve ever owned and do you still have it?

- Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs ‘Wolly Bully’ – one of the first albums I owned, no longer have it

3. What did you want to be when you were little and do you think you ever will be?

- At some point I wanted to be a fireman, and for 5 summers I actually was ( forest fire crew )

4. What were you doing before you started this gig?

- Writing my first ( Roman Math ) and second ( Disaster Ready ) iOS apps as vehicles for learning the craft.

5. What was your favorite toy as a child . . .and now?

- Lionel electric train ( O-27 gauge ); Trail running gear ( shoes, clothes, pack, poles, GPS watch)

6. If Ratio ever gives you a day off, what would be your ideal way to spend that day?

-Working on my side project ( Risk 9-1-1 ) – an iPad app using city of Seattle crime records to chart risks in different parts of the city or going on a hike with my wife and dog

7. If you were a Star Trek or Star Wars character, which one would it be?

- Obi Wan Kenobi

8. What song is in heavy rotation on your playlist right now?

- Voodoo Chile ( Slight Return ) – Jimi Hendrix – Electric Ladyland – 1968

9. What’s the most memorable compliment you ever received from a Ratio Client?

- James Sun – Pirq – ~ “Thanks for the good work your team is doing for Pirq”

10. If you could have one Superpower, what would it be and why?

- Oddly – too difficult a choice

Amanda Shumack – Senior iOS Developer

rick — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:32:14 +0000

Amanda joined Ratio in January of 2012 and she’s helped kick off a great year so far! Let’s find out more about Amanda…

1. What was the last film that really moved/disturbed/thrilled you and why?

- Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was my most recent movie that I was excited about. I love strong female actresses who are edgy and wicked smart! She took being a computer nerd to a whole new level.

2. Whats your favorite way to wake up and whats the first thing you do?

- I always wake up and immediately grab my iPhone and check the weather. I gotta plan for my commute – bicycle, motorcycle, or car!

3. Whats the worst/most embarrassing CD/Album you’ve ever owned and do you still have it?

- Yes I still have the Cher album, Believe on my iPhone… Sometimes I’m in the mood for Cher!

4. What were you doing before you started this gig?

- I’ve been doing iOS development for my last two jobs with Java and C++ before that. I can’t image doing anything but iOS any more – I adore it, because I’m a total Apple Fangirl!

5. If you were an ice cream what would you be?

- Pistachio Gelato, probably. Bright green and entirely too sweet!

6. What was your favorite toy as a child . . .and now?

- I loved my roller skates when I was a little kid, and I still bust mine out around Alki when the weather is nice. No rollerblades for me, I’m old-school quad skates!

7. If Ratio ever gives you a day off, what would be your ideal way to spend that day?

- I’d love to get out on a sweet motorcycle ride down the Oregon coast on my new Triumph motorcycle.

8. If you were a Star Trek or Star Wars character, which one would it be?
- R2-D2 – He was funny and cute, and he was a great contrast to the super-nerd C-3PO who thought he knew everything. R2 would just beep and let them know he was full of himself. I like to call people on their bull

9. What song is in heavy rotation on your playlist right now?

- DeadMau5 “Raise Your Weapon” is getting some serious play these days. It gets me all amped up while riding my motorcycle!!

10. If you could have any Superpower, what would it be?

- I’d chose my superpower to be instant transportation. I’d love to be able to pop in for a quick trip to Tahiti or to visit my family down South.

Anchal Kumar – Project Manager

rick — Thu, 10 May 2012 23:13:13 +0000

Mr. Kumar, inquiring minds want to know:

1. What was the last film that really moved/disturbed/thrilled you and why?

- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish version) – wow, what a crazy story and an ending I didn’t see coming!

2. Whats your favorite way to wake up and whats the first thing you do?

- I love waking up naturally with the sun shining through the windows. Grinding coffee beans and making coffee in my French Press is the first thing I do.

3. Whats the worst/most embarrassing CD/Album you’ve ever owned and do you still have it?

- Hmm, I think the worst/most embarrassing album i have owned is the Los Del Rio one with “Macarena” on it. No, I do not still have it

4. What did you want to be when you were little and do you think you ever will be?

- I wanted to be a truck driver when I was little. Sadly, I think that dream has been dashed by the realities of driving trucks for a living.

5. What were you doing before you started this gig?

-I was traveling! I went to Nepal, India, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

6. If you were an ice cream what would you be?

- Ben & Jerry’s Mint Chocolate Cookie

7. What was your favorite toy as a child . . .and now?

- My favorite toy was my Optimus Prime action figure. My favorite toy now are my Ski’s or my mountain bike.

8. Describe what you like about working at Ratio in one sentence.

- I like the creative people and the hectic nature of Ratio!

9. When did you start at Ratio?

- Feb 2012

10. Finally, we have to know…do you like the Harold and Kumar movies!?

- Haha, yea, i’m a fan of Kal Pen and John Cho!

Roman Pohorecki – UI/UX Designer

rick — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:36:51 +0000

We asked Roman 10 questions to get to know him a little better, here’s what we found…

1. What was the last film that really moved/disturbed/thrilled you and why?

- Let the Right One In – if you’ve seen it you’ll know why

2. Whats your favorite way to wake up and whats the first thing you do?

- Thinking of coffee

3. Whats the worst/most embarrassing CD/Album you’ve ever owned and do you still have it?

- It’s hard to be embarrassed about music

4. What did you want to be when you were little and do you think you ever will be?

- National Geographic Photographer

5. What were you doing before you started this gig?

- architecture

6. If you were an ice cream what would you be?

- Something homemade with lemons

7. What was your favorite toy as a child . . .and now?

- Legos4ever

8. If Ratio ever gives you a day off, what would be your ideal way to spend that day?

- Somewhere in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness

9. When did you start at Ratio?

- April 2012

10. If you were a Star Trek or Star Wars character, which one would it be?

-Worf – so head strong

Meet our Team

rick — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:08:37 +0000

Here at Ratio we have a shared vision of great design and innovative technology. Bringing that vision to life for clients and partners can only happen with an amazing team. We’re so proud of our employees that we decided to shine a light on them individually. Over the next few weeks we’ll be featuring mini-interviews with some of our team members right here on the blog in our “Meet our Team” section. Get to know some of our enormously talented and uniquely gifted staff members! And if you think you’d fit right in at Ratio we’re hiring! (browse the We’re Hiring section for openings)

Program Manager

rick — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:30:13 +0000

The following skills are essential:

Experience working in Agile

Comfortable managing multiple projects and produce successfully through day to day changing priorities

Strong communication skills – can manage customers, technical & non-technical audiences

Able to bring clarity to the “fuzzy” requirements stage rapidly and effectively

Proactively identifies risks to the project and develops mitigation plans while keeping project deliverables, budget, and schedule in mind

Experience defining use cases and information architecture

Able to oversee infrastructure / 3rd party system development

Able to lead multiple disciplines through the creative process while still balancing functional requirements

Perform with minimal direction and supervision required

Minimum 2 years PM experience managing software applications from inception to release.

Interactive/agency experience a plus

We have a fast paced, Agile environment and are working on some really cool projects, but also believe in a good work/life balance.

Front End Developer

rick — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:23:08 +0000

Duties/Responsibilities:

•Develop optimized, cross-platform front-end in CSS/HTML/JavaScript

•Work as a team member to ensure that implementation details translate through to shipping products and services that serve business needs with an emphasis on teamwork

•Show product ownership through collaboration with product managers, designers, other front-end developers and back-end engineers to refine the user experience

•Show strong inter-personal and communication skills, including clear and concise writing

•Interface with the UI and developer communities to absorb the latest trends and emerging technologies

•Be a leader in the never-ending process of improving coding standards and polishing our systems

Required Skills:

•3+ years of relevant web programming experience

•A proven track record of launching complex mobile applications or interactive internet applications

•A history of teamwork in writing and deploying code, including experience with version control systems such as SVN. Experience with Agile/SCRUM methodologies a plus.

•Must demonstrate deep understanding and fluent usage across a broad spectrum of technologies including: •HTML / XHTML /HTML5

•CSS

•Javascript: DOM manipulation and Ajax (jQuery or other library experience required)

•XML / JSON

Windows 8 Unveiled – iCookbook Showcased @ Mobile World Congress!

russ — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:02:21 +0000

Its a big day for the team @ Ratio!

We followed the announcement of Windows 8 Consumer Preview in Barcelona today with great anticipation because we have been developing the Windows 8 version of iCookbook™ for Publication’s International, LTD. and we couldn’t be more excited about what we saw.

iCookbook™ was presented as a “beautiful app that really takes advantage of Metro style” during the presentation of applications for Windows 8.

We agree Our Creative User Experience and Dev Teams did an incredible job of leveraging the best of Metro design and capabilities of Windows 8 to deliver a great experience for finding and preparing recipes.

Here’s a snapshot of one of our favorites:

Overall we are very excited about the Windows 8 platform and have been investing to build a deep knowledge of the system and what’s possible for applications on this new OS. Looking forward to lots more good stuff to share about Windows 8!

Fox News highlights iCookbook as “a fantastic app!”

johnathan — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:48:54 +0000

Fox News featured iCookbook as one of the top cooking applications available in iTunes!

Utilizing the hands free capabilities was a huge win for iCookbook in separating it from the field in this showcase: ”There are loads of cooking apps, which makes the iPad a great kitchen companion– that is if you don’t mind getting it greasy! However, iCookbook lets you work hands-free through the use of voice commands!”

Click Here to see full Article.

iCookbook: A Top App of the Year – Apple

johnathan — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:59:12 +0000

Apple just released its annual App Store Rewind for 2011 and has selected iCookbook, developed by Ratio Interactive, as one of the top Lifestyle iPad apps of the year!

Big congratulations to Publications International, Ltd, for seeing the vision for creating this really great app.

Thanks as well to the many Ratio Team members that have put so much effort into the iCookbook App, it was worth it!