Steven Woods
Encyclopedia
Steven Gregory Woods is a Canadian entrepreneur. He is best known for co-founding Quack.com
, the first popular Voice portal platform, in 1998.
was born in 1998, funded September 1, 1999, and acquired August 31, 2000 by America Online.
Woods is currently Engineering Director for Google
in Canada.
Previously, he served as Chief Technology Officer of NeoEdge Networks
, in Palo Alto, California
. He founded NeoEdge in 2002 under the name Kinitos along with former America Online, Netscape
, and Quack.com
colleagues including Jeromy Carriere
. Prior to NeoEdge, Woods was Vice President of Voice Services for America Online and Netscape
- joining America Online through the acquisition of Quack.com
in September, 2000. Quack.com was notable as the first Voice Portal, and held a number of key patents around interactive voice applications, including the definitive Voice Portal patent - "System and method for voice access to internet-based information". In 1998 Woods co-founded Pittsburgh-based voice-portal infrastructure company Quackware with Jeromy Carriere
and Alex Quilici
. Quackware became Quack.com
in 1999 and moved headquarters to Silicon Valley
.
Before the founding of Quack.com
, Woods was Technical Staff Member at Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute
working on technical efforts there in product line development and practical software architectural reconstruction and analysis. He holds a Ph.D and M.Math from the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science
at the University of Waterloo
in Canada
and a B.Sc. from the University of Saskatchewan
.
Woods' Ph.D was published in 1997 as a book co-written with Alex Quilici
and Qiang Yang entitled "Constraint-Based Design Recovery for Software Reengineering: Theory and Experiments"
Quack.com
AOLByPhone was an AOL interactive voice service that began in 2000. It was offered to millions of consumers. AOLByPhone started with the America Online acquisition of Quack.com, evolving through the subsequent relaunching of Quack.com's Voice Portal as AOLByPhone. AOLbyPhone expanded as AOL...
, the first popular Voice portal platform, in 1998.
Career
Motivated by Woods' desire to pull together a highly talented group of friends in one place to do something interesting for a year, Quack.comQuack.com
AOLByPhone was an AOL interactive voice service that began in 2000. It was offered to millions of consumers. AOLByPhone started with the America Online acquisition of Quack.com, evolving through the subsequent relaunching of Quack.com's Voice Portal as AOLByPhone. AOLbyPhone expanded as AOL...
was born in 1998, funded September 1, 1999, and acquired August 31, 2000 by America Online.
Woods is currently Engineering Director for Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
in Canada.
Previously, he served as Chief Technology Officer of NeoEdge Networks
NeoEdge Networks
NeoEdge Networks is a Silicon Valley based technology and in-game advertising company that enables casual game publishers and developers to deliver television-like commercials within their products - frequently in the context of free-to-consumer casual game play. NeoEdge currently powers...
, in Palo Alto, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He founded NeoEdge in 2002 under the name Kinitos along with former America Online, Netscape
Netscape
Netscape Communications is a US computer services company, best known for Netscape Navigator, its web browser. When it was an independent company, its headquarters were in Mountain View, California...
, and Quack.com
Quack.com
AOLByPhone was an AOL interactive voice service that began in 2000. It was offered to millions of consumers. AOLByPhone started with the America Online acquisition of Quack.com, evolving through the subsequent relaunching of Quack.com's Voice Portal as AOLByPhone. AOLbyPhone expanded as AOL...
colleagues including Jeromy Carriere
Jeromy Carriere
Jeromy Carriere works for Fidelity Investments, in Boston, USA, as an architect in their Enterprise Application Architecture group. Before joining Fidelity, Jeromy worked for several years as a senior architect advisor with Microsoft...
. Prior to NeoEdge, Woods was Vice President of Voice Services for America Online and Netscape
Netscape
Netscape Communications is a US computer services company, best known for Netscape Navigator, its web browser. When it was an independent company, its headquarters were in Mountain View, California...
- joining America Online through the acquisition of Quack.com
Quack.com
AOLByPhone was an AOL interactive voice service that began in 2000. It was offered to millions of consumers. AOLByPhone started with the America Online acquisition of Quack.com, evolving through the subsequent relaunching of Quack.com's Voice Portal as AOLByPhone. AOLbyPhone expanded as AOL...
in September, 2000. Quack.com was notable as the first Voice Portal, and held a number of key patents around interactive voice applications, including the definitive Voice Portal patent - "System and method for voice access to internet-based information". In 1998 Woods co-founded Pittsburgh-based voice-portal infrastructure company Quackware with Jeromy Carriere
Jeromy Carriere
Jeromy Carriere works for Fidelity Investments, in Boston, USA, as an architect in their Enterprise Application Architecture group. Before joining Fidelity, Jeromy worked for several years as a senior architect advisor with Microsoft...
and Alex Quilici
Alex Quilici
Alex Quilici is a businessman and former professor, and currently CEO of YouMail. He joined YouMail as its CEO in 2007. Prior to that he was co-founder of the Pittsburgh-based voice-portal infrastructure company Quackware with Steven Woods and Jeromy Carriere. Quackware in 1999 became Quack.com and...
. Quackware became Quack.com
Quack.com
AOLByPhone was an AOL interactive voice service that began in 2000. It was offered to millions of consumers. AOLByPhone started with the America Online acquisition of Quack.com, evolving through the subsequent relaunching of Quack.com's Voice Portal as AOLByPhone. AOLbyPhone expanded as AOL...
in 1999 and moved headquarters to Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
.
Before the founding of Quack.com
Quack.com
AOLByPhone was an AOL interactive voice service that began in 2000. It was offered to millions of consumers. AOLByPhone started with the America Online acquisition of Quack.com, evolving through the subsequent relaunching of Quack.com's Voice Portal as AOLByPhone. AOLbyPhone expanded as AOL...
, Woods was Technical Staff Member at Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute
Software Engineering Institute
The Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute is a federally funded research and development center headquartered on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. SEI also has offices in Arlington, Virginia, and Frankfurt, Germany. The SEI operates...
working on technical efforts there in product line development and practical software architectural reconstruction and analysis. He holds a Ph.D and M.Math from the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science
David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science
The David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science is the School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. Part of the Faculty of Mathematics, the school comprises 77 faculty members, nearly 300 graduate students, approximately 2100 undergraduates, and 55 staff members.-History:In 1965,...
at the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and a B.Sc. from the University of Saskatchewan
University of Saskatchewan
The University of Saskatchewan is a Canadian public research university, founded in 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. An "Act to establish and incorporate a University for the Province of Saskatchewan" was passed by the...
.
Woods' Ph.D was published in 1997 as a book co-written with Alex Quilici
Alex Quilici
Alex Quilici is a businessman and former professor, and currently CEO of YouMail. He joined YouMail as its CEO in 2007. Prior to that he was co-founder of the Pittsburgh-based voice-portal infrastructure company Quackware with Steven Woods and Jeromy Carriere. Quackware in 1999 became Quack.com and...
and Qiang Yang entitled "Constraint-Based Design Recovery for Software Reengineering: Theory and Experiments"
Trivia
- While at the University of Waterloo, Woods captained the varsity Waterloo WarriorsWaterloo WarriorsThe Waterloo Warriors are the athletic teams that represent the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The Warriors have found success over certain spans in football, hockey, rugby, golf and basketball among others, and the Warriors have won national championships in hockey ,...
golf team and in 1995 was co-winner of the Ontario University AthleticsOntario University AthleticsOntario University Athletics is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, and releases about those programs and events to the public...
"Len Shore Trophy" for top individual performance. - During 1991-1992 Woods was a member of the Canberra KnightsCanberra KnightsThe Canberra Knights are a semi-professional ice hockey team in the Australian Ice Hockey League. The team plays its home games at the Phillip Swimming & Ice Skating Centre in Phillip, a suburb of Australia's capital city, Canberra....
semi-professional ice hockey in the Australian Ice Hockey LeagueAustralian Ice Hockey LeagueThe Australian Ice Hockey League is Australia's top-level ice hockey league. It is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia and is run by its own Board of Directors.... - Steven was awarded the J.W. Graham MedalJ.W. Graham MedalThe J.W. Graham Medal in Computing and Innovation is an award given annually by the University of Waterloo and the University of Waterloo Faculty of Mathematics to "recognize the leadership and many innovative contributions made to the University of Waterloo, and to the Canadian computer...
for Computing and Innovation by the University of WaterlooUniversity of WaterlooThe University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
in 2010.