The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success, 3rd Edition

Back to the Beginning

Virtual worlds began with simulators, which were three-dimensional graphic representations of a virtual, or simulated, environment. Then in 1968, Internet pioneer Ivan Sutherland developed the first computer-based virtual reality.

During the 1980s and 1990s, the author, Lon Safko, worked independently on his own, commercially available virtual environmental system called SoftVoice (later renamed SenSei when ported from the Apple II to the Macintosh Platform in 1986). While Lanier, Furness, and Wise’s system was intended for F-15 fighter pilots and astronauts to perform complex repair without the need of dangerous spacewalks, SenSei was developed to help the physically disabled access computer technology and their environment (see SoftVoice/SenSei, discussed next).

While developing this virtual reality (VR) platform, Safko was lucky enough to spend a day brainstorming with Dr. Furness and William Gates Sr. at the University of Washington; as Dr. Furness put it, he “had to see a system nearly as elegant as my own . . . especially when mine cost 5 million dollars, and yours can be purchased for 2,500 dollars.” As a result of this meeting, Dr. Wise became a member of the corporate board of directors and advisors for Safko International Inc. in 1989 and provided a great deal of support and industry knowledge. He and John Williams, the author of the Americans with Disabilities Act, helped guide Safko International through the late 1980s and into the 1990s during ...