Worlds Firsts
WORLD’S FIRSTS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The First Large Auditorium Split
“When I’m working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.”
R. Buckminster Fuller (1895 - 1983)
These are world’s firsts that I was privileged to be a part of:
In the Public Relations Industry
World’s First Powerboat Races
Held in the San Diego Bay on May 5, 2000
I stand corrected by a very dear friend:
Catherine Miller, S.D. Sportsfishing Council: “And, I’m sorry I must correct one of your world’s first’s. I claim it as mine. A hard won battle fought in 1992 or there abouts. The first Offshore Powerboat race in San Diego Bay, the OPT - Off Shore Professional Tour.”
I did assist on the “Second” San Diego Bay Power Boat Races. I with the Port of San Diego and Jim Kidrick with the American Powerboat Association, Vendors, and all of the other logistics involved.
World’s First Amphibious Tours held on the San Diego Bay, 
Approved by the Port of San Diego Board of Commissioner, July 17, 2001
I worked for two years with Lorrin Stewart of Historic Tours of America (Old Town Trolley), and the Port of San Diego to develop a business plan that would create the least amount of impact to the environment, the exhibiting tenants, and the United States Navy, offering the greatest amount of revenue both to Historic Tours and to the Port of San Diego while offer the newest attraction to the visiting and residing citizens of San Diego.
World’s First Tangible Products from the Internet 
Downloadable Toys and Marketing Products
“What if: I told your company that I could create something similar to a tee-shirt or coffee mug give-a-way, that people will come to you to ask for, that I will distribute them to your customer anywhere in the word, seven days a week, twenty-four hours per day, instantly, at no cost to you, no distribution costs, no manufacturing costs, no shipping, no payroll, and I could include your marketing message on it’s side and change it every ten minutes? Are you Interested?
The Paper Models are fun toys such as the one shown here. An United Airlines, Boeing 737, with all of Unites colors and logos, free to anyone who wants it. Just click on the United Airlines Free Toy Button from their web site, and a copy of this downloads to your print, and prints on 3 sheets of ordinary paper, and with 30 minutes, some glue and a pair of scissors, you have a 10″ wingspan toy to play with that says, “United Airlines Serving the Airlines Industry for 75 Years.”
I hold the patent pending for the Paper Models, Inc. line of marketing toys. See www.PaperModelsInc.com.
In the Computer Science Industry
World’s First Tangible Products from the Internet
Downloadable Toys and Marketing Products
See above.
World’s First Commercial Application of Voice Recognition for the Physically Disabled 
While working with it’s inventor back in 1986, I suggested that we try it with our SenSei System, computer system for the disabled that was soon to be trialed in the Palo Alto Veterans Administration in California as a special project between Apple, the V.A., and myself. The trial was a success. As this company had no investment capital, and no ability to survive, I took them under our wing and cooperatively marketed both products until I was able to make an introduction to Dennis Mitchell, Executive Vice President of IBM, asking him to buy the company to insure it’s future. IBM bought this fledgling company, continued the R&D necessary, and the product became know as Via-Voice.
See Smithsonian Institution & Computer History Museum on the Home Page for more information…
World’s First Environmental Control for the Physically Disabled
While developing my voice recognition computer system for the disabled, I realized the product needed more, environmental control. I meet with the executives of the new X-10 Environmental in Northvale, New Jersey and explained the potential 49 million disabled market was significantly larger than the “techie’ marketer they were currently going after. X-10 recently bought the division from BASF and was on the verge of closing due to lack of sales. I developed several cables that would allow them to work with Macintosh, introduced them to Apple, who at the time was very supportive of the physically disabled market, and cooperatively marketed both products. Their break in the disabled market came when I introduced them to Barry Romich of Prente Romich of Ohio, who was now growing to be one of the largest distributors of individual components for the disabled.
See Smithsonian Institution & Computer History Museum on the Home Page for more information…
World’s First Application of Speech Synthesis for the Physically Disabled
This was the very first breakthrough in the SenSei System which allow me to develop “SoftVoice”, the very first iteration. I found the name of an engineer who work out of Long Island for Texas Instruments, who figured out how to make a voice synthesizing chip with the electric current running in reverse, that it would “talk”. He did know what to do with this discovery. I contacted him and told him of the 49 million disabled and what it could do for them. He sold me a board and I spent weeks writing binary code to allow the chip to communicate with the Apple // computer. Once accomplished, it worked and became the world’s first voice recognition computer. This was November of 1985.
See Smithsonian Institution & Computer History Museum on the Home Page for more information…
World’s First Input Devices for Computer Control for the Physically Disabled
We at Safko International while assisting many companies who came to us for assistance in getting started or staying alive, we developed quit a few variation on our own, such as: the large ball track ball with a puff switch, the “Puff-Stick” which was a modified joy-stick, and the “Hit-Switch” which allowed a disabled user to control a Macintosh computer simply by swinging a body part and hitting a suspended ball.
See Smithsonian Institution & Computer History Museum on the Home Page for more information…
World’s First Application of Ultrasonic Head Control of a Computer for the Physically Disabled
A developer in Stanford, CT, developed a headset that would act as a mouse and was trying to market it to the secretary market. Secretaries didn’t want to wear this device on their heads. We worked with him improving his product, creating cables to work on the Mac, Introducing him to Apple’s Disability division, and to Prenke Romich. Soon he was selling this devices to disabled around the word. Eventually Prentke Romich Bought the company from him and began manufacturing them themselves.
See Smithsonian Institution & Computer History Museum on the Home Page for more information…
World’s First Mouth Control of the Computer for the Physically Disabled
This refers to several of the many input devices developed at Safko International. The Sip Stick, the Hit Switch, the Large Track ball, and several more.
See Smithsonian Institution & Computer History Museum on the Home Page for more information…
World’s First Electronic Hospital Bed Control for the Physically Disabled
One of the many items a disabled person needed control over was an electronic hospital bed. We at Safko International used connectors and relays to interface any kind of electronic hospital bed to our SenSei Server which was controlled by the Macintosh Computer, which in turn was controlled by one of our may innovative input switches. The bed would go up, down, head up and down, and feet up and down upon command.
See Smithsonian Institution & Computer History Museum on the Home Page for more information…
World’s First Sip & Puff Control of RCA Color Television
While working with RCA, we at Safko International came up with the first stand alone, sip and puff television controller. Our first customer was the Veteran Administration Hospital in Houston, Texas. This device was as small as a pack of cigarettes, and had a long plastic straw coming from one end. With a sip, the led’s would change from On/Off, Volume up/Down, Channel Up/Down, and with a simple puff of air, the controller would do it! This was March of 1986.
See Smithsonian Institution & Computer History Museum on the Home Page for more information…
World’s First Infrared Control of Classroom Software & Student Testing
Because of our expertise in infra red control, we were asked to develop a device that would be about the size of a calculator, that each student would get in a classroom setting for test taking. Each would have the students unique PIN or Personal Identification Number and would lock onto a receiver at the front of the classroom. When a test was being given, each student would enter his or her answers in the “calculator” keypad, and press enter. The receiver in the from would receive each students answer, record the results, and by the end of the class, calculate, grade, and print out each student’s test.
World’s First Infrared Media Control for the Physically Disabled 
We work directly with Steve Wosniack, co-founder of Apple Computer who was now working with his new start up “Cloud Nine” in Los Gatos, California, a suburb of Palo Alto. Steve was the first to develop the all-in-one IR controller, but was beaten to the market by Magnavox. The unique feature Steve’s controller had, was an RS-292 port. This allowed us to interface our SenSei Server with his controller and control the IR via the Macintosh and our input devices. By connected the the two, we developed the world’s first IR or All-In-One controller that was hands free for the disabled.
See Smithsonian Institution & Computer History Museum on the Home Page for more information…
World’s First Hands Free Telephone Control for the Physically Disabled
While developing our SenSei Server which connected to out software filled Macintosh, we developed a daughter board that would connect, internally, and allow complete telephone control through our software. This was a great treasure for the disabled who could not use their hands to dial a phone.
See Smithsonian Institution & Computer History Museum on the Home Page for more information…
World’s First Laptop, Portable Speech for the Physically Disabled
Right about the time Apple abandoned their speech (or MacinTalk), we took it a step further. We created a voice board where individuals who could not speak, could use our software, select a button and speak any sentence they wanted. Once seen, Apple soon re-instated their speech capabilities.
See Smithsonian Institution & Computer History Museum on the Home Page for more information…
World’s First Pseudo Three Dimensional, Fully Graphic Computer Operating System 
This 3-D System resulting in the archetypes for the Apple’s Newton, Microsoft’s Bob, and Novel’s Corsair, and was the FIrst Artificial Environment or Artificial World.
See Smithsonian Institution & Computer History Museum on the Home Page for more information…
Also see The First Virtual World, The Sensei OS blog
This was the heart of the SenSei System and was developed in March of 1986 and is part of 125 copyrights held be me covering this unique way of operating a computer. You could see this being used in Apple’s first PDA, the Apple Newton, and Microsoft’s BOB operating system which constituted a copyright infringement and resulted in a Cease and Desist in May of 1995.
In the Nuclear Industry
World’s First Artificial Intelligent, Quality Assurance,
Trend Analysis for the Nuclear Industry.
As a result of many of the innovations mentioned above, I was hired by the United States Department of Energy to assist them in developing their Artificial Intelligent, Quality Assurance, Trend Analysis for the Hanford Nuclear Reservation that was being mandated by the Nuclear Regulator Commission or NRC. They were running out of time. Myself as the lead engineer, a seasoned nuclear and Boeing Computer Services had the newly developed technology up and running in a record nine months.
In the Civil Engineering Industry
- World’s First PC Based Computer Analysis of Coordinate Geometry;
- World’s First PC Based Computer Analysis of Earthwork / Cut & Fill Analysis;
- World’s First PC Based Computer Analysis of Property Line Intersection;
- World’s First PC Based Computer Analysis of Highway Analysis;
- World’s First PC Based Computer Analysis of Hydrology and Watershed Analysis;
- World’s First PC Based Computer Analysis of Span Wire Analysis;
- World’s First PC Based Computer Analysis of Easement Calculation;
- World’s First PC Based Computer Analysis of Map Plotting.
All of the above are the result of my having the foresight of using computers in engineering. While working for a Fortune 500 Engineering firm in New York, I convinced the President that this new thing called an Apple, could help us if someone wrote “software” for the new appliance. I taught myself BASIC and began programming. With my newly found understanding of BASIC and my degree in civil engineering, I began turning out software that would allow us to perform engineering calculations and design in days that would previously takes weeks, and without mistake.
This was such a big success, that I left the company (with permission), and form Civil Consultants. This company was the first to perform strictly Computer Aided Design. I did this roughly from 1978 until 1985.
In the Entertainment Industry
Managed World’s First Large Auditorium to Multi-Auditorium Conversion Construction
I was the co-manager of the Central Plaza Cinema for General Cinema. They got the idea, what if we showed more than one movie at the same location? As this was the biggest, 2,823 seats, they decided to “split” the theatre down the middle and install two screens. This took about 9 months.
When we reopened and proved nearly double the revenues fro a single location, the trend was now set!
Assisted Union Carbide in the World’s First Trials of the Xenon Bulb Technology to Replace the Carbon Arc
Carbon Arc was messy, dangerous, and had to be constantly watched and adjusted by the projectionist. RCA was currently developing an ultra bright bulb that they said had the same candle power of a carbon arc and could replace all that mess with a simple bulb. General Cinema chose my theater to retrofit and test these new Xenon Bulbs. The trials were a huge success and now all theaters use this technology.
Managed World’s First Designed and Built Multi-Auditorium Theater
After the success of the Central Plaza Cinema, in Yonkers, New York, General Cinema decided to build a multi-auditorium theatre from the ground up. The Westchester Mall Cinema open shortly there after. I co-managed that theatre for two years in between managing one of Westchester’s last remaining Outdoor Theatre, the Hollowbrook Drive In.
Managed 2nd Largest Cinematic Theater in the United States
Before the split, Central Plaza Cinema Theatre on Central Avenue in Yonkers, New York, was the second largest Cinematic theatre in the United states.
Managed and Assisted R.C.A. in the World’s First Trials of the Platter Continuous Film Reel System
A new technology being test for the grand opening of the “split” Central Plaza Cinema, was the Platter System. Instead of having 20 minute reels and two projectors that seamlessly switched back and forth through the entire movie, the Platter System would have all of the reels spliced end to end and run from the top platter to the bottom. On the next show, it would run from the bottom back to the top, without projector intervention. This was the only way one projectionist could manage multipartite.
The First Multi-Auditorium Design and Built
