Charlie Jacksonis an American computer software entrepreneur who foundedSilicon Beach Softwarein 1984 and co-foundedFutureWave Softwarein 1993. FutureWave created the first version of what is nowAdobe Flash.He was an early investor inWiredmagazine,Outpost,Streamloadand Angelic Pictures. Jackson is currently founder/CEO of Silicon Beach Software, which develops and publishes application software for Windows 10.
Business life
editStartups
editJackson foundedSilicon Beach Softwarein 1984. The company developed and published Macintosh software. It was best known for its graphics editorsSuperPaint,Digital Darkroomand the multimedia authoring applicationSuperCard.Silicon Beach was acquired byAldus Corporationin 1990. That year he was named Entrepreneur of the Year in San Diego for High Tech.[1]
In 1984, Jackson also founded the San DiegoMacintosh User Group.
Jackson co-foundedFutureWave SoftwarewithJonathan Gayin 1993.[1]FutureWave developed and publishedFutureSplash Animator.Macromediaacquired FutureWave in 1996 and renamed the product Flash 1.0, which in turn becameAdobe Flashwhen Macromedia was acquired byAdobe Systems.[2]
Since late 2009, Jackson has been a mentor for San Diego sessions of the Founder Institute.[3]
In 2015, using the name Silicon Beach Software again, he founded a company to develop graphics software for Windows 10. The company's first product is SaviDraw.
Investments
editAlthough no longer an active seed investor, Jackson made some notable investments in the 1990s. In 1993, he andNicholas Negropontewere the two seed investors inWiredmagazine.[4]In 1994, Jackson loaned Wired Ventures the money that allowed the company to start upHotWired,the first commercial web magazine.
Jackson was the seed investor inOutpost,an early online reseller of computer equipment. Outpost gained some notoriety for its TV ads in whichgerbils were shot out of a cannonandwolves attacked a high school marching band.
Jackson was the first investor in Angelic Pictures, Inc.
Jackson was the first investor inStreamload,an online media storage and retrieval company that was subsequently renamedNirvanixand he was the first investor in Pacific Coast Software, publisher of WebCatalog, an e-commerce package.[5]
Other Businesses
editJackson is a principal in Angelic Pictures, Inc., a movie production company. He has been an executive producer of Angelic's movies,The Month of August,Hole in One: American Pie Plays Golf,Beach Bar,Music High,La Migra,FearlessandSpace Samurai: Oasis.[2]
Jackson founded Silicon Beach Software in 2015. It is a developer/publisher of multimedia software for Windows 10.[3]
Jackson owned two small businesses in San Diego, CA. Epic Volleyball Club was a junior volleyball organization which trained approximately 400 athletes annually.VolleyHutwas an online reseller of volleyball equipment. In 2000, VolleyHut challengedAmazonon its use of patents.[4]Both businesses were shut down after pandemic lockdowns.
Early life and education
editJackson (born 1948) grew up inImperial Beach, California.As a teenager, he also spent three years inIstanbul,Turkey, where he earned a B.E.P.C. degree from a French school. Jackson graduated fromMar Vista High Schoolin Imperial Beach in 1967, and was later inducted into the inaugural class of theSweetwater Union High School DistrictHall of Fame in 2001.[6][7]He earned a BA degree in Near Eastern Studies fromUCLAin 1972, a master's degree inlinguisticsfromSan Diego Statein 1978 and a C.Phil. in linguistics fromUCSDin 1980.
Jackson was an active dutyMarine Corpsofficer from 1972 to 1976 and Reserve officer from 1976 to 1989.
Sports
editJackson's sporting background is varied and extensive. While in Istanbul, he won the county youth championship in pole vault. In high school, he competed in cross country and track and field.
AtUCLA,Jackson was a letter winner insoccerandlightweight rowing.[5]His senior year he was co-captain of the lightweight rowing team.
In the Marine Corps, Jackson became a competitive rifle and pistol shooter, earning the Marine Corps' highest award for rifle shooting, the Distinguished badge.[6]In 1978, he was the High Marine at the National Championships for Service Rifle, held atCamp Perry,Ohio.
In the '90s, Jackson returned to competitive shooting. In 1993 and 1994, he earned a spot on the US National Team inRapid Fire Pistoland competed internationally.[8]In 1996, his three-man team won the U.S. National Championship in Rapid Fire Pistol.
In 1994, Jackson attended theWorld Masters Gamesin Brisbane, Australia, where over 24,000 athletes competed for World Championship titles in their respective age groups. In the 45 - 49 age group, Jackson won Gold medals in Rapid Fire Pistol and 4-manBeach Volleyballand a Silver medal in 2-man Beach Volleyball.
From 1997 to 2000, Jackson served on the board ofUSA Volleyball,chairing the Olympic Beach Volleyball Committee. Jackson was a member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team in the capacity of Assistant Team Leader, Beach Volleyball.
In 2000 and 2001, Jackson owned and operatedBeach Volleyball America(BVA), a U.S. professional beach volleyball tour.[7]
From 1999 to 2021, Jackson owned and operated Epic Volleyball Club, a junior club in the San Diego area.
References
edit- ^MACROMEDIA FLASH BACK,Digital Archaeology
- ^Grandmasters of Flash: An Interview with the Creators of Flash,Cold Hard Flash
- ^Founder Institute Mentors in San Diego
- ^Wolf, Gary.Wired-A Romance.Random House, 2003, p. 51.
- ^Mary A.C. Fallon (July 31, 2008)."Streamload/MediaMax/TheLinkup death spiral dogs Nirvanix".DEMO.Archived fromthe originalon August 15, 2008.
- ^Smith, James A. (August 21, 1991)."Sailing at Southwestern".The Star-News.p. 11.RetrievedOctober 20,2023– viaNewspapers.
- ^Mallgren, Laura (November 2, 2001)."Sweetwater district names 16 graduates to first hall of fame".The Star-News.p. 1.RetrievedOctober 19,2023– viaNewspapers.
- ^United States Shooting Team 1994 Media Guide.p. 45, 132.
External links
edit- Silicon Beach Software (current)
- The Computer Chronicles:TV Coverage of MacWorld Boston 1988including Silicon Beach Software's Charlie Jackson
- San Diego Macintosh User Group
- Wired
- Angelic Pictures
- Charlie JacksonatIMDb
- Founder Institute