Editing Spencer Kimball (computer programmer)

{{short description|American computer programmer, entrepreneur, and business}}
{{about|the programmer|the LDS Church President|Spencer W. Kimball}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2017}}
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| name               =  Spencer Kimball
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| education          = B.A., Computer Science
| alma_mater         = [[University of California, Berkeley]]
| occupation         = [[Chief executive officer|CEO]]
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| employer           = [[Cockroach Labs]]
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| website            =  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerwkimball Spencer Kimball on LinkedIn]
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'''Spencer Kimball''' is an American [[computer programmer]], entrepreneur, and business executive. He is the CEO of [[Cockroach Labs]], a company he co-founded in 2014.<ref name=WiredExGooglers>{{cite news|last1=Finley|first1=Klint|title=Ex-Googlers Get Millions To Help You Build The Next Google|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/06/cockroach-labs/|accessdate=July 25, 2015|publisher=Wired|date=June 4, 2015}}</ref> His work as a programmer includes creating [[GNU Image Manipulation Program]] (GIMP) while still in college,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Deek|first1=Fadi P.|last2=McHugh|first2=James A. M.|title=Open Source: Technology and Policy|date=2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139468732|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PA-Rhb_QSAwC&pg=PA114 |accessdate=July 25, 2015}}</ref> and assisting the source code development of [[CockroachDB]], the namesake software of Cockroach Labs. In addition to Cockroach Labs, Kimball was involved in the founding of other tech startups including WeGo and [[Square, Inc.|Viewfinder]].<ref name=SMTrednsAbsorbs>{{cite news|last1=Sophy|first1=Joshua|title=Square Absorbs Viewfinder Team|url=http://smallbiztrends.com/2013/12/square-absorbs-viewfinder.html|accessdate=July 25, 2015|publisher=Small Biz Trends|date=December 11, 2013}}</ref>

==Early life and education==

Kimball was born in 1974 to a [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Latter-day Saint]] family. He attended the [[University of California, Berkeley|University of California at Berkeley]]. While still a student in 1995, he developed the first version of [[GNU Image Manipulation Program]] (GIMP) as a class project, along with his roommate [[Peter Mattis]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wallace|first1=Shawn|title=Perl Graphics Programming: Creating SVG, SWF (flash), JPEG and PNG files with Perl|date=2002|publisher=O'Reily Media Inc.|isbn=9781449358310|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NV_4AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA145 |accessdate=July 25, 2015}}</ref><ref name=SpncerMattiGimb>{{cite web|last1=Beane|first1=Zachary|title=Spencer Kimball & Peter Mattis|url=http://www.xach.com/gg/1997/1/profile/1/|website=GIMP Gazette|accessdate=July 25, 2015}}</ref> Kimball was also a member of a student club at Berkeley called the [[eXperimental Computing Facility]] (XCF).<ref name=XCFcodecollege>{{cite web|url=http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/feature/2000/12/04/xcf/index.html |title=Free Photoshop for the people |accessdate=August 28, 2006 |last=Frauenheim |first=Ed |date=December 4, 2000 |work=Salon.com}}</ref> During his time with XCF, he co-wrote the code for GIMP.<ref name=XCFcodecollege/> Kimball said in 1999 that, "From the first line of [[source code]] to the last, GIMP was always my 'dues' paid to the [[free software movement]]. After using [[emacs]], [[GNU Compiler Collection|gcc]], [[Linux]], etc., I really felt that I owed a debt to the community which had, to a large degree, shaped my computing development."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-1999-01/lw-01-gimp.html |title=Interview with Spencer Kimball and Peter Mattis |accessdate=August 30, 2007|last=Hackvän |first=Stig |date=January 1999 |publisher=LinuxWorld |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/19990417052141/http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-1999-01/lw-01-gimp.html |archivedate = April 17, 1999}}</ref> Kimball graduated with a B.A. in computer science from Berkeley in 1996.{{cn|date=October 2021}}

==Career==

After graduation, Kimball mostly ended his relationship with the GIMP development community. He co-founded WeGo, a company providing tools for building web communities, in 1998 and served as the company's co-CTO.<ref name=WashPostGnutella>{{cite news|last1=Cha|first1=Ariana Eunjung|title=Gnutella-Based Engine Finds Way to Internet|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/archive/business/2000/06/08/gnutella-based-engine-finds-way-to-internet/594730c5-b667-4cb2-be8c-8e881f4c80b5/?resType=accessibility|accessdate=July 25, 2015|newspaper=Washington Post|date=June 8, 2000}}</ref> While at XCF, he met [[Gene Kan]], who was also a member, and the two would later begin working together on a file-sharing program for the [[Gnutella]] network, the open source Unix/Linux client ''gnubile''.<ref name=SPINMeet>{{cite news|last1=Beato|first1=G.|title=The Last Crash|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2nxQP3qCjFgC&pg=PA78 |accessdate=July 25, 2015|work=`|publisher=SPIN Magazine|date=January 2003}}</ref> In 2000, he created a web-based version of GIMP, OnlinePhotoLab.com, that was short-lived.<ref name=BetaNewsOSImage>{{cite news|last1=Mook|first1=Nate|title=Open-Source Image Software Fuels Online Photo Lab|url=http://betanews.com/2000/04/12/open-source-image-software-fuels-online-photo-lab/|accessdate=July 25, 2015|publisher=Beta News|date=April 12, 2000}}</ref> The technology was subsequently folded into [[Ofoto]]'s online image manipulation tools.

Kimball started work with [[Google]] in [[Mountain View, California|Mountain View]] in 2002<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cha|first1=Ariana Eunjung|title=At Google, Not Quite Partying Like It's 1999|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33784-2005Jan24_3.html|accessdate=August 13, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 25, 2005}}</ref> and relocated to Google's New York offices in 2004. As one of Google's engineers, he helped spearhead [[Google File System|Colossus]], a new version of the [[Google File System]].<ref name=IWeekCOackroach>{{cite news|last1=Babcock|first1=Charles|title=CockroachDB: Ultimate In Database Survival|url=http://www.informationweek.com/big-data/software-platforms/cockroachdb-ultimate-in-database-survival/d/d-id/1320700|accessdate=July 25, 2015|publisher=Information Week|date=June 4, 2015}}</ref> He also worked on the Google Servlet Engine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2009/01/opengse-released.html|title=OpenGSE Released|accessdate=January 27, 2009}}</ref>

In January 2012, Kimball launched the company Viewfinder along with Mattis and Brian McGinnis, formerly of Lehman Brothers.<ref name=PCMageVIewfinder>{{cite news|last1=Mlot|first1=Stephanie|title=Square Buys Photo-Sharing App Viewfinder|url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2427911,00.asp|accessdate=July 25, 2015|publisher=PC Mag|date=December 3, 2013}}</ref> The company developed an app that allowed social media users to share photos, chat privately, and search photo history without leaving the app.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schmidt|first1=Will|title=Viewfinder Launches Today, Boasts Strong Communications, Privacy, and Personality|url=http://tech.co/viewfinder-launches-today-boasts-strong-communications-privacy-and-personality-2013-07|accessdate=July 25, 2015|publisher=Tech Cocktail|date=July 16, 2013|archive-date=May 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509132630/http://tech.co/viewfinder-launches-today-boasts-strong-communications-privacy-and-personality-2013-07|url-status=dead}}</ref> The company was acquired by [[Square, Inc.]] in December 2013.<ref name=UBJourdoubledown>{{cite news|last1=Novellino|first1=Teresa|title=Square doubles down on engineers with Viewfinder|url=http://upstart.bizjournals.com/money/loot/2013/12/04/square-acquires-viewfinder-and-tech-duo.html?page=all|accessdate=July 25, 2015|publisher=Upstart Business Journals|date=December 4, 2013}}</ref> Kimball moved to Square's New York City office where he became a senior member of the company's East Coast team.<ref name=TecAcquires>{{cite news|last1=Perez|first1=Sarah|title=Square Acquires Ex-Googler Team Behind Viewfinder to Help Grow Its NYC Presence|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/12/03/square-acquires-ex-googler-team-behind-viewfinder-to-help-grow-its-nyc-presence/|accessdate=July 25, 2015|publisher=TechCrunch|date=December 3, 2013}}</ref>

While at Google, Kimball used a database known as [[Bigtable]] and followed the development of its next generation, known as [[Spanner (database)|Spanner]].<ref name=WiredExGooglers/> The database organizes data between thousands of servers to allow Google applications to stay online, even if an entire data center were to go offline. Kimball wanted to use this software but found there was nothing available outside of Google as either closed or open-source software with similar capabilities.<ref name=WiredExGooglers/> He elicited the help of Mattis, along with ex-[[Google Reader]] team member [[Ben Darnell]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ewbank|first1=Kay|title=CockroachDB Released|url=http://www.i-programmer.info/news/84-database/8672-cockroachdb-released.html|accessdate=July 25, 2015|publisher=I Programmer|date=June 9, 2015}}</ref> They formed the company Cockroach Labs to provide commercial backing for CockroachDB, an open source project he started on [[GitHub]] in February 2014.<ref name=WiredExGooglers/><ref>{{cite news|last1=Finley|first1=Klint|title=Out in the Open: Ex-Googlers Building Cloud Software That's Almost Impossible to Take Down|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/07/cockroachdb/|accessdate=August 13, 2015|publisher=Wired|date=July 21, 2014}}</ref> Kimball serves as the company's [[chief executive officer]] and also contributes to the source code development of CockroachDB.<ref name=VDealTExkimball>{{cite web|title=Tech Executive Spencer Kimball|url=http://www.venturedeal.com/Executives/Spencer-Kimball-CockroachDB-Chief%20Executive%20Officer-Profile|website=Venture Deal|accessdate=July 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Ovide|first1=Shira|title=CockroachDB Scampers Off with $6.3 Million to Tackle Database Shortcomings|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/06/04/cockroachdb-scampers-off-with-6-3-million-to-tackle-database-shortcomings/|accessdate=July 25, 2015|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{LinkedIn URL|https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerwkimball}}
* [http://www.cockroachlabs.com/ Cockroach Labs official website]

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[[Category:Free software programmers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American computer programmers]]
[[Category:UC Berkeley College of Engineering alumni]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:GTK]]