David Williams

David Williams has had a lifelong obsession with the connection between machines and intelligent software. His professional work has spanned the architecture and implementation of professional software development tools to mechanical engineering and electronics.

Born and raised in New Zealand, Borland International was David's first US employer. Firstly, at Borland, David invented, implemented and patented a visual programming system. Later in his career at Borland, David turned to Java programming and conceived, architected and co-implemented JBuilder, a line of Java programming tools that remains one of the best regarded Java development tools available.

After Borland, David was part of the founding team and served as Chief Technology Officer at Mediabolic, a leading provider of middleware software for the home media industry. Working closely with his colleagues, David designed and developed an award-winning software system that could support multi-room access to movies, photos and music. The system was eventually licensed by a group of major electronics companies, including HP, Pioneer, & Denon.

David left Mediabolic in late 2002 to co-found MakingThings, where he now serves as the company's CTO, chief architect and in many cases, lead implementer. MakingThings embodies David's passion for building projects that combine both software and hardware. It also allows him to exercise his considerable skill set, which includes software design, database design, electronics (analog & digital), PCB design, microprocessor firmware, and small shop fabrication.

David's education includes a Masters of Cognitive Science from University of New South Wales in Australia and a BSc in Computer Science with a minor in Psychology from the University of Auckland.