Wil Shipley
Encyclopedia
William "Wil" Jon Shipley (born October 16, 1969) is a Macintosh
software developer, best known for co-founding and heading The Omni Group
in 1991, where he did consulting work and developed software for the NeXTSTEP
operating system, Rhapsody and later Mac OS X
. His firm was one of a relative few to develop for Rhapsody, with the company's OmniWeb
becoming the most popular browser for the platform. While at Omni he won a record five Apple Design Awards for his company's products. He went on to found a second notable software firm, Delicious Monster
, with Mike Matas in 2004. Delicious Library
, the company's flagship product, won three more Apple Design Awards.
In November 2004 he added the ability to scan UPCs to Delicious Library
and pioneered the field of computer-based video one-dimensional barcode scanning (previous efforts had not been real-time, taking up to 2 seconds per frame). In 2007 Wil and Lucas Newman wrote a new algorithm that did not require cameras with variable focus lenses, thus pioneering blurry one-dimensional barcode reading ("reverse image deconvolution") using ideas from Belgian astronomers.
He is noted in the Macintosh community for his experience in software usability and design, as well as the Pimp My Code series on his personal weblog, a popular feature where he shares free code examples and tips on programming. In 2005, Shipley gave a talk entitled "How to Succeed Writing Mac Software" at WWDC and in 2007 spoke at C4
about using "the hype machine" to your company's advantage. In 2006 and 2007, he was named one of the most influential members of the Mac community by MacTech Magazine.
Shipley has appeared in Penny Arcade
, a popular webcomic, three times.
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
software developer, best known for co-founding and heading The Omni Group
The Omni Group
The Omni Group is a company that develops software for the Mac OS X platform. The Omni Group was informally founded as a NEXTSTEP consulting company in 1989 by Wil Shipley, who immediately brought on Ken Case and Tim Wood. The three incorporated together under the name Omni Development, Inc. in...
in 1991, where he did consulting work and developed software for the NeXTSTEP
NEXTSTEP
NeXTSTEP was the object-oriented, multitasking operating system developed by NeXT Computer to run on its range of proprietary workstation computers, such as the NeXTcube...
operating system, Rhapsody and later Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
. His firm was one of a relative few to develop for Rhapsody, with the company's OmniWeb
OmniWeb
OmniWeb is a proprietary Internet web browser developed and marketed by The Omni Group. It is available exclusively for Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system...
becoming the most popular browser for the platform. While at Omni he won a record five Apple Design Awards for his company's products. He went on to found a second notable software firm, Delicious Monster
Delicious Monster
Delicious Monster is a software company based in San Francisco, California that sells the shareware software program Delicious Library. Its founders are Wil Shipley, one of the three co-founders of The Omni Group, and Mike Matas, who worked as an interface designer at The Omni Group...
, with Mike Matas in 2004. Delicious Library
Delicious Library
Delicious Library is a media cataloguing application for Mac OS X, developed by Delicious Monster to allow users to manage collections of books, movies, CDs, and video games....
, the company's flagship product, won three more Apple Design Awards.
In November 2004 he added the ability to scan UPCs to Delicious Library
Delicious Library
Delicious Library is a media cataloguing application for Mac OS X, developed by Delicious Monster to allow users to manage collections of books, movies, CDs, and video games....
and pioneered the field of computer-based video one-dimensional barcode scanning (previous efforts had not been real-time, taking up to 2 seconds per frame). In 2007 Wil and Lucas Newman wrote a new algorithm that did not require cameras with variable focus lenses, thus pioneering blurry one-dimensional barcode reading ("reverse image deconvolution") using ideas from Belgian astronomers.
He is noted in the Macintosh community for his experience in software usability and design, as well as the Pimp My Code series on his personal weblog, a popular feature where he shares free code examples and tips on programming. In 2005, Shipley gave a talk entitled "How to Succeed Writing Mac Software" at WWDC and in 2007 spoke at C4
C4 (conference)
C4 was a Macintosh software developers conference held in Chicago, Illinois. The conference ran from 2006 through 2009. It was created by Jonathan Rentzsch after the demise of MacHack...
about using "the hype machine" to your company's advantage. In 2006 and 2007, he was named one of the most influential members of the Mac community by MacTech Magazine.
Shipley has appeared in Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade (webcomic)
Penny Arcade is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website loonygames.com. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have established their own site, which is typically updated with a new comic...
, a popular webcomic, three times.
