| Joshua D. Wachs: CreativeCOW Contributing Editor
Creative COW Web Writer, Contributing Editor
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Joshua D. Wachs
Boston, Massachusetts USA
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Joshua
Wachs has been merging creativity and technology for the last 16 years.
In 1987, after graduating from Emerson College with a degree in Mass
Communications, he founded a Massachusetts custom database development
and consulting company. He had two choices: work for a local radio
station for $15 a week or write custom software for $15 an hour. The
rest is history. For more than 12 years, Wachs was President, CEO, and
visionary behind Natural Intelligence, Inc. Known nationally and
internationally for its innovative custom technology, Natural
Intelligence was recognized for pioneering software in the Java world,
creating Roaster, a first-to-market Java Development Environment for
the Macintosh, QuickCodePro, a programmer’s editor, Easy4D, set of
programming templates and reports, and DragStrip, an award winning
desktop utility. All four products were acquired in the late '90's.
Over
the years, clients included Fortune Magazine, JP Morgan, Liberty
Mutual, Bausch and Lomb, Fidelity Investments, Massachusetts General
Hospital, Aquent, NEUCO, Genome Therapeutics, University of Notre Dame,
SONY, and The National Basketball Association. Additionally, the
company was successful in developing strategic partnerships with Apple,
Sybase, ACIUS, Oracle and Allaire Corporation. Natural Intelligence was
also at the forefront of innovations in publishing online information
resources, including "Roasted Java News" and "Intelligence.Com."
Natural
Intelligence was also acclaimed for its unique and often imitated
Developer Apprentice Program, a pro-active recruiting initiative that
included on-site training and education for software engineers, who
were paid in conjunction with their apprenticeship. DAP’ers were
trained not only in the latest technologies, but also groomed as
professional consultants. This resulted in attracting applicants from
Ivy League schools, as well as other talented individuals in a highly
competitive job market.
In
1996, Wachs began to redirect the company from a database
client-services company to an Internet technology company, which
included e-commerce and website development consulting. He created and
led an advisory board to provide counsel during the transformation of
the company to reflect the dynamic changes taking place in the
industry. In early 1999, Wachs began to evaluate several strategic
acquisition options, and in June of 1999, sold the company to
Circle.com, a division of Snyder Communications. A successful IPO
followed four months later. Wachs served as Chief Technology Officer
and Executive Vice President of Circle.com until he left in March in
2001 to join a new startup, Affinnova. Affinnova's technology applies
the theory of evolution to product design and let's consumers provide
unique insights on holistic designs and helping evolve products that
will survive and thrive in the marketplace. Although he plays many
roles at Affinnova, Wachs currently is the Director of Marketing and
Communications and reports directly to the CEO.
Despite
demanding career activities, Wachs is an active participant in a wide
variety of community activities. He was an early supporter and
contributor to a variety of industry volunteer networks, including The
Boston Computer Society. He was a member of the YEO (Young
Entrepreneurs Association), is on the Board of Directors for Voice of
the Turtle, Treasurer of Yankee Volleyball (Local chapter of USA
Volleyball), a corporate sponsor of Public Radio, and volunteers
technological assistance to Brandeis Hillel and New Words Bookstore.
Wachs has also received an Environmental Protection Award from the city
of Cambridge. He is a recipient of the '40 Under 40' Award from the
Boston Business Journal. So why is Wachs involved in digital video? When asked he made it clear: "What I really want to do is direct."
Articles by Joshua D. Wachs | | | |
Apple Final Cut Pro
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Final Cut Pro 2 for FireWire
Joshua Wachs takes a look at Final Cut Pro 2 for FireWire DV Editing written by Charles Roberts and published by Focal Press and determines that this is still a valuable addition to your resource book shelf.
Review |
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